11 Days

HOW I MISSED YOU

When I opened my eyes the next morning, I felt a huge weight on my eyelids, my face swollen and my throat extremely dry. When I tried to move and couldn't, I looked over my shoulder and saw Echo placidly asleep, immersed in a dream that I couldn't get into no matter how many times I knocked on the door. His long lashes arched gracefully against his face, his lips slightly parted and kissable. His even breathing forced mine to keep up with his. Slowly I turned in the grip of his arm and kissed the tip of his nose, a few seconds later his eyes became mirrors so clear that I could almost see the dark circles under my eyelids. "Good Morning." I whispered and approached him hiding my face in his chest. We had both fallen asleep in the same clothes from the day before, we had been too physically and mentally exhausted to worry about changing, and so we vanished into the comfort of my bed. For a long time, we held each other until we were forced to detach ourselves and return to our routines. Echo returned to his apartment to get ready and I rushed to shower and make myself presentable, trying hard to stop looking like a zombie. When I was finally ready, I grabbed my new cell phone and tossed it in my backpack before leaving my apartment to meet Echo in his car. When he dropped me off at the diner, he kissed the tip of my nose and left for the shelter. He listened to me and consoled me as I told him my story, sometimes his expression was filled with a hatred so deep that I was terrified to continue speaking but other times an embracing sadness seemed to take possession of him- as if he could really feel what I felt with each word that left my lips. Without realizing it, he had absorbed much of my pain and anguish.

Upon entering the diner Joey greeted me with a big hug and then took my backpack. "Hi little one." his giant smile betrayed his intentions. "Why don't you bring this to table four?" I frowned when I saw Tony on the other side of the bar holding a tray with a couple of small boxes of Lucky Charms inside a huge bowl and a jug of milk.

“What’s going on?” I asked suspiciously as I reached for the tray. “Why are you guys acting all weird on me?” I looked towards the table but there was no one sitting there. “Is this some sort of joke? If you guys are looking forward to prank me or something, you’ll shed blood!”

“Whatever do you mean?” Tony gasped dramatically but then threw his head back as he laughed freely. “Just go!”

“The client is in the restroom?”

Joey grabbed onto my shoulders and forced me to turn. “Just do as you’re told.” Then gave me a gentle push on the back and I grumbled as I made my way to the table.

When I put the tray on the table, I began to put everything aside where the client had left a brown leather jacket. "I hope it's almond milk because I've gotten used to it. My mom made me and my sister drink that s**t since we were little." If there was someone capable of stopping time for me at that moment, it was him. I did not want to turn to face the man behind me because as soon as I did, time would run again and at some point, I would lose him again. But his callused fingers tentatively reached out and touched my little finger and pulled, forcing my arm back. With my other hand I covered my face, trying to suppress the sobs even though the trembling of my body gave away the fact that I was already crying. And because I couldn't take it anymore, I turned around and threw myself against Matt who wrapped his arms around me. I hadn't noticed how big he was until I realized that my feet weren't touching the ground. Being the youngest, he turned out to be the one who would become taller. A fist clenched tightly to my heart and I could hardly breathe as I realized that he was here, that it was not a dream and my little brother was here with me.

“You and your lucky charms.” I mumbled against his neck. “There’s better things than cereal in the morning.”

He chuckled and only held me tighter. “I wouldn’t know.” Matt put me back on the ground and took my face in his hands. "Look at you, you look like a silly raccoon." I laughed and pushed him back. He took a napkin and gave it to me to wipe my face. We both sat down, and he poured the cereal and milk into the bowl. He had grown so much without my realizing it, I had completely missed so many facets of his life that I should be ashamed to even look him in the eye. Matt's wavy hair was darker than I remembered, his jaw more defined. A small triangle tattoo that was not there before now drew attention to his corded neck.

“I can’t believe you’re real.” I said in awe as I watched him take a spoonful of cereal. “How did you- how did you know I was here?”

He handed me the spoon and I dug into the mushy cereal. “Well, when you said you gave me the P.O. Box I started to look por possible places you could be hiding in but I realized that would take some time for me so after I placed the order for you I left home.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “Grabbed a plane and next thing I know I’m in Houston patiently waiting for someone to pick up your stuff.” I stopped chewing and almost choked. “It wasn’t easy, I had to bribe the receptionist.”

“Matt! How could you do that!” I threw the spoon on the table. “You bribed someone for information on me?! Wouldn’t it be easier to ask me where I was?”

“Would you have told me?”

“No.” I deadpanned, and he scoffed. “Of course not.”

“Well now you know why I had to do that.”

“Matt,” my voice dropped to a whisper. "What makes you think that he couldn't find me the same way you did? For all we know, he might be watching you too."

Matt rolled his eyes like my idea sounded crazy. Why couldn't he understand the severity of what he had done? It made my hair stand on end just to imagine that it had been a piece of cake for my brother to find me bribing people. So, that man could do it too and maybe find me in the blink of an eye. "Calm down, will you?" he said as if it was no big deal. "I covered my tracks."

“How? Bringing more people, I presume.”

“Now you’re talking!”

“Matt!” I reached across the table and smacked his arm, he yelped. “This is serious, you little s**t!”

“I said I covered my tracks! The plane, the hotels I hopped on and the receptionist has been taken care of.”

“How?” I glared at him. “You needed money to get away with your carelessness.”

He seemed to hesitate at this. “I called him.” For a minute there I didn’t understand but when I saw the way Matt didn’t want to discuss it, I knew.

“Steve? You called Steve?!” Forgetting where I was completely my voice began to raise therefore drawing unnecessary attention to us. Matt’s eyes widened in surprise and tried to get me to calm but I saw red. “You had no right to involve him!”

Now he was the one whose fury rose from the ground and matched mine. “No right? He’s my brother as much as he’s yours!” I had to wince at his tone.“ He was so worried about you when I told him what was happening in this place and I told him that there was no power on this earth that would make you change your mind so the best thing we came up with, for now, was to secure a place for me here to be close to your stubborn ass."  

“I can’t believe you told Steve…”

He groaned slapping a hand against his forehead. “When Joey picked up your package, I approached him and gave him proof about who I was and then he talked to Steve.” A gasp escaped me and I peeked over his shoulder to find a rather skittish Joey scrambling away from the scene. “I know it seems like were invading your space…”

“You are.” I snapped.

“… but we mean well. I moved into one of the cottages that are near the shelter.” Matt reached for my hands and held them tight when I tried to pull away from his hold. “I know you’re mad at me but let me be here for you to compensate for the fact that I couldn’t protect you back then.”

My heart ached at the pain in his eyes. “You were just a kid, you still are.” Fresh tears threatened to spill but somehow, I managed to hold them off.

“So were you.”

We stared at each other for a long time and eventually I gave in.