Page 1 of Echoes of Us

Chapter 1

Teagan

The rhythmic clatter of trains passing by is a sound I should be used to by now. Horns blare, metal clangs, and the ceiling fan squeaks in an endless loop. At Aunt Beth’s house, these noises are my nightly lullaby. It’s a far cry from the eerie silence of my old home. Five months ago, I was living in a timeworn house hidden behind a small, abandoned factory. The property was bought at auction by one of my mom’s friends from Narcotics Anonymous. It was both a refuge and a reminder of her on-again, off-again struggle with addiction. We shared that shabby house with two of her friends. Mom and I crammed into the smallest room.

I look up from my book, tossing it onto the scratchy teal carpet. There is no point in reading. All I can think about is how much my life has changed. “Teagan, can you come in here?” Aunt Beth calls from the hallway. I roll my eyes, leaning my head back to stare at the spot of mold on the ceiling. She can wait. I cross my legs, looking at the hideous floral wallpaper around the room. The room is bare except for the furniture donations Aunt Beth received from her church. I don’t care about having furniture. Well, except for the bed. It is nice to have a real bed. Mom and I slept on a mattress on the floor. Besides the mattress, the only things in our room were two plastic bins for our stuff. Maybe it sounds shitty, but I would trade anything to go back.

It’s been five months since she died. There are things about that night I am not ready to share with anyone. Aunt Beth tries to get me to talk to her about that day and about my mom, but I always refuse. She usually gets frustrated; then tells me I am not honoring my mom by acting as though she never existed. I huff. She couldn’t be more wrong. I want the version of my mom from her last month alive to be the image I hold onto. Anything before or after that, I am not ready to face. The void of losing my mom is an endless abyss that cannot be filled.

“Get in here now, girl! Beth already asked you once!” Colin screams from the hallway, banging forcefully on my door. Colin Meyers, my aunt’s husband, always yells at me and tells me I am a waste of space. He married my aunt almost three years ago, a few months after he was stationed here for a specialty training camp at the military base near our town, Trenton, New Jersey. My aunt told Mom and I it was love at first sight but we both knew that she just wanted to be married. She always used to go on and on about how handsome military men are, and after a few drinks, she would talk about their benefits. At that point, Mom and I would give each other knowing grins. They were married after only four months of knowing each other, which didn’t surprise us one bit. We were happy that Aunt Beth was happy, but we took bets on how long it would last.

“Teagan! Please come here really quick! Me and Uncle Colin have to talk to you about something important!” Aunt Beth calls from the kitchen. Rolling my eyes, I slowly roll off the bed and start for the door. I hate when she calls him Uncle Colin. Honestly, so does he. We have a mutual understanding that we don’t care for each other, and we both wish the other one wasn’t around. He generally leaves me alone or ignores my existence all together, but he can be one evil douche if he is having a bad day.

I walk down the narrow hall, my footsteps echoing softly on the worn floorboards, and step into the small kitchen. Aunt Beth and Colin are seated at the table. The table itself is still only big enough for two so when I moved in, she bought a small stool for me at Goodwill. I pull it out from under the table to sit. “What do you want?” I ask my aunt with a sigh.

“Drop the attitude toward your aunt, kid” Colin snaps, narrowing his eyes.

“You’re right, Colin,” I say with a smirk. “My sweet Aunt Beth, whatever could I do for you?” I ask sarcastically and bat my eyelashes.

Colin stands up, hovering over me. “I swear to God, Teagan. I would like nothing more than to slap that grin right off your face.”

“Colin! Enough!” Aunt Beth pleads. He looks at her, taking a deep breath. He goes to the fridge to get a beer, then slumps back into his chair.

“Teagan, we have to talk to you about something that has come up at work for Colin.” My aunt sighs and looks like she is contemplating how to say this. “He received orders to relocate in a few weeks.”

I stay quiet, nodding my head slowly to let her know I want her to continue but there is a long, awkward silence. How bad could this really be? I would be able to get out of this stupid town, possibly moving somewhere cool. As worthless as Colin is, the military relocates people to some awesome places.

“They have asked him to relocate to a military base in Japan for one to two years… and we can’t take you with us.” She looks up at me, waiting for my response. When I give none, she continues. “Since you’re eighteen and we never legally adopted you, they won’t include you in the travel or living costs. We spoke to our accountant to see if we could swing it. I was so excited when he assured us, we could but… Colin said his boss won’t give you clearance to live with us on base. I have spoken to our church’s pastor, and he has reached out to a few families at the church to see who would be willing to take you in for the remainder of your senior year.”

I look at Colin who is smiling down at the table and then at my aunt. Her eyes are beginning to swell with tears. I know Colin lied to her about his boss not clearing me to live on base. She is so blind to his bullshit. “Why can’t I just find a friend to crash with?”

“I am not letting you couch hop during your senior year. You are my little sister’s only child and while I can’t take you with me,” she looks over at Colin, “our church is in a great area in Princeton. It’s close enough that you can still see your friends on weekends. I know you aren’t happy about this, but I want to make sure you are safe and taken care of.”

“I’ve never been safe or taken care of. Especially not by you or your dickhead husband. I don’t want to move to Princeton. Plus, I’m not staying with some weird, religious psychos who want to do something to make them feel better about themselves.” I say flatly, standing to leave.

As I walk down the hallway, I hear Colin throw his chair back. He starts to scream something about knocking my teeth in. My aunt tells him to let it go; but honestly, part of me wishes he would.

At least I would feel something.

Chapter 2

Emmaline

What is that noise? I open my eyes to the soft morning light peeking through the blinds. Why am I awake this early?

The noise persists. I start to doze off before the realization hits me. My phone is vibrating on the nightstand. I jump up and quickly grab it before it goes to voicemail.

COACH PRATHER CALLING reads across the screen and I answer quickly.

“Hey, Coach! Did I miss a morning team meeting or something?” I ask hesitantly into the phone.

“No, ya goofball, season isn’t for a few months. I wanted to catch you before school. Could you come in a little early and meet me in my office? I have something we need to discuss as soon as possible.”

My heart sinks. What could she possibly want to talk about this early? “Sure, Coach. I’ll be in soon!”

“Thanks, Em! See you shortly!” The call ends.

I know this can’t be good. There is no way coach would call me mid-semester to chat about lacrosse at 6:45 a.m. on a Monday. I saw an email from the school that midterm grades were posted last night, but I couldn’t bring myself to open them. Calculus has been killing me all semester. I literally can’t grasp any of it. Eli, our Golden Retriever, groans at the foot of the bed. He lifts his head to look at me, likely wondering why we’re up earlier than normal. I lean down and kiss him on the head and stroke his ears.

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