Trying to Live With the Dead (The Veil Diaries #1)

by B.L. Brunnemer

My nose had stopped bleeding by the time we reached class. I threw the tissues away and went to the sink. I used a wet paper towel to wipe off my fingers and under my nose. I turned to Asher who nodded. “You got it all,” he reassured me. Asher led me to a table with four other people around it. “Hey...

Everyone nodded or waved at me, but ultimately went back to whatever they were doing. Class started, and the teacher did what was the usual for today--announce me as a new student as I smile and wave. Then we got down to business. Mrs. Archer had set up a bowl of fruit at each table and wanted everyone to draw it. Asher showed me where the supplies were. I picked up a pack of oil pastels that had all the colors I wanted. Then I went back and went to work. I’ll admit, I kind of ignored everyone around me, including Asher, as I worked with the pastels. I was absently wiping my hand on my jeans again, cleaning my fingers, when Mrs. Archer looked over my shoulder. “Oh, well done, Alexis,” Mrs. Archer exclaimed loudly. Every head came up. I don’t think she meant to get everyone’s attention; she just seemed excited. “I love that you used the pastels here, you’re the first one to touch them in ages.” She pointed to the background ...

“Oh, now you blush,” Asher said, sitting up straight. “You put a linebacker in an arm lock, with everyone in school watching, without a problem. But someone says you drew something pretty, and you blush.” I lifted my left hand and flipped him off. Asher ju...

“So, Tara Delaney is your cousin?” “Yep.” “She calls you Lexie?” “Yeah, my dad used to call me Lexie, it just sort of stuck. I always liked it,” I...

“Did she really not want anyone to know you two were related?” he asked, using an eraser on part of his page. “That’s what she said to me at lunch,” I answered absently. I was focusing on a part of the bowl that wasn’t looking right....

“And you’re okay with that?” he asked, then grumbled and reached for the eraser again. I shrugged. “If that’s what she wants, then fine, it doesn’t really bother me.” I cursed; I’d messed up the shading even more. “Before yesterday, I hadn’t seen Tara in five years, so it’s not like we grew up together or anything.” “Then why did she announce it to me?” he asked absently. I looked up from my drawing long enough to glance at him. He was concentrating on his drawing, the tip of his tongue between his teeth. It was adorable, so I wa...

“Why do you say that?” he asked doubtfully. I stopped drawing so I could explain it to him. “She stops you every day, right?” He nodded. “Asks you to do stuff that would make you spend time with her?” His eyebrows rose. “Does she play ...

His cheeks were starting to turn pink when he bent down to focus on his drawing. “She does all of those things,” he mumbled. I went back to my work. How can guys be so clueless? “That’s flirting,” I told him simply. I started working on the light spot on the apple. I was almost done with it when Asher grabbed my attention again. “I still don’t understand why she told m...

“If you want to date her, you can, you know.” I felt like I had to make it clear that I didn’t really expect him to pick a friendship with me over dating Tara. I personally didn’t see a problem with both, but I doubt Tara would see it that way. “No thank you, I don’t like people who use other people.” he answered, surprising me. Tara was a cute girl who liked him; that was usually enough for most guys. Huh. I’d never seen that before. It wasn’t long after that he dropped his drawing pad onto the table. “That’s it. I give up,” he declared as he pulled out his cell phone. It made me curious; I reached for his drawing. He slammed his hand down on it and eyed me. “Don’t even think about it.”

I bit back a smile. “I can help you get better,” I offered, now dying to see his drawing. Asher chuckled. “There’s no getting better for me, Lexie; I can’t draw,” he admitted, his tone light. “Then why are you taking art if you don’t want to get better at it?” I was curious now. “It was the only elective class that had room in seventh period.” He shrugged looking back down at his cell phone. I kept eyeing the back of his drawing. I’d go back to my drawing, but soon I was looking at the back of his again. I did this several times. I saw him grin down at his phone out of the corner of my eye. “It’s just driving you crazy, isn’t it?” “Yeah, a little bit,” I said honestly. He lifted his head and smiled down at me. He reached out and flipped the paper over. It was awful. The bowl was lopsided, the fruit out of proportion. On the edge of the bowl was a stick figure leaping to his death, then another one falling onto a big splat on the tabletop. I had to bite my bottom lip hard to stop myself from giggling. When I had control of myself, I pointed at the stick figures. “I like the little guy.”

I smiled and went back to my drawing. Soon, I noticed him texting under the table. I didn’t think much of it. He was done with his drawing while I was still adding layers to the grapes. When Mrs. Archer let us go for the day, I was more than ready to go. I was walking down the hall with Asher when I spotted Zeke and Ethan walking toward us.

