I overslept the next morning. I only had time to throw on what I wore to the garage last night. Then I had my bag and I was out the door. And of course, today it’s pouring down rain. I was almost soaked through by the time I reached my class. First period was halfway over when I walked into class. I mouthed a sorry to Mr. Matthews and took my seat as fast as possible. He only gave me the stink eye. After class, I was headed to English when my cell phone vibrated.

Miles: Are you coming to school today?

I was texting back that I had overslept when someone whistled at me.

“Hey, red, you wanna come over to my house later?” some guy called out to me. I hit send on my text and flipped him off without looking at him or even stopping my stride. It was still pouring down, and I had to leave the hallway to get to English. I tucked my phone away and ran for it. I was soaked again by the time I reached class.

After English, I headed out into the hall and had to cross a courtyard. My hair was soaked by the time I got across. I gave up on being dry as I headed toward my next class. Zeke and Asher spotted me in the hallway then headed my way. I smiled. Knowing I was going to see them between classes always made my morning. Zeke’s eyes ran over my clothes, an eyebrow raised.

“Weren’t you wearing that last night?” he asked, his voice cautious.

“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. Asher smiled normally and swung his bag around so he could reach it. “I can’t help with makeup, but I can help with your teeth.” He pulled out a pack of gum and handed it to me. I promptly popped a couple pieces into my mouth.

“Thank you so much, Asher, you are seriously my hero for the day,” I said emphatically. Asher puffed up his chest.

“Hero for the day, I like it,” he said in a superhero voice.

Zeke’s big hand came down on Asher’s shoulder.

“Come on, hero, I’ve got Trig, and you have Gym,” Zeke reminded him; Asher sulked as he walked away. I was still laughing on my way to Algebra, I got soaked through again but this time I cared less.

The rest of the day went on like normal a few girls made insults to which I flipped them off. Otherwise, it was my usual. It was after Chemistry as we were walking towards the cafeteria when Zeke and Asher met us halfway to the cafeteria.

“Don’t bother heading that way, this whole side is packed,” Asher announced meeting us in the hallway.

“Why this time?” I asked in my suffering voice.

“Because of you and Jessica on Friday.” Zeke pointed at me. I cursed.

“I still need to hit the cafeteria. I didn’t have time to make lunch today,” I grumbled. Isaac swung his bag around and dug into it. He pulled out a sack lunch and handed it to me.

“I’m not taking your lunch, Isaac.”

Isaac snorted. “That’s second lunch. I can grab something from a vending machine later,” Isaac admitted pulling out another lunch bag. I raised an eyebrow.

“Second lunch, like a hobbit?” I asked, wondering if they would get the reference. All the guys chuckled.

“Guys eat a lot,” Asher reminded me. I shook my head at the bag in my hand. Yeah, I was finally getting that.

“Wait, are we just going to ignore the fact she just made a Hobbit reference?” Miles asked, raising his hand. He narrowed his eyes at me. “Which is better? Book or movie?”

“Book,” I answered immediately. Miles looked impressed.

I looked over at Isaac. “Thank you, Isaac.”

He winked at me as we started walking down the hall and away from the cafeteria. Everyone pulled out their bags and started eating as we walked.

“Yay, I got tuna. I got tuna,” Isaac sang to himself as he opened his first lunch, making me smile.

“Well, the rumor mill is going crazy from Saturday night,” Ethan announced. I cringed.

“About how awesome you guys played?” I offered, hoping that was where this was going. Ethan chuckled.

“Oh no.” Ethan shook his head then pointed at Zeke and me. “That Zeke and you are a thing, and he kicked someone's ass for hitting on you.” He was enjoying this way too much. I groaned. Zeke cursed. Miles and the twins burst out laughing.

“Didn’t anyone notice me being shoved first?” I asked, pleading for Ethan to give me some good news.

“Amazingly, that didn’t make the rounds,” Ethan admitted.

“I’m never going to get a date,” I grumbled. Most of the boys burst out laughing. I fought the urge to smack each of them.

“Dylan hasn’t called yet?” Asher asked before taking a drink of water.

“Nope.” I playfully glared at him. Asher winced.

“As much as I love torturing you,” Ethan admitted as he tried to stop laughing. “I know some girls that can spread the truth around, if you want?” I threw my arm around Ethan's waist and squeezed.

“Please, please, pretty please?” I begged, trying to look cute. Ethan chuckled at my antics.

“Okay, okay, I’ll get on it tonight,” Ethan promised. We turned down an empty hall. This side of campus seemed to be deserted today.

