Chapter 4
4
ECHO
I move with the stream of students into the lecture hall and climb the stairs to sit near the back on the right-hand side, facing the podium where the professor will stand. As I open my backpack and pull out a notebook and pen, someone sits beside me.
I don’t look up, instead soaking up the sense of relief that comes with regaining a sense of normalcy.
Class is normal. Note-taking is normal.
I only have two semesters left before I finish my undergraduate degree. Not that I intend to be done with academia yet. To become a therapist, I need a few more years under my belt.
The person beside me clears their throat. I glance over, expecting it to be Ryan, who’s also in this class, but my features freeze in place.
It’s not Ryan.
In fact, this person isn’t a friend at all. He makes himself comfortable next to me, spreading his muscular legs too wide and leaning back as if he hasn’t a care in the world.
Tyler Kinsey.
That goddamn bastard.
“What are you doing here?” I demand, pulling as far away from him as I can without leaving the seat. I won’t let him chase me away when I was here first.Unfortunately, Tyler has the sort of presence that occupies a lot of space, especially with those strong shoulders and arms that I definitely shouldn’t be noticing.
His lips soften. He isn’t smiling exactly, but his expression is warm. My eyes instantly narrow. He’s up to something; I just haven’t figured out what yet.
“I take this class,” he says, setting a tablet on the pull-out desk and switching it on.
“So, take it from somewhere else.” The further from me, the better.
He looks completely unconcerned. “I’m happy here.”
“Well, I’m not happy with you here. Get lost.” I huff and catch a whiff of menthol. Great. He still smells the same as he always did. Part of me wants to breathe him in and reminisce while the rest of my mind is screaming at me to run.
“How are you?” He doesn’t move. “Were you okay last night? I was worried about you.”
My jaw drops. The absolute nerve of this guy. Asking if I was okay as if he wasn’t the reason I was very much not okay.
“That’s none of your business,” I tell him.
“But I’d like it to be,” he murmurs, and my tummy flips over at his low, husky tone. The same one that used to drive me wild. “I care about you, Echo. I know it’s been a long time, but I want—”
“I don’t care what you want,” I hiss, wary of speaking too loudly and drawing attention. “Leave me alone.”
He gives me a hurt look, as if I’m the unreasonable one between the two of us.
I’m perfectly reasonable. I cut someone who hurt me out of my life and moved away from a town that had treated me unkindly as soon as humanly possible. All of that was logical. He’s the one muddying the waters.
Tyler hefts his backpack onto his lap and opens it, the zipper loud enough to grate on my frayed nerves. He reaches inside and draws out a small gift box, which he offers to me.
I ignore him.
“Come on, Echo. Take it.”
When I don’t respond, he reaches for my bag as if to slide it inside. I snatch the bag away and shove his shoulder, annoyed when I’m tempted to keep my hand on the firm muscle and savor it for a moment.
“I want you to have this,” he says quietly. “Think of it as a peace offering.”
“If you put that anywhere near me, I’m going to throw it across the room,” I say through gritted teeth.
His nostrils flare. “Why are you so stubborn?”
“How about I’ll tell you that when you tell me why you’re bothering me after three blessed years of never having to see your awful face?”
To my surprise, he winces.
“I told you,” he says. “I’m here for you.”
“And I don’t believe you.” Once upon a time, I would have, but I’ve learned that Tyler likes to play games. He enjoys hurting people. The only reason he’s here is because it benefits him for some reason—and I’m sure it’s not that he’s been pining for me since we graduated high school.
Fortunately, at that moment, the professor arrives. It’s only then that it occurs to me that this isn’t the sort of class Tyler should be taking. It’s behavioral analysis, which is a prerequisite for my psychology degree, but I doubt it’s relevant for the business degree he intended to study toward.
That means he’s here only to mess with me.
As the professor begins speaking, I force myself to pay attention by jotting down a summary of everything he says in a form of shorthand I developed myself. I got tired of people trying to cheat off me, and now they never can.
After a few minutes, Tyler’s knee bumps against mine.Sparks sizzle up my thigh and I do my best to ignore them.
“Do you still want to be a doctor?” he asks under his breath.
The guy in front of us turns and glares. I mouth a silent apology.
“Echo?” Tyler prompts.
“No.” Back when we were together, I’d intended to go into pre-med, but that changed after The Incident.
“Then what?” he asks.
I pretend not to hear. He leans sideways, getting way too far inside my personal space, making it difficult to breathe without inhaling his masculine menthol scent.
“What degree are you studying?” His breath gusts over my ear and goose bumps race down the back of my neck.
“Back. Off.” My pen snaps, and I gasp. I hadn’t realized I was clutching it so tightly.
“Here.”
