Gravity (8 page)

Although the quick demise of their relationship did wonders for my heart, I still hated seeing Amity.  Brady had told me how beautiful Trace thought she was and her presence served as a constant reminder of all that I was not, physically.

As if sensing our eyes and conversation had turned in her direction, Amity flipped her platinum hair over her shoulder, met my eyes and proceeded to flip me the bird.  She disguised it as a middle-finger swipe across her bottom lip to clean up a smudge in her lipstick, but the pink stain was perfect.  There was nothing to clean up.  Just before she turned away, I saw a smug smile tug at her pouty lips. 

Although I was thoroughly incensed by her audacity, there was nothing I could do.  No one would believe that someone like Amity would deign to pay me that much attention, so ratting her out would be pointless.  It would only serve to make me look crazy and paranoid.  And probably a little desperate for attention. 

With a sigh, I tried to just let it go, turning my eyes from Amity and giving as much of my attention as I could muster to Lacey where she still stood by my side.  Luckily, she hadn’t seen Amity’s gesture.  If she had, I’d have already been breaking up a cat fight.

“Oh and here comes Sheryl!” Lacey exclaimed excitedly, still looking toward the door.  I followed her gaze and saw that she was watching a petite brunette weave her way through the crowd toward us.  She swung rounded eyes in my direction.  “Think she’ll tell me what happened with her and Tanner?”

I shrugged as I looked back toward the door, completely unconcerned with any of the normal gossip that everyone my age seemed to thrive on.  I had much bigger worries at the moment, worries even bigger than that nasty Amity Ledger.

“I don’t know, but if she won’t you can always ask Tanner.  He just walked in,” I informed, nodding for Lacey to look back toward the door.

I knew the instant she saw Tanner.  Whether she meant to or not, she sighed the tiniest bit. 

“Dude, if your brother wasn’t perfect and just about ready to fall madly in love with me, Tanner Sloan would be my next choice.”

Lacey made a smacking sound with her lips and I couldn’t help but giggle.  She was so blunt!  If a piranha could be blunt, that is.

Reaching over, I wiped at her bottom lip much as she’d done to mine the “night before.”

“Just wiping up some drool,” I teased, offering that by way of explanation when she tossed me a strange look.

“Not quite.  Your brother is still the only one who makes me salivate.  I practically need a bib to look at him.”  She gave me a cheeky grin and I rolled my eyes. “I know he’s your brother, but you have to admit he’s smokin’ hot.”

“Lacey, ew!”

“Oh wait. I forgot.  He doesn’t have hair the color of spun gold and eyes the color of warm honey,” she drawled dramatically, using her best Southern belle accent as she fluttered her eyelashes like an awestruck, doe-eyed girl.

I laughed, even though I silently wondered if that’s how I sounded when I talked about Trace.  I’d have to be careful of that in the future.  Now more than ever, I couldn’t let on that I had feelings for him.  It could be the end of his relationship with my brother and the beginning of a world of troubles for me.

Sheryl’s arrival at Lacey’s side negated any need for a rebuttal on my part, so I turned my attention back to the room.  I was glad that Lacey was immersed in conversation with the girl from our study hall period when Brady made his host’s round through the room.  I felt the need to keep them as far away from one another as I possibly could.  At least for a little while, something like, oh I don’t know,
eternity. 

As Brady circulated through the room, I remembered seeing him do the same thing the “night before,” but this time I noticed something I’d previously overlooked.  Or was it that it hadn’t happened?  I couldn’t be sure which, but I was definitely aware of it now.

Several times as Brady stopped to talk with different clusters of people, I saw his eyes flicker to Lacey and then dart quickly away.  It was then that I began to sense a growing need in him.  It was a thirst.  For blood.  One I’d seen portrayed in movies hundreds of times.  I felt sure that, given free rein, it could be just as devastating. 

In Lacey, I’d seen what her thirst meant.  It was entirely possible, probable even, that she and Brady could be very dangerous—to each other and to the world at large—if they couldn’t learn to control the needs that were coming alive in their bodies. 

I glanced at Lacey.  She was still talking animatedly with Sheryl.  I was glad that she didn’t see Brady.  I watched him as he casually chatted his way across the room, drawing ever closer to where we stood.  Of their own accord, my eyes kept flickering toward Lacey, continually checking to see if she would notice Brady.  I prayed she wouldn’t.

He was literally upon us, standing just a few feet to my right, before Lacey turned her attention away from Sheryl to take in her surroundings.  When she saw Brady, his back was to her.  The same look that always came over her face in Brady’s presence—that slightly lovesick expression—slid into place over her features.  I held my breath as I waited for something else to happen, for her to feel something more.  Only it never did.  The only thing I could feel coming from her was an intense feeling of want.  Not need, just want.  Something told me she’d gotten what she
needed
from him earlier.  Her unnatural thirst had already been satisfied and I could only hope it would satiate her for a long, long time.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Brady.  I felt it the instant his thirst came upon him.  And it nearly consumed me. 

CHAPTER FIVE

Stronger than anything I’d ever smelled before, the most delicious scent ever to touch my nostrils saturated the air.  It was impossible to describe, but it was certainly the most tantalizing bouquet I’d ever encountered.  And I knew what it was.  Whether just an instinctive knowledge or because of the strange new presence of supernatural information, I knew what it was.  It was blood.  Human blood. 

