When To Fear The Living

by B. L. Brunnemer

  "I'm okay on the couch." I pointed down at my feet where Hades was already curled up. Tank was laying in his dog bed in the corner.

  "Tank," He called. Tank got to his feet and came to him. "Guard Lexie." Tank moved to the end of the couch and sat, I had no doubt he'd stay there all night.

  "Thanks, Tough Guy.

  "Anything for you, Baby."

  Growling woke me up, I opened my eyes and was confused for a few seconds. Oh, yeah. Zeke's. I half sat up and went still. Tank, Hades, and Kita were pacing through the living room to the front door and back. My pulse picked up as I got up and looked out the blinds. Zeke had the outside lights on, the driveway and the area in front of the garage were bright enough that you could play basketball outside. Something flew through the air, a lightbulb shattered plunging the driveway into darkness. Something moved outside.

  "Zeke!" I called, fear knotting my stomach. He was there almost instantly. "Someone's outside, and they took out the driveway light." His face was hard as he pulled me away from the windows and moved me down the hallway. He called the dogs to follow as he put me in the bathroom and called Rory.

  "Hey, someone's here. They busted out a light." Zeke's voice was hard as he opened the closet next to the bathroom. "Yeah, I will," He said before hanging up. "Tank, Kita, Hades. Guard Lexie." Zeke ordered as he reached into the closet. The dogs lined up in front of the bathroom door in a line. I would have been impressed, but Zeke had pulled out a shotgun and was loading it.

  "Zeke, you're not going out there," I told him in a hard voice, his lips twitched.

  "Don't worry Baby, this is in case he grows a pair and decides to come in after you," He said calmly. My heart raced as I tried to stay calm. It was silent except for the dogs breathing. Flickering lights lit up the hallway, Zeke cursed.

  "Stay here," He ordered as he headed down the hall. I leaned out the door as far as the dogs would let me. Zeke walked to the front window and looked out the blinds.

  "Mother-" He bit off a curse.

  "Zeke?"

  "It's fine. He just set something on fire," He said as he walked back down the hall to me.

  "What did he set on fire?" I asked, he shrugged.

  "Nothing important," He assured me. We waited, soon the sirens got louder, when they sounded like they were at the driveway Zeke unloaded the shot gun and put it away in the closet. He grabbed the fire extinguisher, this time I followed him as he went outside. I gaped. The interior of the Jeep was on fire, spray painted across the hood were the words 'It ends now!' Shocked, I watched as Zeke worked to put the fire out. When he finished, the police cars were just pulling up. He looked over and met my eyes.

  "You said it was nothing important," I said, stunned.

  "It's not."

  "Zeke," I snapped. "That's your Jeep!" I knew how important it was to him, how much work he put into it.

  "It's a car. You're a person." He pointed out logically. "I'd rather have you safe than a car." My heart melted right there in the snow as tears filled my eyes, Zeke saw it and cursed. He came over and wiped my face.

  "I'm sorry, Zeke," I said as guilt ate at me.

  "It's not your fault," He said clearly. "Now stop crying." I sniffed and tried to stop. Rory came to us.

  "I take it this was our stalker?" Rory asked.

  "Nah, I decided to commit insurance fraud for a new interior," Zeke said sarcastically. Rory shook his head. Did Zeke just make a joke? I realized that he had. The other cops came over and got to work.

  An hour and a half later most of the other cops left. Rory was going to leave an officer here in the driveway for the rest of the night. It didn't seem like a bad idea to me. He also said he'd send a rental truck over for Zeke to use while his car is dealt with. Zeke tried to protest, but Rory told him to stuff it. It made me smile.

  "Tomorrow night I want you two to go to Miles'. At least he has a system and a fence," Rory said. We both nodded.

  "How did he find my address, Rory?" Zeke asked, his voice hard.

  "I don't know, but I'm sure as hell going to find out," Rory promised. "Nothing else should happen tonight so go get some rest." I hugged Rory good-bye. Then Rory pulled Zeke into a hug too. Zeke took me inside and locked the door, I started walking to the couch when he stopped me.