Miles looked over my picture smiling. “That’s really good, Alexis. You should enter something in the fair this year,” Miles said, shifting his bag on his shoulder. “Is there a competition or something?” I’ve never put my art into a competition before. Miles nodded, his emerald eyes meeting mine.

“Ah, guys, I think he’s going to blow,” Isaac cautioned beside me.

“Sure, what kind do you want? Asian, Celtic?” I asked, rolling up my picture again.

“No, seriously, guys,” Isaac warned us again, his voice getting higher. I kept my eyes off Zeke and focused on Ethan. “I think Asian, but with black and red colors,” Ethan said before looking over at Zeke. His smile got bigger. I figured we’d irritated Zeke long enough. I looked up at Zeke and almost stepped back. His face was hard, his jaw clenched. His hands were in tight fists against his sides.

😭😭

The other guys laughed. “I got a bloody nose on the way to Art class.” Zeke seemed to relax all at once; his jaw unclenched, and he stopped frowning. All in all, he stopped looking scarier than his usually scary self. He looked over at Asher. “Rumor is, Jason’s girlfriend is pissed as hell and looking for Lexie,” Zeke announced. “Shit. Asher’s is out for homework,” Isaac groaned. “Why’s that?” I asked. “Jason’s dating my sister,” Asher explained with a sigh. “Let’s hit Miles' house.” Miles raised an eyebrow at Asher. “Don’t you have football practice?” Isaac asked from across the circle. Asher snorted. “I’m skipping today.” “Coach Jones isn’t going to like that,” Miles pointed out. “What is he going to do, not play me Friday?” Asher snapped his fingers, fake disappointment all over his face. “Aw, darn.” Isaac and Ethan chuckled. “My mom is having the floors waxed today, so I’m not allowed back in the house until at least six tonight,” Miles announced as he scratched his nose. “How about your house, Zeke?” Zeke shook his head. “Nah, Aunt Silvia is working the night shift at the diner, she’s sleeping right now.” He nodded toward Isaac. “Nope,” Ethan and Isaac answered at the same time. Isaac explained, “There’s a lot of activity at the house right now.” Everyone seemed to accept that as if it made complete sense. “I can ask my uncle, Rory, if you guys can come over to his house,” I offered, already pulling my cell phone out of my pocket. “But my cousin might be there.” “Who’...

It wasn’t technically lying. My phone rang. I winced, it was Rory. All eyes went to me as conversations stopped. “Hi, Rory.” “You want to take five boys to the house without me there?” His voice was very precise, as if he wanted to be very clear. “Yeah. They offered to help me catch up in my classes,” I offered, lying my ass off.

I looked up at the guys who were watching me. I pulled the phone away from my ear. “Rory wants to talk to you guys first,” I told them matter-of-factly and hit the speaker button. “Rory, you’re on speaker.”

“Before you go anywhere with my niece, I want names, full legal names,” Rory demanded. They all hesitated. I looked to Isaac, trying to be encouraging. They started around the circle. “Isaac Turner.” “Ezekiel Blackthorn.” “Ethan Turner.” “Miles Huntington.” “Asher Westfell.” They all waited in silence as we heard typing. I suddenly got an idea of what Rory was doing. “Rory, you’re not-”

“Damn right I am.” His voice was harsh. “You’ve had enough shit happen to you, so I’m going to make sure nothing else happens.” I fought back tears as his words hit me right in the heart. No one really cared in a long time, not since Dad died. “Rory.” I swallowed hard. “You’re still on speaker phone.”

🥺🥺

I didn’t like that he censored himself around me. I don’t mind the occasional rude comment, as long as it wasn’t on purpose. “How about you talk like you usually do, and if you do say something rude, I’ll tell you,” I offered. Miles smiled at me. “I’d appreciate it.” The loud roar of an engine started out in the street. “And there’s Zeke.” The roaring got louder; I’d take his word for it. “Can you let the others in? I’m going to pop upstairs real quick.” “Sure.” I picked up my shoes on my way up the stairs. I was in my bedroom when the loud engine sound shut off. I peeked out my blinds just in time to see Zeke climbing off a motorcycle. I wondered what kind it was. I undid my belt and dropped that onto my desk. I also put my boots away and pulled my hair off my neck into a messy bun high on the back of my head. I heard the door open and close downstairs a couple of times. As I was pulling my cell phone out of my jacket, it vibrated. I checked my messages. Isaac: Bringing food, what do you want on your sandwich?

