Gravity (28 page)

"What is this?"

"So we can make
it back out." Her voice is so small, like a helpless animal.
"G-Gabriel… please let go."

I
ignore her. She’s stiff in my arms,
her hand presses against my chest, but she isn't really trying to
push me away. Her will is weak. I smell her scent. It makes my
mouth water. My hand caresses her cheek and my finger glides across
finding her quivering lower lip. I tease myself with how soft and
wet they are.

I
bring her chin up to meet mine. I
open my mouth and very slowly saver her. Her trembling lips are
delicious. One kiss. I pull away. My craving for her overwhelms me.
I kiss her again, more vigorously.

Her
unresponsive lips whimper once more
before they open slightly. "No."

I
respond quickly to her, walking her
backwards, pressing her against a tree in the darkness. My tongue
naturally pries her mouth open.

"No!" Violet
pushes me away. "Gabriel, No!"

I'm
quiet and the forest is very
still.

I kissed
her.
I touch my
lips.

She grabs my arm aggressively and starts
walking. I snatch her hand to hold it, she lets me. Her will is on
the brink of breaking again, I can feel it in her sweaty hand.

She had to have liked
it. She must want more.

The light stabs
my
eyes. Violet shoves my hand
away. When my eyes adjust, she throws down the rope tied to her
waist and the other end to a tree. She doesn't say a word and
hastily makes her way to the cabin. Dash is standing beside the
tied tree. His mouth is a straight tight line and his eyes glare at
me above his glasses.

"She has a
boyfriend." Dash says firmly.

I don't care.
I
'll do again... and again...
and again. "No labels," I smirk.

Dash’s
hands ball up into tight fists. My
smile disappears. Something in Dash's eyes tells me to run before
he decides to use them. I don't waste any time and rush pass him.
My blood is hot and I need to finalize my contact with Violet. Her
body must be longing for me just as mine is for hers. My soul is
full and my body is exhilarated. I'm running on high.

She's locked
herself in Red's room. I knock. "What do you want?" She sounds just
as vulnerable as the others I've had.

"It's me."
I
see her shadow under the
door, pacing. She takes a while to decide. I'm patient in hunting
mode. They always come to me. I lean into the door ready to place
my foot there in case she changes her mind. I know what she really
wants. We're both made for it. Our auras joined, feeling her body
react to me—that can only be desire. She wants me too. This is how
it works. This is how it always works. It will take another
interaction for her fall into my arms.

Violet
fina
lly opens the door and
just as I suspect she changes her mind. I quickly shove my foot in
the door. Our eyes meet. It feels like it's for the first time. I
hold her gaze as long as possible. We are the same. She will want
the same thing there's no denying it.

"You're different."
Her eyes dilate.

"What do mean?"
I entice her.

"Your eyes.
Your confidence… it wasn't there before. What happened to the
frightened, worried boy I know?"

I glance
at her trembling bottom lip. "He's…
inside me." My mouth waters thinking about another kiss.

She pushes the
door but my foot wedges in pretty good. "Violet please," I beg.
"You can help me finish this."

"I can't do
that." She attempts to avert her eyes from me, but manages to bite
her lip causing her eyes to well up. "You don't know what you're
saying."

"Yes, I do. You
can open this door." My words can be convincing if I let my ability
come through my voice. I've used this talent before. "You wouldn't
have opened the door at all if you didn't want something. You don't
have to fight this. I know what you want. I can smell
it."

Violet eases the
force on the door.

"Gabriel!"
Get
away from her!
Alex's growl
painfully applies pressure to my temples. It rips its way to the
top of my skull. I give Violet one last look before removing my
foot from the door and collapsing to the floor.

***

Alex

Holy
shit! What did I just do?
Gabriel's still body is at my feet. His mind is dead
quiet.

"What did you do,
Alex?" Violet kneels in the door way.

"I-I don't know. It
just happened. I got angry."

"Is he—?"

There's
activity. There's presence. He's still alive. "He's fine. I think I
knocked him out. I've never done that before." I step over Gabriel
to approach Violet. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

I
kneel beside her. There's something
stronger about being near her. She makes my heart race. Rummaging
through her thoughts as she crawls closer to Gabriel, my chest
tightens. Violet's hand reaches for him. I snatch it. "He kissed
you!"

She
wipes her tears away and brushes her
lips as if it shows on her face. "It was an accident. I set him off
in the Black forest."

"It wasn't an
accident. He pursued you, Vi."

"No. It's not
his fault."

"Why are you
defending him?" I t
ighten my
hand around hers. "He's a terrible person who doesn't care who he
hurts."

"He's not a terrible
person! It was an accident. He's trying to understand his ability.
And I wouldn't talk if I were you. You're still learning
yours."

"Your right.
I'm sorry, but he's not." I lean toward her with my hand still
wrapped around hers. "I see what's in his head. He's not as
innocent as you think. The kid was molested and it fucked him
up."

"What?" She
looks back at Gabriel. I tug her closer, my hand locks around
hers.

"Don't. Don't
feel bad for him. He thinks he can relieve himself like a cat in
heat. What he did to you is wrong, Vi. I'm worried about leaving
you with him. He's not right."

I
do
n't like seeing her cry but
she's so hot even when she's upset. I move a stray hair on her
cheek. "I worry about you." My finger grazes her skin and my breath
catches. Her aura is intense. The sensations running up my fingers
must be what Gabriel had started. She's so magnetic my fingers
never want to leave her skin. My breathe catches again when she
closes her eyes. My hand gently caresses her cheek. She looks so
relieved. Her body sways slightly. I let go of her hand and slide
it up her arm. I lean in to kiss her. My breath enters her parting
mouth and she turns away.

"Alex, don't." She backs away.