  "No, you’re sleeping in my room now." His voice told me not to argue, and honestly, I didn't want to. I walked down the hall and climbed into Zeke's big bed. I made sure I was on the other side near the wall while he watched from the door. I laid down and looked at him with his worried face, his clenched jaw.

  "Did you really wake me up?" He asked his voice uncertain. I gave him a small smile.

  "Several times, you called me Baby before you even opened your eyes," I reassured him. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly then turned off the light. The bed dipped on the other side, then moved as he shifted and got comfortable.

  "Tank. Guard Lexie," Zeke ordered. I smiled to myself as Tank moved to lay between us.

  "Night, Baby," He whispered.

  "Night, Tough Guy," I answered.

  Chapter 19

  Tuesday

  An ear-piercing noise woke Zeke up. I was already awake, I had nightmares all night, and I finally gave up sleeping before dawn. Not to mention that Zeke and Tank on a queen-sized bed was a tight fit. I sat up and scooted down the bed until I could put my feet on the floor, the bed shifted and the alarm shut off. I rubbed my face before getting to my feet and going to my bag on his desk.

  "How'd you sleep?" He asked, his usually gravelly voice was rougher than usual.

  "I didn't," I admitted as I found my clothes for today.

  "You didn't sleep?"

  "No. I kept waking up." I pulled my clothes out of my bag. Zeke's hand turned me toward him. I looked up at him.

  "Why did you keep waking up?" He asked.

  I sighed. "Bad dreams," I admitted. His eyes narrowed on me.

  "Why didn't you wake me up?" He asked bluntly.

  "What could you do about it? Cuddle with me?" I asked, pointedly. "You had Tank guard me just so you were comfortable enough to go to sleep."

  He frowned at me. "You know why I did that."

  "Yeah, I do," I told him gently. "It's also why I didn't wake you up, there was nothing you could do about it."

  He sighed and let me go. "Feel free to use Sylvie's bathroom, she's not home yet." His eyes were shadowed before he called the dogs and went to let them out. I said screw it and brought my bag into Sylvie's room. I pulled on dark blue jeans and my faded purple and white plaid with a black cami on underneath in case the buttons popped open. I tucked my shirt into my jeans and went to the bathroom. My bruises were healing, the new green mixed in was proof, right? I said fuck it, I just put on my sunblock and mascara today, it didn't matter. I made sure to put my two GPS locators back in place. One in my bra, one in my shoe. I pulled my hair back into a braid then headed out into the hallway with my bag. I was almost to the front of the house when Zeke's voice stopped me.

  "Hey, Lexie. Come here a sec," Zeke called. Curious, I dropped my bag next to the door and walked back into his room. Zeke was in his usual black jeans and his sleeveless shirt holding two different shirts, one dark blue, the other black.

  "Yeah?"

  "I think Sylvie is fucking with me again, what color is this shirt?" He asked as he held up the dark blue one, I smiled.

  "Dark blue," I told him. He cursed, yanked the tag off the hanger and tossed it on the bed.

  "She marked it black," He bit out as he sat down and pulled on his boots. "She's been trying to get me to wear a different color for years." He grumbled.

  "This happen often?" I asked, grinning.

  "A few times a month. I usually send a pic to Miles, but you're here so..."

  "It would bring out your eyes," I told him. He growled at me. I chuckled. "How color blind are you?" I asked.

  "I have Deuteranomaly, which means my green is fucked up," He explained as he finished tying his boots.

/>   "What do my eyes look like to you?" I asked, suddenly curious. He picked up his shirt and looked at me.

  "A dark brown," He stated.

  "Seriously?"

  He nodded. "Yeah," He said before he headed into the closet.

  "Can you tell what color they are at all?" I leaned against the doorframe.

  "Not really, but Isaac said they were green last month," He said as he came out of the closet in his black Henley. The shirt hugged his muscles and showed the dip between his collar bones. He picked up his wallet, hooked his chain on his pants, then started putting on his belt.

  "Do you see red?" I asked.

  "No."

  "So, what does my hair look like to you?" His eyes ran over me making my stomach flip.

  "I see a darker gold," He said. I chuckled.

