When the Dead Come a Knockin'

by B. L. Brunnemer

“What about threes?” Dylan’s hand was running up and down my back. It felt really comforting right now.

  “We’ve only seen one.” Asher began, his voice serious. “And that’s the only reason we even know about any of it. It happened at school, and she managed to tell us to call Rory. Rory had us get her home and told us what to do to take care of her. Never call an ambulance. Her disorder is so rare that most doctors can’t identify it in an emergency room. Basically, if she goes to the hospital she will die.” Asher closed the kit and move to the medicine cabinet. “She was talking about giving you a kit yesterday. And I think it’s a good idea.” I pulled the tissue from my nose and only felt a trickle, I tossed the tissue in the toilet and grabbed more toilet paper. I held the smaller wad to my nose. The light wasn’t killing me anymore, so I looked over and watched Asher hold out a new kit to Dylan. “I mean if you're gonna stick around?” I looked back at the floor and tried to remember to breathe. Asher just flat out asked if this was going to scare Dylan off. Wow. Dylan snorted and took the kit.

  “She can’t get rid of me that easily, Asher.” Dylan countered. I fought the urge to smile. My face still fucking hurt. I heard Asher snort as he headed out the bathroom door. I checked my nose, it finally stopped.

  “I wouldn’t blame you, you know,” I muttered, tossing the tissue in the toilet. I got to my feet not looking at him and quickly used the washcloth on my neck to wash my nose, mouth, and chin with soap. I didn’t see any blood there, but I washed anyway. I rinsed quickly and used a hand towel to dry. “If you bailed, I mean.” I turned around and looked up at him. He had been standing behind me as I washed my face. His eyes ran over my face.

  “I’m not going anywhere Sunshine.” He said simply. His husky voice was serious. “Now, how soon can I kiss you after one of these?” I looked at him like he was crazy.

  “I just had blood on my face.” I pointed out. He shook his head.

  “No, actually you didn’t. You’re really quick with those tissues.” He said smiling. He leaned down and gave me a soft, quick kiss that made my insides melt. I looked at him trying to wrap my head around it. I just had a bloody nose, yeah, I didn’t get blood on my face. But he just kissed me anyway.

  “You’re nuts,” I said smiling. Dylan smirked at me.

  “Maybe a little.” He admitted. He took my hand and led me down the stairs.

  “Why did my boyfriend have to go up and take care of her?” Trisha’s voice carried from the family room. Dylan stopped walking, so did I.

  “She’s probably just some drama queen with a stomach ache.” Faith added. My jaw dropped. Dylan went still in front of me. That probably wasn’t good, I reached out and touched his shoulder. He looked up at me, his mouth in a tight line. I gave him a small smile and slipped by him on the staircase. He let go of my hand so I could pass him.

  “Oh, she’s probably bulimic. You see how thin she is?” Cece joined in. Wow, the shy one was a bitch too. I took a deep breath and made noise on the stairs as I went down. Dylan was right behind me. I stopped to put down my jacket and tuck my cell into my back pocket. I walked into the family room and saw three of the girls. I smiled at them.

  “Hey, girls.” I looked over at Trisha. “Trisha, sorry for borrowing Asher. I was having a seizure, and he knew where my kit was.” Trisha’s eyes flashed at me. “But that shouldn’t happen anymore. Asher explained my kit to Dylan, so next time he can take care of me.” I gave them a smile. They all smiled back.

  “Oh good, your boyfriend should know how to take care of you. Especially if you have health problems, I mean, you can’t keep asking the other guys to take care of you, right?” Trisha said too sweetly. I felt it like a hit to the gut. Wow, I didn’t expect that to hurt. Dylan’s hand went to my lower back. I turned to look up at him. His face was pleasant, but his eyes were cold.

  “Let’s get you some tea, babe.” He offered sweetly. I gave him a small smile and went with him. He nudged me ahead of him towards the kitchen.

  “Ignore them,” I whispered.

  “I don’t see how Asher doesn’t hear them.” He whispered back.

  “He’s not paying attention.” I offered. “If they get to where I can’t deal with it then I’ll just avoid them or something.” He grunted quietly. I opened the door and stepped into the kitchen. Everyone else was standing around with mugs. I saw Zeke finishing off his burger. Riley was laughing at the look of joy on his face. I have to admit, I started laughing too. Zeke spotted me and smiled with his full mouth closed. “What are you guys doing in here?”

