Hi guys!
First, I just want to let you know that we are on the homestretch. If you've made it this far, then congratulations! You've only got a few more chapters left to go.
Also, I want to apologize. I let you all believe something that wasn't true. Read all the way through and you'll see what I mean. I'm sorry for giving you guys are heart attack but the drama is necessary for a good story.
Love the comments- keep it going! Gracias.
----
Everything had changed so fast in just a few days.
Luke sat at his desk, staring absentmindedly at the wall as one of his men talked on. He could hear him, but he was not listening. Even when he handed him a report, Luke had to read it several times before making any sense of it. It was no use, he couldn't concentrate.
The man in front of him had no way of knowing what was going on, nor would Luke tell him. How could he? He was not Marco and they had both agreed that there was no way to trust anyone else until they knew who was on the wrong side. But Luke was worried. It had been two weeks since he heard from Marco, no messages, no mail, no calls, nothing. For all he knew, Marco could be lying in a ditch somewhere.
"Thank you, that's all for today." Luke said, dismissing the men in front of him who silently bowed out of the room.
He looked down at the stack of papers again, trying to remember what it was he just read. Usually, he was pretty good at these things. He had a strong memory- something that had only recently proved to be his absolute downfall.
"Fuck." He whispered to himself as he leaned back against the chair. "FUCK."
He'd messed things up so bad with Echo that now he didn't see a way out. He searched his mind over and over for something, anything- any way he could fix it but nothing came up. He messed up. He hurt her. He deserved to lose her, he only wished he could stop her from hurting.
What he really wanted right now was to go home and tangle himself up in her arms. He needed her warmth, he needed her silent strength. Sometimes it was as simple as sitting across from her the lovely little library she'd put together for them, each silently enjoying their own booth. There would be stolen glances or if they were on the sofa together, he'd give her a squeeze, but just knowing she was in the same room was enough to ease his worry. Sure, he could never talk through his work problems with her, he might never be able to tell her the type of things he had to deal with, although he was certain she'd be able to manage a lot better than some of his men, but just her holding him- that made all the difference.
Now, he couldn't even look forward to that. Going home was an empty thought now. She'd moved out of his room that same day everything came to light- one week ago exactly. He sat outside for hours, silently contemplating the mess he'd made of things, and when he finally went back into their room, it was to find that she had packed a back but it was to move into the room she'd been taken to the first time she was here.
Although most of her things still hung in his closet, seeing her side of the counter empty was depressing. He hadn't been able to sleep in their bed either, couldn't do it without her warmth and that was how he'd ended up sleeping on the sofa in the back of their bedroom. It wasn't the most comfortable sleeping arrangement and he could easily move into one of the guest rooms, but he couldn't bring himself to abandon the room. Maybe he couldn't sleep in the bed with her but at least he could still smell her.
She'd made it a point to avoid him, never leaving the room until after he'd left for the day and making sure to be back in it before he came home. She even arranged to have her dinner brought to her every night just so she wouldn't have to look at his face. She must be disgusted with him and he didn't blame her.
He was disgusted with himself.
Echo tried to face him, she really did. Often times she would open the room door and take a few steps down the hall as she heard him coming into the foyer, but she always ran back. She was too much of a coward. She wasn't sure what she would feel. Would she be angry and proceed to through anything she could get her hands on? Would she burst into tears and recriminations? No, she was safer hiding in that room. She had so much to think about, so much to sort out and until she knew what she felt or what she was going to do, she needed to ride this out with as much dignity and grace as possible. At this point, her dignity was pretty much all she had left and she'd already bent too many times for him.
The problem was she didn't want to leave him. She couldn't even contemplate it. That bag she packed on the first night was supposed to be for her to go to a hotel but the moment she stepped out of the their room, she realized she couldn't do it. She loved him too much and she believed him when he said he didn't mean to hurt her.
She believed firmly that if he didn't think that she had cheated, he wouldn't have gone and cheated on her. She believed that if he hadn't gotten that drunk, he wouldn't have gone home with that bitch. Echo chided herself. As angry and hurt as she was, this was not the moment to hate a woman she hardly knew. Luke was a grown man and it took more than one person to do what they did.
Now she stood outside their room, telling herself it was okay, she could go in, he would not be home right now. She walked in, noting immediately the state of disarray. The comforter had been dragged off the bed and was now laying half on the floor and half on the small sofa at the end of the room.
Luke's shoes were tossed about carelessly, and when she walked into the closet, it was to find that he hadn't done a thing to sort out the mess she'd made. She wondered why the housekeeper hadn't done anything about this, then she remembered one of them saying that he'd asked them to stay out.
Echo sighed, shaking her head and moving towards her dresser. She just needed to get a few things and get out. She turned to the bench, remembering what Luke told her. Again, there was the ache in her chest. She felt for him, she felt his pain. But now he'd hurt her, and although love was supposed to be forgiving, forgetting was too hard.
She grabbed her things quickly, needing to leave the room before she started crying again. She had spent so much time crying lately that her head was constantly pounding.
