Read Gravity for Free Online Page A

start over if we're to meet here
tonight. The empty adjacent space where my best friend used to sit
makes my chest hurt. I check the time. He should be here by now I
scan the area for a sign of him.
    Movement catches my eye behind bookcase. A
small perso n wearing a baseball cap and an
oversized hoodie is
watching me. I suspect it's someone from school . From the small frame,
round jaw and pouty lips, the spy is a girl. She’s pretending
to read while her eyes glance at me every few
seconds.
    H ow awkward. I hope I didn't accidently graze
her . I don't need another stalker. I f i gnore
her , she'll eventually go away. But after
two hours she doesn't. Every once in a while I'd peek up from my
comic book and there she is, pretending not to spy. She’s terrible
at it. I stay until the store closes . Thankfully, the girl keeps her distance. It’s dark when I leave the store
and of course the girl follows me. I was extra careful today at
school; it was clear of any close calls and touching, so why is
this girl following me? Even if I did graze her, her curiosity
would've withered away by the day's end. It’s just a girl. She’s
smaller than me, so if she’s trouble, I can out run her. Knowing
these streets better than anyone, I 'll l ose
her.
    I turn down an alley swiftly and darts
to the end and hide behind a dumpster.
    The
stalker pauses at the alley
opening , but decides to walk
pas s. I wait before leaving my hiding spot,
exiting the other end of the alley. She isn't around; she must be still prowling on the
main street.
    Turning the
corner quickly, I smack in to
someone. My body vibrates like the hum of a drum. The sensation
doesn't settle but builds far too quickly for me to get a handle on
m y
equilibrium.# I'm pulled
forward by an unseen force. This is far different and far more
powerful than the usual sensitivity. It peels away just as quickly
as it came. I advance to the stranger in pursuit of gratification,
but to my surprise the person steps back. I've never been resisted
before. People always obey the body's requests for
pleasure.
    "Stop!"
    It's the
stalk er. She backs away, breathing heavily
from the contact. Her heart must be beating a s fast as mine. I want gratification. I want her. She must have
an appetite. She notices my hand grasping my belt and her
distressed eyes look to my face. A soft peep from her mouth alerts
me that's she's frightened. I've only seen that face on my brother
when that monster went after him. Am I just like my stepfather? Am
I about to hurt her? I 'm o verwhelmed with
shame. I can't believe what I was about to do. I hide behind the
dumpster to fight my body n eed s to finish. I listen for the girl, but
it's quiet. Did she leave? I'm afraid of facing her. I don't want
to find out even
if my body is begging me to. I
don't trust myself. My hands tighten around my backpack straps to
push back the desire to please myself. It's the second time I've
held back.
    I look down the alley. I can run... or
I can find that girl and we could do it right here in the
alley . She'd want to. I recall her
expression. She didn't seem to want it. I would be hurting her for
sure if I seek her out. I grip the backpack straps. I look down the
alley. I have to run. I have to shake this off.
    Before my body
changes my mind I get up and run . The t ension releases and I feel lighter because of it.
Footsteps follow behind me. I can't believe it. It's
her.
    "Gabriel!" the girl shouts.
    She has to be from school. How else would she
know my name?
    I quickly
turn down an alley and hide
behind another dumpster to catch my breath. She's surprisingly
fast.
    "Gabriel,
please I am not going to hurt you." She shouts down the alley.
    I want to laugh. Of course she isn't
going to hurt me. I'd be the one hurting her.
    "Red sent me to find
you."
    Red?— It sounds
familiar.
    "He said you
met him in an antique shop in your dream."
    The
shopkeeper? How does she know that? Is she the girl
Red said to trust? But I can't remember