Gravity (27 page)

I shift my
sight to
see her aura; a
radiant blue flame surrounds her. Even among the rainbow of color
blooming in my sights, she stands out with a red surface that looks
as if it’s on fire around her sapphire aura. The crowd nearly takes
me off my feet as they advance me to her. I suspect if my body is
just inches from hers, our auras will touch. I want to touch.
Curiosity and longing propels me forward through the orgy of
people.

I
make it to Violet, but she’s unaware
I'm just feet away. I'm entranced as our Hybrid auras touch just
for a second. I step back feeling a rush of ecstasy spread
throughout my body instantly.

Her eyes shoot open and turn to look among
the faces. She doesn't see me, lurking behind others. She has an
uneasy expression on her face, so I patiently wait for the music to
take her away again. I can be patient as the auric touch still
lingers in my body to savor. The overwhelming sensation of arousal
is so addictive, hunting her makes me feel impossibly lustful. It
feels right. It feels natural. I move so my approach will be from
behind. I wait for another gap of people so I can swoop in to her
aura entirely. It doesn't take long and I enter her personal
space.

***

Violet

An
overwhelming force merges with my
being; forcing its way into me, wanting to possess me; the feeling
that could only be Red, but Red isn't here. My thoughts slip away
and I'm lost in a haze making me limp. The music rhythmic sound
matches my heartbeat and prolongs the high as I let the
surroundings drown me.

The crowd
compresses and moves again. Grabbing my waist, the distinct body
pushes into me. I place my hand on his. The touch is so magnetic.
The vibration between us intensifies, striking my womb like an
instrumental chord. I try to think, but it's impossible to; all I
can do is let him take over.

***

Gabriel

My heart is pounding out of my chest. My
heavy breathing only elevates as I bask in her aura. The
instinctual lure that's gotten me into trouble so many times before
is making an emergence once again. Only now, I want this. I want
this more than I wanted anything in my life. She is what I crave;
what my body needs. But I need more than my body flush against
hers; I want to consume her; take her for everything she possesses.
It might hurt, just for a second, but she'll surrender. They always
do.

Violet leans back resting her head under my
chin. I lower my nose to her neck and breathe her in. Her scent is
strong but I want to own the part of her that will be the main
source of my appetite. Her essence will be stronger there. I drag
my hands to the front of her waist, reaching under her top and down
her jeans. Touching her skin will give me an orgasm if I think
about it too much.

The crowd
compresses and moves again
,
pushing me hard into her from behind. I groan. Her hips move as the
song changes. My heart continues to pound in my chest as her every
movement teases me below. My face presses into her neck. The need
to devour her is great. My mouth opens and my teeth graze her skin
and I bite. Her body shutters in my grasp.

Her
body relaxes as my hands travel
further down. The crowd sways, grinding us together. My fingers dig
into her skin. Violet's hazy eyes flutter as I press suggestively
into her, hardening as I nibble her. My hand reaches down, down to
the thin fabric the separates my lust from her
innocence.

The crowd
shifts violently
. We
separate.

Violet opens her eyes. She's alert. I try to
make my way to her, but she sees me and pushes her way through in
the opposite direction, melting into the crowd.

Still in
predatory mode, I sense she's near,
lurking between the bodies. I'm so close to having her. I will not
let her go so easily. Finding her in a disoriented state, I creep
closer for my advantage. Our auras clash and I forcefully pull her
to face me. Her weak will allows it. I grab hold of her waist and
bring her in. "I love you." I lean in to kiss her. The crowd
disconnects us and Violet runs a way.

***

Violet

I push
desperately through people to the
exit, but find a wall. I press my back to it, watching for Gabriel.
I crouch down so he doesn't see me.

How could I let
this happen? He’s only
sixteen, how could he be this strong?
Feelings arise within me, dangerous ones. He feels
like Red. Warm and hot; soothing and arousing. I can't believe I
let him touch me. My mind is stuck on it. He said he loves me. He
has a crush on me. I'm so stupid! I have to let him know I'm not
interested. I hesitate on the thought and scold myself. He's just
confused. I smelled alcohol. Maybe it was an accident.

I sit flush against the brick wall through
two songs before heading to the back of the theatre. I can't be
alone with him anymore, it will be dangerous.

I spot Alex, who’s so into the music, he
doesn't even notice me holding his arm tightly. I bury my face in
his side. I don't care if my aura affects him. It couldn't possibly
do what Gabriel did to me. The violation triggers tears.

"I'm sorry Alex."

“
Violet?” He
says over the music, placing his arms around me and leads to the
exit doors where the music won't cover my thoughts. I don’t look up
from the ground; I don't know if I can look at Gabriel right now.
Dash's sneakers appear into my view.

“
Get that
asshole for me, we’re leaving.” Alex rubs my back. It feels nice.
It's not right but he feels safe and he can read me without me
saying a word. He's quiet and his presence in my head is
reassuring. I let him pick my brain. His arms tighten around me, a
comforting feeling I haven't felt in a long time. I'm almost
ashamed I like it. He's protective and right now that's what I
want.

It's time to go
home and it's my fault that I agreed it would be safe to come out
and have a good time.
I should
have known. I should have known. I'm sorry, Red, I'm so
stupid.

Alex's is so soothing; it actually quiets my
mind some. Dash exits the club with Gabriel. My eyes accidentally
connect with his. His eyes are red. He's crying. He knows what he
did was wrong.

Alex
arms hold me tighter. My eyes dart
back to my feet. We stand here quietly, but I know the dirty looks
Gabriel is receiving.

We walk home.
Alex's voice in my head soothes with things like
we're almost home
and
I got you, don't worry.
I got you.
I'm
grateful he can do that and embarrassed at the same time. Maybe I
should let him go. Every time I think it his arm squeezes.

