But it was real and it was official. I was a pansy-ass for not saying the words. Say them. Just say them. I sucked in a breath, opened my mouth, then snapped it shut. No. Not here. I’d take her someplace nice. Someplace beautiful. Maybe back to my parents’ fountain. “Your dad called last night looking for you. I told him you were here.”
She drew away from me, wrapping her hands around her knees. “I guess I should probably head home.” A bitter smile hung on her lips. “Think he’ll forgive me for breaking the rules for one night?”
I didn’t want her to go, ever. I wanted Echo in my bed every night with my arms and legs wrapped around her. But how? In two months she’d be a free woman. Free of high school and, if she chose, free of her father, but I wouldn’t be free.
Taking care of my brothers wouldn’t be like babysitting, it would be a job. A full-time job that required responsibility. How did I explain to young children the difference between a serious dating relationship and a committed, married relationship when they awoke to find Echo in my bed? Even better, would the judge allow me custody knowing half my heart belonged to someone else?
I wouldn’t be their big brother. Fuck, Mrs. Collins was right— I’d be their dad and Echo … Echo would be the woman I was sleeping with. The words tumbled out of my mouth before I knew what I was saying. “Marry me.”
Her eyes widened and her head tilted with a twitch. “What?”
I brushed my hair out of my face and sat up, putting the sketch pad down. “I know it’s crazy, but after we graduate, marry me. We’ll get custody of my brothers and you can get away from your dad and we’ll be a family. I know you want a family as much as I do.”
Her mouth gaped and her eyes flickered between the pillow and the sheets. “Noah … I … I don’t know. I mean, how would we support ourselves? Where would we live?”
“Frank offered me the day shift manager position yesterday. If you marry me, you’ll get to be on my insurance. I know you’ll nail one of those college scholarships you’ve applied for, so we don’t have to worry about paying tuition. You can get a parttime job and help me take care of the boys. Maybe if things go well, I could take some night classes in a year.”
Excitement rippled through me. Maybe I didn’t have to negotiate. Maybe I could have it all, just at a slower rate than I would have liked. “It’ll be perfect. You can go to classes and work while the boys are in school. I can get them ready and off to school before my shift and you’ll be there to pick them up. There is absolutely no way the judge can tell me no.”
“No.” Echo’s small voice caught me off guard. She grabbed her jeans and rolled off the bed. “No. Is this all I’ve ever been to you?” She shrugged them on and then threw on her shirt. “A pawn to get your brothers back?”
No. She was distorting my every word. I sprang off the bed. “No, baby. You have to know how much I care for you.”
She shoved on her boots. “Really, Noah? You’ve never once told me that you love me, yet you’re willing to marry me. I’m not sure if you were listening, but your proposal sounded something like this. ‘Hey, baby, marry me and then you can take care of my brothers.’”
Everything inside of me twisted and began to shatter. I’d fucked this up. “You’ve got to know how I feel. Please, baby, I …”
She threw a hand up in the air. “Don’t. Don’t cheapen my feelings for you by lying to me. I’m the idiot in this situation. You told me I was yours, nothing more than a piece of property—a body to sleep with. You never promised me anything else. At least you kept your word and made me more than the whores in the backseat of your car. So thanks, Noah, thanks for not fucking me.”
The basement door opened and Isaiah called out, “Coming down, cover up!”
Echo flew up the stairs as he came down. Isaiah stopped at the foot of the stairs watching her leave. “Where’s the fire, Echo?”
“Echo, wait!” I yelled out to her. Isaiah blocked my path.
“What the hell, man?” he asked.
“Let me by,” I growled and pushed past him. By the time I reached the front stoop, Echo had pulled off down the street. I slammed my fist against the house, but my throbbing hand couldn’t match the pain tearing at my heart. I’d lost Echo.
Echo
Lying on my bed, I clutched my tank top to my chest and wished the knife would stop stabbing my heart. Noah’s sweet musky scent lingered on my tank. It had hurt when I’d broken up with Luke, but nothing like this. I loved Noah. I really, really loved him.
His messages made sense. All of them. I stopped counting how many he left after five. He cared for me, wanted to be with me, and had spoken without thinking. Noah secretly had been wondering how to make it work between me and his brothers. If I only called him back, he promised to find a way. Sure, he’d like to marry me, but on my time frame, not his.
Yesterday morning, I’d been ticked, but as the day wore on I realized that the world didn’t revolve around me. More than anything, I wanted to call Noah back, accept his apology and fall into his safe, strong arms, but he deserved better than selfish me.
Never thinking beyond my next tutoring session, I’d been caught up in my own delusions of finding my lost memories. I hadn’t thought about what would happen after graduation or what it would mean for him to gain custody of his brothers. I loved Noah more than I’d ever loved anybody else. I loved him enough to do the thing that hurt me.
I sniffed and wiped my face when someone knocked on my door. “Can I come in?” my father asked from the other side.
No, but my options were limited. I’d snuck past him and Ashley earlier to avoid a confrontation. Dad’s rebuke had to happen at some point. I shoved my tank under my covers, sat up, and hugged a pillow to keep myself from falling apart. “Sure.”
My father took a seat on my bed and stared at my mother’s paintings. He looked as tired as I felt. “Promise me you won’t break curfew again.”
“All right.” Giving in seemed easier at the moment.
He’d opened his mouth as I spoke, then shut it. Obviously, he’d thought we would fight. “Noah’s called the landline twice. You guys have a fight?”