Trying To Live With The Dead

by B. L. Brunnemer

  “So, you think she’s angry?” I asked needing more information. Asher shrugged, looking me in the eye. “I know she’s angry. Hell I am too, but she’s taking everything out on other people and that I don’t get.” He sighed. “She’s my twin and I don’t even recognize her anymore.”

  “Wait, your twins?” I asked surprised. How many twins were in this town? Asher smiled down at me.

  “Fraternal yeah.” He went back to watching Isaac. I leaned my head against his shoulder.

  “I’m sorry about your mom.” He sighed wearily.

  “Sorry about your Dad.”

  “What was she like?” I was genuinely curious. I barely had any good memories left of my mother. At least any I could remember right now. He was quiet for a while; I shifted my head so I could look at his face. He swallowed hard and clench his jaw before answering me.

  “Ask me again when I haven’t been drinking, Ally girl.” He looked down at me smiling sadly. “I’ll tell you then.” I nodded and wrapped my arms around his and gave a squeeze.

  “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” His ocean blue eyes were full of shadows my question had brought on. I needed to fix that. I smiled up at him wickedly.

  “Do you want to mess with Isaac when he passes out tonight?” I asked hopefully. “I’m thinking something involving a stun gun and an alarm clock for the morning, and a hand in warm water tonight. At the very least.” Asher burst out laughing, the shadows leaving his eyes.

  “You and that damn smile of yours, it’s going to get me into trouble.” He mumbled under his breath.

  “Maybe, but it’ll be fun trouble.” I offered still smiling. He chuckled again, Asher had a nice laugh. He looked over at Isaac and frowned. “I need to go to the bathroom; can you watch him for a minute?”

  “Yep.” Asher hopped down off the counter and smirked at me.

  “By the way, I sent that photo to Dylan.” My mouth dropped.

  “The big screen one?” His eyes went wide.

  “No. The Brandon Zimmer one.” He reassured me.

  “You didn’t.” Asher snickered.

  “With the tag ‘what happens when someone touches Lexie without permission.’” He smiled big as I groaned.

  “We’re not even dating Ash!” I pointed out as he headed out of the kitchen. I took a drink from my water and put the lid back on it. I watched the game and bounced the heel of my boot against the cabinet. My phone vibrated. I winced before answering.

  “Hello.”

  “What happened?” Dylan’s husky voice was hard in my ear. He didn’t sound too happy.

  “I don’t know what you're talking about.” I tried for innocence but it came out more smart ass.

  “The photo Asher sent me, this guy grabbed you?” I sighed. Mental note: Write on Ash’s face after he passes out tonight.

  “Oh, he put his arm around my waist and wouldn’t let go. So I kneed him in the balls.” I said casually. It really wasn’t that big of deal.

  “Good.” His voice was back to his usual husky. “Who was he anyway?”

  “Brandon Zimmer.” Dylan burst out laughing. I smiled as I waited till he was done. It was about a full minute. “Zeke filled me in on his party habits.”

  “Oh, Lexie, that is awesome.” His voice was still a little breathless from laughing.

  “So I’ve been told.” I smiled to myself. I took a look at Isaac and noticed he had started talking to a girl. Maybe we’d get a reprieve. “How was the game?”

  “It sucked, we lost. A couple of our guys decided to wing it during some important plays.” He grumbled.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Eh, it’s over. How’d Asher do?”

  “He did pretty well, from what I saw. Only a couple sacks in the whole game, any fumbles weren’t due to a bad throw. No interceptions.” I debated telling him about the billboard stunt for the second and decided against it. He didn’t need to know about it. “We did win though.”

  “That win puts them in the playoffs this year.” He grunted. I raised an eyebrow. “I might get to see a game with you after all.”

  “Why are you grunting?” I asked suspiciously. Please tell me you were lifting something.

  “I was stretching honey.” His said, his voice growing warm. “I had a couple bad hits tonight. So I’m not moving so great right now.”

  “Take some aspirin and suck it up.” He burst out laughing.

  “Ya know most girls would be all ‘aw poor baby.’ But not you.” It sounded like he was smiling.

  “Yeah, well, I’m not like most girls.” Isaac took a shot. I decided to keep my eyes on him.

  “No, no you aren’t.” His voice sounded like it wasn’t a bad thing. I smiled. But I wanted to know. I didn’t like not knowing where I stood.

