Gravity (24 page)

Dash knows a
little—but we can never be friends.

The
inc
ident in Red's room
yesterday is replaying over and over like a bad song. I wrote about
it, thinking about how successfully I held in my aura and how Dash
helped. I find myself oddly thinking about Dash. Why did he really
help me? Is it because he wants to help me tame my ability or is it
something else? He wants to help me get closer to people without
being afraid of setting them off, or setting myself off. Is Dash
that generous? He cleared Red's room of the strong residual energy.
How did he do that? They could've easily done it
outside.

There’s a knock at the door. I don't hesitate
to open it, anticipating Violet's pretty face on the other side. My
smile drops to the pit of my stomach and my excitement fizzles out.
Speak of the devil.

"Can I come
in?" Dash peeks up from the top of his
glasses.

I
hesitate
. Dash helped me and I
never thanked him for it. But he must be affected by me. Why else
would he be at my bedroom door? If Dash steps through the
threshold, there’s a chance it won’t be the last time. I can't let
that happen in a perfect place like this. It will ruin
everything.

I
must have thought too long because
Dash sighs disappointedly, and places his hands awkwardly in his
pockets. Some of his untidy hair swings over his glasses when he
bows his head.

“
I don’t think
it's a good idea.” My arm firms-up across the entry.

“
I see.” Dash’s
brows scrunches up.

He looks hurt. “I’m
sorry but—“

“No. It’s fine. I
thought you’d help me practice my ability.”

“Your ability to
what?”

“Decipher. I can read
the objects in your room match them to your personality. I thought
you’d be a good subject.”

“What about the rest
of this cabin? Don’t you need to study that for Red’s sake?”

“I already have. Your
room is the only place left.” His Adam’s apple drops and rises. Why
is Dash nervous?

“Maybe I don’t want
you prying into my things. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea
about me. I’m sure you have tons of friends that you could do that
with."

“
I—I don’t have
any.” Dash averts his eyes. I think that's strange considering he
doesn't have a condition like me. He seems normal otherwise. “I
thought maybe we could be friends." Dash's eyes beg like a stray
cat.

Shit.
I look away. "Maybe—"

"We can be friends!" Dash finishes. He ducks
under my arm without hesitation even though my hands are still
gripping the door. Heat briefly brushes my side. What Am I doing?
I'm totally asking for it.

Dash is a
hazard. Every friend
I've had,
I can't trust myself, but in this case I can't trust Dash. He makes
me nervous because his eyes do more than look at things. I won’t
put it past him to examine the details of my room for personal
purposes. The way he's been looking at me raises concern. Josh
looked at me the same way. I can only hope that Dash being a hybrid
won't ruin anything.

His
olive eyes are more perplexing every
time I see them. They move quickly, like he's reading a book; left
to right; up and down, but it's just the empty wall. Violet
explained what Dash's gifts are. I see objects and can tell just
about anything about the person. His visual memory is like a photo
copier. He keeps to himself, which is more nerve racking. I never
thought I’d be the subject of interest to a mind like Dash's.
Hopeful Red’s perception veils my dark secrets.

Dash leans
close to the painting of the strange moving crow.

"Yeah, that
thing's pretty creepy, right?" I leave the door open.

"Actually it's
very... you." Dash lifts his glasses for a closer look.

"What does
t
hat mean? I'm creepy?" I
joke. I don't doubt it.

"I wouldn't
call it creepy." Dash moves on to my book shelves.

"What would you call it? Forget it. I don’t
want to know."

Dash
’s crooked smile
curls a little more as he continues to my writing desk. His fingers
skim the surface which gives me tingles down my back.

Dash looks down.

The journal is
open.

I
dart to the desk and shut the
journal. "This is off limits!"

Dash walks
away, wearing a smirk worth worrying about. I can’t put it past
Dash to see what I've written about him. He can scan things, but
I'm not sure how quick.

He goes to the
window. The green plants don't seem to surprise him and neither
does the view. He briefly takes his glasses off and rests them on
his head. He moves the plants without asking, opens the window wide
and sits on the ledge. He places his glasses back on and stares at
the room.

“This is an
interesting view.”

“
I think the
view behind you is more interesting.” I fold his arms. He's so
weird.

“
No.” He shakes
his head. “This is the real view. Red put a lot of care in this
room. He took everything about you in consideration.

What does Dash know
about me to know that? My stomach twists a little.

"The window is
the real entrance to your room.” He hops down from the window and
moves the plants back.

“The window?”

Dash walks
across the room to the door. “This is your window.” He points to my
door. Come look.”

I
shrug and look out of my so
called
window
that’s actually a
door. My eyes go straight to Red’s open bedroom where Violet is
sitting on his bed. At a distance she’s framed by Red’s door and
the hall entrance. She’s a beautiful moving picture.

“
You like her.”
Dash says in my ear. The sound of his voice sends a shiver down my
spine. The back of my neck warms. Dash is too close.

I
rub the back of my head. Is it that
obvious? “She’s nice.”

“That’s why this is
your window. And that..,” Dash points to across the room. “…is
really your entrance.”

“
Right and I
have wings on my back.” Like that makes sense. “So, are you
done?”

Dash backs away from the door and shakes his
head. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. I’m just getting
started.”

“
Great.”
I give Violet a quick glance and then
shut the door. It's weird if she hears Dash in my room. He might be
right about the window thing. I like to watch before she turns out
the light or closes the door. Sometimes when I look out of the
window I imagine flying over the forest. How does he know
this?

