Page 29 of Echoes of Us

He roars with laughter and Eli begins bouncing around us, barking and howling to match EJ’s laughs. “Okay, okay! Stop already, Em,” he says breathlessly. He grabs Eli’s leash from me and smacks my arm as he screams, “RACE YOU HOME!” He and Eli take off. I run after them, but slow down once we reach the house. I might as well let him win this one since I have been so horrible lately.

“HA! We win, Em. You are getting old and slow,” EJ taunts. I ruffle his hair and walk inside. I have one more person to apologize to today.

I just have to make her talk to me.

Chapter 33

Teagan

“I have to find a new place to stay,” I tell Sean through the phone. “I cannot live with her anymore. She is the most maddening person I have ever met, and I lived with drug addicts.”

Sean sighs heavily. He always gets weird when I bring up my mom. He was there for me when she died and never would have wanted anything bad to happen to her. Still, his dad caused him to have little patience for parents who put their vices first. “It is only a few months, T. Just suck it up and avoid her,” he replies.

“You have no idea how much this is affecting me. I have never felt so… alone. I can’t do it anymore,” I say softly.

Sean pauses for a moment. “Let’s make a plan this week and see what we can do, okay?”

“Thank you. I gotta get inside for class. Wish me luck,” I mutter.

“You’ve got this, dork. Keep your head up.” The call ends.

I can handle that for the rest of this week. We have no classes together and I can ride with Sean to and from school. At most, I will have to see her at dinner, but all of the Briggs family will be there, so we don’t have to speak. There is also no way in hell I am doing any more tutoring sessions with her.

It was pretty easy to avoid her throughout the school day. The only time I saw her was in the hall before AP Calculus. She called my name a few times, but Grace was there so I grabbed her and pretended to care about the soccer game last night. That kept Emmaline from walking up to me. I spent lunch with EJ and his friends in the elementary building. “Check out her tattoo!!! Can you believe she has a tattoo?” EJ boasted to his classmates. Each kid’s eyes went wide when EJ pulled my bracelet down to show them my tattoo.

“Did it hurt?”

“Were you grounded?”

“Has the Headmaster seen?”

“My mom says only the devil likes tattoos!”

I can’t keep up with the questions coming at me, but luckily EJ takes over and answers them all…wrong answers or not. I am really going to miss him the most when I leave. It has been nice to have someone care so deeply about me when I feel like the world has cast me aside.

Finally, the last class of the day arrives, and I head to the piano room. As I walk in, I notice it is empty, but there is a note on the piano desk: ‘Teagan, meet me in the Assembly Hall. I have a few elementary students practicing for their regional competition.’ I roll my eyes and turn to leave. The last thing I want to do is listen to kids suck at the piano for forty-five minutes.

As I enter, I see a group of elementary students sitting on the floor of the stage watching one little girl play her piece. I walk down the aisle and find Ms. Thatcher in the front row taking notes. She looks up at me and nods to the seat next to her, then continues her note-taking. I smile to myself and take a seat. She really has no time for bull shit, nor does she waste her time when she knows it is pointless. I take out my book and begin to read.

Time passes quickly as the kids play. I actually find myself wanting to lean over and give Ms. Thatcher a few notes of my own for some of the pieces but stop myself as usual. Many of the kids were taken back to the elementary building by one of the teachers, but two remained to play their pieces. The first kid finishes, and he goes to stand next to a teacher waiting in the wing of the stage. The second kid stands and moves toward the grand piano. She’s shorter than the others, with brown wavy hair. She reminds me of myself as a kid. She takes her seat and begins to play.

My stomach hits the floor at the very first note. The slurred melody and reflective sound of the piece Dream Echoes fills the Assembly Hall. My mind flashes back to when I was younger, sitting at the piano.

“Teagan, baby. You sit here and play my favorite, okay? Mommy is going to take her medicine. I want you to just focus on the piano and don’t turn around, okay?” She kisses me on the head, and I nod in understanding. She always asked me to play this song because she knew it made me feel safe. I play the song over and over as her and the roommates fill their syringes on the couches behind me. I played until she came over and sat beside me, swaying to the melody.

I snap back to reality and run from the Assembly Hall before the last note is played.

This is the third day I am leaving this school in tears.

Chapter 34

Emmaline

I wait by Teagan’s locker after school, but she never comes. I drive home a lot faster than I usually do, which received a lot of praise from EJ.

“Vrooooom, vrooooom, Em. Go faster!” He giggles. Normally, that would make me smile but all I could think about was beating Teagan home so I can force her to talk to me. This guilt is eating me alive.

We pull into the garage, and I hurry inside to see Mom sitting at the kitchen table on her laptop. “Is Teagan home yet?” I ask a bit too frantically.

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