Toxic by K.B. Torres (portable ebook reader .TXT) 📕

black leather tanktop and trousers that hugged the body. The tanktop had buttons down the front holding it together. He had a backpack next to him on the couch.
"Not awake, huh? She looks awake to me." Hunter said, a cocky grin on his face.
"That's because she just fucking woke up!" Azrael snapped.
"Hi princess. How you been?" Hunter asked.
"How do you think? I feel like shit." I said, my voice making Hunter wince.
"I-I have some things from some of the kids. Like Ava, Lys, Jessie, Coraline, Arabelle, Ama, Miguel, Rafael, and a few kids who felt bad when they heard you were sick." Hunter said, getting up from the couch.
"Hunter," Eve said.
"Eve." Hunter inclined his head.
"Are you hungry? I have some food in the kitchen." Eve asked.
"Nah." Hunter said.
"Vix, do you want me to grab you something? I'm getting myself dinner." Azrael said, glaring at Hunter.
"Sure. Are you stopping by Charlie's diner? Pick me up a tuna melt? Cheddar and on Sourdough." I said, as Azrael walked out.
"Why does he hate me so much?" Hunter asked as we walked down the hall to the 'meeting room'.
"He's jealous. He's just wierd about me being with any other boy besides him. God, he acts like if he leaves me alone with you, we'll start making-out. But that would never happen, right?" I said, my voice tinged with annoyance.
"Well..." Hunter said, licking his lips.
I back-handed his chest as he started laughing.
"I hate you." I said, pouting.
"Ohh, I love you too!" He said, imitating a girly girl.
We arrived in the meeting room. It was a cross between a classroom and a board room. Running around the table, Aviance and Actaeon were playing tag.
"Hey, Go play elsewhere. This room is for adults." I said.
"Kay Mommy." They said in unison, running out.
After closing the door, Hunter stated, "They don't look like Azrael."
I nodded.
"They're not his. My ex and I were thinking about getting married when I had them. He started acting unbearable. Imagine Azrael, then multiply that by 1000." I said.
Hunter put down his backpack and pulled a chair out for me. I sat down.
"Shit, no wonder you dumped the guy. Anyways...Here, These are yours." Hunter said, dumping out the contents of his backpack. He piled the papers and put them on top of the 10 pillow thick textbooks. His arms flexed and looked muscular when he picked up the mountain high pile. I wondered if he worked out.
Didn't he mention archery?
"Don't you do archery?" I asked, not able to stop the words.
He shot me a cocky grin.
"Admiring one of my many talents? Maybe I could show you a few things I know-" I cut him off by smacking the pile out of his hands. They flew in different directions, thankfully not knocking over anything.
Blind rage filled me.
I really don't need his shit getting me into a fight with Azrael or Eve.
"Look, stop with your goddamn comments. I don't need to deal with your shit and risk an hour long half-lecture-half-screeched-at talk with an angered mother, and an arguement with Azrael. If you get me in trouble, I swear to god, I'll kill you. So shut the hell up." I snapped, the words tumbling out without my OK. The look on Hunter's face made me guilty. he was pale, and he looked shocked and speechless. He turned, and left.
It took me a moment to realize what was happening.
"HUNTER!" I called, running after him.
"Hunter, I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed, rounding a corner. I knocked into a towering bookshelf. It wobbled and slowly fell over, as I looked, paralyzed.
I Heard That, Azrael

"Anastasia!" Hunter called, tackling me and staying on top of me as books and broken pieces of the wooden bookshelf rained on us.
When it was over, he rolled over and let me up. He coughed, and seemed ashen.
"Are you okay?" I asked, running my hand down his back. When I took my hand back, there was blood.
"Y-you've changed Vix. I liked it better when w-we were younger. Now, y-you just hate me." He whispered.
"Then why make an effort?" I snapped.
How he looked tugged at my heart. His eyes were sad, his face pale and ashen. There were splinters of wood in his hair.
"Because, Anastasia, I'm in love with you." He whispered, leaning into my shoulder. He then relaxed.
I freaked out for a moment, thinking he had died, but then I felt his breathing.
It was slow, but steady.
"MOM!" I called.
She came running.
"What happened?" She asked.
"Hunter and I got into an arguement, and he ran off. I went after him and went the wrong way, and knocked into the bookshelf. He shielded me, and..." My voice cut off, cracking.
"Eve, I can't find Anastasia or...What happened?" Azrael asked, coming up to me.
"You're not hurt, are you?" Azrael asked.
"No, I'm fine. Mom, can you take Hunter to a room. His back's all fucked up." I said.
She gently got Hunter up and carried him like a baby to a room near mine.
"Did Hunter hurt you? Tell me and I can kill him." Azrael said, helping me up.
"No, if he hadn't of shielded me from the bookshelf, I'd have been worse off than him. Don't be so protective. If I ever need you, I'll call for you. Hunter's reliable." I said.
