Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits #1)(83)

“Nice dent, man.” Isaiah rested his hip against the corner of the hallway as he crossed his tattooed arms over his chest. “I appreciate you choosing my locker to beat the shit out of. I was looking for an excuse to never open it again.”

My head jerked as I did a double take. Damn, I hit the wrong one. The shock of my mistake zapped the anger out of me, leaving behind a dull throb in my knuckles. “Sorry.”

“Did it get out whatever it is you’ve had up your ass?”

I was wrong, some of the anger still simmered in my gut. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means the girl you love is in that cafeteria baring her soul and you’re out here punching lockers. I call that something up your ass.”

I ran a hand over my face. “She broke up with me. Not the other way around. Besides—” I pointed toward the cafeteria “—I wanted to be by her side. She waved me away.”

“When did you become a f**king sheep? Way I see it, she may have said the words, but you must have wanted to break up, too.”

My muscles flinched and my fist curled, causing Isaiah to push away from the wall. He stood with his feet apart, arms held stiff near his sides. Isaiah sensed a fight and he wasn’t wrong. My voice dropped. “What did you just say?” Because he knew how much I loved Echo and those words he’d just said bordered on betrayal.

Yet my brother continued, “That you must have had some doubt about the two of you because you seemed to easily walk away.”

The urge surged through me to hit something again, but the throb in my knuckles kept me grounded. “I love Echo. I love her so much I asked her to marry me. Does that sound like I wanted to walk away?”

His eyebrows rose toward his shaved hairline as his muscles relaxed. “Tell me you’re kidding about the marriage part.”

Collapsing against the locker, I let the back of my head hit the metal. I wished I was kidding. That one question became the domino that destroyed my relationship with her. “I’m not. I f**ked it all up, bro, and I don’t know how to fix it.”

Isaiah’s combat boots thumped against the floor as he came closer to me. “All I’m saying is that I don’t see you fighting for your girl, man. If you want her, then stop punching lockers and start focusing on the prize.”

Echo

The smell of acrylic paint tickled my nose the moment I walked into the gallery. Landscapes filled the canvases on the wall. A painting of long blade grass bending with the wind caught my eye. Earlier today, I’d exposed my arms. This afternoon, I was finding answers.

Nerves caused my blood to skip in my veins. The last time I visited this place, Aires was still alive and my mother was on her meds. Mom had chuckled when Aires told her he didn’t understand one of her paintings and he’d pulled my hair when I called him an idiot. He’d laughed when I smacked him in return. A weight pressed down on my lungs. Aires laughed. I should have hugged him then. I should have hugged him and never let go.

“Can I help you?” asked a female voice.

I plastered a smile on my face and turned. “Hi, Bridget.”

Bridget’s blue eyes widened. Her sleek midnight-black hair hung to her shoulders and angled her face. At six feet tall, she towered over me. As I always remembered her, she wore a chic black business suit. “Echo. My God, you’ve grown.”

“It happens.” I shifted from one foot to the next. “Do you have a few minutes?”

“For you, always. Would you like some water?”

“Sure.” She led the way to her office.

“What can I do for you?”

Now or never. “I’m hoping you can help me with two things.”

She handed me a bottled water and twisted the top off of hers. “Tell me number one.”

“You told me once that if I was ever interested in selling my paintings you wanted me to call you first. Does that offer still stand?”

Bridget licked her lips and sat. “Your mom showed me your sketches for years. I’ve been dying for this day. Did you bring anything for me to look at?”

I shook my head.

“Pick out your five favorite paintings and bring a full sketch pad for me to peruse tomorrow.” She narrowed her eyes. “You’re still in school, right?”

“I graduate next month.”

“Brilliant.” Her eyes glittered as if her mind had gone to a far-off place. She blinked back to life. “Two?”

“I want to find my mom.”

She lost the glitter and her smile fell. “Cassie doesn’t work here anymore. You know that.”

“Yeah, I do, but you were her best friend. I’m hoping you could at least tell me where she ended up. Maybe if she found another job, who hired her, or at least who called for references.”

Bridget took a long drink from her water. “Your mom was in a bad place for a very long time, Echo. What happened to you is a tragedy and she feels nothing but remorse.”

My heart beat faster. “You know what happened to me?”

“Yes.” Her long fingernails ripped at the label on the bottle. “And she said that you don’t.”

Adrenaline poured into my body. My foot tapped against the floor. “You still talk with her?”

“Yes.” The sound of the label tearing filled the silence.