I smiled to myself as I texted back what I liked. I got a winking smiley face back. I tucked my cell phone into my bra and headed downstairs.

Zeke and Asher were looking out the French glass doors toward the lake. Miles was already at the table pulling out books. I was walking across the room with my book bag when Zeke turned around spotting me. “I think I know whose house we’re hanging at this summer,” Zeke announced walking back to the table. “Miles' house does have a pool,” Asher reminded him as he kept looking outside. “Yeah, but that’s a lake back there. It’s better than a pool,” Zeke argued his point as he sat down and began pulling books out. “We have to get her uncle to trust us first.” Miles pointed out as he opened his Trig textbook. “We will.” Asher sounded confident as he came toward the table. “We’re likable.” I smiled to myself. They were definitely that. “Ethan and Isaac stopped to pick up food, so we should probably start...

Miles kept looking, even after he got his sandwich. “Did Alexis get one?” he asked, standing up and looking through another bag. “No, I didn’t get the girl anything.” Isaac's sarcasm was so thick you could practically taste it. He opened the bag still in his hand and pulled out a sandwich. His voice was back to normal when he spoke to me. “I got you your turkey on sourdough with veggies, Red.” “Thank you.” “Happy to.”

Isaac and Ethan proceeded to dump the rest of the bags onto the table. There were candy bars, chips, and several sodas. I sat back down next to Miles and looked over the pile. “Okay, if I ate like this all the time I’d be a blimp,” I announced in awe. Zeke’s eyes ran over me quickly. “You’re tiny. We’re not,” he stated matter-of-factly before opening his Trig book.

“Mm. Before I forget, everyone owes me ten bucks each,” Ethan announced to the room as he sat in the chair to my right. Everyone pulled out their wallets. I was pulling cash out of my wallet when Ethan added. “Except Beautiful; it’s her first day wit...

Ethan was picking it up when I noticed someone had thrown a twenty in. I smirked but kept my mouth shut. Everyone ate while we worked through our homework. I ate half my sandwich and wrapped it up for later. I had just finished reading my World Civ chapter when I noticed Zeke rubbing his eyes with one hand. He kept blinking hard as if trying to stay awake. “Zeke? You want some coffee?” I asked, breaking the silence in the room. Zeke’s eyes met mine, the corner of his lip twitching. “What ...

Zeke ran his fingers through his hair as he answered. “The garage has been slammed lately, but we’re finally caught up. I have the next couple of days off.” He turned back to me. “I would love any kind of coffee you have.” I was abou...

“Man, go take a nap on the couch, I don’t think I’d even trust you driving right now.” Ethan’s voice was worried. Zeke refused. As he was defending himself, Miles looked over at Zeke’s home...

“Zeke, you multiplied four by two and came up with nine,” Miles told him plainly, looking at him over his glasses. “There’s no point in doing homework if your brain is too tired to think.”

💀💀

Zeke glared at him halfheartedly, and then he gave a big sigh. He looked over at me. “Care if I crash on the couch?” he asked, resigned. “Go for it.” He nodded his thanks and got to his feet. He was passing the table when Miles picked up his homework list. “I’ll do the rest of your homework,” Miles told him as if this happened all the time. “Don’t do Physics, you suck at Physics,” Zeke called from the living room before he dropped onto the couch. I leaned over to Miles. “Do you really suck at Physics?” I whispered. Miles shook his head. “Not really, I just do it to mess with him,” he said. I snickered quietly as I turned back to my books and pulled out my Algebra. I was just starting the first problem when I heard a soft snore coming from the living room. I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my lips; it was kind of cute. Poor Zeke must really be exhausted. I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind as I focused on my homework. At some point, everyone had put their phones on the table.

The boys kept getting texts, which they ignored, but Ethan’s kept vibrating. After what had to be the 20th time in five minutes, the guys all groaned and glared at him. “For the love of God, man, make them stop,” Asher pleaded, his face in his hands. Ethan just grinned and picked up the cell phone. “Them?” I asked. Asher nodded. “Girls. I honestly think Ethan’s cell phone number is on the wall in the girl’s bathroom,” Isaac chimed in. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the image he had created. Ethan waved his hand dismissively. “You’re just jealous I’m the better-looking twin,” Ethan said. All the guys groaned. “Shut th...

