Gravity (35 page)

"I don't even know
him. But I think you're right."

"When he's
better you'll be closer."

Dash sheds a
tear.

"What is it?"

"Nothing." Dash
pushes up his glasses.

"It's not nothing."
Alex enters the room. "He's afraid like the rest of us."

"Shut up for once,
Alex." Dash wipes his wet face.

"Afraid? He's
looking much better than before." I caress Red's skin.

"Not Red."

"Shut up, Alex!"

"You shut up!"

"We'll have a chance
to talk later."

"We're not going to
have a chance to talk about it when he wakes. You know it. We're
finished here!" Alex leaves the room.

"Dash, what is
he talking about?"

Dash bows his
head, hiding his face in his hands. The terrace doors rattle.
"Dash, you're doing it again." I place my hand on his shoulder to
comfort him. He jumps to his feet. "I-I'm sorry I just need some
air." He runs out the room.

"He's afraid of
losing you." Gabriel stands at the far end of the room. His eyes
seem to purposefully avoid Red. "Things will change."

"Losing me?" I
look to Red whose eyes are closed and breathing sounds like he's
asleep. I wonder if he's listening. "Dash shouldn't be afraid." I
place my upon Red's cheek. "When he's better, he'll fix everything.
Things will be better for everyone. He'll help each of us. We have
so much to learn from him."

"It's not that,
Violet. It's not that at all."

"What do you
mean?" I look to Gabriel, but he's left the room.

***

Gabriel

Maybe it's me.
I'm too afraid the alpha male will kick me out
. If I hide, maybe Red will forget I'm living in
his home. Who am I kidding?. Now that he's awake, I can't face the
man who will see every thought I had about his girlfriend. Not to
mention I kissed her and pursued her.

I want to talk
to Violet, but sh
e's
preoccupied with him, she probably forgot I live here
too.

Red is
sitting up in his bed, able to move
his head and turn his body on his own. That is too much. Even
though he's silent, it doesn't stop from Violet rabbling on and on
about what's happened. I tried being in the same room, but I'm
unworthy to be in his presence. I stay away from him as his
residence grows within the Sanctuary. When he spots me peeking from
the door crack, I run back to my room like a scolded child. He's
too significant to look at. Those eyes will know my secrets if I
let them linger on me. His greatness is something I can never
contend with.

I keep to my
room because he's all over the cabin, putting an unreasonable fear
into me. He isn't even walking or talking and his power strengthens
with every touch Violet places on his perfect body. She will never
look at me the way she looks at Red. I'm a filthy thing she let in
to his home. Maybe I'm to be exterminated.

Alex and Dash
stop by but
their visits are
short. They don't to stay long. It seems Red is too much for them
too.

Violet
is so pleased and even trance-like as
Red finally recovers enough to stand. She worships him. I know
because it's happened to me. He has that aura about him that's ten
times more attractive than my own. I often wonder if I can persuade
Violet, then Red must be able to do the same. Is she under his
spell?

I want to pass
the time quickly by
writing
about Red's recovery. I stare at the leather bound journal
contemplating whether I should pick up the pen or not.

Violet's cry alerts
me.

Peeking out
from my bedroom door Red sends Violet and her things out of his
room. She's crying her eyes out, carrying a few things she's kept
in his room. She makes her way to a door down the adjacent hallway.
I think the room is a closet from how small it is. She drops her
things on the floor and falls to her knees. I can hear her sobbing.
It only makes me angry how Red is treating her after all she's done
for him. The light in Red's room goes out.

Violet crawls
to Grey's door and upon opening it she cries hysterically. She
doesn't have a room and Grey's room is too painful to sleep in.
Does he expect her to sleep in there?

I'd offer my bed but I'm afraid he'll punish
me for helping her from whatever reason he's dismissing her. I
don't know what to do. I feel like a coward closing the door,
listening to her cry.

I
keep to my bed; unable to bring
myself to help Violet. I stare at the ceiling for a long time. I
can't sleep.

A
knock at the door startles me. I
don't want to leave my bed. I don't want Red to come in. I don't
want to leave my room.

Dash opens the door and lets a fresh air
escapes in with him.

"It's late." I contain my excitement to see
him but he could probably tell.

"Sorry. I couldn't sleep." Dash drops his
backpack and closes the door.

"Did you see Violet? Is she alright?"

"She's sleeping on the couch." Dash
approaches the bed. "I was going to sleep on the loveseat..." He
eyes me.

I move over on my bed. It was instant. I give
it a second thought as his weight settles beside me. For a moment,
if feels like it's the Josh situation all over again. The only
thing that's different is I want Dash next to me. I don't want to
be alone with Red home.

"Do you feel
it?"
I ask.

Dash nods. "I
know you feel it more. I'm sorry I can't do anything about
it."

I like that he
always wants to remedy everything. It's probably why I feel
comforted by him.
It's been
days since we talked.

“Your aura is held in
so tightly. I can barely feel a vibration.”

"I'm scared
he'll want me to leave. I can feel him watching me. I can feel him
everywhere. He can destroy me."

"Why do you say
that? He invited us."

I rest
my head back on my pillow. "He knows
everything about me—everything. I'm a threat to Violet."

Dash's sigh is
not reassuring.
He removes his
glasses and rests his head on the pillow beside me.

"What's going
to happen to me? I don't want to be separated from her, but I don't
think I want to watch them as a couple either."

"Give it time."
Dash
turns on his side to face
me. "What you're feeling is his power gaining back quickly. You
might be overwhelmed by that. I don't think he's a threat to you
like you think. As far as what he knows about you, I think he'll
help."

