Page 70 of Echoes

But that's the problem with people. They are so caught up with their own lives they forget to look around. Selfish, egotistical vultures, only looking out for themselves. Even the people who were meant to protect her—teachers, doctors, family members—they all turned a blind eye.

Now they are living their best lives and Avery is trapped in Lilydale, living the guilt and trauma over and over.

She looks over at me with a sad smile, unfazed by my silence. "When the doctors at the hospital said I'd never be able to have children because of the injuries, it ruined all my plans for the future.Theytook the only hope I had. So, I tried to buy a gun from this little store in town. I was going to wait until my father was too drunk to notice his surroundings and pull the trigger."

"What happened?" I ask curiously, already knowing the answer.

Avery shrugs. "I couldn't do it. I just didn't have it in me to go through with it. And so… it became my own fault that it kept happening."

"Avery," I growl, jolting to turn toward her. "It was not your fault."

"I had the opportunity to end it," she murmurs softly. There's not a single tear in her eyes—just sadness. I know she's numb recalling it all, blaming herself. "And I didn't."

I shake my head furiously. "But you got there in the end. He's being eaten by maggots now and he'll never hurt you again."

She laughs quietly, some light finally coming back into her eyes. Smiling, she shrugs again. "And now we're here. I'm still trapped, but at least it's better than the outside. For me, at least."

"I hate it here," I admit to her. "Well, I used to. Until you came along. Now it's my favorite place."

"Your favorite place is an asylum?" she mutters in amusement. "You must be as fucked up as I am."

"Worse," I reply with a smirk. "I'm so much worse, baby."

Her eyes widen in shock, her lips parting. "What?"

I just laugh in response, standing up. "Come on. I better take you back to the overlords before you get in trouble."

Holding out my hands, I help Avery to her feet, eyes lingering on her flustered face. A simple word has rocked her, malfunctioned her existence and everything she's ever known.

Well, it's not hard when all you've ever known is fucking disaster.

You know things are bad when someone is surprised and delighted by the bare minimum.

I wish I had the words to talk to her about her confession, her trauma. But I don't. I think tugging at that stitch is just going to undo all the glue she's used to try to keep it sealed tight.

She deserves to focus on the positives right now—even if there's very little available. But, at least there's some. That has to count for something, right?

We duck out of the curtain, Avery immediately finding Grey with her eyes. I don't know what she sees in that asshole, but it's her—she sees things the rest of us don't.

She's spent her entire life in a box, studying people, watching them… so she sees it.

Or maybe it's because she sees herself in him.

Lilydale might be a fucking prison full of unhinged psychopaths, but we all have one thing in common—trauma.

And bonding over trauma is a natural instinct for most. Not me though—there's no trauma, only regret. I regret not making them suffer more.

If I had maybe one, it's that I regret missing the bus home and having to wait an extra ten minutes.

Maybe if I had been quicker, I would have found Madison in time. I would have stopped her before she pulled the trigger. Like Avery, all she needed was love. She needed someone to tell her it would be okay—even if it was just from her younger brother.

It was that single event that led to everything changing.

One late bus.

Seven minutes too late.

A person shouldn't know what brain matter feels like smashed under your knees. A person shouldn't have to call their parents on vacation to tell them that their daughter is dead—her lilac walls splattered in blood.

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