Echo left two days ago. He texted me to say that he was busy with the club, but I know he’s avoiding me.
Daisy’s on babysitting duty. I walk from the living room into the kitchen, and Daisy’s quiet presence lurks behind me. I grab a bottle of water from the fridge and walk to the patio with my biker shadow a few paces behind me. Anger bubbles to the surface, and spinning to face Daisy, I scream, “Stop fucking following me!”
His impassive expression infuriates me.
“Speak. Say something, for fuck’s sake,” I yell at him. I know he hears me, but he refuses to respond. Raking my hands through my hair, I tip my head back and scoff quietly to myself. “I can’t do this anymore,” I whisper and shake my head as tears fill my eyes.
I stomp past Daisy and into the living room just as the door opens and Echo strides in. His face is etched with intensity, and my pussy clenches in response. Daisy passes me, shaking hands with Echo on his way out.
A suffocating silence descends around us.
“Where’ve you been?” I ask, then wince. I’ve become the clichéd nagging wife, and I hate myself for it. He looks up but doesn’t speak, walking past me into the kitchen. His shoulders are slumped and defeated. The intense glint in his eyes is the only promise that the Echo I knew before the attack still lurks inside him.
Guilt overwhelms me; I did this to him. “Echo, we need to talk.”
His back stiffens. “Not tonight, Liv, I’m beat,” he says, his voice strained.
Tempted to stay silent, I pull in a deep breath and straighten, buoying myself to speak. “I can’t do this anymore, Echo.”
He spins round, anger morphing his face. “What the fuck are you talking about?” he snaps.
Shocked by his outrage, I step back. “I can’t keep doing this. It’s obvious you don’t want me here.”
“You’re my woman, of course I want you here,” he shouts.
I sigh. “You haven’t touched me in weeks. You avoid me as much as you can, and you pawn me off on babysitters who follow me round all the time. It’s ridiculous, and I can’t do it anymore.”
His eyes widen and a hint of my alpha man flashes back at me. “What are you saying, Olivia?” His words are slow and full of warning.
I take a deep breath and force the words out. “I’m saying you need to let me go.”
Anger flares in his eyes. “Never, I’ll never let you go,” he growls.
“Arrrrr,” I scream. “I’m not a toy that you get to play with when you choose and then ignore the rest of the time.” He scoffs at my words but doesn’t respond. “I refuse to be babysat all the time. Wyatt’s dead and Mimi has disappeared. They can’t hurt me again, and I refuse to be a victim anymore,” I shout.
Echo pulls in short, angry breaths. His anger’s barely held, his voice stern and unyeilding. “I didn’t protect you once, Livvy. I refuse to let that happen again. Mimi is still out there, and until she’s found, you will have someone with you at all times. You are mine and you will do as I fucking say. Do you understand?”
Stunned, I stare at him. “I don’t even know how to start to respond to that. I refuse to be followed permanently. That’s absurd. And Wyatt and Mimi going crazy and trying to kill me wasn’t because you didn’t protect me. It’s because they’re freaking nutjobs.”
His expression is guarded, but his hands go to his hair, pulling the strands as he shakes his head. “Echo, me being attacked wasn’t your fault.” He turns his face away and refuses to acknowledge me. I grasp his face between my hands and force him to look at me. “It happened because Wyatt and Mimi are ill. They lost the plot, and I got caught in the fallout, but that has nothing to do with you,” I say passionately, desperately hoping that he will believe me.
Moments pass as I silently wait for him. His head lifts, and he looks at me. Really looks at me for the first time in days. I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him, desperately willing him to kiss me back, and my heart breaks when he firmly moves me away from him.
His head drops, his voice gravelly and rough. “I love you, Livvy, but it’s my job to keep you safe. He hurt you because I allowed that to happen. I should have protected you and made sure no one could hurt you. I failed you.”
Tears run down my face as I shake my head. “Do you think this is my fault? I encouraged him. I went out on a date with him.”
Echo grabs my chin, and I feel the anger vibrating from him. “Don’t be fucking stupid, of course this isn’t your fault,” he snarls.
Wrapping my hands around his forearms, I nod. “Exactly. I know I’m not to blame, but neither are you. This isn’t your fault.”
He turns his back to me and shuts me out.
I’ve lost him. He’s so blinded by misplaced guilt that nothing I say or do will make a difference now.
Staggering upstairs, I rush to the bathroom and turn on the shower before my legs give way and I sink to the floor. The water drowns out the sound of my sobs. As I shake uncontrollably, I pull my knees to my chest and rock backwards and forwards, consumed by grief.
I’m toxic to Echo, and it’s time to let him go.
Wiping the tears from my face, I turn off the shower and walk back into the bedroom to find my phone. My hands shake as I dial Brandi. She answers immediately. “Hey doll, you okay?”
The words catch in my throat. “I need your help.”
I hear Brandi’s intake of air. “Anything, just name it,” she instantly replies.
“I’m leaving him,” I whisper.
I lie in bed and stare at the ceiling. The plan’s in place, and tomorrow night I won’t be here in this bed or in this town. I’m going to leave the man I love. I always knew that eventually I’d have to, but rubbing my chest, my heart physically hurts, like deciding to leave has finally split it in two.
Unable to stay still, I throw off the covers and slide out of bed. Echo never comes to bed till after I’m asleep, but I can’t sleep with him even for a couple of hours knowing that it will be the last time I ever do it.
I head downstairs. It’s dark outside, but I see the orange glow of his cigarette and the silhouette of his broad shoulders sitting by the pool. I grab a blanket and curl up in one of the BarkaLoungers, pulling the warm fleece tightly around me. Silent tears fall, staining my cheeks. The TV murmurs quietly in the background, finally lulling me to sleep.
Strong arms curl under me, lifting me from the chair and hoisting me against a warm chest. I can’t see him in the blackness, but his familiar scent surrounds me, and I burrow into him as he carries me up the stairs and gently places me in the bed. The sheets are cold against my skin, and I roll towards the wall, expecting him to leave, but the mattress depresses and Echo’s warmth settles against my back.