Gravity (19 page)

She mumbles again.

"If I wasn't so messed up, I wouldn't mind
sharing my space with you."

Violet shifts, turning her body slightly.

"Shit!" I fall back tripping over the coffee
table. I scurry away on the floor before her aura collides with
mine. For some reason the heat is still warming the front of my
body. I lose my sight ability and regain focus quickly. Her blue
flame is dangerously closing in on mine. It moved and it's still
moving. Can auras do that?

"Violet?" My voice shakes.

She whimpers in response. Her aura inches
toward me.

"Holy—" I scurry backwards until my back hits
the wall. Slowly her auric atmosphere presses into mine like two
bubbles joining. I try to fight the urge to immerse myself in her
space entirely; pressing my back flush against the wall like it
would help pull mine back.

I slowly rise from the floor, trying to avoid
totally emersion. She has to be feeling this too. Would she
remember this feeling? If I stay in this too long, it will be
harder to fight the monster inside of me. For some reason it seems
to be slow at waking. I try to convince myself that I can get
closer as long as she doesn't wake. How much of her can I take?
There's no one else around to stop me if my body gives in. I don't
want to hurt her.

Suddenly
, her aura
overlaps mine. The merge is instant. An electrical charge shoots
through me. My physical body tenses up. It's magnetic, like she's
pulling me to her. I stagger forward like there's a rope around me.
My blood is running hot just thinking about her doing this to
me—it's so erotic. I've been with many people, but I never
felt
this
.

Violet's body
moves again, making a soft sound as she does.
Is she having a bad dream? Does she feel
me?
Her aura tugs again. The
sensation is similar to the night we bumped into each other. I
thought that was all me. Clearly I'm not the one doing
this.

I
obey her gravity and move toward her.
It's strong enough to release my alter-self which miraculously has
not come out. If I let go, I'd have no problem taking what my body
craves. My monster ego burdens my thoughts;
she won't know, she sleeping. If she wakes, she might
give in. She might... like it. But
I can't do that to her as much as I want her. Violet is
someone special, I can't ruin her.

I
curiously
inch closer addicted
to the spell she put on me. Praying I can keep this up, I kneel
besides her wondering why she has this force. She's a hybrid, but
what kind? She tosses and turns. Beads of sweat bloom on her
forehead. Her lips are plump—so kissable. My body shakes and
perspires just thinking about what it would be like to have
her.

I'm jolted as
the atmosphere changed; her aura
retracts back to normal size. My energy wants to follow hers.
I want to fully connect with her. I brace myself waiting for her
receding energy to leave me. As it peels away, I'm disappointed it
didn't last long. My body was triggered without causing her harm.
I've relieved and exhausted. I've lost something in the connection.
It feels an awful lot like sex.

Violet's
whimpering stopp
ed and her
breathing is normal. The blue halo settles closer to her
skin.

I didn't start
this, it was her. She pulled me. I was the receiver. I've never
felt it that way before. It's always me that lures. Somehow, I
harnessed the monster inside. No. She pulled me apart from
it.

I have
to stay far away. Violet is like
me.

Dash

"
I did something bad." I
walk faster to match Alex's long stride. He's stares at me and
stops at the corner where we'll go our separate ways. It's weird
feeling him in my head. It's like when I'm in my room and Cedric
there' it's kind of reassuring that I'm not alone, but it's
nerve-racking that he can see
everything.

"Again." He
arches his brow. "Klepto."

"I took a
different journal. This one I think something big happens in it. I
just had to take it."

"Skipping
school, stealing shit.
I
wouldn't have taken you as a rule breaker."

"Only when it's
important. I feel guilty, but it's what Red wants me to
do."

"Guilty. Yeah,
you should be. You can just ask her next time. I'm sure with some
convincing she'd let you take, but you didn't even try." Alex
snickers. "You didn't think twice about taking it."

"Red wanted me to
take it."

Alex shakes his head.
"I see you, Dash. You don't care what people think as long as they
don't bother you when you're in your own little world. You took it
'cause you wanted to, not because you wanted to help."

"That's not
true."

"I tell it like
I see it, even if it hurts. It's what people need. If you lie about
this now, you'll keep lying and it'll get bigger. Violet won't
forgive you."

"Is that coming
from experience? You don't
see it like it is.
You only scratch the surface when it comes to people. There's
only so much
seeing
you can
do."

"Not according
to Violet." He shifts his weight.

"You're a wolf
in sheep's clothing; charming your way into her panties like she's
one of the bimbos I'm sure you're used to sleeping
with."

"At least I
socialize. Maybe if you opened up, people won't think you're so
weird."

"I don't care
what people think of me."

"That's why you
don't have any friends." He leans in close. "If you don't care
about what people think, then you don't care about people. You
break the rules thinking, 'fuck, them they're idiots'."

"That's not
true." I push my glasses up.

"Who's the
telepath, Dash?"

"Well, what about
you?"

"What about me?
You're
going to
read
me?" He snickers.

"I can figure
you out just as easily. You think by following the rules you can
have control of what people think of you by performing; swaying the
crowd like the actor you are. If you're not seen in a certain light
you advertise. You're a player. You don't mind following the rules
just as long as you're the one making them."

"I don't make
all the rules. There's shit I have to deal with. Shit you don't
know anything about." He stuffs his hands into his
pockets.

"Like what? Being
popular? Poor you."

"You have no
idea."

