Chapter 13
-The man in the Duck-Tape Isle -
*Echo's POV*
"Echo?" Kaden said looking at me furrowing his eyebrows.
I already knew what he was thinking so I just smiled and mumbled "Huh?" because it was all I could manage to get out with my mouth clear full.
"It's the end of October, and you’re eating ice cream like it's going to fall off the face of the earth… and we’re in the middle of Wal-Mart?" he said as if I was insane.
"Et's ho het some duct-tape" I said with my still full, taking another huge bite. I don't know why I wanted duct tape, it was just always good to have on hand. And who knows, maybe I'll get off the couch one day and make a dress or something like that. You never know?
He followed me at my side as we walked to the other side of Wal-Mart to 'the duck-tape section' as I refer to it; considering that was all I really cared about in that whole section of the store.
Taking his hand in mine I began rocking them back and forth slightly. "I love that," I had gulped down my last bite of ice cream and continued. "You will come to Wal-Mart with me, when I’m in my sweats and my T-shirt, and my hair is not done at all, while I stuff my face with ice cream, in October." I laughed smiling at him. I mean let’s face it, he truly was amazing if he could put himself in that position of utter embarrassment.
He leaned down and brushed his lips against my cheek softly and laughed. "I don't care what other people think, remember? And you look pretty good for a ditching school day. I wouldn't have gotten that ready if I were you."
Playfully pushing his side, I laughed at him. “Yeah I know right, I'm totally rocking this ponytail and sweats," I said in a stuck up tone of voice.
"You really are," he smiled softly at me. "I love it."
"Anthony! Not here," A woman called out. Something caused Kaden's grip on my hand to tighten as we turned into the isle with the duck-tape and Super glue. There was a couple at the end of the aisle, and as I turned to the shelf full of tape but before I even had time to grab a role Kaden gripped my hair and crashed his lips against mine forcefully.
I tried to pull away out of confusion but he gripped tighter. He pulled away just enough to move his lips as our faces were covered mostly by his hair. "Don't move,"
*Kaden's POV*
"Anthony!" I heard a woman cry out in a hushed tone as she tried to hide her laughter. "Not here," she finished.
That name made me grit my teeth. I hadn’t noticed my grip had tightened on Echo’s hand until she looked up at me with concern. I tied to relax my grip but when my eyes involuntarily flickered down to look at the couple standing at the end of the aisle that became impossible.
“No it can't be him. He’s in jail and he can't hurt me anymore.” I thought silently to myself as I saw his face. I never did find out how long my father would be in jail, but it had only been two and half years. His sentence had to be longer than that right? It wasn't him, it couldn't be.
But sadly it was him, and I knew it.
And now I had no idea what to do, to I run or just continue on as normal and hope he doesn’t see me. No, I had to hide, I had to get out of here. He was crazy he would lash out if he saw me.
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.
"Kaden... what. What, was. That?" she asked, trying to catch her breath.
I shook my head and tried to search for the words. What did I call those people? I sighed trying to fully regain my breath. "Those were my... parents." My voice shook.
Echo hugged me so tight I thought her arms might cut right through me. "They can't hurt you anymore," she said into my shirt.
I laughed humorlessly. "That's just it... they can. As long as that man and that woman have a pulse, they can always hurt me... what would stop them? They did it for thirteen years, why not go another twenty?"
“Kaden they can’t hurt you,” She whispered trying to get me to look into her eyes. “You’re not their kid anymore, they can’t hurt you. And if they do they’ll go to jail, or possibly prison.”
“Yeah because that clearly got them away from me.” I sighed sarcastically.
“Kaden I promise they can’t get you,” she said resting her head on my shoulder. “Can I ask you something?” She whispered sitting up.
I hesitated but nodded softly and anticipated her question. “Did both your parents hit you? Or was it just your dad?”
***Flashback***
Staring back into her cold blue-grey eyes, I knew I couldn't stay mad at her. What had she done? Nothing. It was my father, and I knew she couldn't do anything to stop it without getting stuck in a fight herself.
"Baby, I love you so much. Can you please just try to do what he asks? That's all he wants Kaden, and then you'll be okay, and he won’t get so mad," My mother pleaded pulling my small six year-old body off the tattered blankets on my floor that acted as a bed.
I rested my head against her chest as she cradled me in her arms. Silent tears leaked from my eyes and slithered down my cheeks; they dropped against her shirt as she hugged me tighter. I tried not to whimper as she applied pressure to the bruises on my ribs. I knew she didn't mean to, and dad would kill me for crying like a baby.
"Mama," I whimpered as she began to rock me back and forth.
"Yes baby?" she whispered kissing over my temple.
I heard my father's footsteps come crashing down the hall and before I could finish I leapt from my mother's arms and curled in a ball. Using my blanket as shelter I squeezed my eyelids together as tight as they would go praying he would be able to see me.
When a pillar of light entered my dark shadowy room, I relaxed my eyelids for it to appear as if I had been sleeping, since my dad had told me to go to bed a while ago.
Cracking my left eye open enough to get a blurry vision of my room, I saw my mom stand up as my dad flung open my door, just to have it ricochet off the wall and bump his shoulder.
"Amanda! What are you doing in here?" he yelled, grabbing her by the wrist he yanked her towards the door.
"Anthony, you have to stop this," she sighed shaking her head at him. "It’s is getting out of control. You can't keep hurting him like this," she pleaded with him like this ever so often, but it had yet to have any effect.
"That piece of shit has made my life a living hell, he deserves the same," he spat, staring at me.
Even through the shadows, I could feel the hate in his eyes towards me.
Fear washed over me as he took a step closer. Hugging my stomach tighter pulling my knees into my chest, I just wanted to disappear, disappear and never come back.
My mom placed her hands on his shoulders and began to massage them over and over. "Honey, just let him sleep. Please. Just come to bed with me, he needs to sleep," she said trying to pull him back out into the hallway.
When my door closed again, leaving me alone in the darkness, I began crawling on my hands and knees, I quickly began feeling around the floor for my only friend.
When the plush artificial fur brushed across my knuckles, I gripped it immediately. Pulling him closer, I hurried back to my bed and hugged Max as tight as I could.
He was my only friend.
The only one I could cry to.
Talk to.
Tell my secrets to.
The only one I really trusted on this earth was that brown stuffed dog.
***Present Time***
"Kaden..." Echo sighed brushing the hair out of my eyes pulling my attention back to her.
I was leaned against her bedroom wall, and she was sitting on my lap with her arms around my neck. I sighed, still not sure how to answer the question she had asked me.
"Kaden, sometimes it's good to get things you’ve buried in your past out too get past them," she sighed.
"No...” I started, answering her question that triggered my flashback. “My mom never hit me, just my dad. But mom never did anything to stop it either. She would just walk out of the room, or go outside to have a smoke. Then she would come into my room sometimes later that night and tell me she was sorry. But she never... she never laid a finger on me," I answered distantly. There were a few times that my mom had tried to hurt me but I didn’t feel like going into detail about that so I just left it at “no”.
"I saw how you looked at her... like you were almost scarred to see her eyes again. But you're not scared of her like you are your father," she said resting her head on my shoulder.
She was right, I wasn't scared of her. I didn’t have much reason to be, all she ever did was let it all happen and try to help. Somewhere deep down, I knew she meant to make it stop. She wanted to run away but she was scared. She didn’t want us to get hurt and have nowhere to go. I remember listening to her talk to my grandma while I played with my spiderman action-figure under the table. She would say, “Sometimes I wish I had the guts to just pack up me and Kaden and leave Anthony. Go somewhere far away and start over.”
Why she never did leave him is still a mystery to me.