“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 fucked 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!”