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

by B.L. Brunnemer

“Not weird, Miles. Unique,” I whispered back to him. “You are unique, and that’s not a bad thing in a world full of carbon copies.” We were quiet for a while. “Thank you, Lexie.” “Thank you, Miles.”

While Asher just laughed as I crawled over him, he groaned under Isaac’s weight. “Hell, Isaac, how much do you weigh?” Asher groaned. Isaac sat up in the middle. “165 and it’s all muscle, baby.” Isaac chuckled. “That’s right, sweetie, you own it,” I told him, my voice proud. The boys laughed.

Zeke somehow managed to find five spots at the bar. I believe glaring was involved on his part.

“A guy tried to hurt me once; I got away.” I licked my lips before continuing, “Then I came back with a short crowbar.” The corner of his mouth twitched. I smiled, still pleased with myself even a year later. “His jaw was wired shut for a few months.”

“Everyone has a dark side, Zeke; the key is not to let it make you its bitch.”

“Ally, are you doing the walk of shame?” Asher teased, his blue eyes sparkling. “No.” I chuckled. “I’m doing the walk of ‘oh shit, oh shit, I forgot to turn on my alarm clock.’” The guys chuckled. “I didn’t even have time to brush my teeth or do my makeup.” Asher’s eyes ran over my face.

“You look pretty,” he said with an exaggerated smile. “I look like a drowned rat,” I said to him, not buying it for a second. “But a pretty drowned rat,” he offered. Zeke and I burst out laughing.

“I don’t know, guys,” Zeke began with a mischievous light in his eye. “Do we really want Lexie dating?” My mouth dropped as the guys hemmed and hawed. “Don’t you fucking dare,” I growled at them.

Everyone was debating as we turned a corner. Pain tore through me as Bitch Ghost slammed into me.

Then I remembered--the guys, Bitch Ghost, Zeke’s eyes as he held my face, the others’ panicked voices in the car. “The guys saw everything, didn’t they?” I asked, already knowing the answer. Praying he’d tell me differently. “Yeah.” Panic gripped me, my stomach knotted. Oh God, they saw it all.

“Those boys carried you home bloody, unconscious, and turning blue.” Rory's haunted eyes met mine again. “Then they refused to leave you.”

“Those boys saved your life,” he told me clearly. “I wasn’t going to make it to you in time; I had to give them instructions on the phone, Lexie.” I blinked at him, my mind starting to work again. Slowly, but it was working. “The salt? The shower?” I asked, needing confirmation. Rory nodded. “All the boys. I got here just as you woke up,” he explained.

“Those boys aren’t going anywhere, Lexie. Stop expecting them to.”

They weren’t leaving. I fought back tears again as warmth filled my chest. It took me a while to remember what this feeling was. It was love, I felt loved, cared about. For the first time in years. Oh fuck, I need to stop crying. I took several deep breaths as I struggled to get myself under control.

“We almost lost you, kid.” His voice shook. I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed back. That feeling of being loved washed over me again. Oh, this feeling was going to take some getting used to. “I’m not going anywhere,” I whispered back. I hoped I wasn’t lying. “I’m too stubborn.” I felt him snort.

“Did you really think you could get rid of us that easy?” Asher asked, his voice thick. He leaned down, putting his face in my hair. “You’re stuck with us, Ally,” he whispered to me.

“You didn’t leave,” I whispered as my tears fell against his skin. “I’m not going anywhere, Baby,” he whispered back, his gravelly voice rough. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Never stop breathing on me again,” he whispered in my ear as he rested his cheek against mine. I smiled into his neck. “You hear me?” “I hear ya,” I whispered back, it was muffled, but I was sure he heard me because his arms tightened around me.

“You scared the shit out of me, Red,” Isaac growled against my hair. “You ever do that again I’m going to smack you silly.” One hand cupped my face, his thumb caressing my cheekbone. It was comforting. “Sorry, Cookie Monster.” “Shh, I’m still mad at you.”