“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. The boys burst out laughing again. Ethan wrapped his arm around me.

“Don’t worry, Beautiful, I’m on it,” he said to me before letting go. I shook my head at them.

“Where are we going tonight for homework?” Isaac asked the group.

“Jessica’s not going to be home tonight, she’s staying overnight at a friend's house.” Asher offered.

Everyone was debating as we turned a corner. Pain tore through me as Bitch Ghost slammed into me. I stumbled, catching myself against the lockers. I rested my weight against the metal, having a hard time staying upright. My chest felt like a red-hot metal stake had been driven into it, making it hard to breathe. The ghost rolled over my mind like a black fog, trying to take control. I pushed back. No, this was my body. Fuck off! She poured her memories into my mind trying to drive me out with her pain. My head felt like it was exploding, my chest burned. I pushed back with my own memories, throwing them at her as if they were grenades. She backed away enough for me to gain some control over my body again. I couldn’t beat her; she had too much juice. I could only hold her at a stand-still.

Fear shot through me as I opened my eyes. I was vaguely aware that I was sitting on the cement against the lockers, blood pouring from my nose. Zeke was yelling at me, his hands cupping my face, lifting so he could look at me.

“Lexie! Lexie!” he barked, demanding an answer. “Come on baby, don’t do this to me.”

Another hand pushed the hair out of my face. My body was completely limp. I only had minor control for now. Someone said hospital. No! Panic ripped through me. I had to tell them what to do, Bitch Ghost pushing down on me already. I only had a few moments of control left.

“No... hospital... Rory... home…” That was all I could manage before the bitch slammed down on me again and I had to focus on fighting her off. Her darkness crashed down on me, and I fought back with light, then my temper finally caught up, turning the light red. During all of this, I was aware of what was going on in the world. But it was very far away, like a dream you can’t recall when you wake up.

Zeke pulled my cell phone out of my jacket and handed it off. He was shouting instructions to the others as he pulled me into his arms, lifting me as if I weighed nothing. He held me against his chest as he ran. My body was screaming at me, every nerve on fire as Bitch Ghost pushed back again trying to use pain to get me to stop fighting. I gave a little ground just enough so she’d feel the pain herself. She retreated a bit, letting me swim back to the surface.

My entire body was shaking as Zeke slid into the backseat of a car. He kept me in his lap as others were shouting. Rory’s voice was coming from somewhere. Relief poured through me. Rory! My vision swam, as the bitch hit me with everything at the same time, like a tidal wave crashing down on me. I was drowning.

Everything went black.

I came-to gasping. Deep dragging breaths as if I had actually stopped breathing. I couldn’t open my eyes; I didn't understand what was happening. Very hot water rained down on me. Something hard was rubbing down my arms, my legs; something was rubbing on my scalp. I kept hearing my name but I couldn’t move, couldn’t answer, not yet. It took me several moments of breathing before I could grasp what was happening. Someone had me in their arms against their chest, my face was resting on a shirt, and they were standing under the spray from a shower. Hands were rubbing stuff against my skin, into my scalp; it felt like it had been hurting for some time.

“I’m back,” I rasped out, too quiet to be heard over the shower. I swallowed then tried again, using what energy I had. “I’m back.” I could only manage a whisper. That was it; it was all I could say.

“She’s awake,” a rich baritone announced from behind me. I knew that voice, I couldn’t think through the pain to remember. Different sounds of relief were loud in my ears. I was shaking, freezing. The water felt too hot, but I was craving it. My head was throbbing so much it made my vision fade in and out, my stomach churned.

“Let me get in there.” A few heartbeats later, a hot hand cupped my chin. “Show me your eyes, Lexie.” I knew that voice, that was Rory. I didn’t want to open my eyes; it would hurt. I tried to turn away into whoever had me; they were so warm.

“Lexie, now!” Rory shouted, hurting my ears; I whimpered, turning my head back. I used everything I had left to open my eyes. My vision swam, like looking up through water from the bottom of a pool. My teeth chattered. Rory's face was a big blur. The blur was coming closer. Then bright light stabbed through my head. I wanted to scream, but I could only whimper and cry. When the stabbing light went away, I buried my face against whoever held me, my forehead met warm skin, I smelled leather and engine grease. I knew that smell. Voices were loud and muffled.

“No bleed this time.”

“She’s freezing cold,” a deep, gravelly voice vibrated through me. Zeke? I whimpered as the sound hurt my ears.

“Can you stand hotter water?”

