Gravity (22 page)

How selfish.

"Thanks for sticking around to help." She
wipes her tears away.

Great, now I feel bad.

She places her hand on mine. A slight haze
falls over me like when I've smoked weed, but I try not to react. I
like that she is touching me. She must have forgotten she shouldn't
touch.

"Yeah no problem" No problem? What the fuck
did I just say? The Alex thing to say is
'sure baby, you know
I'm here for you'
touch her cheek, give the sparkling smile
they all swoon for. I can't do that to her. She’s different. Great,
now I actually care?

I avert my eyes from Violet and her hand
slips away.

Shit.

"You're welcome to listen to his music. I
do."

She's so sweet. It's hard when that’s the
thing she did the most with Grey. That wasn’t what I thought they
might’ve done the most. What I'm thinking is what
Alex the
Great
does the most. Has she slept with Grey? I search her
mind, but I see them doing everything else except for that
one
thing
. It brings some relief to me for some reason. She's still
a virgin. It's nice to sit and chill with her, but she'll only be
thinking of
that guy
.

"I have an idea." I get up and grab a
forty-five record off the wall. I set the record player up and
place the needle on the vinyl. Grey never danced with her. This is
my thing. I walk over and offer my hand when the sixties slow
groove starts.

"Oh Alex, I don't know." She hesitates and
places her hand in mine. I swiftly pull her up and swing her
around. Violet smiles unknowingly giving off her subtle energy
which it hard to ignore. The energy that she gave off is like a
warm breeze. I'm not about to point it out to her. I want to touch
her. She’s mild compared to what I've seen with Gabriel.

The sound of music clears the air of every
thought including mine. Making her smile is enough. It’s what she
needs. It's what I need. I lead with easy steps and she follows.
Her foot step on mine and her giggling warms my heart.

"Who's this?"

"Solomon Burke, the King of Rock N'
Soul."

I gaze down at her, singing the lyrics about
loneliness and crying on someone's shoulder. I hold her closer when
she gets the steps down. She giggles as I continue to imitate
Solomon and his soulful voice. I twirl her around to make her
laugh. For the first time I wish I could drown out the music just
to hear her thoughts. Not because she turns me on, but because she
makes my heart skip a beat, letting me know that something
different is happening. She gazes up at me in a way that makes me
so nervous I have to pull my eyes away. Her body is giving off that
vibe—the subtle sensation that pulls my body closer.

Am I doing this to her? What is she doing to
me?

Girls don't do this to
me
—I do this to
girls. Her head rest on my chest. Our steps slow and the song
changes. Solomon sings about beautiful brown eyes. We rock slowly
to the song, until the only sound is the static from the needle.
The energy field I'm immersed in is more noticeable. As I pull away
I feel lighter, like she’s left me entirely empty. Has she taken
something from me? She had a grasp on me. What does that mean?

I listen to Violet's mind as I place the
vinyl back into its sleeve and carefully back on the shelf. Her
thoughts confirm that she noticed she was using her aura, but
decides not to say anything since it’s
too mild
for me to
feel. That was mild? She's embarrassed she liked dancing with me.
She's embarrassed because she liked it too much.

I felt that.

I don't mention it so that I can continue to
be as close as I like.

"That was nice, Alex."
I've never dance
with any one like that before.
"You like dancing?"

"I love dancing and singing."

"Is there anything else your good at?"

Kissing.
"I can play a few
instruments."
I've kissed tons of girls.
"My favorite is the
piano."
I'd love to kiss you
.

"I wish I had a keyboard or something. I'd
like to hear you play." There's an awkward silence that has her
nervous for a topic to talk about.

She's nervous... because of me? "You have any
talents, Vi?"
Bet you're a good kisser.

"No. Maybe you could teach me a few things."
Piano sounds romantic.

I smile at her thought. I
want to follow that thought, but I don't want it to lead to Grey or
to Red. I want it to lead to me.
I could teach you so much.
"I'll teach you the piano. I've got a keyboard at home." I walk
over to her, with my suddenly sweaty hands in my pockets.

Violet tilts
her head
to look up at me.
"I'd love that."

I'm
surprised as her thoughts describe
the light catching yellow flecks in my amber eyes. She thought they
make my face look kinder and more down-to-earth. She wonders how
much more of me will surprise her. I try not to smile at the fact
that she must've forgotten I read minds. She’s forgets a lot. "The
piano is probably the easiest." I clear my throat.

"Good because I
have a feeling I would suck as a student." She takes notice of the
light hitting my hair making strands look gold. Looking over my
face, she thinks I'm attractive.

"I'm sure
you'll be fine."
My heart
flutters for the first time. Again, she makes me do things girls
never have done to me before. I don't want her to stop her thoughts
on me. I'm staring and I know it. I want to kiss her so badly. She
pushes her
silly
thoughts
on how
interesting
I am aside because she doesn't want
to
spoil
anything. She's not like other
girls.

She looks at the clock on the nightstand. I'm
disappointed that it’s time to leave. I just want to keep staring
into her beautiful brown eyes. Dance with her all night. Sing to
her. Kiss her all over.

"Thanks
Alex."
It felt
really nice.
She heads for the
door.

“
Wait.” For a
moment I
question myself but
she makes my nerves crazy. “If you ever need to just get away; stop
thinking for a while; or if you just need to talk, I’m here. I know
what’s it’s like to want to escape.”

“
I don’t want
to escape. I don’t want to...”
Hurt anyone again
. She averts her eyes away. “Thank you, Alex.”