My mouth watered profusely and I felt a tingle in my gums, like I’d just swished soda around in my mouth.  My heart raced and even my lungs seemed to hunger for more of the aroma, my chest straining to retain the particles for just a moment longer.

I was temporarily stunned by the intensity of the thirst I felt.  Thankfully, however, I was quickly shocked back to reality, back to the dire nature of the situation when my eyes refocused on my brother and saw his face.  His skin had begun to gray and his eyes had begun to redden.  I knew that if he opened his mouth, I’d see two glistening white fangs, fangs that could be deadly if not controlled.

I felt the blood drain from my face.  What if the changes were no longer invisible to everyone?  What if all our peers were able to see what Brady had become?  What possible explanation could I give?  What could I say to control the damage? 

Although I had no idea what it might be, I was prepared to do something rash.  Without thought, I raised my hands to push my hair behind my ears, a nervous gesture I’d exercised since I’d had hair long enough to tuck.  It was then that I saw my own arms were the same sickly, unnatural gray color as Brady’s skin.

With a gasp, I dropped my hands to my sides, looking wildly about for some place to run and hide.  My involuntary reaction drew Lacey’s attention and she turned her gaze toward me.  My heart hammered against my ribs as I awaited her shocked response to the bizarre appearances of my brother and me.  Only it didn’t come.  She simply frowned at me, concern clearly etched onto her face.

“What?  What happened?”

I felt my mouth work itself open and closed as I struggled for words that wouldn’t come.  I was both relieved and confused that I was still the only person who could see the monsters.   

As questions started to pour into my mind, things like
Why me?
and
How long will it last?
a few answers appeared as well.  Suddenly, I knew without a doubt that I was able to see the second nature of those around me, and that there were many more varieties than the three I’d seen.  I had no idea why I could see it or what I was supposed to do with that kind of information, but it would come to me nevertheless.

Just then one of the girls that Brady was talking to threw back her head and laughed.  It wasn’t the sound that drew my attention back to them, however; it was Brady’s reaction.  A nearly overwhelming burst of hunger rocketed through him, touching me like a physical punch to the gut.  I saw his eyes drop to her throat and stay there, and I was instantly afraid, afraid that if I didn’t intervene, something terrible would happen. 

I wanted to think clearly and act quickly, but Brady’s thirst was so strong, it threatened to incapacitate me.  I had to struggle to push past the consuming need to sink my own teeth into her throat.  But struggle I did, until I was able to overcome the worst of it.  As hard as it was for me, I knew it was a thousand times harder and more intense for Brady, which was exactly why I had to act and act fast.

“Stay here,” I ordered Lacey just before I took off toward Brady. 

In my thrall over the smell of human blood, I had forgotten what would naturally happen at that juncture in the night.  It was as if fate stepped in to take care of the problem for me.

Just before things got out of hand, one of Brady’s friends—fellow football player and linebacker, Jace Stewart—chose that exact moment to sweep in and grab Brady around the waist to haul him off to the keg to do a tap hit.

One of the most incredible waves of relief I’d ever experienced washed through me as I watched Jace cart Brady off.  It was as if the instant his friend distracted him, Brady’s concentration and, therefore, the intensity of his thirst was consequently interrupted.  His need dissipated as though it had never been.  Something in me knew that wouldn’t be the case for very long, though.  Soon, it would be nearly impossible to turn off until it was completely quenched, completely satisfied.  I knew that with an undeniable certainty.

As I felt my own body return to normal, I cautioned myself to bear in mind that the night had been successfully lived once.  It would behoove me to remember as clearly as possible details about the “night before” and the things I’d already seen.  That kind of information would be like having an ace up my sleeve.  Just this one time, I’d have some forewarning.  Whatever forces had been at work to prevent disaster from striking last night were obviously still very much in control. 

Until midnight, that is.  Something inside me assured me that things would change in the few moments during the eclipse.  It was in that moment I knew that, as the earth drifted between the sun and the moon, the charge of averting disaster would fall to me.  And monsters would be unleashed.

********

From my vantage point, I could see into just enough of the kitchen to be able to keep an eye on Brady.  I watched him until I was satisfied that he was no longer any kind of threat to himself or anyone else. 

Not having been so absorbed with Brady during the first go round of the night, I must’ve missed the fairly contained disturbance of one of his most hated enemies arriving at the party and finding his way to the kitchen.  But I saw it this time and my whole body became rigid with tension.

His name was Jeremy Allen and he was the captain of the wrestling team.  He was one of the best wrestlers in the state.  He was extremely fit and extremely large.  Although I couldn’t hear what was being said, I could feel the animosity rolling out the kitchen door in thick, malevolent waves.  My muscles clenched and unclenched with the barely-controlled need to go and throw myself into Brady’s corner, to take his side as if his blood demanded it of me.  One part of my mind marveled at the strength of the strange new bond, while the other remained silently vigilant and ever-ready to act if need be.

As their exchange became more heated, I caught bits and pieces of what was being said.

“…nerve coming here man!”

I totally agreed with Brady on that point. I mean, come on!  They hated each other. What would make Jeremy think it was okay to crash Brady’s birthday party?  Then it occurred to me that Jeremy didn’t think it was okay; he was poking the bear.  Little did he know, Brady was more of a handful than Jeremy could ever have guessed.