I glance sideways. Tyler is holding out a pen. It’s an expensive one, with a brand name along the side, inlaid with what looks like gold. Because who wouldn’t have a gold pen?
With a sigh, I take it from him. He doesn’t seem to need it and I do, so it only makes sense. For a moment, I’m tempted to steal it just so he’d feel some of the frustration coursing through my veins, but then I’d be stuck with a reminder of him, so it’s best if I don’t.
I resume notetaking until Tyler’s foot nudges mine.
I’m tempted to stomp on it.
“How’s your mom?” he asks.
I don’t react.
“Does she still live in Charlesville?” he persists.
I glare at the front of the class, refusing to turn toward him.
“Ignoring me won’t make me go away, Echo. I told you; nothing can drive me away from you again.”
At this, I huff. Drive him away? As if he wasn’t the one behind the wheel when he left me in his dust.
Everything bad that happened to me during our fateful senior year was because of him.
Well, everything except The Incident.
Even I can admit he had nothing to do with that. Nevertheless, his presence brings me back to that time in my life. To the days and weeks I’d dearly love to escape.
His shoulder bumps mine. “You okay? You don’t look great.”
“I’m fine,” I snap, loud enough that several people turn toward us. One shushes me.
His questions continue for the. Entire. Lecture.
“Hey, Echo, why won’t you tell me your major?”
“Hey, Echo, have you been back to Charlesville recently?”
“Echo, are you still in touch with anyone from school?”
And on and on and ON.
By the time the closing minutes of the lecture are upon us, I’m ready to stab him through the neck with his fancy pen.
I’m struggling to listen to the professor, who’s saying something about a group assignment.
“…teams of four, randomly assigned. You’ll find your team in the class page on the university’s study app.”
I automatically reach for my phone and open the app.
“The group assignment is worth thirty percent of your final grade,” the professor continues.
Damn. That’s a lot. I hate group assignments. It’s so easy for one or two people to be stuck doing the majority of the work while the others reap the rewards.
I scan through the class list until I see my name. Beside it is the letter S. I scroll to see who else has an S beside their name. The first is someone I don’t know. And the second…
Is Tyler fucking Kinsey.
TYLER
I lean over Echo’s shoulder to see what’s upset her. It takes a minute to compute. When I realize, it’s all I can do not to pump my fist.
Fuck, yeah.
We’re in the same group project team. What a great opportunity to prove to her that I’ve changed. She won’t be able to avoid spending time with me. Even if we do most of the work individually, we’ll still have to communicate with the group and probably meet to go over it.
This assignment is a golden opportunity.
Echo tilts her face toward me. “Who did you pay off to make this happen?”
I grimace. I shouldn’t be surprised that’s what she thinks of me. Honestly, I have used my money to my advantage a lot over the years, so she’s not totally off base. If I’d thought of this, I’d have made it happen.
“No one,” I reply.
“Uh-huh.” Her expression says she doesn’t believe me.
“It’s true.”
“Shh,” someone hisses from behind us.
The professor clears his throat, drawing our attention. “I’m ending class fifteen minutes early. But—” He holds up his hand as people start talking excitedly over him. “I want you all to spend that time getting together with your team for an initial meet-and-greet. Understood?”
There’s a murmur of assent. I see Echo’s jaw tighten. She really doesn’t like this. It grates on me. I need to take advantage of the chance to get close to her, but I also never want her to be unhappy.
It pisses me off that getting my way means upsetting her. I’d be tempted to bow out—after all, I don’t need this course for my degree—but I can’t. It’s an unexpected lifeline, and I won’t let go.
As people stand and push their way to others to form their groups, Echo takes the stairs down to the front of the lecture hall. I follow close on her heels, unwilling to let her out of my sight until after this team meeting is finished.
“Professor,” she calls as she draws near to him. “Excuse me.”
He turns toward her. “Yes?”
“I need to change groups,” she says.
Ouch. Straight to the point.
But the professor is shaking his head. “I’m afraid that’s not possible, Miss…”
“Dean. But it’s extenuating circumstances,” she protests.
I grin to myself. I love hearing big words coming from Echo’s perfect little mouth. It reminds me of a time when I took that for granted.
The professor’s bushy eyebrows pinch together above his glasses. “How so?”
Echo hesitates. She glances at me and then back to the professor, as if trying to figure out how to make this sound like more than petty relationship drama.
“He’s my ex,” she says finally. “It ended badly.”
The professor’s eyes sharpen. “Did he abuse you?”
“Not physically.”
I wince at this response. I wouldn’t consider what I did to her any kind of abuse, although it certainly wasn’t nice.
“Were any police reports filed?” the professor asks.
“No.” Echo deflates.
“Do you have a restraining order against him?”
“No.” This time, she glares.
