I finished rubbing sunblock onto my legs and feet. Straightening, I looked in the mirror and eyed my two-piece swimsuit. The small black boy shorts and sapphire halter top kept me covered more than most swimsuits, which I liked. I bit the corner of my lip and ran my eyes over my body. Not bad. My body was toned, the soft lines hinting at six pack abs. My skin had a tint of color. For the last two weeks I’d been slathering on the sunblock and sunbathing alone, hoping to get some color without burning. The end result was my summer pale; not quite as pale as winter me. Yay me! I picked up my blue towel and sunblock before slipping my feet into my flip-flops and going downstairs.
Shouting outside drew me to the back door. My jaw almost dropped.
All of them were in board shorts. Every one of them was muscled in their own way. And the definition…
Stop drooling, Lexie. Out of all of them, only Zeke was wearing a shirt with his black board shorts. Isaac and Asher tackled Zeke, taking him into the water with them. I smiled as he came up sputtering and cursing at them. Miles shook his head before he dove into the water and came up ten feet away. Ethan was sitting on the deck next to Hades, still spraying sunblock on his arms.
Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and stepped out into the backyard. I swear, if one of them yells ‘the beacons are lit’ they’re going to die. Heads turned. Asher smiled, Isaac whistled, Miles squinted in my direction.
Zeke’s face was blank while Ethan shouted, “Hey, sexy!”
Zeke’s eyes snapped to Ethan a second before he reached out of the water, grabbed Ethan’s arm and pulled him in. The splash hit Asher in the face.
Ethan came up laughing. “Worth it!”
I was shaking my head when I reached the dock and slipped off my flip-flops. “Zeke, he was the last one dry,” I chided. “I still need sunscreen on my back.”
“I’ve got ya, Red.” Isaac swam to the metal ladder and climbed out. He wiped the water from his face as the sunlight glinted off his pecs and eight pack. I sat beside Hades and began to pet him to distract myself. My big ball of love was panting away in the heat.
Isaac moved behind me and sat on the deck. I held the tube of sunscreen up over my shoulder.
“You’re not as pale as I thought you’d be,” he said as he took the sunscreen from my hand.
“I’ve been trying to get a little sun every day, carefully.” I gathered my hair over my left shoulder and held it. Isaac squirted some lotion into his hands and began to rub it into the back of my shoulders.
“Good idea, we wouldn’t want you too burned to go to the end of the year party tonight,” Ethan said as he turned over to float on his back.
“Who’s throwing this party anyway?” I asked as Isaac moved to the middle of my back. His gentle touch surprised me. It wasn’t like he was ever too rough with me, but I hadn’t expected him to take his time.
“Aaron Cooper,” Miles answered, still squinting at me.
“Miles, can you see at all?” I asked, smiling.
“A little, mostly blurry shapes,” he admitted, with a small shrug.
Isaac’s hands moved to my lower back.
I shook my head and went back to the topic. “Who’s Aaron Cooper anyway?”
“He’s graduating tomorrow and his parents aren’t home from Europe yet,” Ethan supplied, “so it’ll be the last big summer party he throws.”
“This is a bad idea,” Zeke grumbled. I met his eyes and gave him an understanding smile.
“I’ll have Hades and one of you with me at all times,” I reminded him.
He shook his head. “I still don’t like it,” Zeke said. I couldn’t blame him. I’ve had flashbacks and panic attacks at parties since April. None as bad as the beach, but they still bothered him.
“Zeke doesn’t want to go to a party. Big surprise.” Isaac’s voice was thick with sarcasm. “You’re done, Red.”
“Thanks, Cookie Monster.” The words were barely out of my mouth before Isaac was lifting me off the dock and tossing me into the water. I came up, pushed my soaked hair off my face and flipped him off. Asher started moving towards the shore. Zeke started moving toward the dock ladder. Isaac saw, turned, and ran. Zeke climbed the ladder as Asher reached the shore. Isaac ran past Asher and onto the grass. Zeke ran down the dock after them. I stayed in the water, laughing with Ethan and Miles. They disappeared around the house. I dunked myself and slicked my hair back.
