My Schizophrenic Lover (Under Slight Construction)

Chapter 13 ♦ The Man In The Duct Tape Isle ♦

I quickly slammed my lips to Echo's acting fast. I knew if I ran I would only attract his attention, and walking away casually wasn’t an option because I knew he had seen us now. Our only hope was just to stand here with our faces hidden and pray to God he just kept walking. 

Echo struggled to break free but I gripped her tighter, "Don't move," I whispered almost inaudibly, pulling my jaw away just enough to move it enough to speak. 

Echo's eyes shot open and her eyelashes hit mine. She looked confused and scared. "Don't. Move." I repeated stronger this time. 

She nodded very slowly in return with eyes filled with fear.

Staring into her eyes I just waited for whatever was going to happen next, and hopped for the best. 

I heard the rubber soles of his boots stepping closer towards us. Squeezing my eyes shut like I had done as a kid praying I would just disappear into thin air. 

I looked down and watched his dirty boots stop next to us, my heart was racing and I thought it might jump right out of my throat at any given moment. My jaw was shaking and my stomach was twisted in so many knots I wasn’t sure if it would ever untie.

"Kids these days," He huffed. I knew for an absolute fact it was him now. I would recognize his voice anywhere. It was in every nightmare, and haunted ever memory. "Excuse me?" My mother’s stuck up voice rang through my ears as they both surrounded us. My eyes still closed tightly I ran through how I was going to get away in my head over and over. Echo was probably just as scared as I was but there wasn’t any time to waste, now that they were watching over us like hungry vultures we had to act fast.

Gripping Echo's hand firmly I counted down from three slowly in my head and ripped my face from hers turning around only to run into a golden yellow hoodie. 

Looking up to see who consumed the hoodie, I saw the one woman I knew I would never be able to look in the eyes again. Flinching at her cold blue-gray eyes, Echo gripped my hand tighter. 

"What's going on?" she whispered out of fear. Her voice was shaky and she gripped my hand tighter with every second I was left staring into my mother’s cold glassy eyes.

"Looks like an Albrecht family reunion," the man said laughing. I saw him reaching out his hand to grab Echo's shoulder from the corner of my eye and I quickly jumped in front of her. 

"You wouldn't do that if you knew what was good for you," I scowled at him. I don't know what exactly made me stand up to him, but I do know that I could never live another day knowing that man laid even one finger on Echo. 

"You would think after thirteen years you would learn to respect me Kaden," he threatened stepping closer to me.  

Now I was even more scared, but I refused to let it show. I wouldn’t let him know I was scared because then he would have an even greater advantage. 

As his hand twitched to grab me this time, in one swift decision, I kicked off the linoleum flooring and darted around the yellow hooded woman towards the exit, practically dragging Echo with me.

Once Echo caught her footing and had caught up to me, it was easy to run.  And that’s just what we did. We ran, and ran, and ran. To the front doors which couldn't open fast enough. Through the parking lot and across the road darting through the moving traffic. 

We ran all the way to her house and didn't stop until we were lying in her bed, gripping onto each other as if we were both about to die off in the next thirty seconds. Panting like a dehydrated dog in the desert, I gripped Echo tighter kissing the top of her head.