Before I knew
it I'm lying on the sofa with Alex sitting beside me.

"Vi?" Alex
says
softly, stroking my hair
behind her ear.

I
look around for Dash and
Gabriel.

"Dash went home
and Gabriel's outside."

The outside is
pitch-black, it must be late.

"It's 2:00
AM."

"Past midnight?"

"Vi,
don't
worry." He places his
hand on mine. "It's not even a school night, remember?"

"But your
parents. You'll get in trouble."
I slide my hand away from his and realize I'm practically in
his lap. I shift away from him.

"They're not
even in town. They never are." He shifts closer to me. "Besides I
can't leave you here alone after what happened."

W
hy did Gabriel do that?
Why did he purposely seek me out?

"He likes you,
Vi. Once Dash helped him with his aura thing, it seems he got it in
his head he can do whatever he feels like. But still he's
dangerous. He's done some fucked up shit. I'm not leaving you alone
with him tonight."

"No, it's okay.
I'm sure the alcohol I smelled had something to do with
it."

"Sorry about
the beer. That's kind of our fault. But seriously Vi, he's fucked
up. I've seen what he's done. It's like Dash opened Pandora's Box.
I'm not leaving you here alone."

I
agree I don't want to be alone
tonight. But there's no way I'm sleeping on the sofa.

"You drank too?"

"Yeah." Alex
purses his mouth.

"Goodnight
Alex." I get up and go to Red's room, safely locking the door from
the hormonally drunk teenagers running amuck in the
Sanctuary.

Gabriel

My
reflection
comes together in
the calming lake. I can make out the details of my eyes, nose and
mouth on the surface.

"I hate you."

Another pebble
is dropped in, distorting
my
likeness again into a blur. I run my hands through my hair. My
face—where do I begin and end. This is the face Violet saw coming
after her. There is no difference between me and demon inside me.
We wear the same face. It’s destroys everything I love and it’s
continues to kill the new things I've come to enjoy. Slowly it will
eat me from the inside out.

'
You can be
many ways.'
The words Red had
said still make no sense. What does that mean? Maybe I'll be
burdened with this forever—a double life—
many ways
. I can't be a normal person. There’s isn't definition to my
life. The
many
ways
Red's referred to are
starting to blend into each other. I can’t be just Gabriel; I’ll be
the monster too.

Last night was a nightmare. What I did to
Violet is shameful. I expect to be kicked out as soon as she wakes.
She wouldn’t want someone like me living with her. I’ll end up
hurting her.

But...I want to. So badly, I want to.

I sit back and
wince from brightly lit ball in the sky. The unf
orgiving sun bears down on me. The blackness in
my peripheral catches my eye like ghostly presence. Violet doesn't
know enough about the Black forest. Maybe I'll find out myself. She
said it was off limits because you could get lost and there is no
way of anyone finding you after you enter. I can use a little
getting lost. The darkness is probably where I should be; far away
from Violet. She has no need for me. I proved that at the concert.
Sex craved monsters don't have a purpose. In the real world, I have
no purpose and here in, the Sanctuary, I have no
purpose.

The blackness
calls to
me.
It’s only natural for a dark soul to
live in a dark place
. Whatever
the forbidden area holds must be meant for me. I'm a bad person.
The lustful burden, the hungry part of me won't sleep. To bury
myself in the darkness is what I need; like lying in a coffin to
die. This is where I can’t hurt anyone—especially
Violet.

I
approach hearing strange things
teasing my ears. Living things scurry and dead things scratch. The
forest speaks.

In the first step, I'm swallowed whole by the
blackness. I can't see my hands in front of me. I turn around and
the light is gone; all around me there's nothingness. I hear trees
creaking and echoes of ghostly whispers. I walk forward with hands
in front of me feeling between trees, hearing the crunch of dead
leaves beneath my sneakers.

My eyes adjust until I'm able to see the
outline of leafless trees. In between them, their trunks start to
glow. The trees are alive, not dead. Small creatures that move
about leave a residual light trails. My peripheral view is littered
with phantom mists; dark spots the appear and reappear. Walking
deeper, I become comfortable in the strange demimonde. This is my
new lair.

I
hear my name. I follow the soft cry.
A figure with a blue flame around them passes between two trees
with her hands out in front of her.

"Violet."

"Gabriel?"
Sapphire flame comes towards me.

She came in here for me?

"Gabriel!"
She's
frightened when she calls my name, but I don't respond. I'm in awe
of her lovely aura, the colors change from blue to lavender. The
surface shimmers in a reddish hue. "Gabriel,
I've been
calling you. What are you doing in here?"

I
realize I have no idea. Seeing her
makes me forget why I came into the forest at all. She stands the
usual safe distance away from me even though it isn't necessary
anymore, but after what I did at the concert I don't blame
her.

"Follow me okay?"

I
nod, but I'm sure she can't
see.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Gabriel.
I understand, just please never come in here again."

"Why?"

"This place is
terrible." She's trembling and her aura looks dense like she's
trying to protect herself from the darkness. I realize I'm part of
the darkness she's so scared of.

"I like it."
The words come out. It's true. There's something about this place
that makes me feel comfortable. I feel like myself.

"There's nothing in
here."

"There's us."
Us—I'm alone in the dark with her. I smile. Somewhere deep inside
me vibrates. The monster is clawing to come out. I'm hungry again.
I walk into Violet's personal space. My heart races and the desire
that makes my body move toward her, transforms into appetite. I
hear her whimper as my aura forcibly tries to merge with hers
again. My hands search the flame and find Violet's arm. I pull her
weak body toward me. She's breathing heavy and so am I. I find her
hips, and with a firm grasp, I command her closer. I can feel a
rope around her waist.