When the Dead Come Home

by B. L. Brunnemer

  We let go when we reached the classroom door and headed inside. “Is that the only reason you’re taking this class?”

  We found our old spots from last year and sat down.

  “Maybe,” he muttered as he put his bag down.

  I bumped his knee with mine. He leaned forward a little, his arm dipping under the table. His fingers found mine and threaded with them. I fought a smile as I squeezed his fingers.

  His blue eyes were his usual waves, not a speck of silver in sight. I couldn’t seem to pull away from his gaze.

  “Welcome to art class!” Mrs. Archer clapped her hands but even that wasn’t enough to tear my gaze from his. “This year, this is an advanced class. I’ll be expecting a lot more from each of you. Better work, more meaningful work.”

  That caught my attention. Asher blinked and turned to the front.

  Mrs. Archer smiled. “If that makes you nervous, there’s the door.”

  I eyed Asher.

  He cringed. This wasn’t going to be easy for him.

  “Now, show me what you can do,” Mrs. Archer demanded. I smirked as I headed for the pastels.

  * * *

  Shallow. She said my work was shallow. I continued to curse on my way out of class. Asher’s arm wrapped around my back to settle his hand on my hip, keeping me beside him as we walked through the halls.

  “I thought it was great,” he offered as he steered me around a couple of girls who were giving us curious looks.

  “That wasn’t the problem,” I muttered. “She said there was no substance in the drawing. Nothing but fluff.”

  His fingers tightened on my hip as he gave me a squeeze. “She said she was expecting more.”

  “But shallow?” I guess I could see it. It was a beach scene that I had done for today’s assignment. I get it, there was no reason behind the picture. It was just a pretty picture.

  “I know, Ally girl.” His voice was warm as he pulled me to a stop outside of the library. “But it’s the first day. And you’ve been saying how you were hoping for more of a challenge in art class this year.”

  I squirmed as I faced him. “I know, but, fuck.”

  He smiled before he bent down and kissed me quickly before straightening to his full height. “Get to class, Ally girl. I’ll see you after.”

  I grinned up at him and opened the door while he headed to weight training.

  When I walked into the library the door slammed shut behind me, echoing through the rows of books and earning me a glare from the librarian.

  I shrugged and sent an apologetic smile before going to one of the larger tables. A free period for study hall had seemed great, but all I wanted to do was go home at this point. I sat down across from a familiar face, laid my head down on my forearms, and took several deep breaths.

  “How’s your day going?” Laura asked in her soft voice. Her mousey brown hair reached her shoulders. Her pretty face was hidden, again, behind that hair.

  I lifted my head. “I don’t even know how to answer that right now.”

  Her eyebrows went up. “Oh, so it’s that kind of day?”

  “It’s an odd day, yeah,” I admitted.

  She chuckled. “So, what did you do this summer?”

  Started dating all my best friends, fought a demon over Isaac’s soul, was the reason one of my friends was tortured and two are no longer human… “I got a job at one of the tattoo shops in town.”

  “Is it interesting?” Laura put her pen down.

  “Yeah, I’m learning a lot. My boss is going to let me start tattooing some leather for practice.” I smiled. I was really excited about it. I began to pull out my books.

  The door opened again. Jordan strode in. He had a nice face with an angled jaw and straight nose. His hazel eyes spotted me. He gave me a small wave before going to his own table and pulling out his books.

  “So, what did you do this summer?” I turned back to Laura.

  She started leafing through big, thick old books. “I did a lot of scholarship research for college. I’m starting to apply now.”

  “Shit.” I buried my face in my hands. “The S.A.T.’s are this month.”

  “You haven’t taken them?” She gaped.

  I dropped my hands and shook my head. “No, and I’ve been so slammed I haven’t had a chance to study yet.”

  “That’s okay, as long as you get started on it.” By the cringing of her face I could tell it was not good.