Everything was so loud. I wanted to cover my ears, but my body wouldn’t listen. All I could do was whimper. There was a movement against my forehead, and the water got hotter.

Something warm pressed into my hair. Everything faded away, and I slipped blissfully into unconsciousness.

I slowly woke up to a dark room. A bone-deep ache was everywhere, even the bottom of my feet. Seriously, why did the bottom of my feet hurt? My head ached too much to try to figure it out. I braced myself and sat up slowly. I was gasping in pain when I finally managed it. There was movement in the dark.

“I’m turning on a lamp, Lexie.” Rory’s voice came from somewhere in the room.

I closed my eyes and saw the light from behind my eyelids. I slowly opened my eyes. A little bit at a time, it took a while. When my eyes finally adjusted, I found Rory, sitting on the edge of the bed watching me closely. I tried to speak, but my throat was dry. Rory reached over to the nightstand and handed me a glass of water. I took it, drinking down half of it. Rory handed me some pills; I didn’t ask I just took them. I hurt too much to care. It took me a couple minutes before I looked around; I was in a queen-sized bed with a blue and green plaid comforter. There was a mahogany dresser with a TV on it.

“Where?” I asked, my voice so small. It was how I felt. Like one strong breeze, and I’d blow away.

“You’re in my room; it was the closest to the front door.” Rory kept his voice to a whisper. I was going through my memories, trying to remember how I got home. 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. I used a shaking hand to push my hair out of the way.

“Did you tell them?” I asked, my voice shaking. Please tell me you didn’t, please tell me you lied your ass off.

“Just the basics, that you see the dead, that the Sight runs in the family,” Rory answered me.

My stomach dropped, my chest aching.

“I wanted to leave the details to you.”

I closed my eyes, tears pouring down my face.

It happened; it really happened. A week, it took one fucking week for them to find out.

I pulled my knees to my chest; I rested my forehead on them and covered my head with my arms as I cried. It was over. They knew I was a freak; they were gone. They’d never speak to me again. I started sobbing, my heart breaking. Every fear I had over the last week crashed down on me, making my chest so tight it was hard to breathe. I cared about them, I don’t know how it happened, but I did. I cared about them. I sobbed knowing it was over. I was alone, all over again. I was the fucking freak again. I sobbed as my world crashed around me. I was alone again. I’m a freak; I’ll always be alone. Arms wrapped around me and rocked me as I broke apart.

“Lexie, you're not a freak, honey. And you’re not alone,” Rory whispered into my hair. I hadn’t even realized I spoke out loud.

I shook my head. I didn’t care. It was over.

“They’re gone.” I gasped as everything poured out of me. I had nothing left. I didn’t have any more fight. I was done. My heart was a raw and aching pit inside my chest. Just let the fucking dead have me, this hurt too much. I can’t take this anymore.

I vaguely realized that Rory’s arms were gone, but I didn’t care. I rocked myself back and forth, sobbing.

Rory’s voice said something, but I was too miserable to listen. Hands touched me, arms wrapped around me. I smelled vanilla and leather.

“Lexie, stop fucking crying,” a deep voice growled.

“Ally, you need to calm down,” a rich voice followed.

My head shot up, my heart stopped. Asher and Zeke were there.

“W-w-what?” I stammered, not understanding what I was seeing. “You're.... here...”

Asher reached out and brushed the hair from my face, while Zeke wiped the tears from my cheek. Zeke looked pissed off, and Asher’s face was pale and drawn. I didn’t understand. They were here? The tightness in my chest eased, I could breathe a little easier. Tears were running down my face as I stared at them uncomprehending. I was still crying, but I had stopped sobbing.

“Okay, boys back outside,” Rory ordered. The guys looked like they wanted to argue but they obeyed. Rory shut the door behind them. He came back and sat in front of me again. I was still staring after the boys. They were still here? What? I looked to Rory, not understanding.

“They were all here as long as they could be,” Rory said gently.

“All of them?” I asked softly. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. All of them had been here? They had stayed?

Rory nodded, then proceeded to talk slowly and clearly.

“Those boys carried you home bloody, unconscious, and turning blue.” Rory's haunted eyes met mine again. “Then they refused to leave you.” Rory reached over, pulled out some tissues, and handed them to me. I sat there numb. “The others would still be here but Mile’s and Isaac’s parents called them home, Ethan had band practice.” Rory reached out and brushed more of my hair away from my face. “They only felt like they could leave because Asher and Zeke were here.”

