Echoes and Entanglements (Remington Carter Book 1)

by Emma Cole

  Echoes and Entanglements

  Remington Carter

  Book One

  Emma Cole

  Echoes and Entanglements Copyright © Emma Cole 2019

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, businesses, or locales is coincidental and is not intended by the author.

  ****This is a revised edition of previously published Convergence by M.E. Coleman.

  Prologue

  Five years ago…

  Under the cloud of disapproval from our father, the driver closes the door on the car as we’re sent off for our transgression. It’s not the first time we have been uprooted nor will it be the last. The only regret we have this time is leaving her. Whether she has made up her mind on which of us she wanted to be with or not, the other would always be there for her. If it was my brother, I wouldn’t begrudge him his happiness, just as he wouldn’t begrudge me mine. Our father says we’re lucky he discovered us and that hopefully, ‘the girl’ as he refers to her, will be too embarrassed to mention it to her hers. Even at sixteen we know it will be impossible to forget her. I share a look with my brother as we leave the estate. We’ll get her back. Someday, somehow…

  ------

  Four years ago…

  I want to scream and rage. I know it’s not going to do me any good. My father, I could never call him a dad he isn’t that type of parent, would have me shipped back to Australia immediately. The best I can hope for now is to be able to finish school in the states. Even though I recently turned eighteen I have few options and no resources of my own. It’s mid semester break and my choices are to return to Brisbane where my mother is with her new husband or do as my father commands. As much as I love my mother, I don’t want to intrude on her happiness even though she would welcome me with open arms. No, I have to find a way to get her back, the one I’m being sent away from. According to both of our fathers, who found out what was going on, what we were engaging in was unacceptable behavior. Mostly on my part, as the girl’s father put it, I was a deviant taking advantage of his only child. Mine agreed with him and I was being sent back to school four days early. Without a goodbye. I tried to call her, but her number was already disconnected. One day I will find her again. They can’t keep us apart forever….

  One

  In the present….

  I stand in line with a housing application along with most of the rest of my coed building. A booth has been set up outside the admissions building to help with foot traffic. A malfunctioning fire sprinkler soaked the first two floors of my building requiring extensive rehab and displacing about sixty students. Private homes, apartment buildings, and rentals are all offering unused rooms at a discount for the remainder of the semester until the damage could be fixed for anyone that couldn’t be placed in other campus housing. Technically as a sophomore I could live off campus already. It had been more convenient as a community college transfer to stay in the dorms for now and get to know my way around. As I stand in the warm air of early October, I wonder if I’m going to get my application turned in in time to make it to my next class. The grass is still green, yet you can smell the crispness in the air signaling fall. Some leaves on the trees have turned colors and begun to fall already.

  After another ten minutes of waiting, I finally get to the front of the line to turn my papers in. It’s a good thing too, I’m really feeling the need for a bathroom. Maybe should have held off on the third coffee. The woman staffer takes my application, pulls off the tabbed number on the bottom, and tells me that the relocations should be settled in the next few hours. She continues on that the rooms have already been secured for the students they just needed to be assigned to each of them and to please check my email for updates. The school has been right on top of handling the situation. The broken pipes had woken everyone up around four this morning and we were already about to be settled. I get on the main sidewalk and put my things into my messenger bag. As I go to move on to my next, and last class of the day I spot Eli walking towards me. He hasn’t seen me yet and after the day I’ve had, I would like to keep it that way for now. I hoof it in the other direction fast towards my class as I think about Eli. Eli, short for Elliot McAdams. He’s the typical “hot” guy on campus. Taller than me, and I’m not short for a woman, blond and a body built like a slimmer linebacker. He’s got muscles upon muscles, but not in a bulky way. Those muscles scream sex on a stick. I’ve heard more than a few girls comment on how they’d like to touch that body and stare into his dreamy green eyes, annoying females. He’s a sophomore, like me, and plays some sort of catching position on the football team, running back or something like that, I think anyway. I get all things football mixed up. All the girls are of course wild for any popular team player and being exceedingly attractive only makes it worse. I like him, but I’m not sure if it’s worth the drama if it doesn’t work out. I met Eli in my English Lit class that we share. I tripped over a cord on the floor walking in and fell directly into him. I can and have tripped over my own feet before so at least I had a legitimate excuse this time. He caught me and I unintentionally felt exactly how warm and hard that body was. Everywhere. I could see why so many girls were obsessed with touching it. We stood there staring at each other long enough that the professor came in and had to clear his throat to get our attention. I instantly colored up from my neck to my hairline, but Eli just laughed and swept his arm out in a bow to the open seats. We ended up chatting over the next few classes and he seemed nice. It doesn’t hurt to look at him either, which I get caught doing regularly. He’s been hinting at a more personal relationship and I’m undecided as of yet if I want to give him the friend speech or go for it. As I’m almost to my class, I hear a feminine voice yell my name.