An hour and a half later, I closed my chemistry book and rubbed my temples. “You okay, Ally girl?” Asher asked, looking up from his own book. I smiled at the nickname. “Brain full,” I said in my longsuffering voice. He smiled and closed his book, too. “Yeah, I’m done for the day, too.” Asher looked down the table. Everyone else started closing books. “What about Zeke’s homework?” I asked Miles. “I have it done, except for Physics.” Miles adjusted his glasses as he looked at the group. “Who’s waking Zeke up?” Everyone immediately pointed at me. Surprised, I stammered. “W-What? Why me?” “We have a theory that if you, a girl, wake him up, he might not wake up swinging punches,” Miles explained, putting his books away. The others nodded in agreement. Apparently, they wanted to experiment with Zeke. “Just touch his shoulder and back away fast,” Isaac advised, stretching his arms above his head. I got to my feet and pointed at them. “Fine, but if he hits me, I’m coming after all of you,” I warned before walking across the great room. Zeke seemed dead to the world. His large frame took up the entire couch. One muscled arm was over his eyes blocking out the light. I debated the best way to wake him up. I decided to try saying his name first. “Zeke,” I called in a soft voice. Nothing, he didn’t even budge. “Zeke,” I called louder in a singsong voice.

He mumbled something in his sleep and shifted onto his side, facing the back of the couch. I took a second to look at him. He was the most relaxed I’d seen him. He didn’t look so big and intimidating right now. I debated my next move. Isaac said touch his shoulder and back away. I looked behind me to find the guys standing a couple of feet from me. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Screw this. I really didn’t want to get hit. I quickly put my hand on his shoulder and hip, then gave Zeke a hard shove. He rolled off the couch and landed on the floor with a big thud. The guys burst out laughing behind me. Zeke sat up halfway, holding himself up on one arm. His blue eyes were wild as he looked around. When he saw me, he figured it out. “Why the hell did you do that?” he shouted, getting to his feet. I pointed behind me to the other guys who were laughing hysterically. “They were making me wake you up,” I explained with a shit-eating grin on my face. “They also said you usually woke up swinging.” Zeke’s gaze went to the guys; Ethan was doubled over holding his stomach. “I didn’t want to take the chance of getting hit,” I said. Zeke’s gaze came back to me; he rubbed a hand along his jaw. “Good call,” he agreed. Then he turned to the others. “You chicken shits! Next time, one of you have the balls to wake me up.” That sent the guys into another round of laughter. I rolled my eyes as Zeke walked around the couch. “Miles finished your homework,” I began, not bothering to w...

When dinner was over, the boys cleaned up while Rory pulled me aside. “Nosebleed, fill me in.” It was clear he wasn’t kidding. We were in the corner of the dining room, and the guys were cleaning up in the kitchen. “It was on my way to Art class,” I began, whispering, crossing my arms over my chest. “There’s a really pissed off girl along that path. From the looks of it, she’s from the 60s. She was probably stabbed in the chest, maybe the lung.” I kept it short and to the point. I didn’t want the guys to overhear us. Speaking of the guys, I looked over Rory’s shoulder to see them all cleaning up. However, Miles kept sneaking glances our way. “Do you need to go back tonight and deal with her?” I looked back to Rory. I shook my head immediately. “Some ghosts want help, others want to cause as much suffering as they can. She’s the latter.” Rory sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ll try to find another way to that class tomorrow,” I said. “I’ll avoid her, it should be fine.” “If you say so,” he agreed. “But if ...

I smiled to myself as we all moved to the living room. Rory took the armchair near the door; Asher sat in the one to the left of the couch. Ethan and Miles sat on the floor. Zeke sat at the corner of the couch while I sat on the other side. Isaac nudged my shoulder. “Scoot over, Red, you’re the only one safe from him right now,” Isaac stage whispered. “Damn right she is,” Zeke mumbled. I scooted over and sat in the middle. Isaac wasn’t as big as Asher or Zeke, but he took enough space that my shoulder was pressing against Zeke’s arm. Everyone was debating about what football player was better when Zeke lifted his arm and rested it along the back of the couch. I went still then I peeked at him out of the...

I looked up and realized the motion had caught Rory’s eye too. He looked at Zeke’s arm a long time, then he went back to watching the game, probably coming to the same conclusion I did. Ethan turned around to look at me, then scoote...

I was looking at the boys on the floor, wondering how much it would cost to buy some bean bags when Rory seemed to read my mind. “If this becomes a regular thing, we’re going to have to get another couch,” Rory announced. The guys chuckled. “We usually end up changing houses every day,” Asher offered, then tilted his head. “But this summer you might be stuck with us.” Rory chuckled. It was around 7:30 when he paused the game. He turned to everyone, looking serious.

