When the Dead Come a Knockin' Page 44

  “I take it your friends with him.” He said. I sighed.

  “Yeah, I’m friends with the soda stealing bastard,” I said smiling. Clay chuckled. Ethan had given me the out I needed. “I better go get that food before Zeke gets… grumpier.” I snickered to myself. “It was nice meeting you, Clay.”

  “You too Lexie, I’ll see you around.” He gave me a smile and headed off in the direction he was heading before he stopped. I went back to the concession stand. Isaac showed up just in time to help.

  “So, Clay Ordin.” Isaac grinned. “What did he want?” Isaac took Zeke’s nachos. I took my soda and my nachos. I wasn’t trusting one of the twins with my food.

  “I apparently stole his parking spot in the student lot,” I told him as we headed back towards the others. Isaac snickered.

  “He was hitting on you.” Isaac teased. I sighed.

  “He could have just been trying to get to know the newish girl?” I offered, not really buying it myself. Isaac snorted.

  “Doubt it,” Isaac said in a sing-song voice. I rolled my eyes as we reached the others. Isaac handed Zeke his nacho’s; Zeke looked confused.

  “Thanks, Lexie,” Zeke said in an odd voice. I glared at Ethan.

  “You didn’t ask for nachos, did you?” I asked bluntly. I didn’t take my eyes off Ethan, who started giggling like a hyena.

  “No, but I’ll eat them anyway,” Zeke admitted. I put my food down and smacked Ethan on the arm. He just laughed harder. “What did I miss?” Zeke asked.

  “Clay Ordin was hitting on Lexie.” Ethan snickered. Isaac laughed with him. I rolled my eyes.

  “He was saying hi,” I explained looking over to Zeke. “He said I stole his parking spot at school.” Zeke eyed me.

  “Did he want it back?” Zeke asked.

  “No.” The corn of Zeke’s lips twitched.

  “He was hitting on you.” Zeke declared. I rolled my eyes and sat down.

  “Sorry, Beautiful, but I could see you trying to get away from here,” Ethan said. “You couldn’t figure out a nice way to say go away, so I gave you one.” I winked at Ethan.

  “Yeah, you might be right about that,” I grumbled. The boys snickered. “What? I have trouble when people are polite. If they are assholes, I know what to say.” I ate a chip soaked in cheese. The conversation went on around me as I munched away on fatty, cheesy goodness. I was almost done with my nachos when Asher and Trisha showed up. Asher was in his dark blue jeans and blue V-neck sweater. Trisha was wearing black leggings and an oversized cream sweater. I became tense instantly. Everyone said hi. Trisha’s eyes found me, she gave me a tight smile. I gave her one back. I was going to try here, for Asher. And the pool games began. I threw away my empty nacho container. I was leaning against an empty pool table watching the game when Riley made a noise. I looked over at her, and she had a grin on her face.

  “Dylan’s here,” Riley announced. I smiled and looked over my shoulder. His eyes were on me as he made his way through the crowd. He had a mischievous grin on his face. When he reached me, he swooped in and kissed me. It was quick and sweet, but it still left my heart racing and that warmth rushing through me. He pulled back and smiled at me.

  “Sorry, I’m late Sunshine. Had to take care of something.” His warm eyes had run over my face before he looked at the other guys. “Next time a heads up would be great when she’s gone all present crazy guys!” He shot at the boys. They all chuckled, Asher just smirked. Not one of them felt bad. Dylan looked down at me and slid a hand down my arm to my hand. “I need to steal you for a second.” I raised an eyebrow. He grabbed my coat and looked at the guys. “We’ll be right back.” Curious, I followed him back through the bowling alley and out the front door. I pulled my jacket on as he led me back to my truck.

  “Dylan, what are we doing?” I asked really getting confused now. He pulled me close and smirked at me. He handed me a small black jewelry box. My heart dropped. No, no, no... he’s not... He burst out laughing.

  “Relax Sunshine. It’s not a ring.” I smacked him on the shoulder.

  “You cannot tell me that shit your Dad said and then hand jewelry box, Dylan!” I snapped at him, my heart finally beating again. He doubled over laughing. I was just trying to catch my breath. He straightened, his face red.

  “Babe, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think of that until I saw your face just now.” He was trying to stop laughing at least. I waited, my face burning till he was done. “I swear I didn’t mean to do that to you.” I was just thankful my face stopped burning. I just kept glaring at him. He smiled a big smile as he slipped his hands around the back of my neck under my hair. He unhooked my necklace. “I realized after I saw those cookies I needed to get you something better.” He said, his voice soft and warm. He pulled my angel wing necklace off me.