  “Remi, wait up!”, my best friend since third grade, Alex yells. Alexandra Grant is the cheerleader of our duo although with the rockin’ curves she’s got going on I’m often amazed at how she keeps it all contained like she does her purple streaked hair. We met when she moved to my hometown in Connecticut. She was the only other girl my age in the sprawling area we lived in. She came up and asked to play and I shared my hula hoop, we’ve been mostly inseparable since.

  “Hey Alex,” I say, “what’s up?” She’s panting slightly as I greet her after she catches up to me. Smoothing her purple and blond flyaways she fixes a stare on me. Totally busted trying to escape. Pretty darn sure Eli knows I’m here now and most likely that I avoided him thanks to the big mouth on the pretty round face of my bff.

  “I saw you in line for the housing relocation, but you took off before I could get to you. I also saw a certain football player that seemed to be looking for something. Wouldn’t happen to know about that, now would you?” she asks with a brow raised over accusing brown eyes. I half expect to get another scolding from her on avoiding him. She knows very well my thoughts on that subject, but she can’t leave it alone. She’d really like us to get together. Not that I’m opposed exactly, I just don’t have the best luck with guys. Or life in general. I pull myself from my thoughts to answer Alex.

  “I was avoiding him.” Glancing over her head with my several inch height advantage I sigh, “We’ve gone on a few dates. Mostly group things, but the questions are starting to get personal and he’s noticing that I avoid answering a lot of time or change the subject.” Alex gives me a look but doesn’t comment for a moment. She knows all the stuff I’ve had to
deal with the last couple of years. She’s been a rock during it all for me. I’m the one that had insisted that she continue with our plans to go to the university as a freshman when I had to take gap year and then my freshman year at a local community college close to home after my dad disappeared right after graduating high school. Otherwise I would have been living with Alex instead of in the dorms. We have plans to move in together next semester when Alex’s roommate moves out after she graduates and the lease for her expires. Alex’s place is a condo right on campus. One of several that her grandparents own and rent out to college students at the university. I had Alex give up my room when I knew I wouldn’t be making it to the university for a couple years. Now that her roommate was moving out I’d be able to move in as soon as the semester was over. She narrows her eyes at me again and I know she’s decided to try again.

  “I know Remi, but maybe it’s time to let some of that other stuff go you know?” She looks at me with her hands up. “The stuff with your dad may not ever resolve and I’m not saying you have to forget, but maybe just try to put it behind you. I know you like him, you get that dopey look on your face when you talk about him. A lot like you used to, when you talked about-“ I cut her off before she can go further by putting my hand up.

  “Don’t please Alex, he has never bothered to try to contact me. He knew where I was and I still never found out where he disappeared to. His dad was very clear he didn’t want anything to do with me.” I don’t want to talk about that. Ever. My previous attempts at a love life have turned out disastrous at best. I finger the necklace at the base of my throat. It was a gift from two wonderful friends that also dropped off the map years ago. I miss them dearly, but I seem to have extremely bad luck with guys. Also, if I were to ever get my hands on that using jerk I met later on, he’d better hang onto his balls or I’m liable to remove them. Alex can tell I’m getting worked up when I start harshly twisting long blond strands of hair between my fingers. She pulls the mess from me to untangle it as she quickly jumps in and diffuses the situation.

  “Okay, sorry, I won’t. It’s just that I know you like him, more than you’re willing to tell me. We’re best friends, so you can’t exactly hide it you know.” She says with a smile. “You really should give it a chance, him a chance. It’ll be different this time. You’re an adult and so is he. No one else can make your decisions for you anymore and I really doubt this one is going to randomly take off since he is enrolled in school and football here.”

  “I’ll admit it, I like him. A lot actually. That’s partially why I’ve been avoiding him. Also, I’d have to talk to him about everything if we got serious. At least some of it. I’m just not sure I want to do that yet. So, now I have to get to class or I’m going to be late, see you later?” I turn to walk off.

  “I need to get to class myself or I’d stay and badger you longer. Let me know when you’re ready for help with moving your things today,” Alex smirks. “Unless you want to get Eli to help you out instead. I’m sure he’d be happy to just be around you.” Nothing like your best friend playing matchmaker, you can tell them to shut it and they completely ignore you.

  “I know he’d help in a minute,” I snort, “Not sure I want to face him so soon after getting caught ignoring him though,” I wave as I part ways with Alex letting her know I’ll text her if I need help with my things. I haven’t really unpacked my belongings since I was only going to be in the dorms for the first semester until I moved in with Alex. I shouldn’t need any help as it’s mostly clothes and some little things like toiletries that won’t be much trouble to move around.

  I make my way to my class and sit through it without really hearing most of what the professor says. On the bright side, it’s a class that almost directly follows the reading, so I should be able to catch up easily from my text book. On my way out of the class I pull out my phone as it buzzes with a notification. Checking the screen, I see I have an email from the campus housing authority already. I open it and it’s the contact info for Samantha Barrett, Administrative Assistant for Greyside Security. Confused on why I would be staying in a business I look it up on the internet finding that the company occupies only two of the levels in the building. From the picture of the building I’m assuming there are apartments on the other floors. Security firm with housing? Count me in. I call the number listed as I walk out onto the quad.

