Gravity (25 page)

“You can’t hurt me.
And I'll never hurt you."

My
fingers ball up. "Idiot, I can't hold
it any longer. Just Go! Before I—"

Before the
words come out, Dash presses his lips to mine.

My
body is frozen as Dash kisses me. I
hold the aura tighter than I've ever held it before. Dash slowly
and gently moves his lips. The sensation teeters on the edge of
heaven and hell. Only I have a choice I've never had before; use
what Dash taught me or not. My aura is clawing to get out full
force, but my nerves keep it aura at bay for Dash’s sake. I can't
believe it.

Dash pulls away
too soon to fully feel out the experience. In response, my aura
pushes out and I lean in for another kiss. I'm not about to lose
the heavenly emotion of my first real kiss.

My
first is not what I expected—it's
better. I can't tell if it’s Dash's first kiss from how cautious
his lips move. Maybe it's because he's a guy. My aura is making him
breathe heavier. Our warm bodies replace the dead wasted space
between us. I can hear him trying to hold back and not fully come
apart. Because of this, Dash isn't like the others. For the first
time someone is thinking about how I feel. He isn't thinking of one
thing. He is taking the real me in consideration.

I'm
startled when Dash takes one of my
hands. He squeezes to let me know he's trying not to come undone.
We break away and our hands unlock.

Dash
back
s away, raking his hair
back. "Holy shit."

"Why did you do
that?" I touch my lips.

"I-I wanted
to."
His breath
hitches.

I'm not
sure what happened. I like the way a
real kiss feels and it’s something I've never felt before. Kissing
is usually a way to eat the person before I devour them with the
other parts of my body. Dash has left a different feeling; not a
need, but a desire for more. I wouldn't mind doing it again. I
don't know if it will happen again and I'm not sure if it’s okay.
I'm in love with Violet and it seems that Dash is just a
distraction. I don't want to give him the wrong idea.

Dash
i
s watching me closely
again.

"You don't have
to label anything. I'm not one for labels." Adjusting his glasses
back on, he’s the old Dash again. A smile tugs at the corners of
his mouth as he runs his fingers through his brown hair.

"I'll see you
tomorrow." He leaves with a mischievous smile.

All I can do it
nod. I do
n't want him to
leave.

Violet

I sit by the
lake admiring the evening sun's reflection off the water. My
emotions well up in my throat. I'm not sure if this place would
disappear if Red dies. A cool breeze brushes my face erasing such a
frightening thought. Red is still very much alive.

This
place is him. Everything you see is a part of
him
,
Grey's words remind me. I'm
hypnotized by the sound of summer buzz in the tall blades of grass
as they sway in the breeze. The scent of flowers is carried out
taking my attention with it across the rippling lake.

A few peaceful
moments pass before I feel a presence sit beside me. I turn to find
the most incredible green eyes I've ever seen stare back. The eyes
blink and rest of his face comes to view; inky black hair, fair
blemish-free skin and young face with a smug expression I don’t
recognize.

I
move away from the pretty boy.
“Gabriel?
This is dangerous.
How could you be so..."
But
there is no pull. There is no energy moving between us. I place my
arm out and feel nothing.

His
smug smile widens.

“How?" I cautiously inch toward him.

"Dash,
fixed
me."

A tingling sensation moves down my spine
slowly like spiders crawling on my skin.

"He was right.
He taught me to transfer my energy to
something else. I can hold it here." He taps his
chest.

With every word
spoken
the more the sensation
spreads down my neck to my limbs. Similar to the pull, my ears want
him to keep talking. His voice is tricky like Red’s.

I'm
stunned. This can't be true, could
it? I shift toward him; still keeping in mind my own aura. Nothing
but the breeze is felt between us. I settle beside him. It’s
strange because I have never been this close to him. He looks so
different up close. His limbs look longer, he's sits taller and he
looks older with that confident smile. His presence is real than
the seemly absent one before; he's a boy who was always too far
away. The details of his face still resemble Red; too terribly cute
for his own good. I can't help but smile.

"How did
Dash—"

"Hey, did I
hear my name?" Dash joins us in the grass and sits on my other
side.

"How did you guys do
this?"

Gabriel's eyes
dart
away.

"Promise you
won't get mad?" Dash pushes up his glasses.

"Why would I get
mad?"

"I read some of
Red's journals. I ...took a few home with me. That's how I found
that Gabriel's problem can be helped. Red told me in my dream I
could read them. Please don't be mad." Dash looks to Gabriel who
exhales deeply.

"He wanted you
to read them?"

"Yeah, I think
he knew I would do this."

I
don't know what to say. Red wanted
him to read the journals. What else did Red want them to do? Why
didn't Red tell me? Why didn't Dash tell me?

"Violet? I’m
sorry. I should have told you.” Dash twists his body so he’s facing
me. “It’s just that you didn’t trust me, so I took them. I had
to—“

"It's not
that.” I bring my legs to my chest.

“Then what’s wrong?”
Gabriel looks to Dash who removes his glasses to pinch the bridge
of his nose.

"Shit." Dash
mumbles.

“
Am I missing
something here?” Gabriel asks.

I
shut my eyes. Dash knows about me. He
must know everything about me. How
embarrassing.

"Violet." Dash
puts on his glasses and leans into me like he’s going to reveal a
secret. “We could teach you."

