Trying To Live With The Dead

by B. L. Brunnemer

“About 2 minutes after you laid down.” He admitted. I groaned as I sat up. I picked up the bags behind me and started to get up.

  “I got ‘em.” Zeke took the packs from me.

  “Ooh, an ice bitch.” I teased, trying to let him know I wasn’t mad about earlier. It wasn’t really his fault, he had no idea how bad I would react.

  “I deserved that.” He grumbled as he took the ice packs and walked into the kitchen. I scooted around and up to the coffee table. Asher handed me a jewelry making kit. I took it, opened it and reached for the bag of onyx beads. Asher held up a brown leather braided bracelet with a beautiful flat triangular blue stone woven in.

  “That’s for Isaac.” Asher tossed it over to Isaac who smiled.

  “Thanks Red.” Zeke came back in and sat down as Asher pulled out another necklace. This one was black obsidian stone that looked raw, roughly in the shape of a shark's tooth hung from a black cord.

  “That’s Zeke's.” I got on my knees and pulled out the other bags of beads as Asher handed the necklace to Zeke who put it on immediately. “Okay guys here's what's going on. There was only so much jewelry at the store, but she had lots of stone beads.” I put the onyx in front of me and set the other bags on the table. Some were hematite, some were agate, there others, but they were all for general protection. “In every kit there is some needle nose pliers, a wire cutter along with leather cord and wire for beading. There’s even stretchy plastic if you want a flexible bracelet.” I looked up to see I had most of their attention; Isaac was opening another kit. “What you have now is specifically for the dead.” I put my hand over the bags of stone beads they were going to use. “These are for protection in general. Serena said it’s better to have different kinds on.” Everyone got to work. It wasn’t long before someone was talking.

  “I hate to ask this but how much did all this cost?” Isaac asked. I was trying to figure out how much stretchy cord I needed around my wrist when I answered.

  “Enough that all of you owe Rory 10 days of yard work each.” I said smiling while I worked.

  “Seems fair.” Asher agreed cutting some leather cord. The others made sounds of agreement. The room was so quiet that I looked up. All the boys were frowning as they concentrated on making their jewelry, it was cute. I hid my smile and went back to work wishing I could get a picture of this. Everyone started talking about movies; which new ones looked good. Ethan’s phone started vibrating on the table; everyone ignored it as he picked it up.

  “So Red, what’s the plan for tonight?” Isaac asked absently as he focused on putting string through the hole of a bead.

  “Well, Serena told me no dead for three to six days. And I’m sure that Zeke is going to make me follow that.” I said not really paying attention.

  “Now she’s getting it.” Zeke mumbled. I rolled my eyes.

  “So, it’s get some uninterrupted sleep tonight. Hopefully. Rest tomorrow and avoid Bitch Ghost while I go over those books Serena gave me.” I didn’t like it but I needed more information on how to deal with a ghost this amped up with energy. It wasn’t fun, but it’s what I needed to do. “I’m sorry Miles, but you might be stuck with us for a few days.”

  “As long as you need.” Miles answered, his voice calm as always.

  “Well, Asher’s got a football game on Friday, so let’s go to that.” Ethan offered. “I mean we usually do anyway.”

  “We need to keep Lexie safe guys.” Zeke reminded them. I rolled my eyes.

  “Safe doesn’t mean I can’t go out and have fun.” I didn’t bother looking up from my beading to answer.

  “There’s usually a party somewhere afterwards too.” Asher added sounding distracted.

  “Oh, come on.” Zeke groaned. I looked up to see he had stopped working on his beading to glare around the group. “She has a pissed off ghost that has almost killed her already and you want to take her to a kegger?”

  “If this stuff works, then she’ll be fine.” Isaac pointed out. “Red almost died, she deserves to have a little fun this weekend.” Heads nodded around the group. Zeke took a deep breath and let it out while shaking his head his jaw clenched.

  “Fine, but I want to test the damn charms before we go to the game.” His tone told us not to argue.

  “Yes, Grandpa,” I said sweetly. Everyone but Zeke laughed though the corner of his mouth did twitch as he got back to work. Everyone was quiet while we worked. It was a while later that I realized something.