“So, are we leaving from here?” I asked them.
Miles swam closer so he didn’t have to squint as much. “I believe that’s the plan.”
I moved to float on my back. “Sounds good to me.”
There was yelling. I looked up to watch Asher and Zeke carrying Isaac between them. He was yelling and apologizing as they walked down the dock.
“One,” Zeke said as they began to swing him between them, “two, three!” They let go; Isaac flew off the dock. He hit the water hard and made a big splash. I was still laughing as he came up sputtering. Zeke and Asher were cracking up on the dock. Isaac flipped them off.
“Hey, who can make the biggest splash?” I asked. Everyone pointed at Zeke.
Zeke flipped everyone off. We burst out laughing.
Asher moved the end of the dock. “Let’s find out.”
The next half hour had everyone jumping off the dock. Eventually, the guys were challenging each other to flips and dives. Miles surprised the hell out of me with a perfect backflip.
Asher had just come up from a dive when the back door opened. Expecting Rory, I turned to smile. Only it wasn’t him.
My cousin Tara was there with three of her girlfriends. All with towels. I repressed a groan.
“Hi, guys!” Tara chirped cheerfully. There were mumbled replies as Tara took off her sandals. My cousin was pretty, there was no doubt. Long, light-blond hair, big blue eyes and a pretty smile. Too bad she was a bitch to me most of the time. “Do you guys know Callie, Christie, and Cathy?”
“Who is who?” Isaac asked.
“I’m Callie,” the pretty, dark-blond girl said as she took off her shirt to reveal her pink bikini and the body to pull it off. Great.
“I’m Christie,” the brunette said in a high-pitched voice. Asher winced at the sound. Christie pulled off her wrap to expose another great body, this time in a white bikini.
“And I’m Cathy,” the strawberry-blond girl announced before she pulled off her shirt and uncovered a blue and white striped bikini.
“Nice to meet ya?” Isaac said awkwardly.
“We thought we’d join you guys,” Tara said as she pulled off her wrap and showed off her already tanned body in a red bikini. What the hell were they doing here?
“Free country,” Asher muttered. My cousin and her friends moved down the dock. Cathy and Christie jumped in immediately. Callie and Tara sat on the edge of the dock and started putting sunblock on.
“So, what were you guys doing?” Cathy asked, her eyes on Asher. My heart ached.
“Just jumping off the dock,” Asher said as Christie moved near Ethan. The ache grew bigger.
“Cool, can anyone do a flip?” Christie asked while eyeing Ethan.
“Not me,” Ethan answered, moving away to float on his back.
Tara and Callie finished with their lotion and slipped into the lake. Callie moved towards Isaac while Tara moved between me and Zeke.
“How’s your week been?” Tara asked him. Zeke looked at her as if she’d grown another head.
“Do you guys remember that game we used to play?” Miles asked, getting everyone’s attention.
“Which one?” Asher grinned.
“The one where we swim out, dive to the bottom, grab a large rock, and carry it as far as we can to the shore,” Miles reminded them.
“Yeah, I remember kicking all your asses,” Isaac announced. The guys shot him a look.
“We’ll see about that,” Zeke stated before swimming further out. He dove under. Tara’s friends tried to get the guys talking by flirting with them. Zeke came up a
round nine feet closer than where he started.
“Not bad,” Asher said before swimming out. I shook my head and kept treading water as the guys continued to push each other. Miles kept out-distancing everyone.
When Zeke went under for the fifth time, Tara swam up next to me.
“Can I talk to you in the house?” she whispered.
I eyed her. What did she want? “Yeah… sure.” We turned and swam to the dock and climbed out. I wrapped my towel around my waist before slipping my flip-flops back on and heading inside. Hades followed closely.
Tara closed the door behind her then turned to me with an annoying smile.
“What did you want to talk about?” I asked as I used the towel to dry my hair.
“You’re staying in the house,” she announced.
I raised an eyebrow at her. “I am?”
“Yeah. I’m trying to get to know Zeke, and you’re just distracting him.” Tara tucked a hair behind her ear.
