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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.
I reached around and pulled an envelope from my back pocket. “Please just give this to her. She can decide how to proceed. Okay?”
She stared at my outstretched hand. “I know your dad liked to keep you in a glass ball so maybe you’re not aware of the restraining order. ”
“I’m not interested in sending her to jail. I just want to see her. ” I shook the letter in my hand and tried Mrs. Collins’s puppy dog eyes. “Please, Bridget. ”
Bridget accepted the envelope. “I’m not promising anything. Do you understand?”
I nodded, too worked up to speak. Either I’d solved all my problems or I’d created a whole new set of them. It didn’t matter. I was done living like a coward. It was time to be strong.
NOAH