  “We didn’t do our homework.” I groaned looking up from my bracelets.

  “Screw it.” Several voices said at once.

  “Damn, I should get jumped more often. No homework.” I teased, thinking myself funny.

  “NO!” Every one of them shouted vehemently. I jumped. Their shouts actually echoed through the house they were that loud. I looked around at them with wide eyes. Everyone looked up from their work to explain.

  “That’s not even funny Ally, you scared the crap out of us.” Asher chided, his fingers holding a bracelet he was making.

  “You just sort of crumbled to the ground.” Isaac added wincing.

  “Then your nose started pouring.” Ethan continued shaking his head as if to get the image out.

  “Who freaked out the most?” I asked genuinely curious but also wanting to lighten the conversation. Everyone pointed at Zeke. He frowned at all them his eyes narrowing, his shoulders growing tense.

  “Me? Really?” Zeke scoffed. The guys burst out laughing while Zeke scowled at them.

  “We’re not telling Lexie. There’s a guy rule that when a freak out occurs, you don’t talk about it.” Miles informed me being the first to get control of himself. I looked at him suspiciously. His ears were turning pink, and he was looking anywhere but at me.

  “And when was this rule created?”

  “The second you dropped like a rock.” Ethan grinned at me unrepentant. I looked around the group again. They were all very eager to get off this topic. All of them were shifting in their seats, avoiding looking at me or focusing way too hard on their work. Warmth filled my chest again, that feeling of being cared about came back. It was a little less weird this time.

  “So basically, you all freaked out.” I stated knowingly. I couldn’t stop smiling: they were all acting so evasive and well cute.

  “We’ll never tell.” Zeke said before smirking at me. Oh yeah, it had to be all of them.

  “Aw, you all do care.” I said, only half teasing. I guess it was really starting to sink in that they really did care. Isaac threw a bead at me.

  “Knock it off Red. You’re messing with the guy rule.” He chided me. The conversation changed to what everyone had scheduled this week as we worked on our jewelry.

  The guys were done before I was. They stoked the fire and made s’mores while talking about the game on Friday. When I finally finished I had eight onyx bracelets lined up, covering a couple inches of wrist and forearm like a big cuff, And a hematite small beaded necklace that dropped down between my breasts with my other necklace. Miles checked his watch.

  “It’s getting late; I guess we should start moving furniture.” Miles announced.

  “Hey, Red didn’t get any s’mores.” Isaac pointed out as he got to his feet. I shrugged; my mind was more on what was coming tonight then s’mores. I was packing up the jewelry kits when Asher pulled me away from the coffee table with his hands on my shoulders.

  “What?” I asked as he turned me and gave me a small shove towards the fireplace.

  “Go sit on the fireplace and make s’mores while we move the furniture.” Asher‘s voice told me not to argue. So, I sat on the stone in front of the fireplace and ate s’mores while the guys talked about where to put the furniture. They decided to move everything against the walls as far as possible. I watched as they moved everything, enjoying the view as the guys used their muscles. They were my friends but damn, they were ripped and I was only human. By the time they were done, my cheeks were a bit warm. Miles gestured to me. I hopped
off the hearth and took charge.

  “We’ll have to sleep in a circle, heads towards the middle feet toward the salt line. Let’s set up the sleeping bags, and then we’ll see how much room we have to work with.” In the end, we all ended up within arms reach of each other. Everyone disappeared into the house to get ready for bed. I brushed my teeth and washed my face in the bathroom downstairs. When I came out, I looked around the great room again looking for any dangers that I didn’t notice before. I was contemplating the moose head above the fireplace when Miles came downstairs in blue flannel pajama bottoms; he was still pulling his shirt on when I caught a look at his upper body. My heart slammed in my chest. While not bulked up like Zeke or Asher, Miles' muscles were hard and defined. My eyes ran over the lines of his muscled abs when he pulled his shirt down over his chest. I looked away taking a breath and hoping he didn’t notice my ogling.

  “So what do we do now?” Miles asked coming off the stairs. I gestured to the floor still a little flustered by my sight of his chest and abs. I so really needed to work out.