I feel sick.
Whatever he read was because Red had written it.
Why do I feel left out of Red's plan? Dash knows
more about me than I do.

"You know about
her?" Gabriel's tone confirms he knows about
me, but the knowledge wasn't shared.

“Oh, my God." I teeter in the spot I'm
sitting. My eyes are on the brink of tears.

"Violet, it's nothing to be embarrassed
about." Dash's voice is close to my ear. He must know about my
aura. He must know more than me. "Matter of fact it explains a lot
about you and Grey. You and Red."

I shoot up and head toward the cabin as
quickly as I can. Why do they know my business? Gabriel knows more
about how to handle the ability than I do. Dash was able to teach
him from Red's journal. How come Red hadn't bothered to teach
me?

***

Gabriel

"Shit."
Dash
covers his
forehead.

"You know about
her?" I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. He must know
everything.

"How do
you
know about her?" Dash glares at me.

"I just
know
. Why didn't you tell me?" I can feel myself letting
go, like a leaky balloon. My emotions trip and the front of my body
start to heat up. Dash is pissing him off.

“
Violet happens
to share the same ability as you, only Red hadn't bothered to show
her how to manipulate her energy. She was left thinking she had to
live with her ability as is. For Red, he left her untrained so that
her ability would draw Grey and her closer together.”

"What else do
you know abou
t
her?"

"Almost
everything." Dash rubs his thighs nervously. "Gabriel, your
aura..."

"Too bad. Spill
it." I snarl. I'm testing his will power. As much as his body
should obey the gravity, Dash doesn't move.

"Alex and I have been having our own
readings."

I
can’t look at him. I might punch his
lights out. "When were you going to let me in on that?"

"It would have
been hard considering you live here now. Violet wouldn't have let
me read the journals. You saw her the first day; how nervous she
was when you asked about them."

Dash and Alex
have been secretly reading Red's journals. Every detail about
Violet and Red's life—their history; information about them would
shed some light on my own life, on my own powers.

"The information
could've helped me, Dash."

"I know and it
did."

I
gain control over my aura. Dash’s
shoulders relax.

“Every time you do that I don’t know if I’m
relieved or sad."

I ignore him. "She's embarrassed, you know.
She'll probably never come near me."

"I have
no
idea how I'm going to fix
this." Dash throws a stick in the lake.

"Easy. Find Red. And
she won't have to deal with any of us ever again, right?"

Dash massages his
forehead. "Right."

Gabriel

"Let's go out
tonight. It's Friday and Gabriel
's trained." Alex kicks back on the sofa.

"I heard that."
I come down the staircase and give him the finger while Violet
settles next to him. I hate that she always chooses the seat next
to him. Alex grins and leans a little closer just to annoy
me.

"What did you
guys have in mind?"

To my
contentment, she moves over a few inches. I collapse on the
loveseat. She looks worried. I want Alex to forget about it. I
don’t think I go out anyway.

Shut
up!
His voice startles
me.
She needs to
leave this place. You guys aren’t hermits you know. Dash said
you're good.

I
liked it better when you didn't talk to me.
I scowl.

“
Gabriel, are
you okay?” Her voice is so sweet
. I want to sit beside her, but I'm not feeling so confident
at the moment. The idea of leaving the Sanctuary makes my stomach
hurt.

"
He’s fine. Concert. Ever
been?" Alex scoots closer to Violet's side.

What
are you
doing? You
aren’t her lap dog.

Since when did you get so brave
, asshole?
Alex places his hand on the sofa back behind
Violet.

I’d
have to ask the same about you
. I grind my teeth.

"I wouldn't
remember."
Violet folds her
hands.

“
Sorry Violet.
Alex must have forgotten about your amnesia.” Dash sits beside me.
The heat to my left side alerts me he's too close. I shift over a
few inches, but his hand slides closer to me.

"You'll love
it,” Alex turns his entirely body to face her. He looks ready to
take her hand. If he touches her
, what will happen? Will she react like I do when I'm touched?
Alex would love that. I will his hand not to touch her.

“
Let's face it;
you need to get out for a while." Alex's smirk is meant for
me.

Violet's hands
nervously find their home under her legs. She's not sure. He should
leave it alone.

Go
ing out is
really bothering her.
Alex
commentates.
She’s
worried about something bad happening—monsters or something. She’s
been sheltered in this place way too long.
“We’ll all be together and it’s for a little
while.”

“
I think I've
hear that before." She smiles. "What about Gabriel?" Her gaze lands
on
me. "Will you be
comfortable?” Her big brown eyes make me want to throw myself in
her lap.

“Ah—"

Dash’s hand
pats my
thigh. “He’ll be fine.
See?”

It isn’t
entirely true; I
won’t be
comfortable in a crowd of people.

“
Gabriel, I’m
not going unless you’re comfortable.” She confesses.

Alex rolls his
eyes.
Say yes,
idiot. She wants to go
. Alex
glares at me.

“
I’ll be fine.”
I take Dash’s hand and toss it aside. “See?”

***

Gabriel

I'm not
confident enough to walk beside Violet, but I'm more worried that
I’ll collide with strangers while Alex smothers her. The heat that
announces Dash’s closeness is becoming an everyday occurrence. It’s
the only clash I accept because Dash doesn’t listen and my body is
getting used to him at his side. He never thought it was possible,
but it's probably because Dash is a hybrid.