  "So, to you, I'm blonde with brown eyes?" I asked, the corner of his mouth twitched.

  "Pretty much," He admitted. "I mostly see yellows, whites, browns, and golds."

  "That's got to be strange sometimes," I thought out loud.

  "I've never really thought about it," He said as he picked up the blue shirt off the bed.

  "Come on, I need to throw this out before Sylvie tries again."

  "You're throwing the shirt out just because it's not black?"

  "Next time I might not catch it," He pointed out.

  "Give it to me," I told him, holding out my hand. "I can probably do something with it, besides the color works for me." He tossed me the shirt then grabbed his book bag. I headed back down the hall. "Miles’ hoodie, Asher's pajamas, and now one of your shirts. I'm building quite the collection," I snickered. He chuckled behind me.

  "Soon you'll have a whole set," He teased as I stuffed the shirt into my bag.

  "Yeah, but the twins are all that's left, and they smell," I said dryly. He laughed as I picked up my bag. He held the door open for me.

  "Come on, we'll grab breakfast on the way," He offered. I happily walked outside and climbed into the truck Rory rented for Zeke. It was black, of course.

  We ran through a drive-thru and were finished eating before we reached the school.

  We were just walking out of the parking lot when everyone found us.

  "Where's your Jeep?" Isaac asked.

  "Toast," Zeke said dryly. He explained what happened last night and that we'd been ordered to stay at Miles’ house tonight, everyone but Miles cursed. Miles' face was troubled.

  "Are you both alright?" Miles asked.

  "Yeah, but this guy just pissed off Zeke," I pointed out playfully. "He's a dead man." Everyone chuckled and I smiled when Zeke didn't disagree. My phone vibrated, I checked it.

  Secret Admirer: Check your locker.

  I cursed and told the guys. Everyone walked to my locker in silence. I took a deep breath and opened it, I froze. Inside was a dead dove, it's feathers soaked scarlet with blood and its wings had been cut off. My pulse raced and my stomach knotted. What kind of sick fuck would do this? When I could tear my eyes from the dove, I saw the message on the back of the locker written in blood.

  If I can't have you, no one will.

  I went numb, how could someone just kill something like that? Asher's hands were on my shoulders pulling me away from the locker. Miles was on the phone. Zeke slammed the locker shut so hard, it echoed up and down the hall. I took deep slow breaths as the guys cursed and watched Miles. Miles nodded then got off the phone.

  "Rory says to tell a teacher so they can keep this area clear," Miles announced. The guys nodded. Miles headed down the hallway and went into the Chemistry lab, it wasn't long before he came back with Mr. Turner in tow. "Lexie, what's the combination?" Miles asked gently. I gave it to him and Miles opened the locker for the teacher.

  Mr. Turner cursed under his breath then looked at me. "Are you alright?" He asked. I shrugged, he sighed. "Take her to the office, the police are going to want to talk to each of you," He told us. We agreed and headed towards the office, Asher took my hand as we walked. We were led to a small waiting area in front of the Vice Principal's office. We waited until someone told us what we were supposed to do.

  It was almost two hours before a police officer came to talk to us. The Vice Principal joined us as the officer interviewed all of us together, Miles explained about my stalker and how this was just his latest stunt. As the conversation went on, the Vice Principal's face became more and more severe. Mrs. Weaver was a willowy woman with permanent frown lines. Her blonde hair was back in a perfect French twist, her gray eyes were sharp on me as the interview continued. She thanked the officer before he left then turned to the rest of us.

  "Alexis, please come into my office," Mrs. Weaver said. Sighing, I got up and followed her through the office door between Zeke and Ethan. I sat down in a chair across from her desk without bothering to shut the door. After all, it was the guys, I was going to tell them anyway. Mrs. Weaver sat behind her desk then rested her forearms on it, and leaned forward a bit. "Now, Alexis, you really should have brought this incident to the attention of the staff instead of calling the police," She said politely. Huh?

  "What?" I asked, sure I heard her wrong. She really didn't say that. Mrs. Weaver gave me a sweet smile.

