Breaking the Rules (Pushing the Limits 1.50)

There’s always a but. I skim through the rest of the email, most of it legal shit that’ll protect her ass if I sue or they sue, but at the end of the message is a Vail address.

Even though she closes with if you ever need anything, please feel free to contact me bullshit, there’s an unsaid “you’re on your own.” A slow pulse throbs in my brain, and I massage my temples to ward off a headache. This situation is no good.

I’m a few miles from my only living blood relatives, and a part of me feels compelled to meet them. Another part of me feels the compulsion to leave a hundred miles between us. Then yet another jacked-up part wants to charge their door and ask them what the fuck they did to my mother that she would bolt from them and never mention a word to me of their existence.

Echo’s computer beeps, and a direct message conversation box through Skype appears in the right-hand corner.

L. Collins: I’ll make an assumption that yesterday was a computer glitch. I’m up if you’d like to chat.

She thinks Echo’s on. I kick my legs out and lean back in my seat. The lady is a damn nutcase, but my mind ticks back to the hundreds of times she cornered me. In the end, she helped shed light on things that I didn’t know how to tackle.

Another beep.

L. Collins: Echo?

I switch windows and push the button that says call. A computerized melody plays for two seconds, and I cross my arms over my chest as she accepts. With her blond hair pulled back in a ponytail and a Grateful Dead T-shirt, Mrs. Collins finishes hole-punching a stack of papers. “I was surprised to see you on so late. I would have thought you and Noah would be out.”

“I hear you’ve been fucking with my girl.”

My lips twitch with how fast Mrs. Collins’s eyes snap up to see me coming through her screen. Without missing a beat, she masks her shock. “Language, Noah.”

“I graduated.”

“From high school, yes, but those rules that are put in place in school are meant to help you learn how to function out of it. So...” She rests her chin on her linked fingers. “This is a nice surprise. How has your summer gone?”

“I asked about Echo.”

“You did, but if you remember correctly, I won’t discuss Echo with you, but you’re more than welcome to tell me how things are going with her.” She practically bounces in her chair. “In fact, I’d love it. Dish all the details.”

I snort. “I don’t dish.”

“Neither of you ever do. So what’s up?”

Less than a minute and she’s already digging. Six months ago, I would have stormed out of her office and slammed her door, but it’s the familiar that puts me at ease. “Not much.”

“In all seriousness, is Echo okay?” she asks.

I answer because Mrs. Collins cares more for Echo than her own parents do. “She’s good.”

Mrs. Collins kneads her red eyes. It’s ten here so it’s one there.

“Up a little late, aren’t you?” I ask.

“I keep strange hours.” She flashes a weak smile. “What’s going on with you?”

“I’m eighteen now.”

“Happy belated birthday, but that doesn’t answer my question.”

“The state dropped me from your program the day I walked across the stage. Can’t afford your overpriced fees.”

“Consider this a conversation between two people who know each other.”

I toe the legs of the table. I contacted her. I’m the one that’s forcing open this door. “My mom’s family is looking for me.”

Not an ounce of surprise, and I swear under my breath. “You already know.”

She frowns as a yes.