  “Is that good or bad?” I bit my lip waiting.

  “Oh, it’s good.” I smiled and tried not to get too excited about it. Isaac drank another shot.

  “You never did tell me about your yards per carry?” He chuckled in my ear.

  “Seven.” Wow, that was a damn good number.

  “And you guys lost? Does the rest of the team suck?” I asked still watching Isaac. He laughed.

  “No, everyone just had a bad night.” He took a deep breath. “It just means football will be over soon and I’ll have more time to see you.” I smiled. Isaac was quiet again. Where the hell was Asher?

  “We haven’t even gone on a date yet.” I pointed out as butterflies fluttered in my stomach.

  I was watching as the guy to the left of Isaac saw me, leaned over and said something to Isaac. Isaac went still. Oh, come on.

  “What did you say?” Isaac asked clearly, his face growing dark. Oh, shit. “You don’t fucking say that shit about her.” He growled at the other guy.

  “I have liked everything I’ve heard so far.” Dylan said in my ear. Shit.

  “Hang on, I need to go stop a fight before it happens-” Isaac bolted out of his chair, leaped over the table and slammed down on the guy. The table knocked over. The chair broke under their combined weight. “Shit!” I dropped my phone on the counter and jumped to the floor as Isaac sat on the guy, his fist coming down fast over and over, as he pummeled the guy. Okay, I’ll admit the guy probably deserved the first couple punches, but then Isaac was scaring the shit out of me. Girls were screaming, people were yelling. I didn’t know where the guys were so I did the first thing I could think of. I strode over to Isaac, grabbed his ear and twisted hard. He stopped hitting the guy as he bent towards me.

  “Ow, ow, ow. Fuck Red!” I kept a tight hold on his ear.

  “Get up!” I told him calmly my voice hard though inside I was kind of shaking. Watching Isaac pummel that guy into the floor really hit home that he was a trained fighter. Isaac got to his feet, leaning his head down so not to yank on his ear more. “We are going outside for you to cool off.” I began pulling Isaac towards the back door. I saw Asher pushing through the crowd, his eyes wide. “Asher! Grab my phone, check the other guy, and then get your ass out here! And bring Zeke!” I ordered as I opened the door. I made Isaac follow me outside. He shut the door behind us. I pulled him off the porch and halfway across the large back yard before letting him go.

  “What the fuck Lexie?!” He yelled at me his hand going to his red ear.

  “That’s what I was going to say to you!” I asked my voice hard. I crossed my arms over my chest watching as he kept pacing. “What the fuck Isaac?!”

  “That guy was talking shit about you!” He shouted gesturing towards the house. I nodded.

  “And that’s why I let you get a few swings in!” I shouted back. He blinked hard at me. So I kept going in a normal voice. “But this wasn’t about me; this was about you looking for a fight.” Isaac waved his hand dismissively at me as he started pacing. That wasn’t going to fly with me. I stepped forward holding onto my temper. I needed to get him to talk. “What’s going on Isaac?” I heard the screen door open and close. Isaac turned around and glar
ed at me.

  “If I don’t want to tell you something respect that, I’ll tell you when I’m ready.” He shot my own words back at me. Shit. That just bit me in the ass. He didn’t want to talk. I remembered what Ethan said about finding another outlet. Asher stepped up next to me, holding my phone to his ear. Zeke stepped up on my other side. I didn’t look away from Isaac and his pacing.

  “Which one of you is up for sparring?” I asked the guys next to me. Isaac didn’t hear us, he kept pacing back and forth his hands running through his hair, his fingers digging into his scalp.

  “I’m sober.” Zeke volunteered. I nodded and pointed at Isaac.

  “You want a fight? You’re sparring with Zeke.” I shouted at Isaac to get his attention. He stopped pacing and looked at me trying to figure out if I was serious. Zeke smirked and stepped forward stretching his arms and loosening his muscles.

  “You’re looking for a fight Isaac; this is the only one you're getting tonight.” I told him simply, my voice hard. Isaac started eyeing Zeke who now stood across from us on our left, Isaac on the right. “Let’s see who can drop the other guy to the grass the most.” Isaac scoffed at me in disbelief.

  “He’s almost twice my size!” He complained. I smirked.