I started laughing. “I’m… I’m distracting him? Really?”
Tara’s eyes narrowed at me. “Yeah, and now you are going to hang out in the house.”
I shook my head and started towards the door. “Yeah, sure, Tara.”
I had just opened the door when she said, “If you don’t, I’ll tell Cathy, Callie, and Christie that you can see the dead. Or at least that you think you can.”
I stopped in my tracks. My temper sparked as I turned back to her. “You’re blackmailing me?”
“If I have to, yes.” She moved to the other side of the open door. “So, unless you want to be known around town as the crazy girl, stay inside.” I eyed her. Was she serious?
I met her eyes. “This is fucked up, Tara,” I told her, trying to figure out if she was serious. “We’re family.”
She snorted. “Just because you’re my cousin doesn’t mean we’re family.”
My heart dropped. Wow. If that’s the way she wanted to play it, fine. I was too tired to put up with this shit anymore. “Go ahead and tell them.” I gestured for her to walk through the door. “Go, tell your friends that your cousin sees the dead, or at least thinks she does. Let’s see what happens.”
Her eyes flashed at me. “I’ll do it, Lexie.”
I smiled. It wasn’t my nice one. “Go ahead. Just remember, while you don’t think of me as family, the rest of town knows I’m your cousin.” I tilted my head to the side. “How do you think that will make you look?”
“It won’t matter, everyone knows me,” she said. “They know I’m not crazy.”
“Yeah, they do. But opinions change. And you care a lot more about other people's opinions than I do. You'll get texts, Facebook posts, memes made of you. Believe me, I've dealt with it all before. And it won't bother me one bit." I ran my eyes over her before meeting hers again. “Do you really think you can handle that?”
She glared at me and opened her mouth, then quickly closed it and put on a pleasant smile.
“Ally, we’re going to head out,” Asher announced as he came in the back door and stood next to me. The other guys filed past and headed for Rory’s room. Each of them shot looks at Tara as they went by.
“Why are you leaving? We were just starting to have fun,” Tara asked cheerfully.
Asher frowned down at her. “Well, everyone has something to do before the party tonight,” Asher lied before he headed to Rory’s room.
When the door closed she turned on me. “Which party?”
“The big bash Aaron Cooper is having,” I said before I walked across the room to lean against the back of the sofa where Hades had sprawled out.
Tara moved to stand in front of me. “I’m going with you and the guys.”
“You can go, but you’re not going with us.” I chuckled. “You just tried to blackmail me.”
“Lexie, I’m going whether you like it or not. So you might as well take me,” she told me again.
I grinned. “Why don’t you ask Zeke if he wants you to go with us?”
She smiled brightly. Oh, the poor girl. Did I feel guilty? Nah.
The door to Rory’s room opened. Zeke came out with his bag and closed the door behind him. His gaze passed Tara and went straight to me. His mouth was a tight line as he came toward us.
“Zeke, I hear you’re going to the Cooper party tonight,” Tara said, her voice annoyingly cheerful.
Zeke glanced at me, his eyes promising retaliation. I fought a smirk. He turned back to Tara. “Yeah…”
Her smile dimmed around the edges. “I thought we could hang out.”
Zeke’s face grew hard. “I don’t think so.” He turned to me. “Don’t go swimming without one of us here.”
I sighed. “I can go swimming, Zeke.”
His eyes narrowed on mine. “Do the wards go out that far?”
Shit. “I’ll stay out of the water,” I grumbled.
“Thought so,” he stated. I shot him a look. His lips twitched as he headed for the door. “See ya later.”
“Bye.” I turned back to Tara.
She was frowning at me, her face pinched. I looked down at Hades and scratched his ears.
The guys came out in a trickle, each saying they’d see me later. Ethan kissed my cheek, Isaac gave me his usual raspberry on the other. Miles said he’d pick me up later, while Asher just winked as he passed.
When the door closed behind them, Tara turned on me. “You’re taking me to that party.”
“He just said he doesn’t want to hang out with you,” I pointed out. “Go hang out with your own friends.”
