Gravity (32 page)

"They won't let us in. We're under age?" I
say.

"Dash can make us IDs. It'll be sweet." Alex
rubs his hands together, eager to get inside.

"Just remember we're here to find Red." Dash
leads the way.

"Yeah, looking forward to that." Alex says
sarcastically.

"If we do find Grey, maybe he can help us," I
follow them to the end of the line.

"No way. The guy is probably mad that Red
took his girlfriend," Alex says.

"He didn't take her." Dash corrects him.

"Borrowed, whatever. The guy is a key to
this." Alex says. "I can't help but think he has something to do
with his disappearance."

"Well, isn't Red like more powerful? How
could Grey do anything to Red?" I say as the line moves.

The silence between all of us is obvious—how
are we going to do this? Whoever took Red had to be pretty
powerful. None of us are even remotely close to that power.

"Violet will have to help in some way. But
her involvement is questionable. Her feelings for Red could get in
the way, she's a lot weaker than we are and she could get hurt. So
let's play this by ear."

I nod with Alex.

We have to figure out what's going on before
devising a plan. Red picked us. For now we have to trust his
judgment. We have to have faith in ourselves, something Dash always
tells me.

Dash whips out IDs out his pocket like a
magician. I don't understand how he does it out of thin air. It's
obvious he did a lot a reading.

We pass the scrutinizing eyes of security.
The place is loud with live music and people wall to wall. Alex
closes his eyes and nods his head to the music. He's now deaf to
his ability. I slide my hood over my head and hide my face. Bodies
skim me and I'm thankful I remembered my hoodie.

"Gabriel, I need you to find the hybrid."
Dash says in my ear.

We walk together through the theatre. I
attempt to keep my aura inside, trying to avoid collisions and
touching. Dash notices my heavy breathing because of the closeness
to so many auras skimming mine. It’s impossible to avoid anyone.
"I'm sorry." I say as one by one, people make shoulder to shoulder
contact.

"It's okay. You're doing really well." Dash
encourages. Clubbers unknowingly look around for what has
captivated their body's attention. We move more quickly as I
naturally head to the exit door.

"Gabriel!" Dash takes my arm and tightly
grips my arm and pulls me to the wall. Dash's hands tighten with
every breath I take. His grip prevents me from escaping. My head
hangs low to hide my shame. My labored breathing is evident that
I'm about to lose control.

"I can't."

"It's okay. You're okay." Dash repeats over
and over for me. Soon his grip loosens. "It's just you and me."
Dash's protectively occupies the space between me and crowd behind
him. "If you really can't do this, tell me." He searches for my
face in my hood.

I hide. I don't want to give up.

"I think you guys should quit it." Alex
approaches. "Do that shit at home."

Dash's jaw flexes and he whips around. "If
you were even listening you'd know what's going on, Alex. Stop
drowning yourself. You can filter out the music if you want
to."

"Fuck you! You know I can't."

"You're not even trying." Dash shouts. "Look
at Gabriel, at least he's trying."

Alex looks my way, "Gross."

"Fuck you." I say in one breathe.

"No thanks."

"I hate you so much."

"The feeling is mutual." Alex turns to Dash.
"We don't need him."

"Yes we do. And I need you to focus,
Alex."

"It's too loud!"

"Stop making excuses." Dash sighs
exasperatingly. "Thank God Violet isn't here."

I silvery spark catches my eye. I stare pass
Alex. Alex and Dash stop arguing. Alex turns around to follow my
gaze.

"He's over there." My breathing levels out.
"Sitting at the bar. A Hybrid."

Alex

I spot him immediately. He sitting alone,
staring at his drink. His expression looks empty, like he’s been
drinking all evening. His blinking eyes go from his glass to my
face. My scalp prickles when those gray eyes glare at me.

"He's reading me."

Grey's presence infiltrates my mind
aggressively; pushing and shoving my thoughts around like a
blender. "I can't block him. I don't know how."

"I feel him too." Gabriel's green eyes peek
up from under his hood.

"Me too." Dash rubs his forehead.

"I'm going to go talk to him." I leave them
as I remotely hear Dash protest.

