Deccan (Springfield Sinners #1)

27. Chapter Twenty-Five

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

ECHO

E cho’s whole body froze as the man whispered into her ear. His voice didn’t sound familiar, but yet again, her brain was panicking. Flashbacks to that night filled her mind as he continued to hold her by her hair.

“You are going to walk quietly into this alleyway,” he threatened. “If you don’t, you won’t like the ending.”

“O-okay,” she whispered.

The man held tightly onto her as he pushed her forward. Echo moved her gaze, trying to find out if anyone was out in the open to help her. She didn’t want to go with him.

“Help!” she screamed before she could stop herself.

The man pushed her, letting go of her hair. Echo landed on her knees and cried out.

“Bitch!” He raised his voice, kicking her side. “You fucking bitch, you just couldn’t do what you were told,” he sneered.

Echo coughed and pushed herself off the ground, but before she could do anything, he grabbed her hair again. Yanking her, she fell into his arms, resulting in him wrapping one around her as he held her hair with the other.

“You are going to be a fucking obedient bitch for me. Do you understand me?” he asked.

She didn’t reply.

“I said do you fucking understand me?” the man yanked his hair back.

“Joey, I see you got her. She fell for the text messages?” another voice laughed.

Echo couldn’t make out who the person was since he was further in the alleyway. No. This was not happening again. She couldn’t go through this again.

She stopped breathing when his words filtered through. Text messages? What was he talking about?

“Oh yes, the text messages from your Daddy ,” the other man snarled. “The ones I texted you so you would come out.”

“No,” Echo choked out.

“Oh yes. Quite simple, really. Just an easy hack into his phone to send it to you, but he won’t know.”

Fear rolled through her at his words. She knew something felt wrong. Why couldn’t she have stuck to her gut and not gone or waited for the guys to come back?

“No,” she whimpered, trying to get out of his hold. She reached back, attempting to claw at his arms.

“Oh yes, Echo. We are going to have so much fun with you,” Joey whispered, pulling her head back.

Tears pooled in her eyes, running down her face as the other man stepped out of the shadows.

“Hello, Echo. Do you remember me?” he asked.

Her eyes went wide.

“ You ,” she choked out.

“Me. All those years ago. Oh, the tightness I felt,” he groaned.

Echo shut her eyes and took a shaky breath in. This was not happening to her. This had to be a nightmare she was going to wake up from.

“I can’t wait to see if you are still as tight as you were back then,” he growled, stepping closer to her.

Hot air hit her neck, and she knew he was close to her; close like last time. She opened her eyes and flinched as she made eye contact with him. The man behind her loosened his hold on her hair, and Echo took her opportunity. Slamming her head forward, he cried out in pain and stumbled back.

Joey cursed and gripped her hair tightly again, pulling her back so she couldn’t move. She whimpered as he dragged to the side, tilting her head uncomfortably.

“Fucking bitch. I see you’ve got more fight in you now. Did you learn your lesson?” he spat at her, his nose slightly bleeding. “You’re going to pay for this.” He wiped his nose on the back of his hand. “Fucking pay.”

“Rick, come on,” Joey called out. “Let’s get this over with.”

“I think I’m going to take my fucking time now,” he growled.

His hands roamed her body, squeezing her breasts as he touched them. She whimpered, pain running through her body.

“Please,” she begged. “I won’t tell anyone if you stop.”

Rick painfully twisted her nipple. “No fucking way. You made my nose bleed. In return, I’m going to make you bleed. Maybe in more than one place,” he roughly said.

Tears continued to roll down her face as he groped her. It was like she was back in middle school all over again.

“Please!” she begged. “Don’t do this. I promise I won’t tell anyone. I won’t even tell Deccan.”

Rick’s hand shot down her pants, groping her down there. Echo sobbed. Her skin crawled, she felt like throwing up, and Rick was still touching her all while Joey held her tightly.

“Hey!” someone yelled. “What are you doing?”

Joey’s grip tightened, making Echo whimper.

“Help me!” she sobbed.

Rick’s hand stopped touching her, but before she could do anything, pain exploded across her face.

“Shut the fuck up, bitch,” he growled. “You are going to be a good girl and not say a word.”

“What are you doing?” the person asked again.

