ECHO [Rewritten - NaNoWriMo '16]

Chapter 24: Lust For Me

29 August 2010

Phoenix, Arizona

Wren

Without any warning arms wrapped around my torso. I chuckled, as there were giggles behind me. I shook my head, refusing to look up from my textbook. I was biting my bottom lip, resisting the urge to smile. But there was a snort, "Wren. What're you doing? Come on, don't you wanna see me pretty dress?"

"No," I chuckled. "Because I know you are pretty."

"Okay, you may know but you don't know." She whined.

"If I know then you will not be leaving the house," I replied. "I don't care if you don't like boys, boys like you. And you already have a problem with keeping them away anyhow. With you looking extra beautiful for homecoming, it will be damn near impossible for them to reign in their hormones. And thus, with this knowledge I don't want you leaving the house. But if I don't see how beautiful you look, then I won't have an excuse to throw you in a broom closet and lock you in it."

"You think way too much," Pria muttered. She sighed though, "But I guess I can understand your reasoning. Though it really fucking dramatic."

"Language," I warned.

"Language," she mocked.

I whirled and grabbed her around the waist, throwing her onto the beanbag. She yelped, laughing as hit it. It was then I noticed that she wasn't wearing a dress, or even had her makeup done. She was in her pajama shorts with a t-shirt, bunny slippers covering her toes. I frowned, "What's going on? Aren't you supposed to leave soon?"

"No, I decided to skip it," Pria proper herself up to smile at me. "One, everyone at school is an ass and totally not worth my time. And also, you passed the test to get into the police academy."

I frowned at her, "How did you know?"

"I have my ways," she smiled, and then revealed what she had been hiding behind her back. An entire bag of candy. "Celebrate?"

I laughed and then tackle hugged her. She screeched.

24 March 2016

Berlin, Germany

Wren

I couldn't sleep. I had been restless the entire time since Echo had walked off with Thorn. Paiute hadn't been much better, and had clinged to me the entire time. He wouldn't even go near Aurora or Howl. I watched him for any sign that something had happened to Echo, something so severe that the familiar would know. But other than being depressed, he didn't seem any worse for wear. And Howl had informed me that if anything, such as death, had happened to her Paiute would be affected. After all, he is her soul in flesh form.

But it didn't help me with a peaceful rest. I stared at the ceiling in the hotel room listening to the ticking clock. I focused on keeping my breathing steady. It wasn't helping; my heart was still thudding painfully. I must've slid into unconsciousness between one breath and the next. Because the next moment that I woke up and Echo was sitting on the bed next to me. Paiute was purring and chirping, rubbing against her in his joy. I didn't want to disturb the reunion and so I stayed silent.

Echo arched a brow, "You're not that sly, doll."

"Why did you go with him?" I asked softly, I didn't want to wake up Howl. For some reason, I wanted this moment with her.

Her eyes focused on me, as though she had read my thoughts. The corner of her lips quirked in a smirk. She focused on Paiute as she said, "He wasn't going to hurt me."

"Why wouldn't he?" I asked.

"Because he viewed me as a daughter," Echo's face remained carefully expressionless. "And viewed me as someone who could stop his sister from becoming...well more powerful."

"Why do you keep using the past tense?" I propped myself up on my elbows.

"Because he is dead," she said softly.

"Dead?"

"Yes," she bopped him on the nose. "I stabbed him in the jugular."

"Thanks for the details," I said dryly.

"Anytime."

"Why kill him if you knew that he wasn't going to hurt you?" I frowned. "And by the sounds of it, he was helping you."

"Because he was part of the world that I will burn," Echo flicked a strand of hair from her face. "I don't care if he cared about me, or was even trying to help me. He needed to die. So, he did."

"And is that what will happen to me once you are finished?" I asked her.

She frowned, as though she weren't expecting that question. Out of all the ones that she had more than likely anticipated, this was the one that had surprised her the most. She shifted so that she was not only closer, but facing him better. Paiute slid off her lap to curl up on my pillow. A habit that he had formed over the last few days. Something that was becoming increasingly annoying. But I was slightly distracted by the woman next to me.

I blinked and her face was suddenly only inches from mine. Close. Too close. I fought to urge to flinch. Echo cocked her head, "Why would you think that I would kill you?"

"You really want me to answer that?" I asked her.

She laughed, "Yes, I do."

"Because you kill people. That is what you do." I blinked. "Why would I be any different?"

"Because you have never done anything...that I have done. You have never hunted someone down, killed them. Done whatever you could to cause them incredible agony. The whole reason as to why you are with me right now is because you want to get revenge for your sister. Because, if I had grown up normal, I would do the exact same thing that you are doing now for them." Echo said, her breath gently touching my face.

I couldn't even respond. Because she was so close, and she was being so honest and open. And the delicate moonlight made her so incredibly beautiful. I didn't realize that I had shifted my position until I could feel her warmth near my skin. Just another shift and our lips would be pressing against one another. Echo's pupils dilated, her breath sharpened. "You lust for me."

I recoiled. "No."

Echo launched, her thighs gripping my torso, pushing me on to my back. I went to push her off, but she pressed herself down upon him. I could feel her breasts on my check, the delicate curves of her body against mine. The muscle that shaped her body. And God, she was so warm. I closed my eyes and fought against my body's reaction. Echo chuckled, her breath tickling my face. "You do."

"No, it's just hard not to react when there is a warm body on top of me," I protested.

"Especially when that woman is attractive," Echo's lips brushed against my ear. "You lust for me, admit it. You care for me."

I grabbed her shoulders and yanked her up. Her eyes widened, startled. "Of course I fucking care for you. After everything we have been through, how can I not?"

"Because I am not something that a human like you can care about," Echo snapped.

I brought my face so close to hers that our lips whispered against one another as I hissed, "You are human too."

She froze. Silence. Total and utter silence. There wasn't even the sound of us breathing. And then in a blink, she shoved me back, and her weight was gone off me. I sat up, but she was nowhere to be seen. Not even Paiute was next to me. I grabbed the corner of the blankets to throw off me to go after her, when I paused. Echo may be human, but she was separate from me. And no matter if I cared for her, I would never be able to touch her. And we would never be anything but partners in pursuit of revenge.