“
I mean it. Any
time."
Anytime you
need me,
I repeat in her mind.
I know she heard me by the smile she has leaving the room. My words
worry her. The connection to Violet slowly pulls away. I think I
got to her ...or maybe she got to me.

Gabriel

It's getting
harder for
me to see what I'm
writing when I'm drawn to the sun's blaze brightening into red to
end the day. The heat that suddenly rides my back moves slowly from
my spine and spreads across my shoulder blades. My pen slips from
my hand as the source of the erotic sensation backs away
reluctantly; the presence that can only be Dash ignoring the
personal space rule. I swear he's doing it on purpose.

“
Hey!" I turn
to find him backing away, stopping mid-way. He licks his lips and
stands with his hands in his pockets like he had been caught with a
hand in the cookie jar.

"Hey." Dash's
eyes peek from behind the flop of hair guarding his excessive
staring. Their accessing me again, debating something. I'm not sure
I want to know. I stand to complete the correct
distance.

“Distance.
Remember?”

“
Ah, yeah.” He
rubs his shoulder. “Right.”

Liar.

"I have
something to show you."
He
looks down at his sneakers. “If you’re not busy.”

"No, not
really. What is it?"

"Red's room.”
He finally brush's his hair from his eyes making intense contact
with mine. “I fixed it."

I'm
puzzled at what he means.

"Come
. I'll show
you."

I'm not
sure what makes me more uneasy,
Dash's crooked smile or him wanting me to go to Red’s room with
him. I follow him and quietly sneak past Alex and Violet in a
conversation in the living room. Dash opens the door and invites me
inside. My skin prickles recalling the horrible feeling of being
skinned alive.

"You won't feel
anything, I promise."

I
brace myself and step through the
threshold. I feel nothing except Dash's eyes on my
backside.

"How did you do this?"

"I
found a way to remove Red's residual
energy."

"You
did
n't have to do that.
There's no reason I should be in this room anyway."

Dash closes the
door behind me. "Well, I had something in mind."

I
swallow hard. I should
leave.

“I mean it is Red’s
room and he is missing so…” Dash pushes his glasses up and folds
his arms. “I mean you are here to help. You should have
access.”

“
Right.” He has
a point. I can't help in any way. I have a condition, not an
ability.

I try
to ignore his gaze and take in Red's
room. Red is the guy I met in my dream. The guy Violet loves. The
guy that I look like; the one she compares me to.

"Violet's going to be pissed. He's all she
talks about. You took away something she loved about this
room."

"I think it would be better for her to lay
off the Red high for a while. His residual is strong and she needs
a clear head.”

High?
“
What gives you the right to
do that?”

“
I left the bed
untouched. She'll sense him there. I'm not insensitive." Dash walks
to the wall of journals. His finger skims the lower shelf as if
he’s looking for a specific one. He looks comfortable in this room
walking to the book case as if it were his. His eyes squint reading
the spines even with his glasses on. He grabs a book from a shelf.
Is he allowed to do that? "There is another reason I brought you
here. This would be a perfect place for it. We wouldn't be found
for a while, especially if Alex keeps Violet busy."

I'm
afraid of what he might say. Dash is
curious enough about me. I don't need another obsession. Not here
in a place where I'm supposed to feel safe. Not in the
Sanctuary.

"You up for an
experiment?" He brushes the hair out of his eyes. They're a deep
pine needle color. The way they're affixed on me like I'm dinner
creeps me out.

I
swallow hard.
"Experiment?"

***

Gabriel

"Are you sure
about this?" I handcuff myself to the iron railing. If I'm to
change my mind, now would be the right time. The sun is setting
behind me. It'll be too dark to tell what Dash and I are doing on
Red's terrace.

"Trust me. This
will work." His eyes flash up from measuring the chain length that
will hold me at the correct distance. I look down at my handcuff to
avoid his lingering eyes. They always looks at me in a way that
makes me feel exposed.

"Why are you doing
this for me anyway?"

Dash
ta
kes a moment to answer. He
making sure his chain is long enough to move forward to my personal
space and short enough so our bodies won't physically
touch.

"You want to be
able to get closer to people, right?"

"Yeah
but—"

"It's just the
beginning. It'll get easier. Red can manipulate his energy; pulling
it within himself. You're both similar. If he can control it, so
can you. I think with practice you'll be able to do that without...
you know, turning people on."

My
cheeks burn. How does he know that
much?

"Gabriel,
y
our key." Dash holds out his
palm to receive the cuff keys. He’s asking
'
Do you trust me?
'

I look down at the hand hovering close to my
personal space like a gun pointing to my face. I'm not falling for
that trick. Josh already tried that. I don't trust anyone except
Violet. Once the keys to the chain and cuffs are in Dash's hands,
he'll have the final word on what happens next.

“
You didn’t
answer my question. Why are you doing this
for me?” I clutch the keys.

“Because I can.”

"That's not good
enough?"

"We're
H
ybrids. We should help each
other."

He
doesn't have to help me, but I'm
grateful for it if it's for a selfless reason. I have a feeling
it's not. I don't want to assume, but I've seen the signs a million
times. I've lost too many friends. I don't know Dash very well.
He’s been nice to me to say the least. Even the first day we met,
he didn't seem scared or weirded-out by me as people usually are.
Instead, he seems fascinated. Even walking too close to me the
first night we all met. What's in it for him?

Dash sighs. "If
we can't help each other, how are we to help Violet?"

Violet. I toss the keys to him.

He has the keys. What have I done?