"Oh." She let out a small sound as she stepped back into the bedroom from beyond the closet. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of Luke, sitting on the sofa, his face in his hands. He looked up, his eyes looking her over slowly as she stared at him in surprise.
"Echo." He said softly without getting up.
"I'm sorry." She said, looking around nervously. "I just came to grab a few things."
He nodded.
"You're home early." She said, wondering why she hadn't left the room, wondering what she was still doing there.
"I couldn't focus." He said, looking back down. Echo walked closer to him, again wondering why, but also unable to stop herself.
"Everything okay?" She asked, standing in front of him. A part of her wanted to reach out to him... and hit him as hard as she could.
Another, less dominant part wanted to sit by him and try to soothe him.
"I don't know." He said, "It will be, I'm sure of it. I'm just... tired."
She looked him over, he certainly looked tired. She wondered now as she noticed the comforter on the opposite end of the sofa if he'd been sleeping here instead of the bed. That didn't make any sense.
"Whatever it is, I'm sure you're right." She said with a nod, "You're a smart man, Luke. You'll figure it out."
Luke looked up at her, trying to suppress the urge he had to reach out but in the end he was weak. His arms went up, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her closer. Echo would have pushed him away but she was surprised as he didn't do more than place his forehead against her stomach. She heard him take a deep breath, his arms still wrapped around her for a moment.
"Just one minute, please." He said softly, still holding her. "Just let me have one minute."
Echo looked down at him. He really was distressed. Without really thinking about it, she reached out with her free hand, running her fingers through his hair gently.
One minute, she whispered to herself as she let him hold her, as she let herself feel his warmth. Just give him one minute.
Then, after a few more seconds, she felt his arms relax and she regretted it. She deeply regretted the loss of his arms but she stepped away... She stepped away and turned on her heel, leaving the room as quietly as she came.
---
"Shit." Nadia said, dropping low behind a shelf of the pharmacy she was standing in. She'd been right next to the window when Grace walked by, but for some reason she couldn't explain, she wasn't in the mood to deal with her.
The last time she saw Grace, she'd had nightmares for days. She couldn't explain it, the longer she stayed away from her, the less she wanted to see her. Once upon a time, Grace had been everything- her best and only friend.
No, that wasn't true. She saw that now. Nadia had Luke and Marco, and now, if she could fix it, she might even be able to be friends with Echo. She was actually on her way to talk to her. She hated knowing that she had been the cause of all this mess, but she hated more that she had been too much of a coward to go see Echo herself.
Of course, at first she told herself that she was just giving Echo some time to cool off... now she was just procrastinating.
"Nadia, what are you doing?" Grace asked as she came up behind Nadia as she crouched on the floor.
"Cramp." Nadia blurted out, not knowing what else to say as she flexed her leg and pretended it hurt. "Ouch."
"Yikes." Grace said, a raised brow as Nadia rose. "What are you up to?"
Nadia straightened herself out.
"I'm on my way to see, Echo." Nadia said, patting the candy in her arms. "She and I have a talk overdue."
"I'm sure she could use the company." Grace said with a sigh.
"What do you mean?" Nadia asked. "I thought they made up."
Nadia was talking more to herself than to Grace at that point. Grace nodded, however, grinning widely.
"They did." She said, "Until she found out about Luke and I."
"What... Luke and you?" Nadia asked, confused.
"I have to go." Grace said, turning to walk away.
"No," Nadia said, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. "You have to tell me what you mean by you and Luke."
"I... don't have to tell you anything." Grace said with a frown but Nadia had enough. She was not going to take anymore of Grace's unnecessary intrigues. She began to turn her wrist slightly, aware the pressure would make her drop... "Ow... ow... hey, what the hell are you doing?"
"I want you to tell me." Nadia hissed, glancing around the empty store. "Now."
"Let me...ow... ow... okay. Okay... OKAY." Grace said. "Luke spent the night with me."
"That's bullshit. He loves Echo." Nadia said, twisting again.
"He was drunk." Grace replied, pissing Nadia off even more. She twisted again. "You're going to break my wrist."
"I'd like to break your face. How dare you? Did you seriously take advantage of the face that Luke was drunk? Do you realize that could be considered rape?" Nadia said, making Grace stare at her incredulously. "How drunk was he?"
"Ow... pretty much blacked out." Grace said and Nadia stopped twisting.
"Wait, did you say blacked out?" Nadia asked.
"Let me go." Grace replied but Nadia twisted again. "Okay, yes. Completely."
"Then I find it hard to believe anything happened." Nadia said with a raised brow. "Right?"
"Ow... right. yes, okay. Stop, you're hurting me." Grace cried. Nadia practically pushed Grace down as she released her.
"You... you're not who I thought you were. You're a manipulative, lying, conniving bitch. I suggest you run, Grace. I'm done covering for you." Nadia said.
"What are you going to do?" Grace said, standing up. "Come on, Nadia, we're supposed to be friends."
"All you do is use me to get what you want and now, you've brought Luke into it. You could ruin their marriage. Don't you have a conscience at all?" Nadia said, pushing past her. "I'm going to go see Echo, and Luke. If I were you- I'd leave town."