His eyebrows rose toward his shaved hairline as his muscles relaxed. “Tell me you’re kidding about the marriage part.”
Collapsing against the locker, I let the back of my head hit the metal. I wished I was kidding. That one question became the domino that destroyed my relationship with her. “I’m not. I f**ked it all up, bro, and I don’t know how to fix it.”
Isaiah’s combat boots thumped against the floor as he came closer to me. “All I’m saying is that I don’t see you fighting for your girl, man. If you want her, then stop punching lockers and start focusing on the prize.”
Echo
The smell of acrylic paint tickled my nose the moment I walked into the gallery. Landscapes filled the canvases on the wall. A painting of long blade grass bending with the wind caught my eye. Earlier today, I’d exposed my arms. This afternoon, I was finding answers.
Nerves caused my blood to skip in my veins. The last time I visited this place, Aires was still alive and my mother was on her meds. Mom had chuckled when Aires told her he didn’t understand one of her paintings and he’d pulled my hair when I called him an idiot. He’d laughed when I smacked him in return. A weight pressed down on my lungs. Aires laughed. I should have hugged him then. I should have hugged him and never let go.
“Can I help you?” asked a female voice.
I plastered a smile on my face and turned. “Hi, Bridget.”
Bridget’s blue eyes widened. Her sleek midnight-black hair hung to her shoulders and angled her face. At six feet tall, she towered over me. As I always remembered her, she wore a chic black business suit. “Echo. My God, you’ve grown.”
“It happens.” I shifted from one foot to the next. “Do you have a few minutes?”
“For you, always. Would you like some water?”
“Sure.” She led the way to her office.
“What can I do for you?”
Now or never. “I’m hoping you can help me with two things.”
She handed me a bottled water and twisted the top off of hers. “Tell me number one.”
“You told me once that if I was ever interested in selling my paintings you wanted me to call you first. Does that offer still stand?”
Bridget licked her lips and sat. “Your mom showed me your sketches for years. I’ve been dying for this day. Did you bring anything for me to look at?”
I shook my head.
“Pick out your five favorite paintings and bring a full sketch pad for me to peruse tomorrow.” She narrowed her eyes. “You’re still in school, right?”
“I graduate next month.”
“Brilliant.” Her eyes glittered as if her mind had gone to a far-off place. She blinked back to life. “Two?”
“I want to find my mom.”
She lost the glitter and her smile fell. “Cassie doesn’t work here anymore. You know that.”
“Yeah, I do, but you were her best friend. I’m hoping you could at least tell me where she ended up. Maybe if she found another job, who hired her, or at least who called for references.”
Bridget took a long drink from her water. “Your mom was in a bad place for a very long time, Echo. What happened to you is a tragedy and she feels nothing but remorse.”
My heart beat faster. “You know what happened to me?”
“Yes.” Her long fingernails ripped at the label on the bottle. “And she said that you don’t.”
Adrenaline poured into my body. My foot tapped against the floor. “You still talk with her?”
“Yes.” The sound of the label tearing filled the silence.
I reached around and pulled an envelope from my back pocket. “Please just give this to her. She can decide how to proceed. Okay?”
She stared at my outstretched hand. “I know your dad liked to keep you in a glass ball so maybe you’re not aware of the restraining order.”
“I’m not interested in sending her to jail. I just want to see her.” I shook the letter in my hand and tried Mrs. Collins’s puppy dog eyes. “Please, Bridget.”
Bridget accepted the envelope. “I’m not promising anything. Do you understand?”
I nodded, too worked up to speak. Either I’d solved all my problems or I’d created a whole new set of them. It didn’t matter. I was done living like a coward. It was time to be strong.
NOAH
“How are you, Noah?” Mrs. Collins smiled when I waltzed into her office and sank into the chair.
“I’ve been better.”
That got her attention. “At least you’re being honest today. What brought that on?”
I shook my head, not able to answer. I’d heard a rumor that Luke had broken up with his girl of the week with the intention of asking Echo to prom. The bastard barely waited three weeks before going after my girl.
Shifting in my seat, I tried to erase the thought of Echo as my girl. We’d broken up and Isaiah was right, I’d done nothing to stop it. I wanted Echo to be happy and there was no way she could with a boyfriend who was busy raising two little boys. Isaiah said I should have made it her choice and to try talking with Echo again. I wanted Echo in my life, but in the end her life would be better without me.
Beth promised to ask around and find out whether Echo accepted Luke’s offer. Part of me hoped she said yes. I’d f**ked up her Valentine’s Dance. She deserved a good prom.
“You’ll be happy to know the drug test the judge ordered came back negative.”
I shrugged. I hadn’t touched weed in months. “You expected a different result?”
She laughed. “I’ve met Beth.”
