Whispers From the Dead

by B. L. Brunnemer

  I looked over at Miles. “So, how close was it really?”

  Miles let out a breath. “Extremely. A quarter of a second. Johanson really picked it up since last year.”

  “Well, win or lose, you’ll always be our Miles and we’re all proud of you,” I told him honestly.

  Miles’ ears turned red. “Thanks,” he muttered as he set down his bag.

  “You’re welcome, Nemo,” I said with a grin. His eyes shot to mine.

  “Did… did you just call me Nemo?” he asked, confused.

  “Yep.”

  “You’re calling me a fish?” he asked again.

  “Nope.” I smiled bigger. “I was thinking more like Captain Nemo, from ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.’” I shrugged, then looked down at Hades. “If you don’t like it…”

  “No,” he said quietly, “I do.” I glanced up only to meet his warm eyes. The moment stretched, my heart hammered.

  “Those morons,” Zeke growled, tearing my attention from Miles. Zeke was scowling as they came back over.

  Asher didn’t look any happier as he clapped Miles on the shoulder. “Congrats.”

  “Thanks.” Miles looked back over his shoulder to the twins. “Give me a few minutes.”

  Miles headed over to the twins. Asher sat down in front of me next to Hades. It wasn’t long before the twins left.

  Asher got to his feet and turned to me. “Come on, Ally girl. We have snacks to make.”

  * * *

  Three hours later I was wrist deep in cookie dough. Asher was pulling potato chips out of the oven while I was making balls for thumbprint cookies.

  Apparently, Miles’ favorites were the ones with a dollop of chocolate in the middle. So, I was trying not to screw them up as Asher worked on the other snacks.

  I looked at the ball I made in my hand and put it down on the wax paper. I made a thumbprint. Only the dough ball fell apart. I growled.

  “What’s wrong, Ally?” Asher asked as he changed the temp on the oven.

  “This should be easy,” I snapped. “Make a ball, make a thumbprint and move on.” Asher came over to stand next to me. I sighed and looked up at him. “What am I doing wrong?”

  Asher bit back a smile as he looked at my attempts. “Okay, grab some dough.” I picked up a destroyed dough ball off the waxed paper. He picked one up too. “I think you’re not applying enough pressure to make it a solid ball of dough.” He started rolling the dough in his hands. “If you don’t get the air out it’ll fall apart.”

  “So, push harder,” I summed up as I started rolling.

  “Yeah.” He looked at the ball in his hands. “Now, we roll it to smooth it out. It makes a better circle if the surface is smoother.” I mimicked what he was doing.

  “Now put the dough on the baking sheet,” he said. I put my dough ball down next to his perfect one. I grumbled wordlessly. Next to his, mine looked like a three-year old’s work.

  Asher took my hand and held onto my thumb. “Now, we lightly press down.” His voice was soft in my ear as he lifted my thumb out of the dough. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a thumb print cookie. I smiled.

  “So,” I said. “When do we put the chocolate in?”

  “When they are almost done.” He looked at the rest of my cookies and chuckled. “Why can’t I teach you to bake?” He reached out and picked up another one of my destroyed cookies.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know.” I looked up at him as he was re-rolling the dough. “It just doesn’t stay in my head.” I smiled. “Besides, my talents lie elsewhere.”

  He chuckled. “I hope so, because you certainly can’t bake.”

  I looked up at him with a narrowed gaze while I reached into the bag of flour. “You brat.” I tossed the flour at his face. It hit and flew everywhere. He threw the dough at me as I grabbed the flour bag.

  He grabbed the sugar and nailed me in the shoulder. War ensued. At some point he stole the flour away from me and I went diving for the dough.

  When we finally called it, we were both covered and the kitchen was a mess. Most of Miles’ cookie dough was on the floor or covering us.

  We were laughing as we cleaned up at the sink. Asher wet a towel and lifted my chin. He started cleaning flour and dough off my face gently. I met his eyes and grew still. His ocean eyes were warm, his hands slowly wiping the mess off my face. My body warmed for the first time in months. His gaze ran down my face then back to meet mine. He opened his mouth.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” A shrill shout had us jumping apart and turning around. Jessica was in the kitchen doorway. “You’re really dating that skank?”