“They all stayed?” I asked, my voice shaky, thin. I saw them; I knew they were outside the bedroom door. It was just so hard to believe. No one ever stayed.

Rory held my chin in his fingers and looked into my eyes.

“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. “The boys took turns holding you in that shower for over an hour trying to get your body temperature up. The others refused to leave the bathroom.” Rory’s thumbs wiped the moisture from my cheeks. His eyes still looking into mine, willing me to understand. “Those boys aren’t going anywhere, Lexie. Stop expecting them to.”

When what he was saying finally starting to sink in, I swallowed hard and nodded. Satisfied I got the message, Rory let go of my face. I used my tissues to wipe my nose. The boys really didn’t leave me. They were still here, some had to go home, but they had been here. They still wanted me around. That last chunk of the wall around my heart crumble into dust. 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.

I looked down at my clothes to distract myself. I was still wearing my cami that I wore under my sweater and my underwear. Towels and blankets surrounded me. My skin was raw and gritty, I needed a shower.

“Zeke knows about my back, but did anyone else see?” I asked It seemed stupid right now, but I wanted to know.

“If they did, I’m sure questions would have been asked,” Rory reassured me.

I nodded, licking my lips.

“What time is it?” I asked, running a hand down my arm wiping the salt off my skin.

Rory checked his watch. “7:45.”

“Where’s Tara?” I sighed wearily.

“I told her to sleep at her mom’s tonight.” Rory's voice was understanding. “She still doesn’t know about this, and I’d like to keep it that way as long as possible.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I agreed, especially if Tara was what I suspected.

Rory pulled me into a hug; I rested my head on his chest as he held me.

“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.

“I brought you some clothes from your room, they’re on the dresser,” Rory told me as he let me go. He brushed my hair off my face again. “Let’s get you out there before those boys decide to break down the door.”

I huffed at that. Then thought about it. Yeah, that sounded like something Zeke might do.

Rory got up and held out his hand. I took a deep breath for courage and took it. He helped pull me to my feet. My whole body throbbed with the sudden movement, and then a bone-deep ache settled in. Even my fucking feet hated me. Rory held on as I walked slowly towards the dresser. Once he knew I wasn’t going to fall, he walked out the door, closing it behind him. I bit back a groan as I took my clothes off, every movement making me hurt more. I pulled on the black underwear, loose white t-shirt, and black sweatpants. I took a second to look in the mirror; I wasn’t surprised to see I looked like shit. My hair was a tangled mess and had chunks of salt here and there. My face was even paler than usual, my eyes were red from crying, and I had bags under my eyes. Screw it. I almost died. I can look like shit.

I slowly walked to the bedroom door and opened it. Asher and Zeke were waiting a few feet from the door. At the sight of them, I started crying again. They really were here.

“I told you to stop crying, Lexie,” Zeke growled, his face hard. I huffed at him as I wiped my cheek.

“Happy crying this time.” I bit my bottom lip and looked up at them. “You guys are still here.”

Asher looked at me like something hurt as he stepped forward and gently pulled me against him. One of his arms wrapped around my back, the other cradling the back of my head pressing my cheek to the middle of his chest. I wrapped my arms around his waist. It was an amazing hug, full of warmth and caring. Tears kept falling as I breathed in his cinnamon and vanilla scent.

“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. I sniffed and nodded against his chest. I think I was starting to believe it.

Asher held me long enough that Zeke tapped his shoulder.

“No, you held her the longest in the shower. Now it’s my turn.” Asher snapped at him before pushing his face further into my hair. “Text the other guys. It’ll help with the wait,” he mumbled at Zeke. I vaguely heard Rory in the kitchen doing something. Asher was still holding on.

“Lexie, look over here for a second,” Zeke asked, in his usual ‘it’s not really a request’ voice. I opened my eyes. He was holding his phone up; there was the distinct sound of a picture being taken. The shit head.

“Zeke, I look like shit,” I groaned, wiping more tears away. The corner of his mouth twitched as he focused on doing something with his phone.

“The guys wanted proof you were alive and awake.” He looked up his eyes meeting mine. “I put ‘Getting suffocated by Asher’ in the text, just so you know.”

I snorted as I began rubbing Asher’s lower back.

“Ally girl, you scared the hell out of me,” Asher whispered into my hair.

“I didn’t mean to.”

Asher grunted before giving me a small squeeze and letting go. He stepped back, and Zeke stepped forward immediately. His hard eyes softened as they ran over my face. He bent down to pick me up, one arm under my butt the other lightly across my back. My arms moved around his neck, my face finding a spot between his neck and shoulder. I took a deep breath of leather and engine grease. I had never had a hug like it in my life.