“Just having some fun with our girlfriend,” Rick called back.

“Help!” she yelled once again.

This was her only chance. If the person left, there was no way of knowing if anyone else would be coming by.

“Shit,” Joey whispered.

“Let her go!” the man shouted.

Joey’s grip around her hair loosened. Rick took a step back as he looked at her.

“This isn’t fucking over,” he threatened her. “Watch your back.”

A shiver ran through her as they ran away, leaving her to sway by herself in the alleyway. Turning to the side, she puked everything she had eaten.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” The man touched her back.

Screaming, she jumped back and away from him.

“You’re okay,” he calmly said.

“D-don’t touch me,” she stuttered. “Please d-don’t t-t-touch me.”

Echo needed to get away from here. She needed to scrub her body under hot water until she couldn’t feel it anymore. She needed to cut her hair so no one could grab it ever again.

“Are you okay?” the man asked again.

Taking in a shuddering breath, she tried to fill her lungs fully, but they seized on her. Bending, she opened her mouth and cried. She was not okay. There was nothing okay right now.

“Ma’am,” he pressed. “Do you need me to get an ambulance? Are you hurt anywhere that needs immediate attention?”

Echo needed to scrub her skin; that needed immediate attention. Echo needed to cut her hair; that needed immediate attention. She wanted to cut off every part of her body that they had touched to get rid of the feeling, but she knew she couldn’t do that.

“Please answer my question,” the man begged.

“No,” she whispered.

“No, you don’t need an ambulance? No, you aren’t hurt anywhere that needs immediate attention?”

She nodded and took a deep breath as she stood up fully.

“I’m going to call the police,” he said. “You just stay right here while they get here.”

She shook her head, whimpering as her head protested. “N-no, you can’t.”

There was no need to get the police involved in this. She didn’t want to sit here in the open, skin crawling, feeling nauseous, and having people touch and talk to her. Nope. She was not going to wait around for that.

“We need to call the police. Those guys are getting away.” He sounded exasperated.

“No police,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. “I,” she took a deep breath, “I’ve got to go.”

The first thing she needed to do was get her hair cut. She needed her long pink hair gone so no one would grab it again. She would cry when it was all gone, but she needed it gone. This couldn’t happen again, not for a third time. She couldn’t let Rick or Joey be able to get her.

Whimpering, she pulled her shoulder back as the man touched it.

“Here’s my number in case you want to call the police. I saw one of the guy’s faces,” he offered, holding a piece of paper out.

Yeah, she wasn’t going to ever go to the police. She knew the sheriff, Baxter, and while she knew he wouldn’t tell anyone, there were people in the police department who would gossip. She didn’t need people to know she just got assaulted.

“Please take it. If you ever want to get them, call me or have Baxter call me. My name is Trent.”

Echo grabbed the paper, careful not to touch any part of him, and started to walk away. A shiver made its way through her as she left the alleyway. Tears formed in her eyes once again, running down her face as she made her way to the hairdresser.

“Please,” she whispered. “Just make it through this little bit, and you can go home.”

She sobbed when she realized home was the clubhouse She didn’t have a key to their house because they weren’t sleeping there. Daddy had meant to give her one, but he didn’t want her going there alone.

Where was she going to go?

Echo knew she needed to go to Daddy and tell him what happened, but she couldn’t bring herself to go there first. She needed to get her hair cut, even if she didn’t necessarily want to.

“Echo!” someone yelled.

She just kept walking, on a mission to get to the salon. Echo didn’t know there she had an opening or not. If she didn’t, she was going to ask to use the razor. But either way, she was going to get rid of her hair.

“Echo, wait up!” the person yelled again.

Flemming. What was she calling after her for?

“You dropped your bag!”

Echo stilled. How could she have forgotten her bag? Where had it gone? How had it gotten off her? Or was it ever on her back?

Her mind was still in panic mode, and she couldn’t remember a thing. Was Rick a blond or a brunette? She didn’t know, and that made her sob.

She turned around and kept her head down, taking several deep breaths. She was going to be okay. She was going to be all right. Echo had to be.

“Here you go. You left it in the spot you were sitting at.” Flemming held it out. “I was going to bring it by the clubhouse when I got off work, but then I saw you walk by.”