"Just because you can
read minds doesn't mean you know people. There's more than the
brain when it comes to humans."

"Hybrids." Alex
corrects me with smirk
. "Look,
just be careful with the books."

"I know. I care about
her, too."

"You're holding
the book like it's the Holy Grail of
unlocking Violet's panties
."

I release my grip around the journal and
stuff it into my back pack.

"I'm right
though.
You're not so
innocent." Alex bites his lip. "So, are you reading it
tonight?"

"Yeah. Like you
said, I like my own little world."
I slink my bag over my shoulder and walk pass him.

Alex grabs my
backpack and I'm tugged back. "You want to make a
friend?"

I
sneer
. I hate that he's right
about me. "Whatever."

"Your place or
mine?"

"Yours. There’s
no privacy at my house." We both look awkwardly at each. But the
idea that we will learn more about Violet overpowers the
awkwardness.

"I guess we're
both doing it for the wrong reason," Alex grins.

"
Maybe." I comb my hair
out of my eyes. "It doesn't have to be."

***

Dash

"All you have to do is sleep."

Alex gets comfortable in his bed. "Easy for
you to say. I've never slept with a dude in my room."

I clear my
throat.
"I'll just be reading
Red's journal while a connection is made between us."

"Connection
between us? Can you not say shit like that?"

I ignore his
homophobic comment. He's making such a big deal about this. Hasn't
he ever had a sleepover as a child?

"Yeah, I have,
when I was six. No one slept in the same bed." He sighs.
"
Just get on with
it."

"With the lack
of control, your mind is wide open to receive whoever is closest to
you."

"Okay I get it.
You're the radio, I'm the receiver."

"Actually, the radio
antenna is the receiver. The transmitter creates radio waves
through the air in which the antenna receives, making you both the
transmitter and receiver."

"Who cares
about the technicality shit! This is so gay, you know that?" Alex
bashes his pillow with his fist and plops his blonde head
down.

"Not for
long."
I try reassuring
him.

"Alright, just
watch TV or something." He waves his hand for me to
leave.

"I don't watch
TV."

"What? Who
doesn't watch TV?" Alex winces. "Go do something 'cause I don't
think I could sleep knowing you're about to lie down next to
me."

I
roll my eyes, leaving Alex to try to
sleep. I wander the Aisling's large vacant house.

I check out the Aisling's mantle. Alex is an
only child. I'd liked that. It's lonely having eight siblings and
two parents who are oblivious to my existence. Alex must get a lot
of attention. The family of three in each photo shows Alex growing
taller. I pick up the latest one. The family photo taken in the
front yard shows Mr. Aisling and Mrs. Aisling's smiles are the same
as the last sixteen photos. But Alex's smile seems to have gotten
smaller and smaller as time progressed. I'm wrong to assume Alex is
perfectly alright. Withdrawn eyes with a goodbye expression like he
knows this will be the last time he'll see these people.

My
fingers rub the back of the framed
photo. A feeling arrives with every touch—loneliness. Alex's
parents are never around and when they are, they hound him to be
the best—the best at everything. This is the toll Alex takes with
following the rules—someone else's rules. I'm surprised I can tell
this much about him from a picture. I place the portrait of their
lying faces down.

A
massive movie collection catches my
eye. I skim my fingers across them and know from touching their
spines that Alex has seen them all. From the titles, he
isn't
bias
to a particular genre or period.
Classic epics; foreign romance; fairytale animation; it seems he
enjoys anything and everything, watching them alone for the full
effect and peace of mind. It makes sense. He hears voices all day,
so to watch actors in a movie without hearing their thoughts must
be a relief. It's what he does to feel normal.

I
chuckle a little at movies I would've
never thought he'd watch, but in fact enjoyed
.
A guy like Alex watching chick flicks is priceless.

I make myself at home on an oversized sofa
and begin sketching what Alex would look like sleeping. I put a lot
of care into what his eyes might look like closed. His blonde hair
is perfect in real life and so he's perfect in the drawing. He's
flawless in every visual way; symmetry at its best. I wonder if it
has something to do with being a hybrid; I'm not blessed with
beautiful hair, an impeccable face and ideal body. Alex is so
attractive. I begin to feel even more alien than before, staring at
the image. Why are all my new friends beautiful? Why did I get the
short end of the hybrid stick? Maybe I'm more human than alien? It
would explain why I feel so common next to him. Maybe Red made a
mistake? I'm no one special.

I finish my rendering of Alex. It's so
flawless, it makes me sick. I'll have to hide it from him or he'll
get the wrong idea like everyone else.

I
check on Alex, who's finally asleep.
He's on his back with one arm behind his head and the other
occupying the empty space he left for me. I slowly move his arm
away to lie beside him. His long fingers are perfect, and his nails
are shiny. I look at my bitten ones disappointingly. Alex doesn't
work with his hands like I do. The chalk, paint and clay do a
number on my fingers. They'll never be as clean and soft as Alex's.
He's just as impressive as the drawing. I props my head up on a
pillow, giving him one last look before I read the book of
secrets.

Alex

It's like any dream; foggy, blurry sometimes,
it even skips like an old record and yet understandable and to the
point. Time passes quickly like a flip book. I first observe the
Sanctuary come to life. Like massive puzzle, the land shifts into
place. The forest shoots up and the flowers emerge from the ground
like a time lapse video. The seasons change just as quickly and the
colors transfer from one to another like a mood ring. The sky moves
from night to day; sun down to moon rising again and again.