“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.

“I hate to interrupt, but she needs to eat, or she’s going to crash,” Rory announced from the dining room.

I thought Zeke would put me down, but instead he walked into the dining area, carrying me; holding onto me as long as he could. He gave me one last squeeze before setting me down in a chair. I turned in my chair, wiping my tears off my face. Then I saw the huge plate of food Rory had set out. A big, thick steak with a pile of potatoes, and a small amount of green beans. My stomach growled. I started digging into the food, my body craving it.

“Ally usually eats a quarter of that; can she really finish it all?” Asher asked, sounding genuinely curious. I didn’t bother answering. I needed to get the food down, or I’d be in real big trouble.

“Just watch, during after-burn you use a lot of energy, especially stored fat. I bet you she’s a couple pounds lighter than she was this morning,” Rory explained.

Feeling a little stronger, I stopped eating long enough to be a smart ass.

“Yeah, it’s the best diet in the world,” I told them with fake enthusiasm before taking another bite of potatoes. My joke fell flat; Rory glared at me.

“It would be if not for the threat of becoming a vegetable, or oh yeah, death,” he said sarcastically, though his voice was hard. He really didn’t like my joke.

The boys watched in stunned silence as I finished off the plate of food--it didn’t take long. I pushed the plate away and leaned back, my stomach very full.

“That was so good,” I announced.

“Asher cooked, I only bought the groceries,” Rory admitted gesturing to Asher. I turned to Asher whose cheeks were turning a tinge pink.

“Really?”

Asher nodded, one hand rubbing the back of his neck.

I turned to Rory. “Can we keep him? Please?” I asked, sounding entirely serious. Which I was. That was the best meal I’d had in years.

Rory rolled his eyes at me. There was a knock at the front door. Frowning, Rory got to his feet and answered.

“Where is she?” A honey like voice demanded. I turned a little in my chair to see Isaac darting past Rory and towards me. I balled up and covered my head with my arms.

“Gently, gently, gently,” I whimpered painfully, almost squeaking. When I wasn’t pounced on, I peeked out of my arms to see Asher had intercepted Isaac; Zeke was halfway out of his chair as if Asher had just been faster.

“Easy, she’s sore.” Asher’s voice was soft but firm.

Isaac's eyes were running over me, his pale face serious as he nodded. He knocked Asher’s hand away as he came toward me again. He knelt down on the floor and wrapped his arms around me, knees and all. It was a couple minutes before he shifted, lifting me and putting me in his lap on the floor. My head against his chest, my legs draped over one of his. Tears were falling again as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“You came back,” I whispered, not quite realizing I spoke out loud. He squeezed me tighter.

“No shit.” he whispered, his voice thick. He just held me against him as if he could keep all the bad things away as long as I was with him. It felt really fucking good. It was a while before he spoke to me again.

“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.”

Isaac was still holding me when there was another knock on the door. Isaac turned me in his arms as Rory opened the door. Ethan’s eyes went straight to me as he strode through the great room. Isaac intervened this time.

“Soft hands, brother, soft hands.”

Without stopping, Ethan nodded that he understood. He held out a hand, I took it. He pulled me to my feet, wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me to him. One arm running up my spine, his hand around the back of my neck. My nose bumped his collarbone; I lifted my chin to his shoulder for comfort. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders holding him. Tears were falling again.

“Should I even bother closing the door this time?” Rory asked the room.

“Probably not, I bet Miles is on the way over here,” Isaac offered, his voice strained.

“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. His spicy cologne filled my nose as he actually shook in my arms. I felt tears fall on my skin that weren’t mine. I held his shoulders tighter and pressed my body completely against his, from chest to knee. His hands kept flexing against me, as if he wanted to squeeze tighter but was stopping himself. I moved one hand around the back of his neck and stroked it, trying to comfort him.

“I’m okay, I’m here. I’m fine,” I kept whispering. My heart ached. Ethan and Isaac’s reactions were intense. Like they were in a terrifying nightmare, but now they were awake and trying to reassure themselves it was all a dream. I didn’t understand how to make it better. So, I just held him against me.

I spotted Rory out of the corner of my eye standing at the table; he was watching Ethan hold me with a hard look on his face. Asher leaned toward him and said something I couldn’t hear. Rory’s face softened, then quickly his face was full of understanding.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Ethan asked, his voice not like himself. I swallowed hard.

“I didn’t want you to think I was a freak,” I whispered.

