Chapter 1
Echo
Echo had just come home from work, after a ten hour shift at the local book store. When she got to the door of the fourth floor apartment that she shared with her dad, she came to a pause. Inside, Echo could hear the TV blaring. The only time the TV was on was when her father was drinking. Echo turned the knob as quietly as possible so as to try and sneak into the apartment. On her way to her room Echo hit a spot in the floor that squeaked. That’s when she heard the one sound that could make her crumple in fear, her father’s footsteps coming towards her.
“Echo, what’s are you doing?” Her dad slurred. Echo backed up into the kitchen, her back hitting the counter.
“N-nothing.” Echo said, trying her best not to let her voice convey how scared she was, she failed.
“Don’t lie to me!” Her father screamed. Echo flinched back. Just then a slap came crashing down on her face. Seeming satisfied, her father turned back around, and went to the living room. Tears blurred Echo’s vision as she stumbled into her room. Laying on her bed Echo cried herself to sleep.
The next morning after getting ready for school, Echo took a peek into the living room. Thankfully, her father was passed out on the couch. After grabbing an apple for breakfast, she left the apartment quickly. Echo had gotten used to the half-mile walk to school each day, she had only traveled about four feet before someone intersected her path.
“Where are you going Echo?” Brian asked, he was her school’s infamous drug dealer. Echo had dated him for a while last year, but it ended once he started to pressuring her to do drugs. Echo might look like she was a drug addict, but she would never touch the stuff. Needless to say that Brian wasn’t a suitable match for her, he hadn’t taken it well and was constantly harassing her.
“Leave me alone.” Echo tried to step sideways to avoid him, but he reached out and jerked her back by the arm.
“Not so fast baby, I just want to talk.” Brian said sweetly. Echo knew better, he was going to hurt her.
“Please, I need to get to school on time. I can’t afford to be late again.” Echo went to move her arm, but Brian clasped it harder.
“What do you care about school?” Brain whispered in her ear. Seeing her chance Echo brought her knee up into his stomach. At the impact Brian let her go, she took off down the street until she reached school grounds. Out of breath, Echo leaned up against the side of the school. Just then the warning bell rang. Gathering both her bag and wits, she went into the school. On her way to class Echo got shoved.
“Watch it freak.” Said the jock that pushed her. Echo just bowed her head. She had heard these comments for years now, since she moved to Colrton. Inside the classroom, it wasn’t much better. Everyone ignored her and went out of their way to make sure she had a rough time. When people were forced to work with her, they would sabotage her work or claim it as theirs. At the end of class, Echo was always the last one out of her seat, wanting to make sure that she wasn’t in anyone’s way. Outside, there were only few people, Echo made it to class with almost no incident. She only had a few steps left until she reached her classroom. Inconvently, there was a bathroom right at where she was. A group of girls walked out talking, not paying attention to where they were going. One of the girls walked right into Echo. She was about to apologize when she realized who she had ran into.
“If I had known it was you, I would have made sure to step on your toe while I was at it.” Mia sneered. Echo held her head down and backed away, walking into her next class.
[
Brian]
