11 Days

THE WORDS ARE MUTE

Echo Jud woke up with no air in his lungs, on the cold morning of October 17 he rolled off his huge bed and fell to the ground shivering and sweating cold. Although he did not remember the frightening nightmare, he still had with him the ghost of what he felt while he slept. And the thing is, sometimes it was like that for him, some nights he did not sleep to avoid having nightmares, other nights he resigned himself and entered that world built by memories that he simply wanted to erase from his mind. Spending a few nights with Aviana had helped him and he had found himself sleeping peacefully, but when she was not with him, the demons of his past haunted him incessantly. Maybe what he needed was companionship so he wouldn't wake up like the world was going to end, maybe this time he'd bring one of the dogs back home with him. He had preferred not to let Aviana stay with him last night because her brother was waiting for her and just thinking of sending her home smelling of him was not funny. They still hadn't established anything and hadn't had s*x as such but when they did, he would make sure Matt wouldn't expect to see her for days.

He grunted and forced himself off the ground to take a quick shower before heading out to the shelter. Echo didn't bother to eat breakfast after cleaning up and didn't waste time either looking at the building across the street to see if she was leaving at the same time as him, so he drove straight to the shelter. When he arrived at ten in the morning Sam was already in her office waiting for him with a fresh cup of coffee.

“Good morning Echo.” She smiled politely as she handed him the cup of coffee. “I trust you slept fine.”

He took a sip, the hot liquid warming up his throat. Echo put the mug on the desk and once again found himself having to throw away his little act. "I think you burned it." Sam frowned, completely offended by the comment made by him. She had already gotten used to the roughness that came from dealing with him every day.

“Aviana thinks my coffee is good.”

“That’s because she doesn’t know any better.”

Sam rolled her eyes, obviously sick of having to deal with him every day since he arrived in town. "Does the girl know how obnoxious you are?" then she sneered, "She should run away from you while she still can."

He raised a brow, his face giving nothing away. “Like you did all those years ago? I’m afraid you weren’t very good at it if I found you this easily.”

“It’s because I made the stupid mistake of telling your father about this place, thinking he would come with me.” The sadness crept through her words. It should have warmed him but instead he found himself annoyed. “I guess nothing lasts forever.”

He had to laugh at that one, he really did; not because it was funny but because it was downright ridiculous. “I’m not here to kill you.” He assured her -again- as he reached for the mug. “If I wanted you dead, I would have shot you through the kitchen window when you were doing the dishes four weeks ago.” Echo regretted the second sip and decided to not drink this garbage anymore. “You’re means to an end.”

“It scares me, knowing there’s two killers in this town.” She muttered before taking a sip from the disgusting bitter liquid she’d done this morning. “It’s even scarier knowing one is in this office.”

Echo decided to stop wasting time with her and took care of the dogs, after all he was here to fulfill a role and if he did not do it then his plan would not work. It was amazing how quickly people let their guard down on him once they found out that he couldn't speak, and for his plan to be successful he needed to keep pretending. By the time Aviana arrived, he had already fed the dogs and cleaned the area, the only thing left to do was clean the kennels while Sam busied herself with other things in town, normally she stayed in her office but he had sent her away so he could spend some alone time with Aviana. Echo discovered, much to his regret, that he enjoyed her company and much of the time he found himself counting down the hours to see her again.

“Good morning!” she pretty much sprinted towards him while holding two travel mugs. “I brought you coffee.” Her timid smile came through as she handed him one of the mugs and he took it. The scent alone told him this was nothing like the crap Sam made; maybe it was because he was biased and lately a bit p***y whipped. He put the mug on the grass and hooked an arm around her waist, pulling her against his chest. Her lips found his halfway through, and with great difficulty he was forced to break their lips apart, denying both of them the satisfaction that came from a kiss. “You should have let me stay the night.” She sighed while rubbing a hand against his chest. I really should have, he thought to himself.

Echo took a couple of steps back and bent to pick up the mug then helped himself to a big gulp.

“I didn’t see Sam on my way in through the barn, is she out and about?”

Yes. Only because he had made her leave.

“Well, I see the kids are well fed and napping so let’s go in and fix their kennels.” While collecting toys and putting them in their place, shaking beds and quilts neither of them spoke and they set about completing their tasks before the dogs could wake up. Once they were done, they sat right outside the barn like that first day. "Maybe I'll move in with Matt." she said, his entire body tensed. "I haven't decided yet but I'm considering it."

You need him.

“Yeah but I also want my own space.” He understood that perfectly, wanting not to be alone but to have time alone. "I'm happy he's here but he should have asked me before he came."

Let him. He signed simply, she frowned as if not sure what he meant. Let him be your brother, Aviana.

She regarded him, studied his face for what it seemed to be an eternity and as a result he found himself getting lost in her eyes but suddenly she brushed his cheek so tenderly he felt a fresh rush of guilt that washed over him whenever they shared moments like these. “Can I ask you something?” he nodded, half dreaming. “Who are you?” Huh? “I know nothing about you, Echo, and you seem to know everything about me.”

What do you want to know?

“Do you have any siblings?”

Echo relaxed and let go of the feeling of apprehension that hung him in anticipation at not knowing what to expect from Aviana's curiosity, upon hearing the first question he understood that it was not an interrogation as such but a dance in which one led and the other followed, this time she would be the one to mark the steps. I have two older sisters. He had always abhorred talking about his family because there was nothing to be proud of, each of the members dragged corpses and left traces of blood as they entered the darkness in which they hid. He still carried crimes on his shoulders and the best way to justify them was that it had been nothing more but a simple job, after all he was good at it.

“So, you’re the baby, like Matt.” She teased him and he smiled, his reaction spurring her on. “Do they know you’re here?” Only his father had known for he was here to get a job done, however the recent murders have drawn his attention and right now he was focused on that. So, he gave her half a lie and said no. “Do you miss them? Were you close to them?”

Not really. Honestly, he couldn't remember a time when he wouldn't fight with his sisters over the most stupid things. As the years passed, the fights escalated and became more violent. Our relationship is complicated. Strangely, he found out he wanted to share more of him with her without revealing too much. My family are not good people.

“But you are.”

If you say so.

“I believe you are, or you wouldn’t be taking care of these dogs.” Truth be told he had come to enjoy tending to their needs but sadly this was nothing more than a charade. “And if you weren’t you would have judged me for running away like I did.”

And because he was too frustrated by their slow communication, he was forced to use the notepad. Word by word he poured in what was swirling inside his head, presented his thoughts on paper and let her read. I cannot judge you for the decisions you have made in the past. No one has the right to judge you for thinking about your own safety. Much less me.

“Why do say that?”

He flipped a page. Because I’m nowhere near being a good man.

And just before she could question him, Sam interrupted them by practically appearing out of nowhere just like that day. She had run through the barn and almost collapsed in front of them. "What's going on?" Aviana stood up quickly and took the hands of a very disturbed Samantha.

“The heart.” She panted furiously. “The heart appeared.”