Gravity (18 page)

"She's nineteen."

"I'm seventeen. Nineteen isn't old at all." I
block his way through the mirror with my arm. "What else?"

"You can read her
mind." Dash adjusts his backpack on his shoulder.

"She's hiding things.
Her brain has dark spots. I want to know everything. "

"She's got a
boyfriend." His stare challenges me.

"So what?"

Dash is debating on retracting his offer on
viewing the journal with him. He doesn't need me knowing everything
about her. He sees me as a rival. I smirk. He isn't sure his
thought filtered through. I nod, "I heard you just fine. Tonight,
we're doing this."

We walk through the mirror.

In the day
light, the S
anctuary looks
more like a meadow in the middle of a forest. The field of
wildflowers I had not seen last night blooms in rich reds and
yellows. Their fragrance slips into my nose. The breeze welcomes
me. Violet walks to us from the cabin, rivaling the scenery. Her
bouncing chestnut colored hair and her smiling face greets us. It
warms my heart just like when my parents used to come home from
their business trip. It's been a while since I've felt full in my
chest.

Passing the
lake I notice a black void that's oddly out of place in the
lightness of the day. It’s like a huge hole in the middle of the
long line of trees that surrounds them. The sun doesn't penetrate
the line of trees there.

"That's the
Black forest," Violets says. "Don't ever go in there because you'll
never come out. I can't even get you out. It's seriously
creepy."

Dash grins at
me.

Bastard, you
already know about the forest, don't you?
I’d wipe
that grin off if I were you. You don’t want to hint you had read
Red's journal without her consent.

Dash bites his bottom
lip.

I
almost didn't see Gabriel. With the
hood up he looks like a black shadow casted from the forest. He's
sitting on a log staring into it the dark abyss.

"I'll catch up
with you guys in a bit." I break away from Dash and Violet. I know
too much about his history, but I don't know what he's going
through now. What kind of a person is living with
Violet?

I
sit on a log well away from him like
Violet had said. I feel bad when he takes notice I've purposely
keep my distance. It's a constant reminder that something is wrong
with him. It hurts even if he's used to it. It hurts him even
now.

"Hey, what's up?" I try to sound casual.

"Nothing." His hood hides his face well. He
can't really hide, not from me.

"It doesn't look like nothing."

Gabriel is wondering why I'm making
conversation with him if I hate him.

"I don't hate you," I say. "I just didn't
know you. That's all." I shift on the log. "I'm sorry. I don't know
if what I see is—"

"Can we not talk about it? I thought being
here I wouldn't be questioned."

We sit in silence staring at the eerie Black
Forest until I can't stand the awkwardness any longer. "What is it
about this place you like so much? I'm a little freaked out just
sitting here."

Gabriel lets out sigh. "Not sure. I feel like
it has a purpose besides scaring everyone. Why would Red make
it?"

I look at the blackness but I avert my eyes
elsewhere. It feels like its staring right back at me. "Maybe it
was an accident."

"It feels alive; like a living, breathing
thing." Gabriel's head turns. I watch his face and his mind work
into a greater curiosity for the dark trees standing before us. He
sees himself in it, or that he is similar to it. Like an
unintentional reflection upon himself. The forest is a living,
breathing nightmare like Gabriel.

"I agree." I surprise him. He turns to face
at me. His green eyes are a striking contrast to the black clothes.
He looks as haunting as the forest; dark and surreal, yet
memorizing like the Sanctuary itself. "I think there must be a
purpose for it. It might look horrible on the outside but maybe
inside it's nicer." I shrug my shoulders averting my eyes so I
don't rudely stare into Gabriel's.

"I have a feeling it's just as bad as the
outside. Violet said it's completely black in there and you don't
know which way is which." Gabriel says disappointingly. "Even she's
afraid of it."

"Maybe deeper there's something?" I try to
help. But Gabriel still looks disappointed. "You're right. Why
would Red make it if it didn't have a purpose?"

"What if its purpose is evil?"

"You're not evil, Gabriel."

He cringes. It's hard to manage thoughts,
even if they are metaphoric. "How do you know?" He sneers. "You've
seen what I've done. How could you say that?"

"You're not evil." I repeat. "You're just
lost. Like all of us."

His lips purse firmly. He doesn't care what I
think. He thinks I'm wrong. I'm not sure myself. I didn't know what
evil looked like until I met him. He's remorseful for what he's
done. The man that's continuously hurt him isn't. There's a
difference. I don't think he should entertain the dangerous ideas
he's contemplating in his head. We've all had those suicidal
thoughts. Dash. Violet. Me. He needs to know that he's not alone,
but for some reason I don't want to tell him that. I don't want to
get involved.

I rise to my feet. I don't feel like being
around him. "Don't think about going in there if you don't want to
worry Violet."

Gabriel lowers his head. "What do you
care?"

"I don't," I lie and walk away.

Dash

Asking for water is a good idea to distract
Violet while I take the opportunity to place the journal back. I
quickly skim the more recent journals and pulls out one with
Violet's name repeatedly in it. I quickly place it back on the
shelf when Violet enters the room with my water. "I was putting it
back, just curious." I point to the rolled up map sticking out of
my backpack to distract her. "I read the map."

"Did you find
anything?" She’
s so excited I
wish I had found something.

"No. It doesn't
mean anything." I lied. It’s not that it doesn’t mean something. I
just don't know what. I'm ashamed to tell her that.

"Oh." She
si
ts on Red's bed. She’s so
disappointed it looks like she’s about to cry.

"Maybe there's
something else in the room. I could take a look at."