  “Cece’s a vegetarian and Zeke wanted to eat his burger,” Isaac said like that should make sense.

  “Did he try to make her eat his burger?” I asked, not quite believing this. Isaac shook his head.

  “Then why did he have to go in the kitchen? It’s her issue; she should have gone in the kitchen.” I pointed out. Dylan snorted.

  “I agree with Lexie on that one,” Riley said. I winked at her. Zeke finally finished eating.

  “Not that I’m complaining, but why the burger?” Zeke asked wiping his mouth with a napkin. I smiled.

  “Because I had one for dinner,” I said. He narrowed his eyes at me. “And you just ate it so you can’t bitch at me all night!” I smiled cutely. Everyone laughed.

  “Okay, you got me this time,” Zeke admitted begrudgingly. Miles poured a couple of mugs and handed them to us. Ooh, cocoa. I was happy. Zeke clapped his hands. “Okay, let’s play.” We all filed out into the family room. The others already had claimed to the couches, so it looked like we were on the floor. Asher paused then went back out into the foyer and opened the closet under the stairs. He pulled out a few bean bag chairs. He tossed one to Dylan.

  “I figure you two can share,” Asher smirked at us before he threw another to Miles. Isaac volunteered for him and Cece to be one of the couples on the floor. Cece looked surprised. Dylan found a good spot near the couch corner, he put the bean bag at an angle then sat down. He elbowed it and shifted till he got it in the position he wanted. I just thought it was funny. Then he leaned back in the bag, his legs open and crooked his finger at me. I smiled at him.

  “Come here, Sunshine.” I went over and sat in front of him, but before I could slide back, Dylan snagged me around the waist and pulled me between his legs. He bent his knees and tugged me to lay back on him. I laid back against his chest; he wrapped one arm around me his palm warm on my stomach. His other hand took mine, his fingers playing with mine. His body acted like a chair for me, a very comfy, warm, sexy chair. I set my mug to the side then laid my head back against his chest.

  “You’re lucky that slide didn’t give me splinters on my ass,” I told him plainly. He laughed in my ear.

  “Swear jar,” Isaac called out. I sat up and realized I couldn’t grab my wallet without groping Dylan. Before I could slide forward, fingers were in my back pocket, and then my wallet was in Dylan's hand over my shoulder. I smirked, it was like he read my mind. I opened my wallet and took out two twenties. I put my wallet to the side. I laid back down onto Dylan and held the money up to Ethan. Ethan then put it in the jar for me.

  “There, that’s forty for both Dylan and me,” I announced. The guys all laughed, as Dylan got me back in the same position.

  “That’s my girl.” He whispered into my ear before he kissed my temple. I smiled.

  “Okay, that’s weird,” Asher announced. I looked up at him. He was sitting in a wide armchair with Trisha in his lap. “Someone’s hugging Ally, and kissing on her.” Asher shook his head as if to get rid of the image.

  “Yeah, that’s what it has been like every night with you guys. It’s weird seeing your friends all kissy.” I countered, not moving an inch. “Suck it up.” The guys chuckled. Dylan gave me a squeeze, and we all began arguing over the first video game to play. Trisha, Faith, and Cece weren’t helping. They kept saying they wanted to watch a romantic movie. I groaned. Cece’s eyes flashed at me.

  “You have a boyfriend, and you still don�
��t want to watch a love story?” Cece’s voice had an edge of snide to it. Stay calm, Lexie. I looked at her and said with a straight face.

  “I will not eat them in a house, I will not eat them with a mouse, I will not eat them in a box, I will not eat them with a fox. I will not eat them here or there I will not eat them anywhere.” The guys burst out laughing. They laughed so hard it took them awhile to calm down. Isaac was wiping tears from his eyes.

  “Ah, ah, ah man, Red just quoted Dr. Seuss!” Isaac’s face was bright red. I had to sit up because Dylan was shaking me so much.

  “In an argument,” Ethan added.

  “And totally won.” Asher chimed in. Dylan had stopped laughing enough for me to lay back against his chest again. He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me tight.

  “I’m so keeping you,” Dylan whispered into my ear. I smiled and squeezed his arm back.