I don't see colors around bodies or see
anything that hints his personality. I go straight to the source. I
sit next to him. This is the guy Violet loved; her boyfriend.

The music slowly drowns out and then the
chattering fades. From this moment on, this is for Violet. Silence
is complete. It's a fucking miracle. There's nothing except
Grey.

Drink?
Grey raises his glass.

I nod, staring at someone I only saw in a
dream. Like a character in a book come to life; Grey is a real
person—too damn real for comfort.

Yeah, I'm real.
Grey nods to the
bartender who slides a dark brown drink in front of Alex. He
listens to Grey, but his mind is as tight as the secret service. I
don't want to pry right away. Grey raises his drink, and I take
mine and do the same.

To Violet
, Grey says.

I hate his smirking face. I sip the alcohol;
its way stronger than any beer I've tasted. I cough and Grey smirks
again.

I want to ask him straight up where Red is,
but before I even form it into a full thought Grey says,
You
think I know where he is?
He finishes his drink.
Sorry to
tell you, Alex, I tried looking for him too.
Grey shakes his
glass. The ice shuffles around in circles.
I gave up a long time
ago.

I see that.
You also gave up and
left Violet all by herself. What kind of a boyfriend would do
that?

The kind that was dumped for Red.
His
voice is firm. I hit a nerve.

You weren't dumped, asshole. She
unfortunately loves you.

Grey chews his bottom lip.

Loved, Alex. Past tense. Besides she'd be
looking for me, not Red, right?
Grey swivels on his stool to
face me.

I take that information in for a moment. If
she does love Grey, she would be looking for him too, right? The
bartender fills his glass.

Right
. Grey confirms tossing back
another drink.

But if you love her—

Loved.
Grey corrects as his jaw
tightens.

You’re lying.
You wouldn't be this
close to the Sanctuary. And you do love her so what's keeping you
from her?

Grey stares at his empty glass.
You're not
very good at all at this are you, Alex? Is that what you
see?

I question myself. Is that what I seeing?
Grey's thoughts on Violet are confusing. They resent her in every
way. Yet, most of his thoughts of her are blocked; forced to the
back of his mind like a traumatic event. Only remnants of their
love flash, but not enough for the thoughts to confirm he still
loves her. How could he not love her?

I, for one am glad you're not in her life.
She's better off without you. It's probably why she's looking for
Red and not you.

Grey slams his glass down. I see his tattoos
on his forearm flex. My words sting. Grey looks to Gabriel and
Dash.
You all have a little boy crush on her. Sorry to tell you
this, but she'll break each and every one of your hearts as soon as
you find him. Maybe you're better off giving up your search.
Grey gets up and adjusts his pea-coat.

Well, unlike you I love Violet even if it
means finding Red.

Grey suppresses his laugh.
Right. What do
you know about love, Alex Aisling?
A forced montage of my many
flings bombs my mind. Asshole.

"Good luck competing." Grey walks away.
Giving Gabriel and Dash a last look before disappearing in to the
crowd.

***

Alex

The high of being that close to someone so
dangerous makes my adrenaline pump. We leave the venue behind us as
quickly as possible. Gabriel turns around once in a while to make
sure we're not being followed. I think the kid can see better in
the dark like some nocturnal animal. If it weren't for that, I'd
think I'd be running down the street.

Dash and Gabriel listen carefully to every
word I say. I'm impressed I can replay the whole conversation
perfectly.

"He's a liar." I smile thinking about the
thoughts he hid in the dark corner of his mind. He couldn't hide
all his thoughts; some seeped out when I angered him. He got the
hints when I mentioned her looking for Red and not him. "Everything
out of his mouth was a lie. He still loves her and he lied about
looking for Red. He said he stopped looking for him a long time
ago. That's a lie."

"So he's either still looking for Red or he
knows where he is," Gabriel walks backwards to looks behind us and
turns around again.

"I'm betting he's got him. I can feel just by
sitting next to him how powerful he is. He's not what I thought at
all. Maybe he found a way to weaken Red or something because he
was... I don't know.... crazy powerful."