  I opened my history book. “At least I know where I’m applying for next year.”

  “Good, but don’t forget scholarships. You’ll be amazed at how many you could get.”

  I nodded. That made sense. Okay, I could do this. “So, what scholarships are you going for?”

  “Oh, there’s a few research essays that I’m working on.” She shrugged. “Heavy subjects.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Such as?”

  Her cheeks turned pink. “One is on the occult and its effect on people’s belief systems.”

  I plastered a happy smile on while I was gaping on the inside. The occult… “Sounds fun.”

  She chuckled.

  Over the next hour I got started on my homework for the week. One thing I did like about my teachers this year was that they gave me all the homework at the beginning of the week. Except math.

  By the time the librarian told us we could go, I had gotten a good portion of my homework for the week done for history and biology.

  As I was packing up my books and reading glasses, Jordan appeared at my table with a sweet smile. “Hey, Lexie. We’ve missed you at the gym.”

  “Hey.” I gave him a friendly smile and continued packing my bag.

  “Are you ever coming back? Mattie’s going on and on about a rematch.” He grinned.

  I chuckled. “If things ever slow down, then yeah.”

  “Uh…” He scratched his earlobe. “You look beat, do you… want to go get some coffee? It’d help keep ya going.”

  “Oh, um…” I zipped my bag closed and looked up at him. “I kinda…”

  He nodded, his cheeks tinting pink. “You’ve got a boyfriend?”

  “Yeah.” I swung my bag over my shoulder. “Several actually.”

  His brow drew down, his confusion obvious.

  “Thanks for asking, though. See ya later.” I started for the door, grinning. Yeah, the day kinda sucked but the look on his face might have been worth it.

  I headed out to my Blazer and found most of my boyfriends there waiting for me. Boyfriends. Boy. Friends. As in plural. I was still getting used to it. And still internally squealing with delight.

  “What trails are we on today?” I asked as I tossed my bag inside.

  “You’re taking St. Mary’s and Virginia with Zeke.” Isaac turned to me. “He’ll meet you at the trailhead.”

  I nodded. “Good, we really need to find some new setups.”

  “Especially with Jadis in town,” Asher muttered.

  “I won’t be able to help today,” Miles announced.

  Everyone stopped and turned to him.

  “You’re not coming?” I asked slowly.

  Miles shook his head. “I’m sorry, something came up that I need to deal with.”

  We waited for him to elaborate.

  “What’s going on?” I finally asked.

  Miles swallowed hard. “I would like to keep this to myself for now.”

  A heavy silence fell.

  “Are you serious?” Asher gaped at him. “You’re always saying that we need to communicate.”

  Miles turned to Asher, his lips pressed together. “I know, this is just private.”

  Private? What could be so private that he wouldn’t tell us? Lucy’s face popped back into my head. I shoved it right back out. Miles wouldn’t be blowing us off for that, this was too important.

  I bit back my irritation and kept my voice chipper. “Private, right. First Zeke wouldn’t tell me what was bothering him, now you aren’t going to tell me what’s going on.” I
sighed wearily. “I’m tired of secrets.” They always caused problems and usually ended up as a black eye on someone’s face.

  He avoided meeting my gaze by looking at the ground. “I know.”

  “But you’re still not going to tell us.” I didn’t even have to guess.

  He nodded. “I’ll be back in time for our date tonight. I’ve already made reservations, I’ll text you the time.”

  “Three steps forward, two steps back,” I muttered under my breath before I turned to the others. “Okay, let’s split up the trails. We’ll get two done today I guess.”

  Ethan raised a finger into the air. “Asher and Isaac will need a hand. Their trail branches off into three directions.”

  The guys agreed.

  “That means the three of us will take Staton Lake.” Isaac turned to me. “Did you bring Asher’s leash?”

  The guys chuckled a little. I even smiled a little.

  Asher grabbed Isaac by the shirt and shoved him toward his truck. “Very funny, shithead.”

