8. Chapter Six
CHAPTER SIX
ECHO
G asping, she turned toward the door and shook her head.
“You can’t be in here,” she said before turning back.
Why wouldn’t the water get any hotter? Why could she not scrub enough to get her skin to calm down? Why was Deccan still in the bathroom?
“Little Bit,” he gently said, stepping right behind her.
“Y-you need to go,” she said through sobs. “This is the girls’ bathroom.”
“I don’t give a fuck.”
“Please,” she begged.
Was she begging him to leave, or was she begging him to help her? Echo didn’t know.
“Little Bit,” he whispered again, gently taking hold her hands.
His warmth enveloped her.
“P-please,” she stuttered.
Deccan wrapped his hands around hers and held them under the water.
“Y-you ca-can’t be in here,” she forced out.
Her mind was on trying to stick on getting her hands clean, but with Deccan here, it was split. She needed him to leave.
“I’ve got you. Daddy is here,” he murmured. “Still can’t deal with other people’s touch?”
His words didn’t register in his brain after he said Daddy. Daddy was here. Her breathing was relaxing as he continued to hold her hands under the warm water.
“Daddy is going to get soap and help wash your hands,” he gently told her.
She watched as one of his hands let go, getting the soap, before pulling her hands out of the stream of water. He coated her hands with the handwash, making sure to get every part of her skin.
“See, all is good.” He started to rinse them. “Everything is okay.”
Her skin was calming down, and she stared at him with wide eyes. He had done it. But how?
“Sorcerer,” she mumbled.
“What was that, Little Bit?”
Now that her mind was clear, she was in shock. Deccan was in the girls’ bathroom. He was standing right behind her, still holding her hands.
“Get out!” she yelled. “You shouldn’t be in here!”
“I can and I will. You can’t do anything about it.” His face stiffened.
“Get out! This is an invasion of privacy! I don’t need your help. I don’t need you in here.”
But that wasn’t the truth. He had helped calm her down, helped make her skin settle. How had he managed to do that?
Deccan’s grip tightened around her hands. “It’s not an invasion of privacy when it comes to you.”
he scoffed and tried tugging her hands out of his. “ Newsflash: Yes, it is! Everyone is entitled to some privacy, and you are entering mine!”
Echo finally managed to get her hands out of his, but Deccan quickly grasped her chin.
“With us, there is no privacy. No walls, no barriers, no secrets. Start getting used to it.”
“Fuck you!” she snarled. “You can’t fucking do that. There will be walls , barriers, and secrets between us.”
She pulled her head out of his grip and walked toward the bathroom door, yanking it open and storming out. He couldn’t do that. There was no way he would be able to achieve what he was saying.
Echo made it three steps into the main room of the coffee shop before Deccan grabbed her hand.
No skin crawling.
That’s how she knew it was him.
Deccan pulled her into him. “You won’t be doing any of the activities you told Hedda about. I forbid it,” he growled.
Echo spun around and glared. “Watch me,” she sassed before pulling her hand out of his.
Anger bubbled inside of her as she walked over to Hedda. How dare forbid her to try the things she really wanted to? It was her own money, her own life, and she could do with it what she wanted. He wasn’t the boss of her. No one was.
“Are you okay?” Hedda asked once she made it over.
She clenched her jaw. “I’m leaving. Deccan ruined this. I just need to get out of here.”
He hadn’t fully ruined it, but she was done. Hedda touching her and then him coming in, demanding there be no secrets or space between them, all while forbidding her from doing the things she wanted to.
Yeah, that wasn’t going to fly with her. People needed space and secrets. They needed to have the freedom to do what they wanted to.
“I’ll walk with you. Make sure you get to your next destination safely,” Hedda said, standing.
Echo waved her hand. “No, it’s okay. I’m going to go home and try to calm down. He won’t follow me there.”
That was a big fat lie, but she didn’t want Hedda to follow her, there was a chance that she might touch her again. She didn’t want to have a panic attack and scrub her skin raw.
Hedda went to touch her hand again, but Echo pulled back.
“Sorry, I’m just. Sorry,” she whispered.
Echo couldn’t handle being touched right now, not by anyone.
“Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay,” Hedda gently said. “I… Just call me when you get home, okay? I want to make sure you’re okay.”
She blinked several times. Sometimes, Echo didn’t realize how much her friends cared about her.
“Please, I’m going to worry all afternoon if you don’t. It can be a simple ‘home’ for all I care. I just want to know you made it home safely.”
Echo swallowed. “Okay, I can do it.”
It was the least she could do, especially when she had declined Hedda coming with her.
“Thank you. And if you need anything,” she whispered and tilted her head toward Deccan. “And I mean anything, you let me know. My brother will be more than happy to help you out.”
Echo gave a forced smile. She didn’t want Rogan anywhere near here. Deccan was getting on her nerves, but she knew if anything happened to him, she would feel guilty. How could she not? He was directly tied to her. If Rogan took him out, it would be her fault.
“Stay safe. ”
She nodded and walked out of the coffee shop. Taking a deep breath, she made her way down the sidewalk and toward her house. She took this time to help herself relax and think about everything that had happened.
Deccan helped her. She couldn’t deny that. He helped her calm down and make her skin stop crawling when the water wasn’t doing what she needed.
What did he mean by she still couldn’t deal with other people’s touch? How did he know ?
She shook her head. He had been watching her; he had to see how she reacted whenever anyone touched her. That was the only logical explanation because Echo didn’t recognize him at all.
Loud footsteps sounded behind her, and she felt the anger bubble inside of her again. Of course he was following her. What did she expect?
“I can hear you!” she yelled, briefly looking back and glaring at him.
He looked pissed off, keeping his distance.
He should. She was livid that he decided to spew those things at her. Who did he think he was? Obviously, not her Daddy. Nothing was ever going to happen between them.
Nothing could happen between them if he kept telling her what she could and couldn’t do. They were her hobbies, her money, her body. She loved to feel the thrill of doing those semi-dangerous things, and if he took those away, she wouldn’t have anything to live for.
Okay, that was a little exaggeration, but her life would be boring; she would be bored. She needed the adrenaline rush. Echo needed to be reminded that she was alive and could do anything she wanted.
She was her own person.
The knife shop was ahead and she stopped outside it, looking into the window. The class was exactly what she wanted, and she was going to buy some knives. Apparently, whoever had taken part in the class would get a discount to buy some throwing knives. Echo planned on doing just that.
Maybe then, if Deccan came up on her, she would be able to hit him with something. She rolled her eyes at the thought. She knew she wouldn’t actually harm him, but maybe she could get a life-sized cut out of him and practice aiming at him.
“Tomorrow,” she whispered, her eye on a knife with had a pastel-pink handle. “Tomorrow, I’m going to buy you.”