“You really came back,” I whispered starting to believe that they weren’t leaving me. Ethan dropped his forehead to my shoulder and took slow deep breaths. “Always,” he whispered back, his voice shaking.

“You’re really here.” I couldn’t seem to stop saying that to them. “As long as you want me,” he whispered back to me, his voice had that silky note to it. I was crying again. “Is this why you expect people to leave you?” I bit my lip before answering. “After they find out, they leave.” My voice was a bit steadier but still shaky. “Not anymore.”

“All ghosts will interact with their surroundings, the sound of footsteps when no one is there. An empty chair rocking. But the other kind...” I was looking down at the table again. “They are the ones that scratch, bite, and try to jump into your body and take it over. They’re the ones they make horror movies about.”

“Yes, I need a ghost condom,” I told him in my most serious voice. I burst out giggling at myself as the boys groaned, a couple of them chuckled. Miles' ears turned red. I liked being a smartass. “Oh, Red. That was bad,” Isaac told me still laughing.

“You were just trying to survive, Lexie,” Miles said absently, tapping away at his phone. “Just surviving isn’t good enough, we want you to thrive.”

“You’re not going anywhere alone,” he ordered. “Until that ghost is dealt with, I want one of us with you as much as possible.” He seemed to think on what he just said. “Well, not in the bathroom,” he amended, “but someone is standing outside the door. Yeah, that’s happening.”

“Alexis, from what you’re telling me…you don’t have the Sight,” she said. My world stopped, my heart gave a hard thump. This had come out of nowhere; out of any scenario I could imagine, this one never came to mind. She didn’t believe me; I had to make her believe me. She was the only lead I had. “I see the dead,” I stated clearly, my mind racing. She waved her hand as she finished sipping her tea. “Oh, I don’t doubt that at all.”

“You’re a Necromancer, Alexis.” My mind went blank, I had no clue what the hell that was. “A what now?” Her face was patient as she explained, “A Necromancer, you can control the dead.” She picked up her tea and brought it to her mouth. “And a natural talent, too. That is incredibly rare,” she said before taking a sip.

“You’ve been closing yourself off over the last year, Lexie, trying not to feel.” She leaned in and made eye contact with me again. “Deal with it. Or scar.” My lungs felt stiff as I nodded. Mental note: Deal with your shit.

“You know, if I’m stuck eating a salad, you’re not going to be eating a foot-long sub in front of me, right?” His eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline. He gestured at himself, his face almost desperate. “But... man... hungry... need lots of fuel,” he stuttered, looking horrified.

The guys were just being protective and, well, guys; they always had to fix things. I rested my chin against my knees, watching the trees move in the breeze. I wasn’t a problem they could fix. They couldn’t stop the memories from tearing me apart. I wanted to go home, I didn’t want to go back in there and face them.

“You’re right,” he simply said, breaking the silence. Surprised, I looked at his profile. That was so not what I was expecting. “We do know everything about you, at least the big things,” he said. “And we never told you any of our stuff. We shouldn’t be asking that of you.”

“Maybe we need to make good memories here for you,” I said, hoping I wasn’t pushing too far. “We can all spend more time over here. Help override the bad with the good. Fill this place with fun, games, laughing, and the occasional food fight.”

“Lexie, that was my phone; I love my phone,” he whined, his face pained. I wrapped my arm around his and rested my chin against his shoulder, watching him watch his phone sink. “Then you shouldn’t have used it for the others to eavesdrop on us,” I told him simply.

“Pull something out and show me,” I said thoughtlessly. Isaac started snickering, Ethan joined in. Asher was holding back a laugh, his cheeks turning pink. I thought about what I said and started laughing. There are just some things you can’t say in a room full of guys. “That’s not what I meant,” I groaned. Even Zeke was covering his mouth, his eyes sparkling.

I pointed at it. “That’s an onyx ring, I thought Ethan might like it since it’s more his style.” Zeke tossed the ring over to Ethan. “Oh, nice,” Ethan said. “Does this mean we’re engaged?” I snorted and ignored him.

