Gravity (34 page)

"Grey, he's my
friend." My out stretched hand reaches for him. I can't imagine
what he'll do to Gabriel's thin body. "Please, please, don't hurt
him."

"Your friend?" Grey
raises an eye brow. "They just want to take you away from me like
Red did. I don't think you can have friends like these." Grey aims
the chair leg at Gabriel. "This one here is about to piss his
pants."

Gabriel backs
away like a frightened animal. What have I gotten us into? Why did
Red want these poor boys to face Grey?

"They are my
friends." I shiver in desperation.

"Red used to be
your friend." Grey approaches me. It's a relief he's not near
Gabriel but I'm anxious he'll flip again. His knuckles turning
white from gripping the chair leg so tightly. "He's not your friend
now is he?"

I
look pass Grey. Alex and Dash are
still on the floor. Gabriel is cowering in the corner. Red is
squawking so loudly I wonder what he is saying.

"Answer me!"

My body shakes with
his shouting.

"Say
it!"

I rise
off the bed. If I could just look him
in the eyes and reconnect with him again,
my Grey
will understand.
My Grey
never forgot I
still love him too.

"I love him....but I love you too."

He shakes his
head in disbelief. "You can't love both of us." Grey pushes
me into the wall. "There isn't room
for both." His hand slips under my shirt and press over my beast.
His fingers dig into my flesh.

"Grey,
i
t hurts." My hand covers
his.

"Not as much as
you hurt me. You know what it's like to know, feel, see the one you
love loves another? How much they love each other?" His teeth
grind. "How long you've loved each other—it haunts more than
anything."

His eyes are
too painful to look at. I can't turn away from them, they tell the
truth. Red has been in my life for a long time and we share a deep
love for one another. I love Red, but it's also true that I love
Grey. If he's hurting this much, I should be punished. It's my
fault he's turned out this way. I've hurt a loved one and he's
tortured Red and he's tortured himself, all this time because of
me.

"I'm sorry—" I
gasp. It's hard to breathe." My chest tightens.

"That's what it
feels like—a broken heart." Grey applies more pressure. If he
doesn't stop, my ribs will be crushed.

An arm comes
between us. A hand grabs Grey's wrist. The instant warmth takes
over the chill in my bones and puts strength into my limbs. Grey's
hands are pulled away and a body blocks my view of Grey. A familiar
sensation pulls my forward. My body meets up with the disarmer's
back. I lean into the strong red aura—
Red
, I
whimper. I press my hands on his shoulder blades, but the form is
too low to be Red's.

Gabriel
stares intently at Grey. Grey backs
away shaking his hand of Gabriel's touch as if it were
hot.

"You have no right to make her feel bad."

"You're like
him
." Grey sneers. "No
wonder." I retract my hands from Gabriel. I know what it looks
like. He knows what I feel. He knows everything in my head. Gabriel
feels like Red. Grey glares at Gabriel in disgust. His fingers
grasp the chair leg and raises in the air. "Violet can't have
friends—especially one like you."

Gabriel's body goes stiff. The warm aura he
emitted is sucked away like a vacuum.

"Gabriel, get away!" I try to push him away
but he's got me pinned to the wall.

The chair leg flies out of Grey's hand and
hovers above us. Grey turns around and Dash has his hand up.

"Get away from them." Dash's fingers flex and
the same time the sharp wooden spikes of the broken chair leg
threaten to take out Grey's eye.

"Gabriel." Dash summons Gabriel forward. I
grip the bedpost so I don't obey his gravity. For every step
Gabriel takes toward Grey, Grey takes one back, cautiously eyeing
him and Dash's weapon.

"He's got a knife in
his pocket." Alex rises to his feet.

A folded knife flies
out of pocket and into Dash's hand. "The closet." He says to
Gabriel.

"You're going
to let your so-called friends do this?" Grey glares at
me.

I
don't know what to say. He won't
listen to me.

The lock on the cage rattles before bending
like taffy and falling to the floor.

Alex removes his
jacket and goes to the squawking crow. Blood spills out on to the
floor as he frees Red from his prison.

"Careful."
I quickly limp
my way to Alex. His jacket is absorbing the blood quickly. I cover
my mouth. There's so much blood around the pile of black feathers;
it's hard to tell it's a crow.

"You came for
him not me." Grey's voice trembles with such anguish it tears my
heart apart. It's true, I came for Red, but I wanted to talk to
Grey. I have so many questions, but he was being so unreasonable.
Right now, all I want is for Red stop bleeding.

"You don't want
me
, you want
him
." Grey backs up into the closet.

"Vi," Alex
touches my shoulder. "We need to get him out of here, now!" Alex
looks to Dash. Dash nods.

I
stare down at the pitiful bird and
then back at Grey. "We can still talk." Grey pleads.

"You had your
chance." Gabriel shuts the closet door. Dash places the rest of the
broken chair under the handle.

"He should come
with us." I approach the closet.

Alex pulls my
shoulder back. "Are you crazy!" He shouts. "The guy will kill us
all."

"Violet!" The closet
handle jiggles.

I
do
n't want to leave him like
this. His mind is confused, like two parts of him are battling.
This has happened before. He just needs time to cool off. My heart
is torn in half by the two I love the most in this world. If Red
were okay, he'd know what to do, but Red is... My eyes suddenly
can't see through the tears. My body is getting too heavy for my
legs.

I
hear him calling my name over and
over. The voice I've longed to hear again is screaming my name. We
just need to talk; connect.

Alex
takes
me arm.

"Violet!"

I'm
pulled from the room.

"Violet!"