  "You should have come to us, and then we would have made the decision on whether a call to the police was necessary," She explained, her voice condescending. My temper sparked. "You brought unnecessary attention to this incident and disrupted classes by calling the police first." Oh yeah, I was angry now. I gave her a polite smile that was about as real as the one she was giving me.

  "Well, Mrs. Weaver. I didn't call the police. I called my Uncle Rory, who happens to be a police officer. He's also aware of the history of the situation, unlike the school staff," I said in a polite, reasonable voice. I gestured to my face. "Considering the abduction attempt and assault that had already occurred. He felt it best to call in to the station and try to find evidence of whoever this boy is." Her eyes narrowed on me. "After all, it is an ongoing police investigation." She cleared her throat then her smile dropped,

  "You also did not inform us of the developing situation. If you had come to us to intervene between you and this boy, all of this could have been avoided," She said. She was trying to blame me for some reason, and I wasn't having it.

  "If I knew who it was, I would have been happy to," I said innocently. "However, the first physical contact I had with this guy was when he was hitting me in a parking lot." The polite smile was gone, my voice became more sarcastic as I spoke. "So, I couldn't go through your intervention program, now could I?"

  "Miss Delaney, I don't appreciate your attitude," Mrs. Weaver declared.

  "Mrs. Weaver, I don't appreciate you trying to blame me for something someone else has done," I stated coldly. "You're trying to say I did something wrong. When I know, I haven't."

  "When something like this occurs on school property, we are the ones you inform," She declared.

  "I did," I pointed out. "And now I'm sitting here pretty damn sure that if I hadn't talked to my Uncle first, the cops would never have heard about this incident. And the possible evidence as to who is stalking me would be gone." Her eyes flashed at me. Oh, she didn't like that.

  "We look after the safety of our students," She stated. I raised an eyebrow.

  "Then why bitch about the police being called?" I countered. Her face turned pink as her mouth pressed into a tight line.

  "You're suspended for two days," She declared. I scoffed.

  "Are you fucking serious?" I asked, not quite believing it.

  "Watch your language young lady," She snapped. "You have been rude and disrespectful."

  "And this warrants a two-day suspension?" I asked, doubtfully.

  "Yes, it does," She stated simply. I snorted. This was ridiculous.

  "Fine. A two-day suspension," I said directly. I stood up, picked up my coat and bag, then looked her in the eye. "Just so you're aware, that was a death threat in my locker. I've been beaten, had my privacy extrem
ely violated, and now I'm afraid for my life. And your response is to suspend me," I said clearly so she could hear my sum up of the situation. Her face grew a little paler by the time I was done, I turned to walk out.

  "If you apologize, I'll lift the suspension," Mrs. Weaver announced. I turned and looked her in the eye.

  "Apologize for standing up for myself? For not letting you blame me for things that aren't my fault? Fuck that," I stated. I turned and walked out of her office. The guys were sniggering except Miles. He was frowning at me and shaking his head, I shrugged. "I need to head home to pick up more clothes for tomorrow, can I get a ride?" I asked them.

  "I'll take you," Zeke told me.

  "Yeah, we're out of here," Isaac announced. The others got to their feet and picked up their bags.

  "You guys will get in trouble," I warned quietly.

  "So?" They all asked at the same time. I grinned.

  Mrs. Weaver came to the door of her office. "Excuse me, gentlemen, you haven't been excused yet," She declared.

  "We know," The boys all said at once. Isaac took my arm and pulled me toward the main office door.

  "We're not leaving Beautiful without protection for two days," Ethan announced.

  "Not with her stalker out there," Asher added.

  "We'll be back when she is," Zeke growled.

  "Mr. Huntington, you are on track to be your class' Valedictorian. Are you really going to throw that away?" Mrs. Weaver asked.

  "Yes, I hate public speaking," Miles informed her coldly. I was smiling as we walked out into the hallway and headed for the parking lot.

  "Well, that was fun," I declared, sarcastically. The guys chuckled, I turned and walked backwards to look at the guys. "Are you guys sure about this? Not too late?"

  "It's done, we'll have to deal with the consequences later," Miles said.

  "Lexie, watch where you're going," Zeke snapped. I turned back around and walked normally. Isaac wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze.