Breaking the Rules (Pushing the Limits 1.50)

Her body quakes as Echo tries to prevent the sobs, and she throws her hands over her face. “It wasn’t supposed to happen tonight.”

Like I have so many times, I scoop her up, tucking the sheet around her, and cradle her in my lap. Echo buries her head in the crook of my shoulder as she releases the pain, the frustration, the hurt.

“It’s okay,” I tell her. “We’re going to be okay.”

“She was there, and there was blood, and I couldn’t stop it.” Echo wraps her arms tighter around my neck, and I draw her closer, wishing I could steal the nightmares that torment her.

“You’re safe.” I shut my eyes and attempt to kill the anger at her mother. How the hell does Echo turn it off? How can she wake like this, totally shattered, then hours later contemplate talking to her, listening to the bitch’s messages? “I swear to you, you’re safe.”

And as far as I’m concerned, Echo’s going to stay that way.

I comb my fingers through her hair, massage her back and make that shushing noise that calms her. When her sobs are less intense, I begin to sing. More whisper than song. Right in her ear. The same song as the night we first kissed.

Echo relaxes in my arms, and I sing it through, one more time. A little for her, but more for me. I don’t know how to protect her from the demons in her mind. How do I fight something that can’t be seen?

When I finish, there’s silence. I strain to hear anything, but the land around us says nothing. No cars, no planes, no jacked-up people yelling into the night.

“I’m tired of living in the past,” Echo whispers. “I don’t want to go back.”

“Then no more past,” I answer. “Only the future. We’re going to get our degrees, we’re going to get married and we’ll never look back.”

“We were fine after graduation and before the sand dunes. Before we talked about heading home. Everything was perfect.”

My neck stiffens. “Tonight was perfect.”

Echo raises her head, and it’s damn hard to meet her eyes. If I spot regret there, I’ll lose my shit. I blink when I notice the smile playing at her lips and how she shyly glances away.

Fuck me. Heaven in the middle of hell, but how else would Echo and I do this? She fell asleep after and so did I—tangled in each other’s arms. This is it. This is the moment of truth of the after and so far, I like what I see.

Her cheeks flood red, and when she takes in our lack of clothes, her eyes widen. “Oh.”

I choke down a laugh. Hoping to help her modesty, I lay her down, draw up a cover and prop my head on my fist. “You okay?”

“I heard you in my dream telling me to come back. No one else has been there before.”

Damn straight she heard me. “See, we’re kicking your past’s ass already.”

The right side of Echo’s mouth strains up but then tugs down. “Was it okay for you?”

We’ve moved

away from night terrors. “Perfect.”

“I’m not good at it.”

“Echo...” I sigh. There’s no right way to explain this. “What happened tonight was special because I did it with you.”

She messes with the cuticles of her nails. Damn it, I can’t get the girl to stop thinking. I wish I could crawl into her mind and hear what she’s mulling over, but then again, it’s probably better if I remain ignorant.

“It’s sort of weird,” she says.

I place my hands over hers to stop her assault on her nails. “What’s weird?”

She shrugs, not able to meet my gaze. “I’m not a virgin anymore.”

Pain strikes my chest. Don’t regret it. Please don’t. “Are you okay with that?”

“Yeah.” Echo’s green eyes drift to mine. “It’s...I...uh...read this article once that said when you have sex with someone it releases these chemicals in your brain, and it makes you more attached.”