  Asher sighed. “Jess, let’s talk in the family room.” He moved through the kitchen and closed the door behind him. I should probably go. If Jessica was going to have a shit fit, I wasn’t interested in listening to it. I started washing my hands in the sink.

  “This is my house too!” Jessica screamed. “And I don’t want that slut in here! I don’t care if you’re fucking her!”

  “Knock it off, Jess!” Asher shouted. I went still as I was drying my hands with a paper towel when Asher continued to raise his voice. “If you haven’t noticed, you don’t do shit around here. And I’m sick of it.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Jessica shouted. Wow, did the girl do anything but? I threw the towel away and put a leash on Hades.

  “I pay the bills, I handle the house, and you go out and do whatever the hell you want!” Asher snapped. “Then you come in and expect to control who can come in this house? Not happening. In fact, forget having money. Until you help out around here, you’re cut off.”

  “That’s my money too, Asher!” she snapped. Yeah, I needed to go.

  “No, it’s not,” Asher countered. “And until you stop acting like a brat, you’re not getting a dime.”

  I was at the door when the sound of skin hitting skin echoed through the house.

  My mind grew quiet. I opened the kitchen door in time to watch Asher turn back to his sister, cursing as a red hand print was already starting to show on his face.

  Oh. Hell. No. I dropped Hades’ leash and strode down the hallway to the foyer. Asher didn’t see me until it was too late. Neither did Jessica.

  I swung and clocked her with a right hook across the face. She stumbled, I grabbed her shirt and pulled her back to me.

  “I fucking warned you,” I growled. “You hit him. I hit you!” I slammed my fist into her face again, the pain in my hand not registering. She went down hard. Adrenaline had me going for her again.

  Arms wrapped around my waist, I was lifted off my feet. I fought to get free until a rich baritone cut through the blood rushing through my ears.

  “Ally! Calm down!” Asher shouted. “Ally, it’s me, stop! You made your point!”

  “She can’t do that shit!” I snapped as I tried to pry his arms off my waist.

  “Ally, stop!” Asher barked. I stopped fighting him. I hung in his arms, trapped against his chest with my feet dangling inches off the floor. I took deep breaths as a crying, bleeding Jessica scrambled to her feet and turned to us. Her nose was bleeding and a bruise was already forming along her cheekbone. Damn, I had been aiming for her eye.

  “I’m calling the cops,” she snapped as she pulled out her phone. Asher put my feet on the floor.

  “Go ahead, bitch!” I snapped back.

  “Jess, don’t,” Asher ordered, his voice hard. “If you do that, you’ll regret it.”

  Jessica wiped the blood off her face as she put her phone to her ear. “Not when Dad hears about how you let her hit me,” she shot back.

  “Oh, so you can hit him but no one can hit you?” I shouted, Asher’s arms tightened around me, keeping me in place. “You’re a piece of work!”

  “I need the police, my brother’s girlfriend just attacked me.” Jessica sounded pathetic on the phone.

  “Jess. You don’t want to do that,” Asher warned. She shot him a look and gave him their address. Jessica hun
g up with a smug look on her face. Obviously I hadn’t hit her hard enough.

  “Can I hit her again?” I asked seriously. “If I’m going to be arrested I should at least get a really good shot in.”

  “Don’t even think about it,” Asher warned. I grumbled wordlessly as sirens came closer.

  I couldn’t stand the smug look on Jessica’s face. So, I wiped it off. “Oh, I wouldn’t be too thrilled, Jessica. I can still press charges against you for those pictures last October.”

  Jessica’s smile dropped. I smirked. The siren stopped outside the house.

  “I think you hitting me is going to speak louder,” Jessica said, trying to sound confident.

  I snorted. I let her think that. There was a knock on the door.

  “Police. We got a call,” a man’s voice called through the door.

  “Come in,” Asher called. The door opened. The police officer walked in and surveyed us.

  “Thank God, that bitch hit me!” Jessica immediately started crying. I rolled my eyes. I went to open my mouth.

