Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 77793 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77793 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
“I want to try,” Echo whispers when she can trust her voice again. There are nods around the room, my brothers in understanding and my sisters-in-law in solidarity. “Thank you so much for staying, for being here now, for understanding, and for making me feel like I didn’t make the wrong choice even though I still feel like I did. I’ve made it my mission in life to only rely on and trust myself. That was…” This time, she looks at me, and I feel like we’re sharing a secret look, just the two of us. Even though she doesn’t finish her sentence, we all get it. “Thank you for making me a part of something bigger than I ever thought I could be,” she says at last, her voice shaking. “Thank you for giving me a taste of a real family. A sample. I’m ready to try the real thing now.”
I don’t know if that’s my cue to stand up. I wanted this to be private, but we’re a part of this family, and I don’t think I need to escape to the treehouse to tell Echo how I feel. Every single person in this room loves us and will support us.
I leap out of my chair for a second time, and Echo watches me, her lovely, gorgeous eyes shining with moisture and emotion and a smile just for me on lips that I’ve missed kissing. Fuck, I’ve missed all of her so damn much. If they’re not by your side, how is it possible to just know that someone is going to cause a cavern in your heart the second you set eyes on them? I’m not sure, but I swear it’s a thing. I might have laughed that off before, but now I know better. I know about the pain in my chest that makes me want to pound at the spot because it feels like major indigestion, though I know it’s not.
I get a few feet across the room, but then she stops me, and with cerulean eyes like laser beams shooting straight to my soul, she says in front of everyone, “I’m still terrified. My past is still my past, and everything I was afraid of is literally still true and still there and still pushing me to be so, so scared, but I made myself decide that this is worth it. This chance. You all were willing to welcome me and take a chance on me without even knowing me, and you meant it with everything you have. You waited for me. You waited to make sure I was going to be okay, and even if I was, I know you still would have been there for me if I needed it. No one has ever really done that for me before. You’re all worth taking that first step forward, pushing through my doubts, and shoving through the uncomfortable shite to learn how to be a better person. People always talk about taking a leap of faith, but I want to take a leap of family. Is that too corny?”
“Maybe a little,” Lennox says, then chuckles when Cass slaps his knee. Maya reaches out and slaps his knee, too, in imitation. Azalea and Alden laugh from the video chat, and Ransom’s deep boom of mirth fills up the room, drowning everyone else out as we all start busting a gut as well.
“That’s okay.” Echo laughs too, and I swear it’s the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard, ever, and I’ve been to some pretty amazing concerts and orchestras and all that in my time. “It can be corny.” Then, she looks right at me. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I hurt you and let you go. I always heard that we have to choose to change our attitude and the way we think about something, but I guess it never clicked with me before. When my mom left me that note, it was like I finally realized I couldn’t keep living my life the way I was living, which was waiting for her to come back and building walls around myself to keep everyone else out because she hurt me. That was so unhealthy and unproductive and just immature. I’ve never wanted to be like anyone else, but I was doing the same thing so many people do by curling up into a ball and letting life live me instead of doing it the other way around. You were the person who woke me up and got me out of my cocoon. Well, that and what my mom wrote. I don’t want to be a caterpillar anymore. I want to be a butterfly. I think butterflies are pretty cool. I didn’t want to choose, but I still feel like I let you down.”
“You didn’t.” I step forward, and even though I’m scared that if I touch her, it will be too much, or I’ll scare her off, I still reach out. Looking at her is like looking into the sun. It hurts my eyes and makes them water even harder. She reaches out too, and clasping her hands in mine is the absolute best thing I’ve had the pleasure of doing this entire past month. I love how soft and small she feels. Her hands are delicate, almost fragile in mine, but then she curls her fingers and grips mine, and I feel the strength and determination in her too. She lowers her voice and speaks just to me. “You’re worth going slow, you’re worth working things out, you’re worth getting things right, and you’re worth every future smile and laugh and joy that I can learn how to conjure up. And me? I know I’m worth taking a chance on too. I’m worth figuring out what I really want out of life, I’m worth learning how to live without so much fear holding me back, and I’m worth learning how to make myself happy and learning how to be happy by myself, with you if you still want that, and with your family. With my family.”