"Maybe we need to follow him." Dash stops
walking.

"No need. I know where he lives." I grin,
shoving him forward to continue our walk. "Shit! I can't believe we
found Grey."

"We'll tell Violet tomorrow and figure out a
plan." Dash says.

We reach the corner for us to go our separate
ways.

Gabriel lets out a long sigh. "I'm tired.
That took a lot out of me."

"Well, you did a great job, Gabriel. It took
more energy to control then to let go. I'm proud of you," Dash
smiles.

"Yeah, you spotted Grey." I clear my throat.
"Nice."

"What was that" Gabriel smirks.

I clear my throat. "Yeah, go home."

Gabriel snickers and puts his hood up. "See
you guys tomorrow." His figure blends into the shadows. When he
walks away it looks as if he completely disappears into the
night.

"You too, Alex. You focused just when we
needed you," Dash grins. He looks like such a kid, but he certainly
didn't act like one tonight.

"Thanks, I even surprised myself. And you're
like the leader of this plan. Without you, we wouldn't have any
idea about the map."

"I'm no leader." Dash places his hands in his
pockets bowing his head.

"Sure you are."

Dash looks up above his glasses at me; I give
him a genuine smile. "Thanks." He says, shrugging his
shoulders.

"Hey, don't hide the confidence. It looks
good on you." I say giving him a hard pat on the back that nearly
pushes him over. "We'll continue tomorrow. Alright?"

He nods turns to head home. The street light
above me flickers. I'm afraid to leave this spot. I don't want to
be alone.

"Hey!" I shout at Dash, who comes rushing
back like a stray dog.

"You want to sleep over." I avert my eyes
elsewhere. I feel like a loser asking, but I know he'd want the
same thing. "I hate sleeping in an empty house."

"Yeah." Dash cheeks flame up.

"Ah, shit. Don't blush."

"It's just..." He stuffs his hands in his
pockets. "I thought you hated gay stuff—"

"Shut up! We're friends, idiot." I shove him.
"Come on. You're sleeping on the floor."

Alex

"You found Grey? Where is he? Is he okay?"
All of her thoughts fall in my head like an avalanche. I wonder if
it was a bad idea to tell her. She might run off and try to talk to
Grey without our help.

"I don't think you should worry about him,
Vi. We think he has Red." I say.

"What?" Violet gets up from the couch and I
settle my hand on her shoulder to pull her down beside me.

She asks as if it that were impossible. She
has no idea how much Grey changed. There's something unsettling
about the guy. Everything out of his mouth was a lie, even with his
mind blocking the way; I know he isn't the same guy she fell in
love with.

"We're going to check." Dash eyes me as he
sits on her other side. He's not entirely convinced Grey is crazy
like I do. "Alex has a feeling he might have something to do with
Red's disappearance."

"More than a feeling," I correct him.

"I can't believe this. You found Grey and you
think he has something to do with his disappearance? Grey
wouldn't!"

"He would, Vi." I remove my hand from her
shoulder. "I read his thoughts. There's something not right about
him."

She's looking at me like I'm the crazy one.
Her thoughts are offensive, she doesn't believe me. I'm a telepath.
Why is everyone fucking skeptical?

They don't know him.
She clenches the
hem of her shirt.

"Grey hates Red for stealing your heart—plain
and simple." I hate to clarify it to her. It's afflictive to see
the one you love choose someone else. Cher's face comes to mind
briefly. My best friend's girl isn't anything to me. I shake my
head to disregard such a senseless idea. I never loved her.

Violet's thoughts interrupt my confusing one.
Her mind jumps quickly from disbelief that Grey is unstable to the
heartbreaking moment when Grey ripped off her necklace. She still
wants to know why he left her. Why didn't he come back? She doesn't
want to believe Grey would hurt Red.

"Vi, he's dangerous."

"No, that's not Grey." Her eyes are starting
to water. Reminding her of what he did to her, will only bring more
tears. There are two sides to the guy and Violet is in denial.

"We don't know anything for sure." Dash
glares at me. "We'll check his room for clues. We found where he's
been staying."