"Don't
what."
I feel
lightheaded.

"You know what."

"That's not
fair.
It's okay for
him
to do it?"

"Of course not. What's this have to do about
being fair?"

"Well, from your memory you didn't seem to
mind
him
—"

"I think you should go." Violet stands,
folding her arms.

"Fine." I stand and step over Gabriel.

"We can't leave him
here." Violet says.

"Why not? We
can't touch him. He'll wake up and go to his room. I'm not touching
him." Who cares about what happens to him.

"We can't leave
him."

"I'll move
him." Dash appears behind me. "I don't mind. I'll put him on the
sofa."

"Are you sure?"
Violet asks.

Dash brushes
pass me, hitting me arm. He watched the whole thing, absorbing it
all like an addiction to the pain. Dash likes her too and to be the
only one that hasn't connected with her in some way pisses him off.
He does it a lot; letting people do things while he lets himself
get angry and bottles it up. He holds it inside like he's
collecting all the shitty things people do. I would hate to see the
kid explode. He drags Gabriel to the sofa just as he said without a
reaction to his aura. It's not like he doesn't feel him—he does,
but unlike Violet, there's pleasure in the self-denial.

"How does he do
that?"

I ignore her
and block
her view of a
masochistic Dash pulling Gabriel up on the sofa. "I'm not leaving
you in this cabin with him." I touch her chin.

"Yes, you are."
She bats my hand away. "I think it's time for you two to head
out."

"But it's
early." I
take her hand. "I
thought we could—"

Violet pulls
away. "Please leave." She goes into Red's room and locks the
door.

"What did I do wrong?
I only want to protect you. Vi! Vi?" I shout at the door. It's a
lie. I don't want to protect her as much as I want to keep her away
from everyone else.

Alex

"Violet?" I throw my backpack down on the
sofa. The cabin is silent. Gabriel's mind is usually preoccupied in
his room. Her precious thoughts usually lead me to Red or Grey's
room like bread crumbs. But my reading tells my there's no one in
the cabin. There's more to the Sanctuary than just the cabin. If
Gabriel isn't in his usual place then Violet must be with him.

I moves quickly to the porch and scans the
landscape. I didn't see anyone when I came in through the gate. The
lake is still and the forest edge is motionless. Where would he
take her? I jump off the porch and runs to the Black Forest side of
the cabin. Distant laugher catches my ear—Violet's laugh. She's not
alone which means
he
is with her. The first thing I can
think of is how a girl laughs when she is tickled. Is he touching
her? I strain my mind ear to hear. But they're too far away. My
feet kick the tall grass—tall enough to lie in and not be seen. She
giggles again and it wrenches my heart. After yesterday, there's no
telling what he's doing to her. He has a persuading aura. I've seen
it in Gabriel's memory that luring is the first step. They all fall
for it. Violet was going to fall right into his lap if it I hadn't
knocked him out. He's had all day to entice her. I should've
skipped school.

Two figures sitting by a fallen tree face
each other. They're not far apart, but they're not close either.
They're just talking. Violet giggles again. Gabriel is smiling but
his relaxed body is not a good sign. He's usually slouch and too
afraid to even look at her. I dive into their heads and their
voices tune in and out so badly I know it's because of the stupid
weight in my chest. From what I can read she's too content with his
company. It makes my eyes burn to see her lean close to him. So
what if he looks like Red. So what if his ability is identical to
Red's. He isn't Red. I want to let him know that he isn't welcome
to be that close to her after his attempts. Why does she forgive
him so easily when all he wants is one thing?

"Are you okay?" Dash startles me.

"No, I'm not. Look at them. It's like nothing
happened. He must have another ability that's causing her to think
she's safe with him."

"Dude, calm down." Dash places his hands in
his pocket.

I pace like a caged tiger. I rake my fingers
through my hair as Violet laughs. She's interested in whatever lies
he’s telling her. His greedy eyes covet her. There’s something new
that twinkles in her eyes. I hate like it. That creep isn't hiding
anymore. I want to shove my fist into his pretty face so he'll have
a reason to hide in his hoodie again.

"He calmed down after your telepathy zapped
his brain. I think they're just talking."

"Look at him. This is what he does. He uses
people, Dash. I know because I've seen everything in that kids
head. He can't be trusted."

"I think you're reading him wrong."

"Excuse me?" I face Dash. "Who's the
telepath? I can see he's just one touch away from foaming at the
mouth before he humps more than Violet's leg. That kid is an
animal. Why don't you just grab him Dash, keep him occupied or
something."

"What?" Dash says in an offensive tone.

"Oh, come on! I know your little secret.
Everyone seems to just fall to his feet. He knows what he's doing.
You haven't seen what I've seen in that sick brain of his. Look
what he's done to you and look what he's doing to her." I point to
Violet.

"He hasn't done anything to me." Dash takes
his hands out of his pockets.

"Yeah, right. From what I knew of you before,
you weren't such a faggot."

Dash charges me, grabbing my shirt. We slam
to the ground. I roll on top of him and threaten him with my fist.
Dash already has a bloody nose and lost his glasses in the scuffle.
He sneers. I hesitate to punch the wrong kid.

"Go ahead! Hit Me! You know only half of what
you read."

"He's got you so tight around his dick; you
don't even remember why you're here." I want hit for that reason
alone.

"Fuck you!" Dash shouts as the ground beneath
us quakes. I clamp Dash's flailing arms. The grass around us turns
yellow. He's trembling in my grasp and his formidable glare makes
me think twice about fighting someone who tends to keep everything
inside.

"Alex!" Violet's voice seizes the shaking
ground. Dash looks shamefully away from me. His mind simmers down
to a more calm and collected state for Violet's sake. It makes me
feel like a raging animal in comparison.