  “Sounds good to me,” I whispered back. When everyone calmed down again. I added. “This was supposed to be game night guys.”

  “We can play truth or dare.” Trisha offered.

  “Nothing but trouble comes from that game, especially with guys and girls,” I warned them.

  “What if we set rules?” Miles offered. I raised my hand.

  “I dare you all not to play this game,” I said seriously. Dylan chuckled in my ear; it made me smile. Trisha’s eyes narrowed on me.

  “What? Are you scared, Lexie?” Trisha asked, smirking. I looked her in the eye and gave her my blank, ‘don’t fuck with me’ face.

  “You really want to play this game?” I asked making my voice warm but with an edge of ice to it. I kept eye contact with her, refusing to blink first.

  “Do it, Sunshine,” Dylan whispered in my ear. My shit eating grin moved across my face. Trisha must have realized I wasn’t fucking around because she flinched.

  “She does have a point, though,” Trisha said failing at nonchalance. “Nothing good ever comes from it.” Asher looked from me to Trisha trying to figure out what just happened. I just winked at him. I figured I should offer an olive branch.

  “Okay, how about one girly movie. But, it has to have a happy ending. No tragic crap.” I suggested to the girls. They all looked at each other, then nodded. Riley, however, was eyeing Trisha like she’d never seen her before. The girls put a movie on, and I laid my head back on Dylan's chest.

  “Too big a heart, Sunshine,” Dylan whispered to me. I smiled.

  “Yeah, but I want my friends happy too,” I whispered back. Dylan kissed my hair and snuggled back against me. I was playing with Dylan’s fingers through most of the movie; we even played thumb war. We ended up whispering back and forth through most of the film. We were both bored, but we entertained ourselves well enough. When the movie was over, I sighed in relief. “Can we please play a game?” I begged pitifully. There were a couple of chuckles.

  “I have a bunch of board games in the closet upstairs,” Asher announced. He got up and walked across the room. He stopped in front of me. “Come on Ally, you can help carry.” I looked up at him. His face was serious. Why would he need help carrying a few boxes? I eyed him then held my arms up towards him.

  “Up,” I grumbled. He looked at me like I was nuts.

  “I am not picking you up from the floor,” Asher said almost laughing. I snickered.

  “No, I meant pull me up, you shit,” I told him smiling.

  “Swear jar!” Isaac shouted. Asher grabbed my hands and pulled me to my feet quickly.

  “She’s still got 18 left.” Dylan pointed out. I followed Asher out of the family room and up the stairs. When we reached the landing, he turned to me.

  “What was with that stare down between you and Trisha?” He asked his voice quiet. I knew it. He didn’t need help; he wanted to grill me.

  “Girl drama.” I hedged. “Don’t worry about it, we’ll work it out eventually.” He ran his eyes over my face trying to see if I was lying. I just gave him my mischievous grin. He snorted and shook his head.

  “That fucking smile.” He mumbled.

  “Swear jar.” I shot back. He chuckled as we went the hall closet. He opened the door and started looking through the board games. My eyes were on the folded American flag wrapped in plastic and tucked into a clear spot on the shelf.

  “Asher? What’s with the flag?” I asked softly. I felt him go still.

  “That’s Mom’s.” He said as he went back to looking through games. “She was an Army Drill Sergeant before she quit to have us.”

  “They have cases for those now, you know?” I looked down at him feeling like I was crossing a line somewhere. He was pulling out a couple of games boxes.

  “Yeah, Dad always said he’d get one specially made. But he never did.” Asher said straightening back up. He handed me a couple of board games. I caught his gaze.

  “Your Dad is a dick,” I said honestly. He smirked at me.

  “Pretty much, come on. Let’s see if we can have a game night.” We carried the games downstairs. Trisha glared at me as we came in. I put the games on the coffee table. Everyone shifted around. Dylan brought the bean bag closer, sat on it, and then I sat between his legs in front of him again. We debated on what game to play. It took a while, but we agreed on Scrabble with teams. Miles didn’t have a team, which worked because he would probably win anyway.

  We were halfway through the game, and I had just finished putting down our word when my cell phone vibrated. Dylan caught his breath, then let it out slowly behind me. He leaned forward, his lips going to my ear.