Azrael pulled me in for a kiss.
"That's good to hear. That you're okay, I mean. I was afraid that you'd catch a disease from that dusty old bookshelf. It's older than your mother." Azrael joked.
I laughed, despite feeling guilty for laughing at the fact he called Mom old.
"Babydoll, can you come with me?" Eve's voice got closer and closer as she ran up to us.
"Why?" I asked.
"Just come with me," Eve said, dragging me away from a grim Azrael.
Eve led me down to the infirmary room Hunter was in.
"He's asking for you. And by asking I mean he's demanding." Eve said, pushing me in the door.
Hunter sat at the end of the bed, his head down, and in his hands.
"Huntey." I sighed, stepping closer.
His head shot up. His face was streaked with tears, but he attempted a smile.
"You haven't called me that since we were like 7." He said.
"Why are you crying?" I asked, inching closer.
"I-I'm not crying." Hunter sniffled, wiping his face.
"There are tears running down your cheeks." I said, stepping closer.
"Did Eve help you? With your back, I mean." I asked.
"No. I don't want her to; I want you." He said.
'I want you' made me shiver.
"But-" I started to say.
"Don't make an excuse. You're about the only one here that doesn't hate me. For all I know, anyone else will hurt me purposely." Hunter said, dropping his voice.
"But, I don't know how to-" I started to say.
"Remember back when we were kids? Your mother taught you." Hunter said.
"Fine, I give. Take your shirt off." I said, coming over to him completely. He went to unbutton his shirt but winced.
"Here." I said, kneeling down and reaching for the buttons. I unbuttoned his tanktop, pulled it open, and helped him get it off.
"Is it me or does it seem like any moment we're going to have sex?" Hunter asked, his cocky grin back. I pushed at his stomach. It was hard and muscular, but not too hard and muscular. His skin was tanner than I remembered.
"Behave." I simply said.
"Fine then, though Miguel would kill me for this position I'm in." Hunter said.
I frowned when I saw his back. It was all scratched up and bleeding, A few splinters in his back.
I got up and grabbed the first aid kit. I shoveled through it and found pain pills, gauze, and disenfectant. I also grabbed a pair of tweezers.
"This might hurt, but I have to get some wood out of your back," I said.
"Just don't tell me." Hunter said.
I held the tweezers and gently grabbed for the biggest peice of wood, about as big as my pinky. I pulled it out, trying hard to be gentle. Other than that big piece of wood, I had two needle thick ones before I could disinfect and wrap his back in gauze. I took out a pain pill and filled a glass with water.
"Here. Are you okay?" I asked, handing him the water and pill. I noticed a cut on my palm was bleeding. I hope I didn't bleed on the pill.
He took it.
"I...I'm fine." Hunter said.
I went pack to pulling out the pieces of wood.
"Okay, This might sting." I said, uncapping the spray disinfectant.
"Kay." He said, tensing up.
I sprayed it on his back as he grunted and tensed even more.
"I'm almost done." I whispered, capping the spray disinfectant and grabbing the gauze.
I gently wrapped it around him, my arms looping around Hunter to grabe the gauze. Once I was finished, Eve came in.
"You alright, Anastasia? You look pale." Eve asked.
"I'm just hungry. I'll be fine." I said, getting up from Hunter's bed.
"Lie down on your side when you lay down." I said.
"Vix!" Azrael called as I walked toward the kitchen.
"Yeah?" I asked as he caught up to me.
"Food's in the microwave. Evie and Marcie are watching the kids." Azrael said, kissing me.
"An-anastasia?" A weak voice asked.
I came face to face with Emmanuel.
Rage boiled inside me.
Who let him here?!
I just turned my back on him and walked off.
"Staz, wait, please." Emmanuel pleaded, grabbing my arm.
Shocks ran up my arm.
I smacked his hand away from me.
"Staz, can I talk to you?" Emmanuel asked, his eyes shining.
It was only then I saw how horrible he looked. He was super-skinny and he needed to shave. His skin was ashen, his eyes red from crying.
"You're talking to me right now, I frankly, I don't like it." I snapped.
Emmanuel winced.
"Please, without him. It'll only be a minute." Emmanuel begged, slumping down unattractively.
From what I knew, Vampires were never unattractive.
I really messed him up.
I sighed, frustrated.
"Okay, fine. Azrael, go check on Evvie and Marcie." I said, almost snapping.
Azrael left.
"Staz, I'm so so sorry about how I treated you. I hate myself for saying what I said. I was stressed. I'll never forgive myself for how I treated you, and I know you have every right to not forgive me. It messed us all up when you left. Luke, Jules, and I. I know you've moved on, but I wish I had never said what I said. Maybe then-" I cut him off.
"You are so selfish! I am happy now! I was never happy with you! There was too much fleeing, Emmanuel, too many fights. If we had made up, I never would have known my childhood friend was actually not dead!