Chapter 8

Staring at Laura, Elena feels Gavin's body tense beneath her.

Damn it Laura, not now

There is so much she needs to tell him. As terrifying as the dreamscape attack had been, the link between them had been her salvation. If what she believes is true, in some very real sense, Gavin is her anchor, her doorway back to the real world.

"What?" Laura asks, "Did you two forget I was here?"

"It was a private conversation," Gavin says. His voice is irritable, and she understands completely.

"With the door open?" Laura makes a rude gesture. "It's a good thing I'm around, cuz you two obviously need a keeper when you're together."

"Guys," Elena interjects, trying to keep the situation under control. She's certain that Laura is teasing her more than anything else, but Gavin is clearly upset. Somehow she has to make Laura understand, convince her to leave so that she and Gavin can continue their discussion in private.

Sliding off of Gavin's lap, she settles on to the bed beside him. "Fighting isn't going to..."

"Oh yeah," Gavin sneers, ignoring her, "I forgot you're the neighborhood nanny." He leans forward. "Since you know so much, maybe you can answer a question for me?"

Laura glares back at him. "What's your question?"

"How long did it take you to decide that I was the cause of all Elena's problems?"

"What? I never said you were..."

Gavin laughs, but there's no humor in it. "No, it's okay, just give us a rough estimate. Five minutes? One?"

Stop this!

"Look, both of you," Elena tries, but this time it's Laura who interrupts her.

"I don't even know what you're talking about." She walks to Elena's desk chair, spins it around so it's facing the bed, and sits. "That's okay though, you probably don't either."

Gavin smiles, but it's somehow one of the most unfriendly expressions Elena's ever seen. "So if I'm so stupid, explain to me how long it takes you to see me climbing out of that window," he points to the window overlooking the backyard, "run downstairs, lay a story on your parents about forgetting something at Elena's, jump on your bike, and ride over here?"

Oh shit.

Laura's eyes meet hers for a second, and then flick guiltily away. This isn't good.

Gavin turns to her. "You were helping your parents carry stuff in from the garage, and, maybe a minute after you guys finished, there she was." He points accusingly at Laura.

Laura hesitates, and then says, "I was looking out for my friend, okay?" Her eyes are steady on Gavin's. "She may think you're the best thing since peanut butter and jelly on toast, but I don't know anything about who the hell you are."

No one says anything for a second, and Elena wonders whether Gavin will be convinced. Events are spinning out of her control, and she feels adrift, without any clue of how to continue. This scene has never appeared to her in any viewing, and the dreamscape is such a terror to her now that she cannot be certain of ever seeing the future there again. What she wants to do is crawl back into Gavin's arms, bury her face against his chest, and believe that somehow he can keep her safe.

"No," Gavin's eyes move to Elena, "but you knew a lot. You knew when I was leaving, where to find me, and," his eyes jerk away, "exactly what to say."

She lifts a hand, reaching towards him, but he's no longer there. Standing, he looks down at both Laura and her for a second, and then walks to the window.

Laura's gaze is sympathetic, but there's a hint of 'I told you so' there too.

My fault! I shouldn't have made her do it.

"So, Einstein," Laura asks Gavin's back, "got everything figured out yet?"

No, Laura! Don't bait him. I need him!

Gavin whirls to face them, the pain in his eyes like a slap to her face. Hands clenched at his sides, he takes a step forward. "What is this, some kind of sick joke?"

Heart pounding, she stumbles to her feet, and turns to face him. "No, Gavin, it isn't like that."

"It isn't?" His eyes are disbelieving. "So, you and her," his glance at Laura is venomous, "didn't double team me yesterday? You had no idea she was going to meet up with me, tell me about your father, and whatever?"

"I..." She desperately tries to hold his eyes with her own, but she's crying again, and everything is beginning to blur. "I wanted you to know what you were getting into."

"Yeah, right," Gavin scoffs.

Through her tears, he fragments and distorts, making it seem as though some unseen force is pulling him apart.

"How many people have you done this to?"

"How many..." She tries to wipe the tears from her eyes, and finally looks back at him, uncomprehending.

"Forget it, Elena," Laura says, getting up, and moving to stand protectively by her side. "He isn't worth it."

"No!" Elena steps away from her friend. "I don't understand." She looks at Gavin, "What are you talking about?"

Laura sighs. "He's decided that because he discovered one dirty secret, there must be more. Right?" She looks from Elena to Gavin, and makes a disgusted noise in her throat. "This is whacked."

"You think," Elena finally manages to catch and hold Gavin's eyes with hers. "You think that, what I did with you yesterday, I could do with anyone?"

He is ashamed; she can see it in his eyes, but there's hurt pride there as well. Besides, what she's asking him to believe in is crazy, and yesterday's spell of intimacy and secrets shared is broken. What seemed possible and even credible then must now sound like just another lie.

"I think I should go."

Desperately, Elena searches for an awareness of him inside herself. If she can reach him through their link, she can stop this, can explain without even having to speak. Do they have to be touching in order for it to work?

Gavin's eyes aren't angry anymore; he looks confused, and wary of inadvertently stumbling on to more unexpected pain. He moves cautiously from the window towards the door, as though expecting one of them to strike out at him as he passes.

Neither Laura nor Elena move, but Laura's attack is vicious nonetheless. "Why don't you tell him about his father?"