“That was dumb, Beautiful, very dumb.”

I smiled into his hair. He was starting to sound like himself again.

“How was band practice?” I asked.

He barked a laugh once against my shoulder. “Shitty, beyond shitty. They wanted to kick me out I was so bad.” He took a steady breath. “I told them to fuck off.”

I wiped my tears from my cheek. There was another knock on the door.

“Can I come in?” Miles asked. Rory must have left the door open this time.

“Will you just get in here?” Isaac groaned at him.

Ethan pulled back from me wiping at his face before joining the others at the table.

I turned around to find Miles standing behind me. For once, he didn’t hesitate. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him, his other hand cupping my neck his thumb resting in front of my ear. He held my cheek against his collarbone, my forehead against his neck. I took a deep breath of his wintergreen scent and let it out. His body was relaxed against mine.

“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.”

I smiled into his shirt, soaking it with my tears.

“You know, I thought you had a brain tumor,” he said. He sounded so relieved that I snorted into his shoulder.

“I’m sorry.” I swallowed hard before trying to make it easier on him. “And you thought you were weird.”

He sighed and held me a little tighter.

“Unique, Lexie, unique. Remember?” he whispered back to me.

I gave a small nod, my face rubbing against his hoodie. I was vaguely aware of the others in the room.

“How’d you get out of the house?” Ethan asked, from behind me.

“Snuck out,” Isaac answered.

“I thought I saw Mom’s car out there. She’s going to be pissed.”

“Miles probably snuck out, too,” Isaac pointed out.

“But he didn’t steal his mom’s car,” Ethan replied.

“Are you sure you're okay?” Miles asked, his voice concerned. “Do you taste anything strange? Are you numb anywhere? Has your vision changed?”

I smiled into his chest. He’d been looking up the symptoms of a brain bleed.

“I’m okay, Miles, just hurting and tired,” I whispered to him.

“Do you need anything? I can have a doctor here in fifteen minutes.”

I squeezed him a little tighter. That was Miles, always looking to make things better.

“Hey, why didn’t you warn Miles to go easy?” Isaac accused someone.

“It’s Miles,” several voices answered at once.

I smiled against Miles' hoodie again. It wasn’t much longer before Miles started to get tense against me. I let him go then and stepped back. His ears were pink as he adjusted his glasses, looking everywhere but at me. That only lasted a moment before his eyes were running over me assessing.

“So, can you please explain what’s going on?” Miles asked politely.

I nodded and walked back to the table. I sat down between Asher and Isaac. I looked around the table, still amazed that they were there. I was tired, wrung out. But they were there, so I started talking.

“I’ve been seeing the dead since I was a kid. I remember seeing my first ghost at 5 years old.” I kept my eyes on the table as I laid it out for them. “It’s usually not like this. A ghost will find me or run into me. Some need someone to listen, they tell their story to me. Others just need to be convinced that they don’t belong here anymore. And some just don’t realize they're dead.”

I paused and looked up, meeting Rory’s eyes.

“And then there is the kind that wants to watch the world burn. They’re angry. They want to cause as much pain and damage as possible.” My voice cracked, I swallowed hard.

Rory got up and walked into the kitchen then brought me out a bottle of water. I smiled my thanks. I tried to open it, but my hands were shaking again. Asher took the bottle from me, opened it then handed it back. I thanked him and took a deep drink before continuing.

“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.” I looked around the group feeling naked. I’ve never had to tell anyone outside the family about this, they never stuck around long enough. This was going to be harder than I thought

“Is that what happened today? You got jumped?” Ethan asked, his face turning dark.

I met his eyes and nodded, then explained, my gaze on the middle of the table again.

“On my first day, I saw a dead girl at the school, judging from her clothes I’d say she was from the 60s. She is so angry that she’s dead that she wants to tear into everyone around her. Make them suffer like she is.” I shook my head as I remembered her. “When they get like that, I just stay the hell away.”

I looked around at the guys again, then settled my eyes on Rory. “I don’t know if there is a way to help them, to stop them or even how to get rid of them.” There. I finally admitted to Rory how little I actually knew. My lungs were tight as my eyes filled with tears again. A storm of emotions raced through me. I was ashamed that I didn’t know the answer that I knew I should. Embarrassed that it’s taken me this long to admit it. But connecting all of that was this deep feeling of helplessness. I didn’t know what I was doing. I’d been winging it for so long that I’ve never had the chance to figure it out.

I bit my bottom lip, using the pain to chase back the tears. I really needed to stop fucking crying. It worked. I took a shaky breath and let it out slow.