  “Sunshine, you really need to move your phone.” He whispered. My stomach did that flip. I caught his meaning quickly. I leaned forward, pulling away from him a bit. His fingers went to my back pocket and pulled my phone out. I sat back to where I started. I turned a bit at the waist to look back at him. His eyes were warm on my face as I mouthed sorry. He winked at me as he handed me my phone. I turned back around and tried not to brush up against him for a bit. I checked my phone. It wasn’t a text it was an email, from an email address I’d never seen. I tossed it into the trash and tucked my phone into my bra. I went back to the game we were losing. It didn’t help that Dylan’s hand was on my hip. My shirt had come up a bit when I reached for a letter, now his thumb was making circles on my skin, just above my jeans. It really didn’t help my concentration. In the end, Miles won, not a big surprise. We were cleaning up the game when I remembered tomorrow was Asher’s football game.

  “Hey, we need to figure out rides and shit for tomorrow.” I reminded everyone.

  “Swear jar.” Ethan shot out.

  “I still have four.” I stuck my tongue out at him. Ethan made a face back.

  “And we need to figure out what we’re doing after.” Faith pointed out. Everyone started offering suggestions.

  “Well, we’re playing at Vegabond tomorrow night.” Ethan reminded everyone, he grinned over at me. “Lexie’s helping out, so that’s where we’ll be.” I wrinkled my nose at him. Faith looked at then back to Ethan, her face confused.

  “What do you mean she’s helping you out?” Faith’s voice was neutral with an edge to it. Ethan looked over at her and grinned.

  “Remember, the manager wants us to have more range?” Faith nodded, still frowning. “Lexie’s singing with us tomorrow night to help us keep our spot.” Faith’s eyebrows went up; her mouth opened a bit.

  “Oh,” Faith said. She looked at me, her eyes almost glaring. “I didn’t know you could sing, Lexie.”

  “Everyone can sing,” I grumbled. “Not everyone can sing well.” The guys chuckled.

  “Red sounded great today, you never even went off key.” Isaac offered sweetly.

  “And that’s all by ear.” Ethan pointed out. “She doesn’t even know how to read music.” Faith’s eyes snapped to me as Ethan continued. “She seriously must have perfect hearing.”

  “I do, remember?” I reminded him of when Rory insisted that I see every type of doctor possible the first month I was here. He had
been worried; I hadn’t seen a doctor in years.

  “No wonder you’re an audiophile,” Ethan smirked at me. I flipped him off.

  “Wait, what did you call her?” Dylan leaned forward his arm around me tensed. I answered quickly.

  “Audiophile, I love music.” I shrugged, it was no big deal. His arm relaxed around my waist.

  “Yeah, and particular kinds of voices.” Ethan pointed out. He looked at Dylan smiling. “She’s so freaking picky about sound that it's weird sometimes.” I knew he was referring to the meditation guide he’d downloaded for me.

  “Hey, that guide guy had an accent that I couldn’t place, and his voice was on the high side. It was like a knife to my ear.” I defended myself adamantly. “Sorry if I have sensitive ears.” The guys chuckled.

  “Yeah, I’ll give you that. That’s why I didn’t complain when I re-recorded it for you.” Ethan grumbled. Faith's eyes shot to me.

  “You re-recorded what for her?” Faith asked. Ethan was busy cleaning up tiles.

  “Just a meditation guide she needed, she couldn’t stand the guy’s voice,” Ethan told her absently. I was putting more tiles in the bag when I caught the stink eye.

  “But you like Ethan’s voice?” Faith asked pointedly. I paused and realized how that might have sounded to a girlfriend.

  “Ethan’s got an amazing voice.” Then I acted like something just occurred to me. “But I guess any of the guys’ voices would have worked. Well, except Zeke’s.”

  “Thanks, Lexie,” Zeke smirked at me. I shot him a look.

  “In fact, Miles voice would probably have been the better one to use.” I pointed at Miles. He nodded, he saw what I was doing and went with it. “He has a very calm, soothing voice when he wants to.” Ethan swallowed hard. He must have just realized how it sounded.

  “I thought of that. He was busy playing games with Autumn that day.” Ethan was lying through his teeth, and the guys all knew it. But it was to keep the peace, so everyone went with it.

  “Is everyone coming to Vegabond?” I changed the subject. “Because you really don’t have to.” The girls seemed to think about it then they started smiling.