"Yeah, okay." I
can barely hear her
. I place
my hands in my pockets as she starts to cry. I don't know what to
do with myself. I've never been alone with a girl—ever and to have
one crying is awkward. I contemplate putting my arm around her
until Alex steps in the room.

"Dude, what did
you do?" He sits next to her without hesitation. "Hey, look at me,
Vi."

Alex
h
as a nickname for her?
I roll my eyes as a snicker escapes
my mouth. Alex glares at me. Violet wipes her tears
away.

"Maybe there's
something else Dash could do." He leans closer to her. "He could
touch some of Red's things. Maybe he could get a feel for
something."

That's what I
said.
I purse my
lips.

Alex is too
close, whispering
"its okay"
into her
ear.

I could've done
that.
I grind his
teeth.

Alex is one of those guys that charm girls
and somehow their ears miraculously can hear again. His hand inches
closer to her thigh and his eyes capture her attention. "We haven't
been here long. It's just the first day."

The way
he
's acting sensitive makes me
sick. Violet looks like she's about to melt into his arms. Telling
from his open sitting position he's counting on it.

You must practice a lot.

Alex ignores my poor attempt to insult him
and continues swaying Violet as if I'm not even there.

"I'm sorry it's just I don't
know what to do next. I have you all here but..."

"It's
okay."
Alex says. "We'll find
something to work off of. He's got plenty of stuff that's for sure.
There's got to be something, right? Its obvious Red has a lot of
faith in us to work this out. We'll find him."

The way Alex says that, I
feel he's sincere. But I hate that she is comforted by him. It
could've been me comforting her, but I'm too awkward. Alex inches
closer while his greedy eyes take her in.

"I
th
ought with the three of you,
Dash would be the first to find something. I figured with all that
he can see, he'd find something."

My
shoulders slump and my hands start to
sweat in my pockets. She's counting on me. The weight of the task
before me is bearing down now.
How can I help her?
I
glance at the map. She was so looking forward to me finding
something. The marks on it aren't meaningless like I had told her.
It meant something. Like everything I see in that cabin I have no
idea what it all adds up to. She's waiting on me. Red is waiting on
me. Maybe I don't know anything. I don't know why Red chose someone
so stupid to help someone so wonderful.
I'm useless to her. I'm useless. Useless.
Useless.
Useless...

Dash?
Alex's voice breaks
my spell.

"What?" I open
my eyes. Violet is across the room picking up a framed picture of
an owl that looks like it had fallen from the wall. It resembles
the same owl I drew in school the day I made the windows
shatter.

"You made
everything on the walls shake." Alex’s brow wrinkles. "It was
creepy dude. Seriously it was like
Carrie
up
in here."

"Are you okay, Dash?" Violet approach
cautiously. She instinctively reaches out to console me, but a
thought must have interfered as she retracts her hand. I don't feel
worthy of her sympathy anyway. She doesn't have to worry about me.
She has Red to worry about. I only add to her worries with my
incompetence.

"I'm okay," I
say
softly.

"Does that
happen often?" She asks
gently
as if I'm growling dog.

I'm
still. I'm unable to speak, wanting
to tell her
Yes, it
happens often. It’s worst when I'm upset. Things fall, crack and
fling across rooms,
but all I
say is, "Not really."

Alex’s
brow creases. I forgot he can
hear.

I
can’t look at her pretty face when I
lie. How could I? I broke one of Red's pictures. I don't want to
burden her with my problems. I'm supposed to be a chosen Hybrid.
I'm supposed to be special. I'm not.

"I'll fix the
picture." I stare at my sneakers.

"I'm worried
about
you
, Dash. Are
you
really okay?"

No. I don't
want to talk about it.
"Don't
worry about me." My eyes harden to keep from crying.

"Hey, Vi let's
give Dash a few.” He nods at me. “Maybe he could pick up something
in the room. I bet he's more focused when he's doing his thing
alone."

I
nod back appreciatively. I need to
get my bearings.

Thanks.

No
problem. Violet doesn't care about the picture, so no
worries.

The
tension eases as they leave the room.
Alex reminds me as he closes the door;
remember you're not doing this
alone.

Gabriel

"Yo, we're leaving." A pillow hits my face.
Alex and Dash have their backpacks on. "Tell Violet goodnight for
us. See ya tomorrow."

I give them a wave as they leave. I sit up on
the couch. It's quiet. Alex must have turned the TV off. I glance
over at Violet on the sofa. Her pretty head rests on a pillow, her
small body curls in the fetal position. Watching her breathe, I
focus on the area around her; shifting my sight the way Violet told
me to. I practiced outside on flowers and trees. By the afternoon I
was seeing glowing red squirrels and orange bees.

Materializing out of thin air, a sapphire
flame engulfs her. The color resembles the blue wildflowers I've
seen in the Sanctuary field. Her aura strangely seems larger than
normal from what she explained. I swear its expanding before my
eyes.

"Violet?"

Violet whimpers.

"That is so sexy."

She whimpers again.

"Violet?" I hear another small sound escape
her lips. This is funny. She responds to me. This will be an easy
conversation. "I can see your aura. It's blue. I don't know what
that means." I rise off the couch and approach the blue aura before
me.

Her soft voice responds with a long sigh.

"It's bigger than mine. That's not fair." I
chuckles to myself.

My red aura is only inches from hers. A warm
sensation heats the front of my body alerting me I'm too close.
"When people are too close, Violet, it gets warm." It's so easy to
talk to her with her eyes closed. "I want to thank you for letting
me stay here. It's peaceful. I think this is about the best thing
that's ever happened to me. I know we don't know each other that
well but... I think you're amazing." I lift my hand and hover it by
the edge where our auras wait to meet.