He's locked
away in the closet, just like
my Grey
is
locked away in that body. That other Grey hurt the boys and hurt
Red. That other Grey hurt me and is keeping
my Grey
prisoner. This is what heartbreak made him do. This is what I
did to him. The sound of him banging on the closet door, calling
out my name can't be the last thing I hear of him. He needs my
help. I need to make this right. I still love him.

"Grey..." I feel dizzy. There are a number of
hands taking me away from the one I love. His voice is crying out
now in such heart ripping agony, it poisons my ears. My body falls
weak like I've been injected with venom—
My Grey's
call for
help.

"Violet! Violet!
Violet! Don't leave me!"

Violet

Re-entering the
Sanctuary is a nightmare. A storm blo
ws hard enough to knock us over and the torrential
rain floods the lake, making a muddy mess wherever we step. The
storm is Red's tangible pain and it's hurts us all. The icy rain
and wind stings my skin as I cradles the helpless crow wrapped in
Alex's jacket as close to me without hurting him.

"What's happening?"
Gabriel calls out over the storm.

"The Sanctuary is
reacting to Red." Dash tries to cover his face from the rain
beating him.

"Alex!"
I lose my balance. He catches me,
leaving his hand on the middle of my back to steady me. I'm still
getting my bearings on my legs after my energy was
stolen.

When we make it to the cabin, I remove the
broken crow from the jacket. I whimper at the blood that soaked
through to my drenched shirt. Losing all this blood from a bird,
how is he still alive.

"He said he's
fine and to
put him in his
room," Alex rakes his wet hair back.

I
place Red on his bed. He squawks in
pain and he can't sit right like a crow should. His body flops on
its side. His claws try to grasp the air. A wing unfurls lazily
from his little body. The bleeding wounds reveal his fleshy organs,
spilling from his gut. I cover my mouth in horror before I cry out
for him.

"Oh, my
God!"
I sob. Alex catches me
when my knees buckle.

"Violet, you
can't be here."

I
push him away and kneel beside the
bed, trying to grab sheets to surround Red. I know it's a poor
attempt to make him comfortable. What can I do? I have to do
something. This is my fault he's like this.

Alex
, with Dash's help,
grabs my arms and drags me out of the room. Gabriel locks the door
so I can't get in.

"What are you
doing?! He needs me! Let go!" I thrash. "Let me go!"

"Hey look at
me." Alex cups my face tightly. "He said he has to regain his
strength before he can change back. You need to leave him, okay? Do
you understand?"

“
But he's
hurting.”

"I
know
, but he'll be fine."
Alex's shaky voice doesn't reassure me. "Just give him space
okay?"

I
don't respond. I still feel the
overwhelming need to help him. I need to fix this. Alex embraces me
tightly. I sob uncontrollably in his wet shirt. The night’s event
replays through my mind. Grey's hatred for Red; Red suffering—how
is he still alive? Red... Red... my mind is a reel of pain. I'm
lifted and cradles on the sofa and slowly I'm calmed by the rocking
motion.

"You can't
touch her like that." I hear Dash say. "She's too open."

I
press ear listens to Alex's deep
voice say, "I don't care." His hands hold me closer.

***

Violet

I
wake to find Alex's arms wrapped
protectively around me. He's asleep and his face is so close to
mine, I can feel his breathing at my temple. I move his heavy arms
from across my chest and wiggle away. Something is on my legs. Dash
fell asleep slumped over my thigh with his arm woven through my
legs. Gabriel is in Red's chair, well away from our tangled bodies.
He looks like Red only much younger. I remove Dash's hands from my
body and slide away without waking them. I carefully go to Red's
room. The door is unlocked.

Red changed
back. His blood-stained bed sheets barely cover his discolored
body. I approach and sees how severely battered he is. He's
breathing harder than normal and is holding his side. His eyes
crack open and the tiny bit of eye I see isn't the blue, but black.
I kneel without disturbing the bed.

Red says
nothing. His labored breathing and non-existent aura are heart
wrenching. I reach for his hand which doesn't respond. His cold
hand has no feeling, no power, and no pull. I take his dead hand
and bring it to my face. I kiss it and rub it along my cheek. I
close my eyes remembering the last moment before he left. His
magnetic touch when he caressed my face was warm and alive. He
loved me. He's always loved me.

"I love you, Red.
Please don't leave me again." I sob.

His finger
move
s ever so
slightly.

"What
are
you doing?"

Gabriel’s
voice startles
me. I know the sound of jealousy. “Go back to bed, Gabriel.” I'm a
little angry he ruined the moment.

"You're
aura's
covering
him."

"
Gabriel—"

"It's clinging
to him as if he's wearing your aura like pajamas. The color is
different than usual; blue and lavender. I think it's... helping
him."

"Try placing
your hand on his ribs." Dash walks in behind him rubbing his sleepy
eyes.

I look
to Red who blinks. I place my hands
on his ribs and he immediately inhale deeply, and his eyes wince in
pain. I want to pull away. I maybe I'm hurting him. His breathing
normalizes. I want to move my hand elsewhere. I look to
Dash.

"Keep to
his torso." Dash sits beside me and
places his hand on mine showing me where to keep them. "Work your
way out from there."

I do what I'm
told
around the wounded areas,
his skin clears up and his wounds starts to shrink. His body is
looking less like a bruised apple.

"How do
you know about this?" I turn to Dash
as I place my hand over his heart.

"I don't know.
When I look at him I feel like Alex, only it's not his thoughts I
read; it's him telling me in a different way. I can look at him and
I know. It's so weird."

"Maybe you have
a connection with him in a different way." I smile.