  -----

  Elliot

  She walked away. I know she saw me and she just pretended not to and walked away. I want to rub my chest where it hurts from the disappointment. I know I shouldn’t have such strong feelings for her yet, but it is what it is. They’re there and they’re not going to go away anytime soon. I need to find a way to get her to talk to me without scaring her off. Something is bothering her about being more than friends and I really don’t think she feels comfortable enough with me yet to tell me what it is. I sigh and start to make my way to practice. I have to greet the new roommate that Ethan agreed to take in for the university when I get home, then I’ll try to see if I can get Remi to hang out with me tonight.

  Two

  Remington

  The building we walk up to isn’t far from the Everston campus. It’s a brownstone that has a discreet placard out front with Grayside Security and a key logo on it. From appearances the lower floors are the business and the living quarters are upstairs. I follow Samantha, the AA that was waiting out front to meet me in a ridiculously snug pencil skirt and jacket combo that displays her considerable assets, to a side entrance she unlocks with a key. Walking into a foyer area there is another door with a keypad that she punches a code into and waits for the light to green before opening the door that I see leads to a landing for a stairway going both up and down. The foyer had been done tastefully and minimalistic in tones of gray and white with industrial carpeting and textured walls with three doors, the trend continuing into the stairwell.

  Gesturing with lacquered nails and a toss of curly auburn hair Samantha indicates a closed door. “There is an elevator, but it’s the older cage type and it’s faster to use the stairs unless you have a lot to carry. The owner wanted to keep as much original as possible as long as it still had functionality.” Her bright blue eyes convey her distaste as well as her scrunched up pert little nose. She seems to not appreciate the idea of the old-fashioned elevator while I couldn’t wait to see and ride in it. I would wait until later and explore on my own as I didn’t believe that would go over well at the moment.

  “That’s alright, I don’t mind taking the stairs,” I try to be diplomatic.

  As I follow Samantha up to the third floor, she informs me the fourth floor is a private area and the first two floors are for the business. When I asked exactly what the business was and who ran it she had just vaguely said it’s a security firm and that the owner is very private in a manner that implied it was none of my business. Odd with them being a business, I decide I’ll look it up later after I get settled. Samantha gives off the vibe she’d rather be doing anything other than this.

  She opens the door on the third floor and goes inside. I follow her in I stop and stare. The whole place was an open floor plan with exposed beams and hardwood floors with rugs scattered here and there. The rugs varied in color depending on the area they were in. The ones in the kitchen were jewel toned blue and purple, the dining area was scattered with thin metallic pewter and black rugs. I could see several doors and a hallway further in with more doors that tied the living/kitchen area together with an almost forest green runner with accents of gold and copper. The kitchen was all brushed stainless-steel appliances and ebony marble countertops along with a matching breakfast bar. A huge off-white leather sectional couch was in the common area with over stuffed pillows large enough to double as chairs around the coffee table, weirdly enough it all came together nicely. The walls were alternating basic tones that flowed well together. The biggest flat screen I’ve ever seen took up most of a wall with a recessed media center with all sorts of consoles unde
rneath it. Someone must be a gamer around here. Potted leafy plants in stone urns dotted around helped break the areas up a little. Off to the other side of the kitchen/living area was a large, what I thought was a mahogany, rectangle dining table that looked to seat eight. Beyond that an alcove type area, if you could call it that, it’s actually pretty big, has bookshelves lining the walls and easy chairs with lamps on tables next to them. This place is absolutely amazing, I can’t believe I’ll be staying here.

  “Are the owners around? I’d like to meet them and thank them for allowing me stay until repairs are made to the dorm.” I was really curious too about who else I would be living with.

  “The guys are out of town, but one of the roommates will be here later on today, I’ll give you your codes and keys and show you your room. All the other rooms are locked with codes as well, so you won’t have access to them. I’m not sure if they’ll wrap up their current job and get back while you’re here or not. They stay very busy, you probably wouldn’t see them much if they were here. Normally they wouldn’t have a female stay with all males, I guess someone at the housing authority thought you were a boy. With a name like Remington I can’t say I blame them for the mix up.” She says it flippantly with an airy hand wave, like I haven’t heard things said all my life about my name. I don’t particularly care and ignore her cattiness as she continues on. “I tried to tell them that the owner only wanted another guy here, but they said all the other spaces have been allotted and they’ve already paid for it. If you don’t stay here, you would have to find alternate lodging on your own and pay for it until the owners are back to get a refund and make other arrangements. Being that there really isn’t anywhere else left, they’re stuck with you until they return. Unless you have somewhere else you would like to stay? If so, I can let the owner and the university know.” She’s acting weirdly happy about the prospect. Unfortunately for her, I don’t have an alternative option.