31. Rule #31 Live Life To The Fullest

Rule #31: Live Life To The Fullest

Zoe

T he sun streamed through my white curtains as I woke, reaching for Daniel, but his side of the bed was empty. Not cold though, and a few seconds later I registered the sound of the shower running. I smiled to myself, snuggling back into the warmth of the covers and feeling settled by his scent surrounding me. The smell of pine trees and fresh rain was a balm to my weary soul.

The shower switched off and a few minutes later I drank in the sight of my boyfriend stepping out of my en-suite bathroom wearing nothing but low riding gray sweatpants that should be illegal. He padded barefoot over to my bed, kneeled over me and kissed me good morning.

"Breakfast?" he asked.

"Is breakfast possibly me?" I replied. "Because I think for the first time in my life I am gonna say I am all orgasmed out right now."

Daniel laughed and those fucking dimples that made me weak popped out. I had woken him up at some point in the night and we hadn't gone back to sleep till the early hours. I was exhausted. The delicious ache between my thighs made me smile, but my stomach growled. Daniel bent down and kissed my tummy.

"Let me get this monster fed before it murders me," he said with a laugh.

I caressed his head and pulled him up for another kiss. "Love you," I said.

"Forever and always," he replied.

He extricated himself from my koala death grip, then continued to towel dry his hair. Dropping it in the hamper in the corner of my room, he stopped at my drawing desk. The strong muscles of his back drew my attention as he leaned over, picking up a few, splitting the pile into two.

"What are you doing?" I asked, propping myself up on one elbow.

He tapped a finger on one of the piles. "I want to display these in the gallery in the upcoming showcase."

"Isn't it nepotism to show your girlfriend's art without going through the proper channels?" I asked.

"I am the proper channels, love," he said, glancing back at me with a raised eyebrow. "I go through the portfolios and make the offers. And I'm offering you a spot, if you want it."

"If I want it?" I echoed.

"Yeah, I'm not forcing you to do something you're not comfortable doing. But I'd love to see these displayed."

Nerves churned in my gut. My art was personal. They were the dark, intimate pieces of my soul made tangible. I never did it with the intention to share it. It was an emotional outlet, but Daniel saw more. "Can I think about it?"

"Of course," he answered, grabbing a t-shirt and pulling it over his head. I pouted at the disappearing abs and he laughed. "Breakfast," he reminded me, heading downstairs .

I hit the shower and by the time I had made myself decent and got downstairs, Daniel had breakfast ready and waiting. It was cute the way he had set the table up with some wildflowers from the garden, and impressive the way he had managed to whip up scrambled eggs, fried sausages and tomatoes and also pancakes dripping with maple syrup. Pulling out a chair for me, he kissed the top of my head then got me a cup of coffee just the way I liked it.

"What are your plans for today?" he asked. Lewis had given us the week off. Something about how almost dying deserved sick leave.

"Dunno," I replied. "Are you going to the gallery today?"

"Nah," he said. "Wanna spend the day with you to be honest."

I beamed at him. "I'd love that."

We spent the rest of the morning in bed, Daniel worshiping my body the way he promised to. But around lunch time, Lewis burst our sex bubble. Luckily for him, he'd brought food.

"Did you think I'd show up here without Thai food and have my balls chopped off?" he asked before slurping some noodles.

"I'm sure that redhead took good care of your balls last night," I replied, crunching into an eggroll.

"Her hair was auburn and Lisa was lovely, thank you very much."

"I'm sure she was. Surprised you got her name right."

"Might have been Lana now that you mention it. Or Lara."

"Lewis, I swear to all the gods, I love you, but you're disgusting."

Lewis shrugged. He'd never been more than a one night stand kinda man. "She knew what the deal was. I didn't make any promises. Are you saying women can't choose how they seek their sexual pleasure?" he shot back.

"You know I'm not," I said, pointing my half-eaten eggroll at him. "Been there, done that. "

Daniel choked on his soda beside me and I patted his back absentmindedly without breaking my death stare at Lewis.

"But you can at least remember their names."

"Pretty sure she didn't give a fuck with all the orgasms I was giving her."

"Gross," I said, scrunching my nose.

"Anyway, seeing as you're home today, you can help me," he said.

"With what? I was gonna take Daniel back upstairs."

"Gross. Not while I'm in the house please."

"What are you doing at my house when you have a business to run?"

"Lexi's death isn't going to solve itself, Zo."

After almost dying, I kind of forgot we were doing that. And also that I had access to the only person who had experienced death and was around to tell me about it.

"Where is she anyway?" I asked. "She's been scarce lately."

"No idea," Daniel replied. "She hasn't been popping up at inappropriate times."

"I'll go check her attic," Lewis said.

"Nah, I'll do it," I said, hopping off the barstool. Leaving the boys to talk about whatever it was they spoke about when I wasn't around, I went up to the attic room that I hadn't stepped foot in since that first day we found Lexi haunting the house. But somebody else certainly had been up here since then. The boxes had been arranged in a kind of order. There wasn't a speck of dust to be found, and it seemed more homey than it had before. The large porthole window had been cleaned and sunlight streamed through it falling on a giant Persian rug that had previously been rolled up in a corner. The only thing still in its place was the covered full length mirror in a dark corner.

"Lexi?" I called out. "Are you up here?"

She materialized in front of me, looking pensive .

"Have you been hiding?" I asked.

She wrung her hands in a clear tell that she was uncomfortable.

"Kinda?" she said.

I frowned at that. "Why?"

Lexi shrugged, averting her gaze.

"Lexi, what's wrong?" I asked, softening my voice.

"You almost died," she whispered.

"Yeah, I did. It's an unfortunate risk in this life. We're all going to die, Lexi."

"Yes, I'm well aware," she snapped.

"I'm sorry," I rushed. "I didn't think."

"I thought maybe you'd want to ask me about dying," she said. "I don't actually remember much. It was dark and warm."

"Peaceful and safe," I added.

She looked at me with watery eyes. "Yeah. And then I felt like I was drifting away, but then I hit a solid wall." A frown formed on her face as she tried to recall. "Then I was back here. With my grandmother."

"We'll find out what happened, Lexi. I promise. Then you'll have peace."

"I just wish I had a life. This haunting is killing me. Well, metaphorically at least. It kills me to watch everyone living and I'm just a spectator. You're still so young, Zoe. You have a whole life to experience and I would never want this for you. You can live and breathe and dance and feel the sun on your skin…"

I looked around the attic again, taking in small details I hadn't noticed before. A vase of sunflowers sat near the window and a couple of armchairs had been arranged, facing each other.

"Rory did this," I said.

"Yeah, she misses the sun too. But the window is UV protected so we lie up here sometimes. "

Guilt twisted in my chest. I had been so caught up in myself that I hadn't stopped for a minute to realize that they weren't coping at all either.

"I want you to grab life with both hands and run with it. Love the handsome werewolf, go dancing because you can, share your beautiful art with the world."

I gave her a flat, unimpressed look. "Have you been eavesdropping again?"

She shrugged unapologetically. "I get bored sometimes. I have to live vicariously through you."

Lexi reached for my hands, and to our mutual shock, she actually grabbed on to them. It was like being doused in ice water but I didn't dare let go. Not when she looked me in the eye and said, "Live for me."