“
This box.”
Dash points to the wooden box on my nightstand. I recognize from my
dream but hadn’t seen it before in my room until Dash pointed it
out. “Did you open it?”

"You tell me?"
I challenge.

"There's a lot going
on in that thing." Dash puts his face really close to it.

I
take the box and open it to show Dash
it's empty inside.

"See?
Nothing."

"No, it's there."
Dash walks away.

I
look again and shrug. There's nothing
inside the box, although in my dream there was a glowing ball
inside of it. When I touched it, I absorbed it. "What do you
see?"

Dash doesn't
answer. He's preoccupied by the bed. His fingers touch the sheets
and to my surprise he sits on it. His forehead looks like the
leather journal when its spine wrinkles.

“
I’m sorry.”
His eyes flutter close.

“About what?”

Dash pulls his
fingers off the bed and folds them between his knees. He takes his
glasses off and rubs his face. I wonder what my bed has to do with
being sorry.

“You can sleep in a
bed again.”

Air staggers
out of my mouth. The embarrassment kicks me the chest. He can
see
that
.

Dash eyes move
up from my sneakers to my face. I never noticed how different
Dash's eyes look without his glasses. His dark green eyes somehow
make him look older. Something about them reminds me of Red.
Something behind those eyes can see deep into me. It scares
me.

"You're still
worried about me, aren't you?"

"What do you
mean?" I'm really nervous all of a sudden. Like the air in my lungs
was stolen.

"You're afraid of
me."

“
Afraid. I
wouldn’t call it that.” I give him the same dose of vagueness. My
fingers fiddle with the pen from the desk.

Dash smiles.
"I'm not like your human friends."

“
I don’t have
any friends.”
I don't need
reminding of that.

“
I am. We’re
H
ybrids so—"

“
So what.” I
don’t mean to be so abrupt. Dash is starting to get on my nerves.
He knows too much and it's too late to take it all back. It's too
late. He's in my room sitting on my bed, checking out my shit;
knowing all of my business. "Being Hybrid has nothing to do with
it. Just because we have that in common doesn’t mean
anything.”

“I thought—"

“You thought wrong. I
can’t be friends with anyone. It’s impossible. You should know that
from what you’ve already seen.”

“I told you I’m not
like other people.”

I
wish I can forget about my problem.
It seems I can never escape a conversation about it. Every person
I've become friends with end up hurt or they've hurt me. Dash isn’t
any different. The signs are there. His eyes continue to scan me.
I'm sick of being the object of his attention.

"You expect me
to believe that after Red’s room.
" I unhitch from the desk. "Why are you really here,
Dash?"

"I told
you."

"Right." I take
my journal and wrap the leather strap around it. "I'm not stupid.”
I toss it back on the desk. “And you're wrong if you think I'm
going to let you ruin my life here with Violet. This is supposed to
be a sanctuary. I'm supposed to feel safe, away from people like
you."

"People like
me?" Dash stands
. "I'm sorry
you feel that way. We're Hybrids. We can be friends. The rules are
different—especially here. I don’t see why we can’t—"

“You’re right about one thing, Dash. You’re
not like my human 'friends', you’re worse.” His ability allows him
access to me in more than just the five senses. I insist all the
signs are there. Dash is using his ability for pleasure because
I've affected him.

“
I don’t
understand what you mean?”
He
doesn’t look me in the eye. His hair moves across his forehead when
he looks down—he's hiding.

"Of course
you
do. You happen to use your
ability at my expense. I can see how much you like getting off
entering my space, teasing me, and putting yourself in my personal
space on purpose. I'm just a challenge to you; a project. You think
you can romance me. Is that what friends do?"

A sound escapes
Dash’s mouth, but he reforms a new sentence while straightening his
shoulders.
"So what?" He moves
his hair away from his eyes.

I'm
surprised at his confident tone. Is
he confessing?

"
I thought we both needed
something real. I know you're lonely. So am I. I thought maybe I
could show you how use your ability; how it’s far from a burden and
more like a gift. You have no idea how special you are."

I
snicker. "You've got to be kidding
me."

"No, Gabriel
you're perfect. I could show you how amazing you really are." Dash
takes a step toward me. "How perfect you are. I see it here." He
motions to my room with his eyes glued to mine. "Red obviously
thinks highly of you, I can see why."

Delusional.
"How can you
say that knowing how fucked up my life is?" I approach Dash
carelessly. “I’ve let so many people take advantage. So many people
hurt me and now you’re telling me some bullshit about how perfect I
am.”

Dash’s
breathing is uneven and my aura slips, but my anger anchors me. I
had enough. I will defend this new home of mine from people like
Dash.

“
Look at you.
Admit it. You’re affected by me and you love it. Even now you can’t
even be a real friend. So what is it Dash? Lust or envy? You either
want me or my ability. Maybe you're greedy and you want it all. Go
ahead Dash take it. You wouldn't be the first."

Dash
snickers.
His breathing slows
and evens out. “My heart is pounding. I feel dizzy. You’ve let
yourself out completely. But I’m still standing right here. What
did you expect to happen?”

My
aura is out, but he's somehow holding
back. No one has ever been able to control themselves.

I
step away. My anger is shrinking but
the need to devour is growing within me. I started a domino
effect.

“
Who can’t
control themselves?” Dash takes a step toward me. “Remember what I
said. You can pull it back.”

“
I can’t. Once
it starts..." My voice shakes. "I’ll hurt you. Go. Get
out!