I laughed along with her. At least she called a spade a spade. For the past couple of weeks, Mrs. Collins had tried to dig at me, but I kept our topics of conversation stuck on my brothers. Sometimes we discussed the possibility of a future in college I’d never have.
“How are things going with Jacob?” After my visit to Legal Aid, Carrie and Joe found a cutthroat lawyer and rescinded my visitation privileges. Some bullshit about me using drugs and partying and being a bad influence on my brothers. Hence the drug test. Smart move on their part. Before Echo their claim wasn’t bullshit, but since her, it was.
“You know I can’t discuss private details, but I can tell you a story about this wonderful child named Jack who had night terrors for three years.”
My lips twitched. Mrs. Collins wasn’t so bad after all. “So how’s Jack?”
“Jack slept through an entire night without a nightmare this past week.”
The air caught in my chest, making it a little hard to breathe. “Thanks.”
“Thank you. I don’t believe Carrie and Joe would have figured out what tormented him if you hadn’t told me.”
We sat in silence for a few seconds. I stared down at my combat boots.
“I’d like to discuss what torments you.”
“Echo has been absent a lot.” She’d missed three days two weeks ago and two last week.
She raised her eyebrows. “Not exactly what I was going for, but I’ll bite. Yes, she has.”
The more I talked, the more I backed myself into a corner, but I didn’t care. Maybe I wanted to be cornered. “Is she okay?”
“Why don’t you ask her?”
“We don’t talk.” But I needed to. The part Isaiah had ordered for Aires’ car had finally arrived.
Mrs. Collins leaned forward on her desk. “What happened between the two of you?”
“We broke up,” I bit out. “I changed my mind. I don’t want to talk about Echo.” I looked away. Thinking about Echo hurt.
She stared at me with those puppy eyes and opened my file. “Then let’s discuss the upcoming ACT testing date.”
MRS. COLLINS BRIBED ME INTO registering for the ACT. If I took the test and applied to a couple of schools, then she’d help prep me for my meeting with the judge after graduation. She wasted her time. Any doubts I had about gaining custody of my brothers ended when Carrie and Joe stole my visitation.
Mrs. Collins’s cell phone rang, something that hadn’t happened since I’d known her. She answered it immediately and then turned to me. “I’ll see you next week. Please tell Echo that I’ll be with her in a few minutes.”
Our appointment had run over. I slid a hand over my face when I opened the door. For the past three weeks I’d busted ass out of this office to avoid being alone with Echo, and now…. Fuck.
She sat alone in the row of seats, skimming her iPhone, rocking her foot in her own silent rhythm. I shut the door behind me and leaned my back against it. “Isaiah has the part you need to finish Aires’ car.”
She flashed a surprised smile and her green eyes glittered. “You’re kidding? I assumed that after … you know … he wouldn’t want to …”
“Isaiah’s been a walking hard-on since he saw that car. Besides, I promised I’d help you fix it.” Part of my heart soared from seeing her happy; the other part drowned in misery. “He said he’d come by this weekend and finish it.”
“This weekend?” Echo hopped out of the seat. “Isaiah is going to fix my brother’s car this weekend? Oh. My. God!” She placed a hand over her mouth. “That is amazing!”
She launched herself at me. I closed my eyes the moment her arms slipped around my neck. I slid my hands to familiar places and reveled in her delicious smell. For three weeks I’d felt like a puzzle with missing pieces. Her body fit perfectly into mine, making me feel whole again. “I’ve missed you.”
I swore Echo clutched me tighter before stepping back. “I’m sorry. That was totally inappropriate.”
Begrudgingly I let go, chuckling. “I’m all about inappropriate.”
Her laughter healed and stung at the same time. “Yeah, you are.” She bit her lip and my smile grew when her eyes wandered down then back up my body. Echo blinked. “How are things going with your brothers?”
I motioned with my chin toward the chairs and we sat next to each other. Her knee and shoulder barely brushed against me and I wished more than anything that I could run my fingers through her hair. “The judge set a date to hear me out after graduation. Mrs. Collins has been prepping me.”
“That is awesome!”
“Yeah.” I forced optimism into my voice.
Her cheeks fell, as did her joy. “What’s wrong?”
“Carrie and Joe hired a lawyer and I lost visitation.”
Echo placed her delicate hand over mine. “Oh, Noah. I am so sorry. Have you seen them at all?”
I’d spent countless hours on the couch in the basement, staring at the ceiling wondering what she was doing. Her laughter, her smile, the feel of her body next to mine, and the regret that I let her walk away too easily haunted me. Taking the risk, I entwined my fingers with hers. Odds were I’d never get the chance to be this close again. “No, Mrs. Collins convinced me the best thing to do is to keep my distance and follow the letter of the law.”
“Wow, Mrs. Collins is a freaking miracle worker. Dangerous Noah Hutchins on the straight and narrow. If you don’t watch out she’ll ruin your rep with the girls.” Echo waggled her eyebrows.