  “Um, we make the salt circle.” I told him lamely, trying to get my thoughts together again. There wasn’t much else to do. Miles nodded.

  “I’ll go get the salt.” Miles padded off toward the kitchen. It wasn’t long before the others were coming down the stairs in their pajamas. Asher came down in blue and white striped drawstring bottoms and a white ribbed tank top that showed off the muscles in his arms, his wide chest that tapered down to narrow hips. I took a deep breath, this being friends with hot guys was going to be harder than I thought. Isaac was right behind him, wearing a pair of mesh blue shorts that reached his shins and was pulling on a black shirt. His shoulders weren’t as broad as Asher’s, though he had more muscle than Miles with even more definition. Ethan came down the stairs with Zeke. Ethan was only wearing gray sweats. Not surprisingly, he had the same build as his brother, only he had less definition, but still, very nice lines. Zeke was also wearing black sweats but also fitted black crew neck sleeveless shirt that showed off his barrel chest, wide shoulders and thick arms. He had bulk but softer definition, like he worked out but not for the way it made him look. Seeing one of them like this I could handle but seeing all of them together, I had to remind myself to breathe. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice my ogling. Rule one of being friends with guys: don’t get caught drooling. I had to remember that. Miles came back in carrying four tubs of salt. Time to get to work.

  “Okay guys, can you lay on your bags? I need to see where your feet are going to be so I can make sure you’re not going to hit the line in your sleep.” Everyone walked to their bags and lay down; Isaac scooted down a good foot from where he began. It was actually kind of cute, how he snuggled down into his sleeping bag. I took the tubs and started pouring. We ended up in the center of the living room, with the salt line four feet from the guy’s feet. I made sure to make the line thick, using all four tubs. When I was done, I shut off the light and carefully stepped over the line using the firelight to see. My sleeping bag was between Ethan and Isaac. I slid into my bag and zipped up.

  “Should we put out the fire?” Miles asked from across the circle. I sat up to judge the distance.

  “It’ll die out soon enough.” Asher answered.

  “Night guys.” I whispered. There was a chorus of good nights. Everything was quiet for a while. I shifted trying not to lie on my back, the hard wood floor hurt. After a while, I rolled onto my stomach, but I instantly hated that. Soon enough I was shifting again onto my side. My hipbone bit into the floor. I shifted again.

  “Beautiful, what are you doing?” Ethan asked from my left.

  “She can’t get comfortable.” Asher mumbled from across the circle. “Can’t lie on her back.”

  “She doesn’t like her stomach.” Zeke chimed in.

  “And girls got those pointy hips.” Isaac added his voice muffled.

  “I’ll figure it out.” I grumbled trying a half side half stomach position with my knee up and out. I heard a sleeping bag unzip, I looked up in time to see Miles passing me and heading up the stairs. It wasn’t long before I heard him coming back. I watched him carefully step over the salt line with his arms full of white blanket.

  “Get up for a second Lexie.” I got up and picked up my sleeping bag. Miles unfolded then refolded a thick fluffy blanket a bit and put it in my spot. “This is a king sized down feather comforter. Folded to your size it should give you some cushion from the floor.” He explained as he took my sleeping bag and put it on the blanket. When he got to his feet, I hugged him. It was so sweet and considerate that I couldn’t help it.

  “Thank you.” He tensed then but after a heartbeat relaxed and then squeezed me back.

  “No problem.” We let go at the same time. He went back to his sleeping bag, and I climbed into mine. It was a thousand times better; I could actually sleep on my back.

  “Miles, you're my hero for tomorrow.” I announced across the circle. I heard him chuckle.

  “Hey why don’t the rest of us get a comforter too?” Isaac asked.

  “When you're as pretty as she is, I’ll get you one.” Miles shot back. “Otherwise get it yourself.” Small chuckles went around the circle.

  “Can’t argue with that.” Isaac mumbled. “It’s too far anyway.” Ethan on the other hand got up and went upstairs. It wasn’t long before he was coming back downstairs his arms full of his own blanket. Soon he was back in his sleeping bag. I smiled to myself as I snuggled down into my comfy spot and fell asleep.