  Isaac and Ethan snickered all the way to the truck.

  Chapter 5

  Late Monday Afternoon

  The hike in was mostly quiet. We searched the woods uphill of the trail, looking for anywhere that might hide a setup like the one we had found at the lake.

  Hades jumped through the underbrush wagging his tail. The birds chirped and the wind sent the trees dancing. It was everything I needed. A little peace and quiet to cool my irritation down.

  “What’s wrong?” Zeke stepped over a log.

  “I’ve been cooling off.” I kept searching the woods for anything that was strange. “Miles is kind of pissing me off.”

  He shook his head. Hades ran back to us with a stick. “Kind of? You’ve been quiet for almost an hour.”

  I smiled and threw the stick for Hades. “I don’t really feel a need to talk around you.” I shrugged and looked up at him. “It’s nice.”

  His lips pressed together for a moment before he made a point to look through the woods.

  My heart sank. “You want to talk, and I just ruined it, didn’t I?”

  “There’s something I need to talk to you about.” He hesitated before he reached out to take my hand. My hand disappeared in his large, warm paw.

  I squeezed to let him know I appreciated it. “Then tell me.”

  He swallowed hard, the blood draining from his face. “When we get to the falls.”

  It wasn’t long until he led me back down across the trail and into the brush. When he lifted a low branch out of the way for me, my jaw dropped.

  There in the rocks, like some photo, was a ten-foot waterfall pouring into a large basin before sweeping downstream.

  “Wow.” It was stunning. Hades ran for the water. He splashed in and began to pounce near the shore.

  Zeke walked out onto the large rocks near the water. “I thought you’d like it.”

  The green trees were changing to reds, browns and golds. Fall started to show early in the mountains. Add in the waterfall and it was spectacular. Peace settled through me. I loved fall here. The colors changing across the horizon made my fingers itch for my pastels. Instead, I joined him on the rocks. “It’s beautiful.”

  His shoulders were rigid, his hands clenching into a fist until his knuckles turned white. His jaw clenched and unclenched as he stared unseeing into the woods.

  My smile faded. “Zeke?”

  His head snapped up. Shadows swirled in his eyes.

  “What’s wrong?” I took a step toward him.

  He stepped back.

  I stopped where I was. “Are you mad at me?”

  He shook his head.

  Dread filled my chest. “Zeke?”

  “I have to tell you something,” he said, his voice a rough rasp, “but I don’t know how.”

  My stomach knotted. “If you already cheated on me, you’re a dead man.”

  The corner of his lips lifted then just as quickly dropped. “You know there’s no one else I want.”

  Warmth washed through me, at least until he looked down at the ground again.

  “You know you can tell me anything.” I moved closer and looked up at him. “And it won’t go anywhere.”

  He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I know.” He lifted his head. Tears filled his eyes as he met my gaze. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”

  My heart dropped. “Zeke. Talk to me.”

  His eyes ran over my face several times before he nodded. He moved away from me, taking deep breaths before he sat down on a large outcropping of stone. “You know it’s been ten years since my mom died.”

  I moved almost close enough to touch him. “Yeah?”

  He clenched his fist as he kept his gaze on the ground. “And you know I haven’t been around a lot lately.”

  “Yeah, you said it was because of the anniversary.” It was completely logical.

  “That’s not what’s hitting me so hard.” His voice grew rougher. “I want to tell you, but…”

  I didn’t like this. My Zeke would always look me in the eye when he needed to talk. “Zeke, look at me.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t look at you and tell you what I need to tell you.”

  My knots grew knots in my stomach. “Okay.”

  “You know I went into foster care,” he said, just above a whisper.

  I nodded.

  “While Sylvie was doing everything she could to move, it was taking time, so, I was placed in foster care for a month.” He clenched both fists again.

  When he didn’t continue my heart hurt. “Did something happen?”

  He nodded.