Echo was careful to grab it, making sure she didn’t touch Flemming at all.

“Thank you, I really appreciate it,” she whispered, being a little curt.

She just wanted to get to the hairdresser. Then, she didn't know what she was going to do. Would Daddy want her after what had just happened? Would he be mad at her?

“Are you okay?” Flemming asked.

How was she supposed to answer that? She wasn’t okay, not even close. But she didn’t want to say she wasn’t and get asked lots of questions. She didn’t want people to know.

“I’m fine.” Echo looked up, putting on a fake smile.

Flemming searched her face, landing on her cheek before looking into her eyes. She didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure? I thought you were heading to the clubhouse. It’s the other way.”

Echo pointed toward the hairdresser. “I totally forgot I had a hair appointment to get to. I’m a little late.”

“Oh! Well, you have fun getting your hair done! I’ll talk to you later.” Flemming waved as she turned around and headed back to the coffee shop.

Her shoulders slumped forward as she turned around and made her way to the salon. Maybe she should just go to the clubhouse and cut her hair. It would be risky since she could cut herself, but then people wouldn’t ask questions.

Though, when Echo walked out of the clubhouse the first time, people were going to ask questions. Going from hair down to her bottom to a buzz cut. Yeah, that wasn’t something people could ignore. Was she prepared to answer them? Was she going to lie each time?

Echo knew she wasn’t prepared for them. Maybe she should go on a vacation and cut her hair there. But she would still end up with questions when she got back.

Sighing, she opened the door and walked in.

“Echo!” Malaika looked at her, confused. “I’m not supposed to see you for another week or two.”

She took a second to look around. There weren’t many people in the salon today, but the customers in there were already looking at her.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” Malaika asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you have an opening?” Echo’s voice was raw and held no emotions.

Feeling wasn’t going to get her anywhere right now. She didn’t really want to cut her hair, but she needed to.

“I do. What are you looking for?” Malaika patted her seat.

Echo slowly walked over and sat down. Her eyes immediately saw her reflection in the mirror, and she froze. A bruise was already forming on her cheek, but Echo didn’t focus on that. She looked at her hair and started to run her hands through some.

“I need it all cut off. Buzz cut,” Echo whispered.

“Can you say that again?”

“Buzz cut.” She made eye contact with Malaika through the mirror.

“Are you sure you are okay?”

Tears formed in her eyes, and she nodded. She wasn’t ready to talk about it, especially not to Malaika. Echo didn’t know her that well. She only colored her hair every couple of weeks.

“Is Deccan making you cut your hair?” she asked, giving her a pointed look.

She shook her head. “N-no he isn't. I promise. I just need it all gone.”

It was going to be easier this way. Then, no one would be able to control her by her hair. No one would be able to drag her down an alley and make her do things she didn’t want to, touch her when she didn’t want to be touched.

“Is he the one who gave you that bruise?” Malaika asked.

Echo shook her head again. “No, he wasn’t.”

Malaika and she stared at each other in the mirror for several seconds. She could see the concern written across Malaika’s face.

“Are you sure you want it all off?” she asked again. “Your hair is really pretty and healthy.”

“I’m sure.”

But she wasn’t. She didn’t want to cut it because she liked the color and the length, but she needed to.

“Well, let me grab my scissors and razor from the back. I was just cleaning them, so it might take a couple of minutes. Is that okay?”

Echo nodded, and Malaika walked off. She wrapped her arms around herself and took several deep breaths. Echo wasn’t looking in the mirror anymore. She couldn’t, not when she was about to cut her hair, not when they had touched her.

She was filthy.

She was tarnished.

She was dead inside.

“I’m going to ask one last time. Are you sure you want to cut it all off?” Malaika asked as she set stuff down on the station.

“Please, I need it off. I just need all my hair gone. I need it so no one can grab it again,” she whispered the last part. “I just need you to cut it all off. I’ll pay you extra.”

Echo couldn’t look up at Malaika, not wanting to see her expression.

“All right. No need to pay me extra. I’ll start cutting it first, and then we’ll go in with the razor.”

The bell rang as someone walked into the salon.

“Stop!” he voice commanded. “Don’t fucking touch her hair.”