The professor steeples his hands, apparently unconcerned. “Then I’m afraid you’ll just have to figure out how to work together. Consider it a bonus lesson in behaving like an adult.”
Echo stomps away from him. I follow behind, hiding my amusement—and relief. Concealing my emotions comes easy to me. A by-product of growing up with Dad.
I check the app on my phone to see who else is in our team. Not that it makes any difference to me. The only people I’ve met since transferring are the hockey guys, and as far as I know, none of them take the behavioral analysis class.
My phone vibrates and a message pops up on the screen via the university app.
Elle: Meet outside the lecture hall, to the left, near the stairs. I’m wearing a blue dress.
Ahead of me, Echo also sees the message and taps a response.
Echo: Be there in a minute. Brown hair, black top, glasses.
I don’t bother contributing. Echo is the only reason I’m taking this class, and she knows I’m coming. I don’t give a shit about anyone else.
We exit the lecture hall and turn left. A few yards from the base of the stairs stands a thin blonde in a powder-blue dress that barely covers her thighs. Doesn’t this girl know it’s not that fucking warm out? Or does she just want everyone to admire her figure?
Echo makes a beeline for the girl, and I’m right on her heels. Just before we get there, an Asian guy who’s even taller than me—but half my weight—stops beside Elle. He sends Echo a lazy grin.
“Hey, Echo.” He speaks with a confidence that says it’s not the first time they’ve met, and everything in me wants to shut that shit down fast. “Group work buddies again.”
“Jin.” Finally, Echo smiles. It’s a fucking shame it’s directed at another guy. “I’m so glad we’re working together.”
I clench my teeth and thrust my hand at the interloper. “I’m Tyler.”
Jin’s dark eyes slide from Echo to me and his eyebrows lift, but he takes my hand and shakes it firmly. “Did you recently change majors? I’ve never seen you in any of our classes before.”
Elle raises her finger, a sly smile twisting her glossy lips. “You’re the transfer student on the hockey team. The new first-line center.”
“That’s right.” I glance at Jin to see if he’s impressed, but his expression is impossible to read.
Elle sashays forward, rolling her hips in a way that’s probably supposed to tempt me, but just comes across as overdone.
“Elle Summers.” She holds her hand out, and based on her stance, I’m not sure if I’m expected to shake it or drop to my knees and kiss it.
I don’t do either. It’s obvious from the invitation in Elle’s eyes that she’d like more from me than a study buddy and I have no intention of letting her think she has a chance. Nor do I want Echo to believe I’m interested.
Eventually, she reclaims her hand and turns up her nose. Beside me, Echo makes a huff that could be amusement. Jin’s lips twitch.
“So.” Elle fingers the hem of her skirt. “We’ve met. I see no reason to waste another ten minutes chatting. Why don’t we set a time to get together later in the week, after we’ve had a chance to review the assignment properly?”
“Sounds good,” Echo replies. “How about Thursday?”
Jin opens his phone. “Morning or afternoon?”
“Morning,” Elle suggests. “I have a lab in the afternoon.”
They all turn to me.
I shrug. “Thursday morning is fine.”
Even if I have class, I’ll find a way to make it work. Nothing is more important to me than spending time with Echo.
Nothing.
“Done.” Elle weaves past me and Jin and takes a few steps toward the door, but then her gaze returns to catch on me. “If you decide you want someone to show you around, send me a message.”
I nod. “Thanks, but I won’t.”
She stalks away, clearly unhappy with the response.
“Are you in the child psychology class now?” Jin asks Echo.
“No.” She shakes her head. “I’m taking that next semester.”
He looks disappointed. “I guess I’ll see you later then.” He tips his head toward me. “Nice meeting you.”
He leaves, and Echo follows close behind. I fall into step beside her.
“So, if you’re not going to be a doctor, are you going into psychology?” I ask, trying to make sense of the classes she’s taking.
She ignores me.
“Echo. Please.” My voice drips with desperation, and I don’t even care. “I know I fucked up. I’m trying to do better. Give me something.”
She stops walking, and I lurch to a halt, too. She turns and wraps her arms around her waist. The gesture is defensive, and a thread of loathing tugs in my gut. I hate that she feels the need to be on guard with me. Even if it’s completely understandable.
Echo’s green-and-gold-flecked eyes burn as she stares me down. “If you really want to do better, then listen to me when I ask you to leave me alone.”
“I—”
She scoffs. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
She brushes past me. As she goes, I slip the small box into her backpack for her to find later.
A shoulder slap takes me by surprise, and I whirl around, finding one of the guys from the hockey team standing behind me.
“Did you strike out?” he asks, his mouth turned down sympathetically.
“No.” I refuse to admit defeat. “The game is only just beginning.”