  I woke to that familiar chill down my neck, this time it felt like a knife running down a nerve. That woke me up fast. I slowly unzipped my sleeping bag and slid out. I sat back on one knee, the other foot planted on the floor. My hands braced on the floor. The room was dark; the fire had burned down to coals. Moonlight poured through the giant windows lighting the room almost as well as sunlight. Only beyond the doorway to the long hall was completely dark. Bitch Ghost stepped into the living room frowning. She practically vibrated with energy. I felt the room start to go cold as she sucked in even more energy from the room. She eyed the salt line walking towards us. I got up slowly, quietly, not wanting the guys to wake up. I met her at the line from this side. She had changed; one side of her face looked like it was melting away, a large glistening hole had opened up in her cheek showing the white of her jaw bone and bottom teeth. It looked like she was decomposing, though, that didn’t make sense. Ghost don’t do that. The smell of patchouli was thick on my tongue.

  “You aren’t so stupid after all.” Bitch Ghost taunted. “I almost thought that tonight wouldn’t be a challenge.” I was amazed; for the first time in my life I was standing near a ghost and not drowning in their memories. Thank you Serena! I really needed to send her a gift basket or something. I pushed the thought away and focused on the now.

  “Where are you getting so much energy?” I whispered. Ghost Bitch smiled, it was disturbing with half her face like goop. She looked over my shoulder at the guys still sleeping.

  “Sweet boys you have there.” Her eyes came back to me, I ignored her.

  “Why are you doing this?” I tried again to find some trace of the girl she’d been. Sharing her memories, I understood why she was pissed. Being murdered by your boyfriend sucks, but it didn’t give her the right to hurt people. I needed to reach this chick. “I know your life wasn’t great, and I know being killed by your boyfriend was awful-.” Her gaze snapped back to me, scowling.

  “You know nothing.” She snarled. I met her eyes and tried again.

  “Your name is Mary Summers. You were born here in Spring Mountain in the fifties.” I began, using the memories she had poured into me when she tried to possess me. “When you were 8 years old, you broke your arm falling out of a tree. Six weeks later the day after the cast was taken off, you broke it again climbing that same tree. You loved music, and you sang beautifully.” Her eyes welled up as I continued. I needed to get her to remember the good that was in her life. �
�You were going to go to the Peace Corps. You wanted nothing more than to make the world a better place.” My heart ached for her as I sorted through her memories. “You were beautiful, caring and tenacious.” I swallowed hard as I remembered her death. “That fucker took your life. Don’t let him destroy everything that you are too.” She eyed me silently, and for a moment, I thought I had gotten through to her. Then her face twisted into a snarl.

  “I should have had more time, so I’m going to take it.” Her voice was clear in the quiet of the house. “I’m going to take you. Then I’m going to hurt and twist your boys. I’m going to take everything from you.” I let go of any hope I had of helping her. I had tried to help her remember who she was, but you can’t help the ones who don’t want to be helped. She wanted my body; she wanted to hurt my friends. She could fuck off. Bitch Ghost reached a hand out and tried to reach across the circle. I stepped back smiling. Her hand began to burn, the more she tried to the more she burned. She grunted as she pulled her hand back. “You’re going to have to come out of there sometime.” I snorted.

  “Not till morning, sweetheart.” I told her my voice matter-of-fact. “You’ll run out of energy before then.”

  “Red?” I turned to look behind me. Isaac had woken up and was rubbing his eyes. When he looked up, he grew white.

  “Holy fucking shit!” He jerked back, his mouth open. His eyes were on the ghost, not me. He started slapping the floor hard. “Wake the fuck up guys there’s a ghost in the fucking living room.” Everyone woke up, some slow like Zeke and some fast like Isaac. Miles put his glasses on and looked over towards me.

  “That’s her? That’s the dead girl?” Miles asked his voice still full of sleep. My mouth dropped. I turned my back on the ghost since she couldn’t do anything anyway.

  “Wait, you guys can see her?” Zeke finally turned towards us, his face drowsy as he looked around. When he saw the ghost his eyebrows raised, his eyes still groggy.

  “Yeah, we can see her.” He mumbled still half asleep, he lay back down as if to go back to sleep. “Can she cross the salt line?”