Dash
leans closer. The warmth of another
body feels like heaven; not my mother, not Josh, not Violet—it's
Dash of all people. After all this time, lying with him in my bed,
I feel at home. The combination of a friend to talk to and a
pleasant place to sleep is heaven. I don't want to leave
it.

"Promise me no
matter what happens we'll stay... friends." I turn my head and Dash
is closer than I thought.

"I promise."
His lips say the words gently as his intense dark eyes say
something else.

Gabriel

I feel out of
place in my room. Being with Dash last night
helped me forget about everything, at least for a
while. Red must know what we were doing. He must have seen Dash
leave for school this morning. I want to write about how I feel but
using the things Red gave me to write with feels wrong. Will he
take away the journal that was gifted to me? There's so much about
Violet in it; things another guy shouldn't say about another guy's
girlfriend.

I want to pass
the time quickly
, but I can't
bring myself to do anything. I'm a prisoner. Dash told me it's my
own doing. Maybe he's right.

My head
prickles and I'm startled out of my chair. I search the room for
someone but there's no one. My gut tells me Red wants to see me.
The idea gives me a headache.
I look at my door. Is he on the other side?

I go to check.
I peek out of the crack of my door and find Red on the first floor,
gazing out of the window. He's standing on his two feet without any
help. Violet is on
the sofa
sleeping again. She seems to sleep more often than she should. I
bet that's Red's doing.

His colorful
flickering eyes dart up in my direction. I've been caught spying. I
can't take my eyes away. A weird sensation like a string tied to my
core tightens as Red moves away from the window with his eyes glued
to mine.

Gabriel.

I
gasp and close the door and the
string feeling disappears. His voice is like it was in my dream.
He's real and he wants to talk to me. I can't face him. I back away
from the door. I hope he won't come to my room, even if it is his
Sanctuary.

I need to get out of
here.

I climb out of
my window to escape the cabin. The leader's presence is still
strong enough to make me sick, but I'm able to curb the reaction.
Being outside is a great relief. I miss the warmth and nature. I
spin around to make sure he's not following me.

I
sit by the lake's edge facing the
cabin, just in case he decides to come out. I can get a head start
and run. I snap some sticks and throw them in to the water. Some
sink and others float. If I run, will I run away for good? No, I
can't. Maybe I'll go into the Black forest. Violet would hate
that.

"Violet." Her name
rolls off my tongue like a song.

If I feel like
this, what does Violet feel? I'm
concerned with her happiness. Hearing her cry is hard. Being
afraid to help is harder. I miss the conversations we had and her
laughter. I wish she'd come to see me in my room and talk to me.
Instead, she sits by herself waiting for Red's door to
open.

Red
locks himself in his room all day and
night. I wonder sometimes if Red ever eats or uses the bathroom.
What does he do anyway? Dash says he writes like I do. What does he
write about?

Maybe he writes
about Violet too. I don't see why if he has her. Maybe he's angry
or sad and he writes about that? What does he have to be upset
about? The guy has everything. Violet waits at his door like a
slave. She's under his control. That's what it looks like. The idea
sickens me.

The floating
twigs in the lake are slowly circling. From the corner of my eye
Alex and Dash walk in from the gate. I've missed them.

"What's up?"
Alex
says as they sit beside
me.

I try not to smile as
Dash's leg presses against mine. I quickly refocus before I disgust
Alex.

"Red
isn't at all what I expected him to
be. I can't think of anyone else's shoes I’d rather be in. Violet
loves him. But the way he’s treating her, he’s become such a
disappointment."

"Disappointing,
huh?"

"He
ignor
es her. She practically
throws herself at him and he pushes her away."

"Is he angry?"
Alex asks
.

"
I don't understand why?"
Dash pushes up his glasses.

"He's treating her like an annoying child." I
snap a twig in half.

"Kinda how she
treats us,
" Alex
sighs.

"So,
what
’s happened?" Dash
asks.

"He won't let
her near him. He doesn't even talk to her. He treats her
like
she's not
here."

"H
e's not her boyfriend."
Dash's words bring my heart to a flutter. "I think she's still
infatuated with him."

"Sounds
familiar?" Alex says also looking briefly at Gabriel.

"Oh come on."
Gabriel throws another twig in the water
. "I'm not the only one who likes her." I glance at
the cabin and then back at the lake. "I just don't want him
treating her like shit."

Alex
winces. "Watch what you say about
him. He's a telepath remember. Besides it's kinda his place. I'm
glad he's here. I was hoping he could teach me a few things about
my telepathy. Frankly, I don't mind that he pushes her away. It’s
nice that maybe she doesn’t have a boyfriend.”

"Well, I don't like
it." Gabriel's fingers snap a stick.

Alex and Dash look at
each other.

"Just don't
mess with him. I'm pretty sure you'd lose." Alex says.

"It's not that
I don't like him... I don't know. Now that he's around,
I don't exist to Violet."
I throw my broken sticks into the
lake. “Violet doesn't think twice about anyone else. I had a
feeling that was going to happen. I don't like to see her unhappy.
It's painful." I rub his forehead. "He's... scary."

"I don't think
he means to hurt her. But I don't think he intends to be with her
either." Why does everything Dash says, a surprise to me? I meet
his eyes with this new revelation. "He wants to fix what happened
between the three of them." Dash continues. "I read in his journal
that Grey was meant for her."

"Meant for
her?" I shake my head snapping another twig. "That’s
bullshit."