by Amanda Miga
"I don't know what I'm looking for."
"Anything unusual," Dash says.
"Everything looks unusual. I've never really done this outside of the Sanctuary."
"We'll walk and take a closer look," Dash says. "Are you okay walking in this state?"
"I think so." I swallow.
"Why don't you hold his hand?" Alex teases.
Dash ignores him and so do I. I'm not about to lose my cool.
We walk to the theatre, right through the residual river of energies. I hold my breath thinking it will affect me. The left over energy is too weak without the actual aura hitting me. The energy moves like smoke as mine mingles with others. Alex and Dash's auras stand out among the lights. Alex's color is a flaming copper, glowing like hot embers. Dash's color is a shimmering citrine, bright enough to blind like the morning sun. There's a strange color around them like mine and Violet's. The strange color resembles close to the color red but it isn't red at all.
"Hey, your auras are different." I stop walking.
"I know. We have a weird color around ours right? We're Hybrid. Look for that, Gabriel. Whatever this location means have to do with a Hybrid." Dash pushes his glasses up.
"This one is silver and sticky.” I splay my fingers out in front of me. “I've only seen that color on us. Is it Red?"
"No, Red's aura is red. Grey is silver though." Dash brows crease.
"You think it's him?" Alex says.
"It could be another Hybrid with a silver aura." Dash watches me closely. I walk around the invisible thing, trying to avoid walking through it. "What do you mean by sticky?"
"Like thick and clingy, smoky, not like regular aura energy which moves away like mist. This one’s got a texture." I wipe my hand on my shirt. "It goes into the venue."
"We need to talk to some of these people and take a look inside this place." Dash says.
"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."
Chapter Thirty-Five
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 sw
ivels 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."
Chapter Thirty-Six
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."
"He can't hate Red that much. They loved each other like brothers. They're best friends."
I can't hold it back. She needs a wake-up call. The guy is holds a huge grudge against Red. He's the prime suspect. Is she blind? "Not anymore!" I shout.
Violet gasps.
I didn't mean to say it so harshly. Grey is not what she thinks. I hate confirming her heartbreak, but it's the only way to move forward.
"So are we just breaking into his room?" Violet cries. "I have to talk to him? I can't believe he would do anything to Red. I mean he might be angry but accusing him of having anything to do with Red's disappearance is ridiculous."
"Right, so I'm the liar? Thanks Vi."
"Alex!" Dash scolds. “We don’t know that.”
&nbs
p; "Why don't you believe me? I spoke with the guy. He's suspicious."
"I'm going to talk to him." Violet stands.
"No way!" I grab her arm. "We can't trust that he won't hurt you. He's not the same person."
She shakes me off. "You don't know him!"
Violet isn't listening. She doesn't want to believe me. It hurts; she doesn’t trust my judgment. She insists that she can talk to him and everything will be okay. I look at Dash and Gabriel, aggravated that she refuses to understand that Grey is a totally different person than the one she remembers. What's worse is she still loves that guy. That fucking guy...
"You're right, we don't know him," Gabriel says. "But if Alex talked to him and Grey didn't seem right to him. I think we need to trust Alex, Violet. Red chose him to help."
My mouth twitches. Gabriel of all people. Shit.
Violet purses her lips. "You don't know him like I do."
I feel another stab to my chest.
Dash shifts in his seat. He's afraid of angering her. "I think its best Grey doesn't know, Violet. If he's as dangerous as Alex expresses, then interacting with him might be a bad idea. If we break into his room, we can see what he’s been up to."
Violet folds her arms and looks away from all of us disapprovingly.
Dash clears his throat and continues, "If he's not in the building, we'll check the room for clues. It isn't much of a plan, if we can even call it that."
"Fine. Let's go." Violet walks away, hastily putting on her jacket. None of us trust her.
We'll have to keep him away from her; or her away from him—whatever it takes, I say in their thoughts while Violet anxiously waits at the door. There's something wrong with that guy. I'll be damned if he lays a finger on her.