  “Ally, don’t,” Asher whispered. I hesitated. “Please. Trust me.” SHIT. If I didn’t call Jessica out on those photos I was going to go to the station. But Asher asked me not to... Fuck. I closed my mouth.

  “We’ll separate everyone and we’ll figure this out,” the officer announced. This wasn’t going to be good for me.

  * * *

  In the end, two other officers arrived. Asher was in the kitchen, Jessica was in the family room and, being the less beat up of the two, I was in cuffs on the front porch.

  The cop who put them on me recognized me from last January. He was nice enough to let my keep my hands in front of me. I thanked him.

  We had attracted quite the crowd. Neighbors were out on their porches watching. Not the twins, or Maria. She was still helping her sister get her kids home.

  Jessica was still crying crocodile tears when the first cop on the scene came out. He was the one who recognized me from January. Officer Daniels eyed me.

  “You’re Rory’s niece, aren’t you?” he asked bluntly.

  I nodded. Guilt ate at my stomach as I looked away from him, only to see the hand cuffs and my scraped-up knuckles. Rory was going to kill me. Or send me away. My chest ached as my eyes burned. I bit my lower lip hard to push back the tears. Rory wouldn’t do that. That’s just your fear talking. I just wished it didn’t have such a loud voice.

  “Yeah,” I muttered.

  He nodded, then looked back through the front window into the family room. Jessica suddenly wasn’t crying anymore. Shocker. Officer Daniels turned back to me.

  “What’s your story?” he asked.

  “She hit Asher, I hit her… more,” I stated simply. He nodded as if he expected it.

  “Here’s the deal,” he said. “Jessica wants to press charges. However, Asher said if she did, he would press charges against his sister.” I blinked up at him. Really? Asher would do that? I didn’t know what to think, or how to feel about that. Except grateful he was willing to back me. “It’s clear cut what happened, and quite frankly, it’s a paperwork nightmare,” the cop announced. “No charges will be filed by anyone.” His gaze met mine. “Rory, however, is stuck at a traffic accident on the highway and wants you home now.”

  I blinked. “My Blazer is-”

  “Rory said to leave it,” he said as he uncuffed me. I picked up Hades’ leash.

  Officer Daniels grabbed my arm and walked me to his cop car. Every eye in the neighborhood watched as he put us in the back seat. He shut the door and walked around. I didn’t even get to say good-bye to Asher.

  The drive to Rory’s was quiet. Officer Daniels didn’t try to make conversation.

  When he pulled up to the house, he had to let us out of the back. I could feel the neighbors watching as he walked me to the door.

  “Thank you for the ride,” I muttered before I closed the door. He just nodded and headed back to his car. I rearmed the alarm and let Hades off the leash.

  When I turned Tara was sitting there, gaping.

  Oh, come on.

  “Did you just come home in a cop car?” Tara asked amazed. She smiled. “Dad is so going to kill you.” I didn’t answer. I simply turned and went upstairs to my room.

  I closed the door behind Hades. I flopped down on my bed, different scenarios running through my head. Would Rory really send me away? My heart ached at the thought. No, no, he wouldn’t do that. He knew I didn’t have anywhere else to go. Mostly to stop myself from thinking those thoughts, I texted Miles.

  Alexis: I don’t think I’ll make it to your game night tonight.

  Miles: Why? What’s wrong?

  Guilt ate at me. It was Miles' big day and I’d just ruined it.

  Alexis: Jessica hit Asher, I hit her, she called the cops. I came home in a cop car. Just the usual.

  My phone rang instantly. It was Miles.

  “What happened?” Miles demanded. I explained what happened and how I was waiting for Rory to get home to decide my fate. At the end, he was quiet.

  “Are you mad that I ruined game night?” I asked cringing.

  “No, not at all,” he said softly. “I’m actually grateful. It’s about time Jessica learned she can’t just hit Asher.”

  “Well, she’s got a bruise and a bloody nose from it,” I assured him.

  “How angry is Rory?” Miles asked.

  I sighed. “I don’t know, but he had the cop bring me home. The Blazer is still at Asher’s.”

