The words ram like a two-by-four into my gut. I wish Mia had led with that statement in the alley, but that would have destroyed the web she was weaving. It’s my own damn fault for flying straight into her trap.
Isaiah lingers near the edge of the parking lot. When I get within three feet, he angles away from me and starts alongside a narrow, forest-infested road. He’s never been conversational, but pure silence isn’t his style.
We’re miles from the hotel. Two, maybe three, but I don’t give a fuck. I’d prefer to be on foot knowing that Echo’s safe. Hopefully, she’s in the hotel and not halfway back to Kentucky. I don’t carry much of a prayer that she’ll listen to me, but I’ll keep begging her forgiveness until she either grants it or yells at me to fuck off.
And if she does that, I’ll take a deep breath then begin again. There’s no way I’m letting Echo leave. I love her too damned much.
“Hey, Noah.”
I glance up, and Isaiah’s fist pulls back. The punch cracks against my jaw, and I stumble. Pain shoots through my head. Hard hits I can handle, but Isaiah’s schooled on how to go fat man/little boy on a guy’s ass. I wipe the blood from the corner of my mouth. I deserved that and more.
Isaiah steps into me like he’s going for the tackle. “Fuck over Echo like that again, and I won’t stop next time. Got it?”
“If I fuck over Echo like that again then I’ll beg you to kick my ass.”
“Jesus Christ, Noah, it’s like you want it to be complicated. Win the girl. Then keep her. Don’t let her go. Get it straight. One of us needs to get it right and, out of the two of us, you’re the one who has a shot.”
“I got it.” I spit the metallic taste of blood to the ground.
“Do you?”
Sure as hell hope I do. “Yeah.” I work my jaw. “I’m going to need time with Echo when we get back. Alone.”
Isaiah nods. “I’ve got enough to cover a room for me and Beth.”
“The room’s on me. Think you could have decided not to go Old Testament?”
Isaiah cracks a crazy grin. “Naw, Echo needs to see you hurting. Maybe then she’ll be soft on your sorry ass.”
“Or you could have told her to give me a break.”
“Could’ve, but you deserved a crack to the head. Let’s go.”
This time as we start down the road, we’re walking side by side.
* * *
Standing in the hallway outside the hotel room, I rub my neck. I’d rather face a firing squad. If this goes south, it would be less painful to be shot in the head.
Isaiah slaps my back. “You ready for this?”
“No.” A couple of months ago, I berated myself for being nervous over dating Echo. Now I’m terrified that I’m going to lose her. Never knew one person could twist me inside and out to the point of breaking. “But let’s do it anyway.”
Sliding the card through, I ease the door open. It’s quiet. Too quiet. No TV. No air conditioner running. My heart picks up speed. She’s gone. Damn it all to hell, Echo’s gone.
I race into the room, and Beth jumps off the bed and captures my arm. “Shhh. She finally fell asleep.”
Sure enough, with her hair sprawled out on the pillow, knees drawn to her chest, and in the same jeans and T-shirt as when we went to the party, Echo’s asleep. A lone red curl lies across her tearstained cheek. Each intake of air is an ache in my chest.
She’s so damned beautiful, and she’s still here. My legs wobble. I’ve still got an uphill battle, but at least there’s a hill to climb.
“Did she take anything to help her sleep?” I ask.
Beth surveys me like a boxer entering the ring. “Why would she take anything when crying herself to sleep works just fine?”
Point Beth. “I’m going to make this right.”
Isaiah grabs his pack and stuffs some of Beth’s clothes in it. “Let’s go, Beth. I got us another room.”
“Sounds good.” Beth continues to glare at me for another second before hitting my arm with her shoulder as she walks out. “Asshole.”
Looks like I’ll be groveling to two females, but the one on the bed is my main concern. The door to the room closes, and I inhale deeply, trying to figure out where it went wrong.
I hurt her. I hurt Echo, and I don’t know how to take away the pain.
In two steps, I fall to my knees by the bed, and her sweet scent hits my nose. Sleep is a gift to Echo. Not a promise. Every part of me begs to gather her into my arms, but I’ve lost all privileges.
Her lids slightly crack open, and the hollowness in her eyes rips at me. “Go back to sleep, Echo.”
Little lines form between her eyes. “I thought maybe I was dreaming you came in.”
“Do you want me to leave?” I hold my breath waiting for her answer.
Echo slightly rocks her head against the pillow in a no. “I want last night to have never happened.”
Me, too. If I could travel back in time and beat the hell out of the punk who permitted the hurt to control every decision, I would. “I didn’t sleep with her. Not since last year. And I swear to you I’ve been clean since January.”
The words are pouring out faster than they appear in my brain. “You want me to take a drug test to prove it, I will. I’ll take a hundred of them. I’ll take one every damned day. What happened last night was a mistake, and I’m sorry. I should never have been talking to her. I should have been with you. Here. Not at that party. I—”
“Stop it.” The words are harsh, but there’s no malice in her tone. “Just stop it.”
I bow my head, searching for the right way to convince her that she’s my entire world. That without her, I have nothing.
“I believe you didn’t sleep with her...this week.”
I wince, a blow straight to my stomach.
“As for the drugs, if you say you aren’t using, I believe that as well, but I’ve come to realize that I never asked if you were still using, and you never told me. In fact, I told you once that I wouldn’t pressure you to stop. Even if I want to be angry, I have no right to hold it against you if drugs were the reason you were with her tonight.”
It’s there. In her eyes. The disappointment I was so damned terrified of seeing after we made love. My throat swells, and I clear it to push forward. “I’m done. I swear to you, I’m done with all that.”
Echo curls tighter into her ball. “But that’s the thing. I fell in love with you for who you were. I can’t ask you to change because I want...” And she snaps her mouth shut.