  “Then you’ll just have to work harder now, won’t you?” I shot back sarcastically. I heard Asher smother a laugh next to me. “No full strength hits.” I declared looking at both of them. “Go.” I backed up a couple more steps and Asher did the same. Zeke and Isaac went at it. Holy shit. Isaac went in hard and fast trying to distract Zeke enough to drop him. Zeke wasn’t having it. He moved much faster than I thought he could. He was a big guy, and big guys usually couldn’t move that fast.

  “She’s fine, not a scratch, not a bruise. She split it up fast and got Isaac out of there.” Asher was talking on my phone. I wasn’t really paying attention; I was still stunned by the way the guys were trying to take each other down.

  “Remind me not to piss off Zeke.” I mumbled to Asher. Asher snickered.

  “You piss off Zeke on a daily basis.” He reminded me. “And we all love watching it.” He held out the phone to me smiling. “Your future boyfriend is still on the phone.” I snorted and took the phone.

  “He’s met me once and talked to me a few times. He might not like me after tomorrow.” I reminded him and myself. Asher gave me a shit-eating grin.

  “I don’t know, when I picked up the phone he said ‘where’s my girl?’” My stomach fluttered again and I fought off a smile. “I told him you were stopping a fight and had your hands full; he got pissed at me for not taking care of it. I told him you got there first and had it taken care of by the time I got there.” I playfully narrowed my eyes at him.

  “Watch the sparring and stop talking about my love life.” I shot at him smiling. Asher burst out laughing as I put the phone to my ear before stepping away. “I’m back.”

  “What just happened?” Dylan’s husky voice was calm, but a it was a forced calm.

  “Isaac started beating the crap out of someone, I jumped in, yanked him away and out the door. Zeke and Isaac are sparring now in the backyard to give Isaac a better outlet for his anger or whatever this is.” There was silence for a few heartbeats.

  “How did you yank Isaac out?” I snickered.

  “I yanked and twisted his ear until he came with me.” I told him in my sweet voice. He was quiet for a while. My heart sank. “Still think me not being like other girls is a good thing?” I asked pretty sure he was going to bail on tomorrow.

  “Lexie, I love that you can kick a guy in the balls, yank a guy out of a fight by the ear and still sound cute on the phone.” I smiled a big smile as my heart melted. Okay, I might be in trouble here.

  “Really? What’s wrong with you?” I said half joking, not know what else to say. “You should be running in the other direction.” He laughed.

  “I like a challenge.” His voice had gone soft, making me bite my lip.

  “Zeke one.” Asher announced. I turned around and watched Isaac pick himself back up.

  “I should probably keep an eye the guys sparring. Isaac’s drunk and we don’t want any accidents.” I said concerned at the gleam in Isaac’s eye.

  “You probably should, you might need to do some more ear pulling.” Dylan admitted. “I’ll see you tomorrow at seven?”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Then I remembered something. “You might want to expect the guys too, they’re going to try and give you a hard time.” He chuckled.

  “Bring it.” I laughed, feeling myself blushing.

  “Night.”

  “Night.” I hung up. When I was sure my blush was gone, I turned back around. I was just in time to watch Isaac drop Zeke. Holy shit. Zeke went down hard.

  “Isaac one, Zeke one.” Asher announced turning to me as I came back. “How’s the future boyfriend?”

  “A little crazy considering he’s still interested.” I admitted smirking. Asher chuckled. My phone vibrated. I checked it.

  Ethan: What happened? Where is everyone?

  Alexis: Out back, we’re wearing Isaac out, get out here.

  It wasn’t long before the screen door opened behind us. I turned and watched Ethan and Miles heading across the lawn. Ethan was frowning as we watched Isaac get dropped again.

  “Zeke two, Isaac one.” Asher announced.

  “Whose idea was this?” Miles asked stepping up on the other side of Ethan.

  “Mine.” I looked down the line to see Miles smiling.

  “Good idea Lexie.”

  “You know what the funny part is?” I asked smiling mischievously. Isaac got dropped again hard. Ouch.

  “Zeke three, Isaac one.” Asher called.

  “What’s the funny part Beautiful?”

  “Isaac still has to go to training in the morning.” The guys burst out laughing as we watched Zeke drop. This time it took him a second to get his air back.

  “Zeke three, Isaac two.” This time Miles called it.

  “How long are they going?” Ethan asked.

