Echo

Stretching, her hand brushed a slip of paper sticking out from under her pillow. Smoothing the creased note, it read:

    Good morning, sleepyhead. You looked so beautiful I couldn’t bear to wake you. I want to get Scotty out of the house before he makes an accidental discovery. We can figure out how to handle that when I get back from our errands. The security company is sending a guard for the house starting tomorrow. Keep the doors locked till we are back! I love you. J

    I love you? Smiling, she held the note to her breast. How did she want to handle it with Scotty? Thinking it over as she dressed in a pretty teal jumper for Jose, she got a flash. Of course, Jose wanted them to be a couple. She smiled to herself, hoping she wouldn’t act like a grinning fool all day.
    Walking into the living room, she noted how empty and quiet it sounded, the cheap plastic clock sitting lonely on the wall, celebrating its chance to be heard, as its proud ticking proclaimed the hour well past twelve noon. She spotting Barney and Echo curled up in the corner sleeping, Barney’s wet nose snorting as he breathed into Echo’s crinkled ear. She certainly overslept. Blood suffused her cheeks as she remembered how they spent their time, whispering and touching long into the early hours of the morning.
    Turning into the kitchen, still filled with dirty dishes she neglected from yesterday, she heard the doorbell ring. What now? Jose and Scotty would not be back this quickly. Peering out the window, she saw Kimir’s father, with the boy in tow. She totally forgot about Kimir’s mother’s threat to send her husband to talk to them. Well, she did not intend to let the happy cloud she floated on, get blown away.
    She quickly donned her sunglasses and opened the door. Saying hello, she thanked Kimir and his father for coming, firmly suggesting they come back later this evening when Scotty and Jose would be home. Quickly closing the door on them, she leaned up against the frame from the inside of the house, proud of how she handled them. Thinking of last night again, she decided to make a cup of her favorite tea and do some more daydreaming. What the heck .
    Selecting her favorite teacup, she slipped in a tea bag, breathing in the tea’s spicy fragrance, reminiscent of the weekends she spent laughing with her mother as they chopped veggies for dinner.
    Was that the front door rattling? She thought she heard a noise from the living room. As her heart started to pound, she remembered she forgot to lock the door. She looked up with trepidation to find Tomas standing in the doorway, his face a study in malevolence. Behind him, she could see a base little man with a big, blotchy, weasel face and bow legs. Could that be Armoni? Her heart shot to her throat as she dropped her teacup, splashing tea all over her teal jumper.
    “What are you doing here, Tomas? I didn’t hear you knock. Hey, you … just what do you think you’re doing? Get out of there.” Abby spied Armoni opening the door to the garage. Marching over to him, she slammed the door. Turning back to Tomas, she opened her mouth to order them to leave when she felt something slam into her back, knocking her to the floor. Dazed, she rolled over and watched Armoni rubbing his hand, his face cratered with acne, spittle collecting in the corners of his twisted mouth. At the front door she saw another figure. Kelly. She held something in her hands … chains?
    “Listen, Ms. Hot Shit Bitch, shut your friggin’ mouth. Kelso, get over here with my equipment.” Grabbing her arms, Armoni twisted them painfully up over her head. With his other hand he grabbed the front of her jumper and ripped it down the front, exposing her breasts. She screamed. Grabbing a breast he kneaded it painfully. Abby struggled, trying to kick him with her feet. She must get them out of the house before they discovered Echo. As Armoni held her pinned to the floor, she could hear Barney barking. Not a good sign . Suddenly, Tomas grabbed Armoni hauling him off her.
    “You promised, Armoni. You got all the others. This one is mine. I get her first.” Belligerence turned Tomas’s face a mottled purple. She struggled to her feet in time to see Barney leap up at Armoni, who reached out and gave him a vicious, raving kick with his steel-toed shit kickers, catapulting him across the room. Barney’s skull cracked hard on the wall where he collapsed in a lifeless heap, blood draining from his nostrils.
    “Barney!”