Page 32 of Drag You Down
Impatience courses through me, and I want to reach out and shake him. It’s so unlike me that it makes me take a step back, afraid of the sudden whim. I know why he’s lying. I know he will never admit to what he’s done.
But I still want to know why.
“If you don’t tell me why, I will walk away, right now.” I should walk away anyway. I already know he committed murder.
Gabriel opens the newspaper and folds it over to a later page. “He wasn’t exactly a nice man,” he says. “But this world isn’t kind to women who stand up to powerful men, and it loves to prop up those who already have power.”
I don’t understand what he means until I read the passage where he’s pointing.
Mr. Lansbury is a controversial figure after his public trial last year, following several allegations of rape byformer female employees. Though found not guilty, the allegations dog his steps. Before joining Paladin Industries as CFO, he worked at tech giant Asteroid, who parted ways with him once the trial began. Spokespeople for both companies have declined to comment.
My mouth goes dry.
“How do you know that he did it?” I ask, my voice hoarse. “How doyouknow he was guilty? The courts judged him already.”
I still want to shove him.
“Who gave you the right to do… to do this? You aren’t an angel in disguise,” I say emphatically. My voice has risen in volume, and a few passersby glance in my direction. I close my mouth in a hurry.
“Did you watch the trial?” Gabriel asks. “I know these men. I’m certain that whatever happened to Lansbury, it was a reckoning his soul deserved.” Gabriel strokes my hair. “You understand that, don’t you, lamb? ‘For the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.’”
I stare at him, briefly uncomprehending. “How do you know all of these?” I demand. “You’re no holy man. You keep quoting scripture, but you don’t believe it. Iknowyou don’t.”
Or does he? Am I wrong? What if he does?
What would that mean for what he’s doing?
Gabriel gives me a strange smile. “Any person can quote scripture, Levi. Belief isn’t necessary. And even belief doesn’t stop the priests from forcing themselves onto children, or the pastors from stealing from their flock.”
I swallow hard. I’ve heard those allegations, but Father Zachariah insists that the Devil only seeks to malign the holy with these smear campaigns.
Gabriel suddenly pulls me closer, and I’m pressed up against his body. I tense and open my mouth to complain, but a group of kids on skateboards suddenly rides past us.
Oh. He pulled me out of the way.
“Th-thanks,” I say automatically.
I glance up into his golden-brown eyes, not dark at all with the soft afternoon sun reflected in them.
Gabriel smiles at me. “I’m always watching over you, my lamb.”
That’s what I’m scared of.
“I need to go,” I say, my voice thick. “And you need to stop.”
“I’ll never stop,” Gabriel says. “And you don’t need to go. Come with me. You don’t need to go back to that dingy apartment.”
I glare at him. “I don’t need a fancy place to live. I don’t need worldly possessions. I only need my faith.”
My faith, which has been increasingly shaken lately.
“I don’t need you. I don’t want you.” I turn away, but I’m almost disappointed when he doesn’t try to stop me from rushing across the street and returning to the apartment complex.
Inside, I’ll be safe.
I go upstairs, skirting around the door to the basement, and return to mydingyapartment. I don’t know why I’m suddenly ashamed of it. I really don’t need worldly possessions to be happy.
Eve is standing at the window, her hip pressed against the wall. She turns to face me as I walk inside, and my cheeks drain of color as I realize she’s been staring out of the window that overlooks exactly where I’d been standing with Gabriel.