“We’re not telling, Lexie. There’s a guy rule that when a freak out occurs, you don’t talk about it,” Miles said, 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?” I asked. “The second you dropped like a rock.” Ethan grinned at me, unrepentant.

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.

I took a deep breath; this being friends with hot guys was going to be harder than I thought.

Rule one of being friends with guys: don’t get caught drooling. I had to remember that.

“Everyone, meet Bitch Ghost. Bitch Ghost, meet everyone,” I announced in my sweetest voice. Bless the guys, they all waved to her, even Zeke from his sleeping bag. A couple actually said hi. She sputtered with indignation. Yeah, I had been polite before when there was a chance of helping her move on. Mary Summers was dead set on taking my life from me, and she hurt Miles. I wasn’t going to be polite now.

“Miles, honey, I’m going to give you to Asher, Zeke’s apparently demanding my attention,” I told him before handing the phone over to Asher and taking his. Asher's phone vibrated; someone else was trying to call. “Greetings, tall and oh so grumpy one,” I said to Zeke in the phone, thinking myself funny.

“And the others just showed up, freaked out because you made me stay on the phone. Baaad Zeke.”

“I am cooking dinner for everyone.” He went to the sink and washed his hands. “Do you want to help?” “Sure.” I hopped down from the counter then gave him an appraising eye. “Do I need to be in my jammies?” Asher chuckled. “Yes, this is a wearing jammies cooking night,” Asher declared before tilting his head toward the doorway. “Hurry and change.”

“Asher, will you marry me?” I asked down the table, covering my mouth since I was talking with my mouth full. Everyone chuckled. Those blue eyes flashed down the table at me. “You just want me for my cooking,” he accused me, smiling. I swallowed my food and scoffed in mock outrage. “No, you're my wonderful friend, Asher,” I told him honestly. Then I mumbled, “Who can also cook like a god.”

“Though if someone else hits my girl, you beat them up. I’ll be in the fetal position,” I said. Zeke's mouth twitched. “Just tell me who,” he agreed with enthusiasm. “Um, my girl?” Isaac asked, his eyebrow raised. “Oh, like you don’t have names you call your body parts,” I shot at him, letting go of my breast now that she wasn’t hurting so much. The guys burst out laughing. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, hating being a girl at the moment.

“You know, Zeke just got to second base, and I didn’t even get dinner first. I’m feeling gypped,” I announced to the guys. Everyone burst out laughing, I lifted my head to see Zeke shaking his head and smirking again.

“Aw, poor tortured Zeke,” I cooed at him. His eyes narrowed at me. “Stop it,” he warned. I smiled wickedly. “Are you scared of the small, sweet girl?” I continued in that ‘I’m talking to a little kid’ voice. “Did she say hi to you? Did she try to hug you?” He glared down at me, but I saw the corners of his mouth twitch. “You want to hide behind me? I’ll protect you from the nice girl.”

“You guys actually paused the movie to listen in?” Dylan was laughing now. I put the phone back to my cheek. “I told you, they’re just as bad as girls.” The guys laughed at me as I got up and headed around the couch.

Zeke came in next, his hair wet but combed. He had actually shaved this morning. It made him look more “the scary guy next door” rather than his usual “menace to society” look.

“Who made food?” he asked, already grabbing a plate and dishing himself up some food. “Lexie.” Miles and Zeke answered at the same time. Isaac looked over at me then gave me puppy eyes. “Marry me?”

“Speaking of dating, some guy was hitting on Ally in the hallway today,” Asher announced, his eyes sparkling. I rolled my eyes and continued eating. “Oh, who?” Isaac asked excitedly. “What’s his name?” Ethan chimed in, resting his chin on his hand, giving me his full attention. “How did you meet?” Isaac continued in a girly voice. “Was he cute?” Ethan said in the exact same tone. The other guys burst out laughing. “Oh my god, stop, please,” I said as they continued to make doe eyes at me.