“Look, boys, I know I probably seem a bit overprotective of Lexie,” he began, the tension seeming to run out of his shoulders. “But she’s my only niece. And I’ll be damned if I’ll allow anything else to happen to her.” I felt eyes on me, thanks, Rory. That’s not going to cause any questions. No, not a one.

No one else grumbled as they all started getting to their feet. Ethan reached up to run his hand through his hair, and his fingers got caught. “What the...” I couldn’t hold it. I burst out laughing. So did Zeke and Isaac who had watched me the whole time. Asher turned, a big smile making its way across his face. “Aw. You look so adorable, Ethania,” Asher taunted. Ethan was grumbling as he began pulling out the braids. The other guys chimed in with their taunts as Ethan tried to find the rest of the braids. Giving up, he got to his feet as the boys kept taunting him. He turned and glared at me with his dark eyes. I just kept giggling. “Oh, Beautiful, this means war.” He pointed at me, his face pink. “Bring it,” I challenged. His eyes narrowed, his broad lips half grinned at me. “Oh, I will.” Everyone said goodnight and thanked Rory for dinner. When they were gone, the house suddenly seemed quieter.

😭😭

Rory turned to me. “That’s a good bunch of boys.” “I like ’em." I shrugged, looking back to the TV. Reality set back in. “It’d be nice if they stick around.” “What do you mean?” he asked, his head resting on his hand, his elbow on the arm of the chair. “You know what’s going to happen,” I told him my voice resigned. “They’ll be my friends until I can’t hide the Sight anymore. Then poof, they’ll be gone.” It had happened time and time again. At every school I’d ever gone to. I would make friends, and it’d be great. Until they caught me talking to a ghost they couldn’t see, or my nose bleeds one time too many. If they find out, they leave. Some believed me, some thought I was lying, other people thought I was crazy. The rest thought I was a freak. It always happened. It was only a matter of time. “You just met those boys today, and you’re already thinking of them not being your friends anymore?” Rory pointed out frowning at me. “You can’t go through life thinking everyone is going to leave you, Lexie.”

I shrugged at him. “Haven’t been wrong yet,” I pointed out. Rory sighed deeply. “Those boys might surprise you,” he said. I gave him a small smile. I hope they did. I pushed it to the back of my mind, not wanting to deal with it right now. “Can I take a...

“Yeah, hurry up though.” I got to my feet and hustled up the stairs. I grabbed my jammies and went into the bathroom. Before stepping into the tub, I turned in front of the mirror and looked at my back. Long strips of blood blisters covered my back with black and deep purple mixing along the strips of red and in other places. I sighed; with my pale skin, when I bruised, I bruised badly. The image of my...

I took a long hot shower and got into my Star Wars jammy bottoms and a black cami. Then I trudged downstairs. I lay down on the couch with my cell phone in my hand. Rory put a towel on my back then the ice. At first, I hissed at the weight, but when the cold finally seeped through, it felt great. I had my head turned toward the TV with the game playing. “How long?” I asked, already hating this position. “20 minutes,” Rory answered, putting a timer in front of me. “No, how many more days do I hav...

Memories of my mother coming at me flashed through my mind, the feel of the belt hitting me. I pushed the memories away, focusing on the TV. It was constant--memories coming to the surface from that...

I was vaguely aware when Tara came home. That is until she started demanding answers from me. “What were you doing, talking to Asher Westfell?” Tara snapped above me. All I could see of her was her black leggings. “I was making friends,” I p...

“You embarrassed me in front of him!” she accused me. The timer went off. I sat up and picked up the ice packs. “I’m confused, Tara.” I looked up at her my brow drawn in mock confusion. “Didn’t you tell me an hour before that you didn’t want anyone to know we’re related?” Rory’s head turned as he frowned at Tara. “Then you see me walking to class with Asher, and all of a s...

Tara turned and whined at Rory. “She’s not going to be popular, Dad. She’s already got the most popular girl in school gunning for her.” Tara turned back to me and narrowed her eyes. “She twisted Jason Miller’s arm behind his back, then shoved him in front of everyone,” Tara tattled. Fair enough,...

I sighed. “This guy, Jason, wrapped his arm around me, I told him to let go,” I explained, keeping it simple. “Instead, he wrapped his arm around my waist and asked me if the car...

I continued. “So, I broke his hold and did an arm-lock on the guy. I told him he was being an ass and pushed him into his friends.” Rory’s frown had disappeared as I spoke. Now he was smiling. “Good girl,” he told me. I winked at...