  “That’s probably not a positive sign,” Miles admitted.

  A door slammed downstairs.

  “Alexis Luanna Delaney, get your ass down here!” Rory shouted. My heart jumped into my throat.

  “Shit, he’s home. Gotta go,” I said quickly before hanging up.

  I got off my bed and headed downstairs with my pulse pounding in my ears.

  By the time I came off the stairs Rory, still in his uniform, was pacing. Tara was still in the far armchair, grinning happily.

  The furious look on his face made my lungs tight. I bit the corner of my bottom lip as I moved to stand next to the empty armchair.

  “You had the cops called on you,” Rory stated. I nodded. “You hit her. How many times?”

  “Who did she hit?” Tara demanded. Rory turned to her.

  “Tara, go to your room, now,” he snapped. She huffed as she got up and headed upstairs.

  The door upstairs slammed before he turned back to me. “Answer.”

  “Twice.” I cringed.

  “She hit Asher, so you hit her twice?” he asked, distinctly.

  “Yeah, I was going for more when he pulled me off her. I kinda snapped,” I admitted.

  “That’s assault, Lexie,” he stated.

  “I know,” I muttered.

  “She can press charges!” he barked.

  “She’s not,” I assured him. “Asher threatened to press charges on her.”

  He sighed, ran his hand through his hair and met my eyes again. “I understand why you did it. But you came home in a cop car, Lexie.” He met my gaze. “You’re grounded for two weeks.”

  Okay….

  “What does that mean, exactly?” I asked carefully. I had never been grounded before. Since Dad died, no one cared enough to know where I was.

  Rory let out a breath, his shoulders sagging. “It means you’re staying home,” he said, his voice tired. “No leaving the house and no going out with the guys. Got it?”

  “Uh, can I leave to go to the cemetery and come straight back? You know, soul crossing?” I asked, hesitant to even open my mouth. “Otherwise this place is going to get surrounded again.”

  He nodded. “Then straight back here. You understand?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He gestured toward the stairs. “Go to your room until dinner.”

  I hurried my ass upstairs and into my room. I sat down on the edge of my bed and let out a deep breath. He wasn’t going to send me away. Something inside me finally le
t go. I didn’t want to examine it too closely. I picked up my phone and used the group text.

  Alexis: Well, I’m grounded for two weeks.

  I didn’t have to wait long for a reply.

  Zeke: Asher told us what happened. How many swings did you get in?

  I grinned as I typed.

  Alexis: Not enough to make me happy.

  Asher: Ally.

  Alexis: I warned her before, I swear.

  Miles: I assume Rory won’t allow us to have game night at your house tonight?

  I thought about it.

  Alexis: If one of you ask, maybe?

  Miles: Give me a moment.

  Zeke: So, how are your hands?

  I held my right hand out and moved my fingers. There was swelling, a few scrapes and some redness but that was it.

  Alexis : Not bad. I’ll get some ice after dinner.

  Miles: Rory says not tonight but tomorrow can be a go.

  Asher: Damn.

  Alexis: Sorry guys.

  I spent the rest of the afternoon texting with the boys.

  I kept hoping Isaac or Ethan would chime in. But they stayed quiet. I went to bed that night worried about them.

  Chapter 16

  Saturday Morning

  The next morning, I woke up late and drove to the cemetery. The large group of souls had grown overnight, again.

  “About time,” one of them shouted.

  “Oh, forgive me for sleeping.” I snapped. “I should be at your damn whim every moment of the day and night.” The man went to say something but one of the women touched his shoulder. He shut up. “Alright, we’re doing twenty again today. We’ll try a few more after, so line up.” I announced.

  Everyone did as the others had. They all linked hands. I went to the first in line and felt my barriers shake. I reached out with my will and grabbed onto all of them. Then I dropped.

  We landed in the Veil and I instantly let go of everyone. I stepped back and watched as they looked around. Balls of golden light began falling from the Way, doors opened. The dead crossed. It was nice, but I had seen it all before. A light rain fell through the Veil making me smile. It wasn’t until the last soul had gone through the Way that I noticed there was still someone here.