“If you saw her that day, why didn’t she jump you then?” Asher asked, his face neutral.

“She tried a little, she reached out, and I told her no,” I explained, my voice stronger now that I was back on a topic I knew something about. “You can keep them out, by putting your energy into saying no. By simply meaning it. But if they have more juice, they can keep trying.” I took a drink of water before continuing. “The first day, she used everything she had and only managed to give me a nosebleed.”

Asher frowned at me.

“That’s why you’ve been getting nosebleeds at school? This ghost is attacking you? Every day?” Isaac asked, looking disturbed by the news.

I nodded and then tried to explain “In this case, yes, though a ghost doesn’t have to be attacking me. I usually get a small one just by being near a ghost for a while, it happens all the time.”

“Hold it,” Zeke growled, his eyes on my face. “The library?”

“Yeah,” I said, “there was a dead woman in the stacks. Two ghosts in one day and the physical side-effects get worse.”

“I think I know the answer to this but, the hike?” Ethan asked, rubbing his fingers over his eyes.

I bit the corner of my bottom lip before answering.

“Yeah, Karen Malone only wanted her body found,” I admitted.

“You weren’t sick because of the body, were you?” Miles asked, his face blank.

“That had two parts. She walked with us for a while so she could show me where her body was.”

“How long?” Isaac asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Since the first time I supposedly had to find a tree, till we found her,” I admitted, wincing. Rory frowned.

“How long was that boys?” Rory demanded.

Oh, come on, I almost died today. Didn’t that give me a 'don’t get chewed out' pass?

“Forty-five minutes to an hour,” Asher offered.

Rory’s eyes bored into mine. I swallowed hard.

“God damn it, Lexie!” Rory shouted at me. “You can’t fucking expose yourself to the dead for that long!”

“She stayed back, mostly,” I raced to explain. “I only had a nosebleed for the last ten minutes.”

Rory ran his hands through his hair, clearly pissed with me. But he was quiet, so I continued.

“At the end, when we found her body she stood too close and the memories of how she died kind of poured into my head. I felt everything that she did when she died.” The guys cursed, Miles clenched his jaw. “I usually can keep that from happening, but I was distracted at the time.”

I looked back at the guys and went back to what I was trying to tell them before. “Basically, I get nosebleeds two ways: The first is just by being around a ghost. It also depends on how old the ghost is; the older they are, the more juice they have. The more juice, the faster I have a bloody nose.” I took another drink before continuing. “But the angry ones like to do it on purpose.”

I wasn’t explaining this very well. So I tried again. “All the angry ones want is to hurt someone, most of the time. They can barely manage it on a normal person. It takes everything out of them.” I swallowed trying to get rid of the knot in my throat. “Then here I come, a person sensitive to the dead, which means they don’t use as much energy to hurt me as they would a normal person.” I shrugged and summed up. “I’m a shiny new toy to play with.”

There were curses all around the table. Ethan’s eyes were stormy; his face dark, Isaac was frowning. Miles’ eyes were unfocused. Asher seemed bewildered. And Zeke, Zeke was glaring at the table, his face hard, jaw clenched. The effect was scary. His blue eyes met mine; he was shaken. He blinked, and it was gone so fast I started doubting I saw it at all. His face was like stone again.

“Let’s go back to this afternoon,” Rory said, breaking the tense silence. “I know she kept you from getting to your last class on Friday. You did some research and had that theory about barriers.”

“Yeah, and I was wrong. She’s getting more juice from somewhere,” I admitted freely. I fucked up, and I had no clue what to do.

“How?” Rory asked.

I scoffed out a laugh. “I have no fucking idea,” I said wearily, keeping my gaze on Rory. “She shouldn’t have been able to. She bulldozed me,” I explained, my voice becoming hard. “She took control hard and fast.”

“Is that why you dropped like that? She took control?” Miles asked.

“Sort of, I reacted fast enough that she couldn’t take full control. She had control of my body; I had control of my mind. We were both too busy attacking each other for either of us to use my body.” I answered him before turning back to Rory. “I realized pretty damn quickly that I couldn’t knock her out of me. I managed to get the upper hand long enough to get a few words out.” My eyes moved to Zeke, met his gaze then back to Rory’s. “After that, I could only hold her off. She realized that I was stalling. She slammed down on me and knocked me out. The last thing I remember is the backseat of a car.”

“If she knocked you out, then why didn’t she take control of your body?” Miles asked, pushing his glasses back onto his nose.

