Page 61 of Echo
Brain matter.
Echo bellowed out a roar that made me cover my ears, and then went to all fours, sinking his teeth into Eddie’s arm, ripping away the flesh and muscle in one disgusting rip.
At the time, letting Echo in seemed like a good idea.
Now that I was out of the frying pan, this was definitely the fire.
Chapter 24:
Playstupidgames,winstupid prizes.
I’d done that more times than I could count, and it seemed I was on a streak of playing higher and higher stakes with bigger games.
Last time, I’d ended up in the hospital with broken ribs and stitches. Where would it get me this time?
I scrambled to get my feet under me and bolted out the door without thinking, leaving behind my keys, or anything of value. Flight grabbed me by the scruff and sent me racing through the trees without a lick of sense.
My heart banged against my chest and my breath came in ragged pants that had nothing to do with running. Panic gripped me tight in its grasp.
Another person I cared about was going to hurt me.
Run. Run. Run!
The earth fell out from under me and I hit the ground with a painful thump, landing in a deep ditch on my hands and knees.
Get out!
I jumped and tried to climb up the dirt walls, but the dirt crumbled in my grasp and there were no solid hand holds.
The anger, frustration, and pain I’d been stuffing deep down inside finally bubbled over. “Fuck!”
Tears dropped from my eyes, and I sat down at the bottom of this hole and screamed at the top of my lungs, needing the release. That was probably why Echo roared as much as he did. It was cleansing.
I kept my head on straight, no matter what. I was used to the fucked up things that happened. I’d been abandoned, abused, and tortured. I’d seen even worse happen to others.
Nothing could get to me.
I was so tired of being strong for people who didn’t see how bad it hurt me. And yet I keep putting myself in these situations, hoping it would turn out differently than before.
Because on the inside, I was still the little girl crying for her daddy to stay by her side, wishing she was enough to keep him from leaving her. I was doomed to relive that over and over again, hoping for a different ending.
Whether it was my father slapping me across the mouth for getting too mouthy for my own good. Aurelio’s enemy burning his brand into me to make a statement, or Mark sending me to the hospital for saying I wasn’t in the mood, after I’d caught him cheating on me, I chased tragic stories as if I could change the script.
Some were worth more than others, but I always sold my soul.
I pulled my knees to my chest to sob into my knees. I whispered, “Echo.”
It was useless. He wouldn’t save me. I always screamed for some man or another to help pull me out of the water that they drowned me in, and ended up disappointed every time.
A thump landed in front of me with a heavy clop.
Slowly, I lifted my head to find Echo standing before me.
The light behind him glinted on something wet and shiny covering his shadowy fur. My best guess was blood, but who knew for sure?
“Do what you have to do,” I told him. He’d warned me what would happen if I tried to escape. That I’d be punished.
His glowing eyes were brighter here in the dark, and I could see how his teeth were bared at me.