  “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” I reminded him.

  “I’m going to need you to stay with me one night soon, Baby.” He lifted his head and met my gaze. “And I want you to know why. Why I am this way. Why Miles doesn’t let people know where he lives, why no one knows where I live. I want you to know.”

  “Okay.” I leaned a little closer, hoping he’d feel my body heat and remember I was there. That he wasn’t alone. That I was listening. His head dropped, his gaze on the rock under his boots.

  “A couple of weeks in… I was asleep.” His voice shook in the silence. He took a deep, shuddering breath. “I woke up to four drunk grown men in my room. One of them was the foster father.”

  My lungs grew tight, I didn’t move. Everything I was waited for him to say what he needed to while I prayed it wasn’t as bad as I was starting to think.

  “He…” He swallowed hard as his eyes unfocused on the stone. Tears began to stream from his eyes. “He liked little kids.”

  My throat tightened as my heart shattered. My own tears fell. Someone had… I fought the instinct to reach for him until he was done, like he said.

  His entire body trembled as he took a shaky breath. “And if that wasn’t fucked up enough… so did his friends.”

  My stomach rolled with horror at what he was describing. How could anyone… What kind of sick motherfuckers… “Zeke…”

  He closed his eyes and shook his head, sending more tears to sprinkle on the rock. “Let me finish.”

  A deep pit burned in my chest. Aching, raw sorrow burned. I clenched my teeth together and tried to keep my breathing steady.

  “When Sylvie picked me up, she asked what happened as soon as I got in the car. She took me straight to the emergency room. Rory arrested the fucker, but his buddies… he never gave them up. I still don’t know who they were.”

  I took a shaky breath and let it out slowly. “Can I touch you now?”

  He scoffed at the ground. “Are you sure you want to?”

  “Of course,” I whispered.

  He lifted his chin to look at me without making eye contact. Disbelief etched every line of his face.

  “It wasn’t your fault,” I whispered.

  Fresh tears fell down his face as those tortured eyes met mine. “I know.”

  “And it sure as fuck does
n’t affect your worth. Or who you are,” I croaked as more tears fell. “Ya hear me?”

  Some of the shadows disappeared from his eyes. Not a lot, but some. “I hear ya.”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed every inch of me against him as I tried not to imagine the fucking shit he had gone through. I held him even tighter.

  He pressed his forehead against my skin and took several deep breaths as his trembling arms slipped around me. “I’m sorry I lost my shit with you in the hospital.” His shoulders shook as his arms tightened on me. “My exam was… I fucking lost it when I thought you went through that alone.”

  “I love you,” I whispered, not knowing what else I could say. So I kept telling him. Over and over. Until eventually, my neck dried. And his arms loosened their death grip.

  “I love you too, Baby,” he whispered. “Please… will you stay with me when… when I need you?”

  My eyebrows shot up. “Duh.”

  He snorted.

  We held each other even longer as I thought about everything I’d learned over the last year. I used to think demons were the ultimate evil, but they’d just eat your soul. Humans on the other hand… they’d tear you apart, piece by piece. Those were the real monsters.

  Chapter 6

  Monday Evening

  Asher

  * * *

  I was upstairs folding laundry when the front door closed hard. I tilted my head as Dad’s muttered curses reached my ears. And judging by the way his heart was racing, he was pissed. I left the laundry as dread took root in my gut. My wolf woke up and raised its head inside me.

  I took several deep breaths and soothed him back down. This was going to be hard enough without him being awake.

  “Asher!” His shout rang in my ears. “Get down here!”

  My wolf stirred again, waiting. Calm, calm, calm. You can always walk away. Reminding myself of that got me down the stairs and into the family room.

  Dad was pacing the length of the room.

  My wolf lifted his head inside me. Weak. He lay back down with his head on his paws. Weak? What was he talking about? Dad’s gaze met mine. “Why did you ditch tryouts this year?”