“She couldn’t, I was still in my body, and my body was out cold. So, she did the only thing she could.” I looked at Rory hesitating.

“She tried to kill her,” Rory told them for me, his face dark.

Curses sounded around the table. Isaac rested his hands on his head, his fingers pressing into his scalp. Ethan was twirling one of the rings on his fingers, Asher began rubbing his neck, Miles' fingers were tapping, and Zeke was running his hand through his hair. They all looked upset or pissed to some degree; Miles' face was blank.

Rory looked around the table at the guys. “She would have died if you guys weren’t there, if you hadn’t listened to her.” Rory swallowed hard. “Someone would have called an ambulance; she would have gone to the hospital and died. It would have looked like an aneurysm.”

I watched his hands shaking. He was remembering Claire. He couldn’t take this right now, not after today.

“Rory,” I called my voice soft. “I got this now, it's okay to take a walk.”

Rory met my eyes, his brown eyes brimming with tears. He nodded, got up and walked out the back door. I waited until I knew he was away from the house. I looked around the table as they looked at me questioningly. “That’s how my Aunt Claire died,” I explained. “She was eight years old.”

Soft curses came from them. I leaned forward, resting my forearms on the table determined to get it out. “So, if you’re unconscious and you have a dead person's soul inside trying to kill you, the only thing you can do is get them out.” I looked around at their faces, trying to judge how they were taking this. I didn’t get much. “Hot water keeps your temperature from dropping, while scrubbing with salt forces the ghost to leave.”

“Why salt?” Miles asked, his eyes calculating.

“It’s a pure mineral, I’m guessing. It’s the only thing my family has found that keeps the dead away.” I bit my lower lip hard before looking up at them. “Rory told me you guys were the ones who got me in the shower, started scrubbing with salt.” I looked around the table meeting each pair of eyes. “Thank you, you guys saved my life.”

A tense moment followed. No one knew what to say. So naturally, I had to be a smart ass. I pretended to look confused. “Who’s the butt guy? Cause I’ve got, like, road rash on my ass.”

Everyone burst out laughing; it was a little desperate, slightly hysterical but exactly what we needed. Miles was the first to pull it together.

“You don't really, right?” Miles asked, actually looking concerned. I shook my head as another round of laughter went up, this time at Miles. When we all settled down, I grinned at them.

“So, that’s everything. You now know all my deep dark secrets,” I told them, half joking, but mostly feeling naked in front of them. I really didn’t like feeling this vulnerable; it made me twitchy.

“Seems to me...” Miles began, drawing everyone’s attention by pulling his cell phone out. “We need to find something that will keep a ghost from touching you. Correct?”

I smirked at his choice of words.

“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 smart ass.

“Oh, Red. That was bad,” Isaac told me still laughing.

I shrugged as I stopped laughing and was serious again.

“I don’t know if there is anything like that,” I admitted, looking down at the middle of the table again. “I’ve never really had a chance to do any research. Not with…” I stopped myself before I told them about my mother. I looked up to find almost all the guys were looking at their phones. Thankfully, no one had noticed.

“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.” Several sounds of agreement, including a grunt or two came from around the table.

I couldn’t stop staring at them. They weren’t leaving. I had a problem; it was freaky and weird. Instead of walking away, they were trying to find an answer. They were fucking amazing. I felt that feeling in my chest again, that feeling of being cared about. It was really going to take time to get used to it.

I picked up my phone and started looking, too. A while later, Rory came back inside and asked what we were all doing. Miles was explaining when Asher interrupted.

“Okay, I’ve got one.” He didn’t bother looking up from his phone. “Rosemary. It says it’s a banishing herb.”

“How is she going to use that?” Miles asked, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

“Maybe she could wear it,” Asher offered, his eyes still on his screen.

“Anise can work too... oh wait that can be toxic.” Isaac’s voice started happy but then slid into grumpy.

“Yeah, we’re trying to keep her alive,” Zeke grumbled.

“I found something, but it’s for the house,” Ethan announced, hesitating.

I looked up at him and nodded, encouraging him to continue.

He looked back down at his phone and read out loud. “Growing Betony around your house will help keep evil and malicious entities out.”

“Guess we’re getting some Betony,” Rory declared. “That'll have to wait till spring, though.”

I looked up and found him looking through his own phone. It went on like that for over several hours--the boys calling out what they found and debating the best way to use it. It was near 11 when Rory called it and sent the boys home. I gave them each their own hug, thanking them again for saving my ass. Then they were gone. Rory let me go to bed, for once, without icing my back.