  “Hey, I love that necklace.” I pointed out. He smiled.

  “I’m not taking it back Sunshine; I’m upgrading.”

  “I don’t want an upgrade.” I reminded him. He just smiled and tilted his chin towards the box.

  “Open it.” I sighed and opened the box. Inside was a small gold circular pendant with an A engraved into the front.

  “Dylan…” I didn’t know what to say. It was beautiful. Elegant, timeless and simple enough that I loved it.

  “Flip it over.” His voice was warm enough to be the tropics. I flipped over the small pendant that was about the size of my thumbnail. On the back, words were stamped. One in a million. My heart slammed in my chest that feeling of love poured over me. Butterflies went way fucking crazy. I didn’t know what to say. I loved it. I loved how he saw me. I didn’t know what to say, so I kissed him. One of his hands went to my face holding me gently as his mouth moved with mine, the other around my waist holding me to him. I tried to show him how I felt, how much I loved the necklace. How much I loved the way he saw me. How I loved that he always made me laugh. How he always made me feel beautiful. I was teetering on that edge and so fucking close to falling that it was insane. But I couldn’t tell him that. So, I just showed him. And during that crazy hungry kiss in the parking lot, I was pretty sure he understood what I was trying to tell him. Our kiss came to an end. Dylan eased back enough so he could see me. His sapphire eyes were burning as they ran over my face. I knew what that look on his face was now. He loved me. My heart melted in my chest. At least, I think he did. Oh, I needed to get myself under control. Ease down, Lexie. Come on, back up the love shit. You’ve been dating a fucking week. I really didn’t care. I just wasn’t going to tell him how close I was to loving him. “You're not mad I upgraded your Christmas present.” He asked but wasn’t really asking. I smiled up at him.

  “No, it’s beautiful. Thank you.” I whispered quietly to him. I resisted the urge to squirm; it wasn’t as hard as it usually was this time.

  “Your welcome Sunshine.” He smiled softly at me. Then he let me go and reached for the necklace. “Now, gimmie. I want to put it on you.” I snorted and handed him the box. He carefully pulled the thin chain out of the box. He gave me the box and gestured for me to turn around. I turned. He brought the necklace down over my head and to my neck. I pulled my hair out of the way so he could hook it. When he was done, he gave the base of my neck a quick kiss before letting go. I smiled as I dropped my hair. The pendant sat right in the middle of my upper chest. It was perfect. I turned around and looked up at him; he was smiling all the way to his eyes.

  “Now, are you happy with my present or are you going crazy again tomorrow?” I asked seriously. He snickered.

  “I’m happy now.” He assured me as he put my angel wings necklace into the box and handed it to me. I opened the door to the Blazer and put it in the glove box. I closed the door, and we headed back inside.

  When we reached the guys, Riley eyed my necklace change and smiled big. I mouthed that I’d tell her later to her. She winked at me. No one else seemed to notice the change. I took my coat off and put it on the back of my chair. Dylan claimed the one next to mine.
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br />   “Does anyone have next game?” Dylan asked as he sat down next to me, his hand finding mine.

  “No,” Isaac answered. Dylan smirked at me, then looked at the guys.

  “I call it. I was thinking of teaching Lexie how to play.” He announced. I immediately held my finger to my lips. The guys saw and smiled. I dropped my finger back to my lap.

  “That’d be great, honey.” I smiled, doing my best not to laugh my ass off.

  “Yeah, Red sucks,” Isaac said before turning his back.

  “She could use some help.” Ethan’s voice almost cracked as he took his shot. He missed.

  “It’s sad really, how bad she.” Asher laid it on thick with a straight face. Then he went off to pick up drinks suddenly. Zeke just looked at me across the pool table and smirked at me. His eyes were laughing. I winked at him. Riley caught my eye an eyebrow raised. I pulled out my phone and texted her.

  Alexis: I’m the best pool player here. Shhh.

  Riley checked her messages, smiled then put her phone away. Zeke and Ethan seemed in a hurry to finish their game. By the time, Asher came back with a tray of soda’s Ethan had scratched on the eight ball. Automatic loss.

  “Ah, shit.” Ethan groaned though he could barely keep a straight face. He turned to Dylan and me. “Guess you guys are up.” We both got up, as I barely managed to control my smirk as I found a good straight cue that was a good length for me. By then Dylan had racked the balls and was chalking his cue.