Tara blew a gasket.
Ignoring Tara’s ranting and annoying demands, I headed upstairs with Hades. After locking my door behind me, I opened my book bag and started pulling out the books I had stashed in my locker. I put them back on the bookshelves and returned to my bag. I checked the door again before pulling out my other supplies; black salt, tar water, a small jar of red-brick dust. All to keep the dead away. I opened the bottom drawer of my desk and stashed them there with my other jars of dried herbs. Wishing I had a better lock, I put my bag away in my closet. I had been spending a lot of time over the last few months studying herbs, stones, and oils. I figured since the betony outside was working, and our charms were working, that there might be other things that worked too.
I pulled out several bottles and some cloth. Miles had said he wasn’t sleeping again, so it occurred to me that a sleeping sachet might help. I cut a small, round piece of cloth and sprinkled in several herbs, smelling it now and then to see if it was a good mix. When I was done I closed the little bag with a string. Hopefully it would help, otherwise I had bought the herbs for nothing. I started going through my research books and realized I was missing one. Fucking Tara…
The front door shut downstairs.
“Hey, where is everyone?” Rory shouted. I put my stuff away and headed downstairs. Rory was at the dinner table sorting mail. Tara was in the living room area watching TV. And right now, I didn’t care. I needed to tell Rory.
“Hey, Rory,” I greeted as I moved to the table.
“Hey. Where are the boys?” he asked. “I figured they’d still be here swimming.”
“Oh, something came up,” I lied. “Listen, I need to talk to you about something.”
“What’s going on, kid?” He turned to me.
I stopped chewing the corner of my lip. “I need a better lock on my door.”
He raised an eyebrow. “And why is that?”
“Someone has been getting into my room and going through my supplies,” I explained in a whisper.
“Tara?” Rory snapped as he turned around and crossed his arms. I sighed and turned too. “Have you been going into Lexie’s room and going through her things?”
Tara looked innocent. “I just wanted to borrow some books.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Really? Why are you interested in a journal from the 1920s?”
“Is that what she took?” Rory asked.
“It’s missing from my room,�
� I offered.
Rory turned back to Tara. “Tara, what the hell? You’re going into her room and taking her research stuff?” he snapped, his voice hard. “Get your ass upstairs and bring back her things.”
“I just borrowed a book,” she said, her eyes rolling.
“Next time, ask! Get her stuff or you’ll be grounded for the next two weeks!” he shouted. I looked down at the ground feeling slightly guilty. That’s not really how I had hoped it would go.
“Fine!” she snapped and stomped her feet up the stairs. I sighed. This was going to backfire, badly.
“Rory, I really need a better lock,” I told him earnestly.
He sighed. “If she does it again then you can have your lock,” he promised. “Let’s just see if she’ll listen.”
I doubted it was going to happen. Maybe I should store some stuff in the Blazer? Actually, that didn’t sound like a bad idea. Or would she break a window? Maybe Miles’ house?
“Alright,” I agreed. A door slammed upstairs.
“There! She’s got her stupid book back,” Tara shouted before another door slammed.
Rory sighed. “I think it’s a Chinese food night.”
“Sounds good to me.”
I had just finished changing into a clean pair of shorts and a black, Y-back tank top when Miles knocked on the front door. I shook my head as I slid on my sandals.
“Just come in, Miles!” Rory shouted. I smiled as the door opened downstairs. I tucked the sachet I had made him into my pocket and took a look in the mirror. My copper hair was back in a ponytail and my heart-shaped face had minimal makeup. I didn’t bother tonight because it would just melt off anyway.
“Lexie! Miles is here!” Rory shouted. I picked up my water bottle and opened the door for Hades. He hurried downstairs, eager to see Miles. By the time I reached the living room, Miles already had Hades on his leash. He had changed into jeans, sneakers and one of his Zelda shirts.
He looked up from Hades and smiled. “Ready?”
“Definitely.” I turned to Rory. “Curfew?”
When Evil Comes To Play (The Veil Diaries Book 5) Page 3