  “Till Isaac is done working out his shit tonight?” I offered, not really sure if that was a good idea or not. Miles nodded.

  “That’s sounds good to me.” Zeke dropped Isaac again; he landed on his back hard. Everyone said ouch. Zeke was starting to breath heavy.

  “Zeke four, Isaac two.” Ethan called.

  “Anyone want to tag in?” I asked worried that Zeke might hurt his hand more.

  “We’re trying to wear him out?” Miles asked.

  “Yep.” The guys next to me chuckled. Miles took off his jacket, handed it to me and headed toward the guys. Zeke and Isaac stepped back from each other. “Um, what’s so funny?” I looked down the line to see them all grinning.

  “If you think Isaac is fast, wait till you see Miles. Guy’s like a fucking eel.” Ethan told me. Zeke headed towards us. “You just can’t get your hands on him.” Isaac was frowning at Miles before getting into position. Zeke came back to stand by Asher. I looked over at him, his face was red and he was sweating but he seemed fine.

  “Zeke, you are fast.” I said watching as Isaac and Miles circle each other. He chuckled.

  “For my size, yeah.” Zeke admitted. “Wait till you see this.” I watched as they continued circling. Isaac had his hands up like a boxer; Miles just had his hands ready at his waist. Isaac moved to strike Miles. Miles just, simply wasn’t there anymore, he’d dodged Isaac’s fist and quickly used Isaac’s own momentum to throw him to the ground.

  “Shit.” The boys laughed. “Miles one, Isaac zero.” Then they really went at it. No matter where Isaac went, to grab Miles he simply slipped through and moved on to a better position. Sometimes dropping Isaac and sometimes just making him run after him. I smiled. He was wearing him down fast. “See, that, right there is what I need to learn.”

  “Come to training and you will.” Zeke said simply. “We’ll work you up a program for defense, and jiu jitsu.”

  “Throw some kra
v maga and kickboxing in there then she’ll be good to go.” Ethan added as we watched Miles drop Isaac again.

  “Miles two, Isaac zero.” I called out before answering the guys. “Sounds good to me, I’m sure Rory won’t mind.” Isaac was starting to breathe harder, his arms coming down.

  “Here comes the take down.” Asher warned, I didn’t look, but it sounded like he was smiling. Isaac went at Miles. Miles grabbed Isaac, twisted, and slipped his leg around the inside of Isaac's. Miles threw Isaac over his hip, using his leg to flip Isaac completely off the ground. Isaac landed hard on his back, Miles lying across his chest pinning him to the grass.

  “Holy shit.” I was pretty sure my mouth had dropped open. The guys snickered. I just watched as Miles got up and headed back towards us. Isaac didn’t move; he just kept taking deep breaths. He was done.

  “Give me a minute. I’ll see if he’s ready to talk.” I headed towards the others. When I passed Miles, I smiled at him and handed him his jacket. His face was red and he was sweating but he seemed fine. He grinned at me as he headed back to the guys. When I reached Isaac, I sat down next to his side and looked at his face. He was just starting to get his breath back, his eyes were closed, his arms out to his sides. “Hey, sweetie.”

  “I hate it when Miles does that move, it makes the world spin.” He groaned sitting up next to me, his knees spread. I fought off a laugh because it looked pretty cool from my point of view.

  “Ready to talk?” I asked watching his face. His eyes were hard as they met mine.

  “No, Red.” He said flatly. I nodded. That was okay, he didn’t have too.

  “Isaac, you're a trained fighter. Do you understand what that means for the rest of your life outside of the ring?” He raised an eyebrow and looked at me. I finally had his attention. “If you get into a fight, you could kill someone. And because of that, judges and juries will hold you to higher standard. If you accidentally kill someone in a fight, you will be prosecuted for it. And you will be found guilty.” I simply repeated to him what my kickboxing instructor had told me in LA. You get a lot of training; you get a target on your back if you fuck up. “Cookie Monster, if you're going to keep coming to these parties then you need some rules.” He just looked at me. “Asher knew you were getting close to a fight before he went to the bathroom. You got quiet, stopped talking to people.” Isaac looked down at the grass between his legs again and nodded. “If one of us sees you doing that, we’re going to suggest that you take a walk. Will you do that for me?” Isaac was looking down at the grass in front of him and he nodded.