  “Sunshine do you want to break?” He asked with his back to the guys. The guys behind him all had to control themselves. Zeke actually put his hand over his mouth, so did Ethan. Isaac got his camera out and moved for a good shot of the table and Dylan’s face. Miles' hand was a fist in front of his mouth. Asher was practically dancing in place. Trisha just had a confused look on her face.

  “Sure, that’s the shot to break the balls up, right?” I asked sounding innocent. All the guys had trouble keeping their mouths shut. Isaac was already laughing silently as he filmed. I walked over to the table and chalked the cue. Dylan smiled down the table at me.

  “That’s right. You want to break them up as much as possible.” He said patiently. I almost felt bad. Almost. I had to bite the tip of my tongue to stop myself from laughing. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail before I moved to my favorite spot to break. I kept my face sweet as I lined up my shot from the corner. I took a breath and made my shot. All the balls scattered over the table. Two fell in the pockets as I leaned against the table and watched Dylan look at the great break I had just done. The guys burst out laughing. Ethan was doubled over, Miles was red, Asher had to sit down, Zeke’s face was red, and Isaac was still filming, but his face was red too. When the balls stopped moving Dylan looked up at me smiling. “Is that good honey? I can’t tell?” I simpered. I couldn’t stop the shit eating grin on my face. The guys kept laughing. Dylan was smiling as he walked around the table to me. His hand went to the back of my neck. He pulled me to him and kissed me. It was a hard, hot kiss that told me he really wasn’t mad. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

  “Hey, hey! Ease up!” Zeke warned from his spot. “We don’t want to see that.” Dylan’s hand ran down my spine to my lower back before he pulled back. His eyes promising retaliation. I just kept snickering.

  “Where did you learn to play?” He asked still smiling.

  “I spent a lot of time in a pool hall in LA,” I admitted. He shot me a challenging look.

  “Funny, I have a pool table in the basement at my house. And I play a lot.” He said smirking at me. I raised an eyebrow.

  “Oh, a challenge. Let’s go, big man.” I smiled. “I’ve got solids.” He gave me a look that told me he really wanted to kiss me again. I walked around the table to decide my next shot.

  “I’ve got ten on Red!”

  “I’ll take that.” Asher shot back. “I’ve seen him play.”

  “I got twenty on Lexie.” Zeke shot out.

  “You're on Zeke.” Ethan shot back. Miles just shook his head at the others. I ignored the guys and focused on playing. I sunk two before I didn’t have a shot. Naturally, I put the cue ball in the worst position possible for Dylan. He shot me a look; I just smiled innocently. He didn’t try to sink a ball. He just put me in a shitty position. I smirked at him. It went on and on like that until it was down to just one each and the eight ball. I had a hard bank shot, but if I pulled it off, I would be in an excellent position for the eight ball. I was aiming when Dylan came over and leaned down to whisper in my ear.

  “You don’t want to miss this one, Sunshine.” His husky voice was that soft and low one that killed me. I stood up straight and leaned back into him.

  “Sweetie, do you really want to play who can distract who more right now?” I whispered softly. “Because I have boobs. And I’m not afraid to go stand where you're aiming and lean down a little.” I tilted my head back to see his eyebrows had gone up. He looked down at me.

  “Fair enough.” He admitted, he patted my butt cheek twice then walked away. I was hard pressed to stop laughing. I took a breath and made my shot. I missed by a fucking hair, but at least he was in a shitty position. Dylan moved around the table. As he was aiming, I looked around the table to see what he was trying to do. The eight ball was between his and his last ball, he didn’t have a bank shot. So, what was he doing? Dylan adjusted till he was aiming down on the cue ball. No fucking way. He made his shot. The cue ball jumped over the eight ball and knocked into his. His ball sunk into the pocket. He looked up at me smirking.

  “You fucker.” Was all I could say. He winked at me. I hate to admit it. But that was sexy as hell. I put the cue back in the rack. He had a clear shot it was over. Sure enough, he sank the eight ball. The guys either groaned or cheered but the losers paid up. Dylan came around the table and wrapped his arm around my waist. “Please tell me you weren’t fucking with me this whole time?” His eyes grew wide.

  “God no, that was my nothing to lose, save my ass move.” He said. “I’ve managed that shot like, eight times. And that was in the last month of practice.” I instantly felt better. I leaned into him and gave him a quick kiss. He gave me a squeeze then went to put away his cue. I walked over to the guys and shrugged.

  “Don’t feel bad Red, it was an amazing game,” Isaac reassured me. “And I got it all on film.” I smiled.

  “Send that to me; I want to see how I fucked up that last shot.” Isaac laughed as he did just that. Asher got to his feet and pointed at Isaac.

  “You and me blue hair.” Asher challenged. Isaac snickered, got up, and they started a game. I sat down in my chair as Dylan and Ethan went to pick up another round of drinks. Trisha came over and sat in Dylan’s spot.

  “That was really good,” Trisha said in a polite voice. I smiled at her.

  “Thanks, though I’m pissed that his jump shot worked.” I shook my head replaying it again.

  “You and Dylan seem to be doing good,” Trisha said quietly. I grew tense. Come on Lexie. She’s trying.

  “Yeah, we are. He gets me in a way that most people don’t.” I admitted to her. That was vague enough, right? Trisha gave me a tense smile. Oh, fuck it. I suck at small talk. “Okay, Trisha. Here it is. I want Ash happy, and you make him happy.” She blinked at me. “Why don’t we try to start over?” I held my hand out. “Hi, I’m Lexie. I’m a smart-ass, a little odd and when I’m uncomfortable, I make bad jokes.” She was tense when she smiled again. She shook my hand.

  “Hi Lexie, I’m Trisha. And I can be insecure when it comes to the people I care about.” We shook hands.

  “Nice to meet you.” She smiled then got up when Dylan came back with drinks. He took his spot and gave me my drink.

  “What was that about?” Dylan whispered to me. I smiled.

  “I think Trisha and I just started over.” He eyebrows went up.

  “Really?” He asked. I nodded. “Good, I hope it works out that way.” I leaned my chin on his shoulder.

  “Me t
oo.”

  It was an hour later when I had to use the restroom. I got up and headed to the closest lady’s room. It was at the corner of the building down a small hallway in the back of the building. I was halfway back when I felt it. That chill down my neck, only it was like a blade. I looked up and saw him. He had long dark hair and dead eyes. Half his face was rotted away. My heart slammed in my chest as he headed my way. I moved back into the bathroom and checked my pockets. I left my fucking beads in my coat. Shit! The ghost came in through the door.

  “I’m working on the way to help you guys cross,” I told him bluntly, his head tilted to the side. “It’s taking longer than I thought it would, but I’m working on it.” He cackled, it was a dry, broken sound. My gut knotted as my chest felt like it was being pulverized. I gasped as he came closer, I stepped back. My back hit the wall. He kept coming closer. I felt multiple spots on my chest grow more painful, stabbing down into my lungs. His energy poured against my barriers roughly, like the ocean in a storm. That’s when I knew. He didn’t want to cross. He wanted to hurt me, as much as possible. Before I could shove him back. He slammed his energy into me knocking me back. My head hit the wall, and I dropped to the tile stunned. The world was spinning as my head felt like it was being squeezed in a vice. I tried to move, but I couldn’t seem to figure out how to move my arms or legs. It felt like I was hit in the face, vaguely I felt blood pouring from my nose. My stomach churned as my forehead rested against the tile. The fucker didn’t want to jump me. He wanted to peel my barrier apart and burn me away. The world faded in and out as his memories ran through my mind. He liked hurting women, loved it. He had done it a lot when he was alive. He slammed his energy against me hard, I felt him punch a hole in my barriers like a physical snap. He poured into my mind. I threw up a small barrier around the me in my mind, forcing his memories to roll over me. Where they couldn’t get to me. All I could feel was the pain, my lungs burned. I barely managed to sit up and grab the waste basket from the stall before I was puking. He tore into my barriers with claws, shredding them. My world exploded, my body felt like it was trying to kill itself. I was jerking and shaking; I couldn’t stop it. Every nerve I had felt like a red-hot iron was being laid across it. I dropped back to the tile, my stomach empty. I focused on each breath, as he tore into my mind and poured his sick thoughts through my head. I turned away from the images he was showing me. I didn’t want to watch him hurting women, torturing them, killing them. I didn’t want to hear them screaming for their lives. If I had to look at it, I’d go insane. Wetness in my ears, then ran down my neck. I watched the pool of blood form on the white tile. I cried as my mind was torn open. There was a noise. Trisha walked into the bathroom. Thank you, thank you. Please. The world wavered as if I was looking up from the bottom of a pool.