Kiss before you kill

Chapter 5 - Boundaries

The hot water quickly sprinkles from the shower head as I stand under it, scrapping my skin with the loofah to get the disgusting smell of vomit, alcohol, and human off of me. Kayla finally "sobered" up from the all-you-can-eat-Soul-Eater-buffet, last night. We both crashed at my place: Kayla taking my bed, and I took my uncomfortable couch. A cramping feeling appears in my neck, and I rub it, placing it under the steaming water. As I turn off the faucet, I wrap my towel around me and make my way out of the bathroom only to find an empty apartment. Kayla must have left.

My cellphone jingles from my nightstand, and I skipped over to it, placing it to my ear without checking the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Is this Beth?" A familiar British mans voice says.

"Yes it is. Who's speaking?" I sit onto the bed, and run my finger through my knotted wet hair.

"It's Gabriel." I can almost hear a smile in his voice.

Suddenly, my throat tightens. Gabriel from the club last night.

"I'm sorry? Grabriel?" I try to keep my voice straight as I pretend like I don't know what he's talking about.

"From the club. We talked for a little bit."

I let the line go silent before I answer, "Oh yes. That's right. What did you want?" I sounded stern, but someone like him has no reason to be calling. He's known as the one who aligns himself with the dark souls.

"Nothing at all. I just wanted to hear your voice."

I don't know if It's okay to smile and say thank you like a regular teen would have. But the difference is getting caught up in drama and love isn't the best thing for me right now. Millions of butterflies fly around my stomach, and it seems impossible to tame. Is this allowed? To associate with a dark soul? A smile paints on my face, and I can feel the blood rushing up to my cheeks.

I laugh a shaky laugh, "Whatever you're doing it isn't working on me." My voice cracks at the end of my sentence and I try to cover it with a cough.

"I'm not doing anything at all. I'm actually wondering if you wanted to go out sometime."

My body starts to tense up, "I'm sorry. I don't associate with dark souls, like yourself."

His laugh rings in my ears, and I can hear his silent breaths on the other end. "I can assure you I'm a lot of fun."

"I bet you are." I smile and sigh. I cant believe I said that. "Maybe next time."

"Ouch, don't shoot me down." His chuckles warm me.

"That's all I'll be doing. Bye Gabriel." I roll my eyes, and smile. I end the call, and sit on my bed taking the conversation in. I can still hear his beautiful bell like laughs ring in my ears. My stomach tingles in a weird way, and the smile on my face doesn't go away. I smile, and groan and fall down onto my bed.

***

After I get dressed, Kayla picks me up because Chad wanted to go over a few things about ourselves, which seems very unnecessary. We take a seat on the couch when we get into sanctuary. Chad waits patiently on the couch in front of us. 

"You're late." Chad says, with a tone of irritation in his voice.

"No. You're early." I joke around.

Kayla gets up and walks over to a friend sitting across the room, leaving me with Chad. 

"Did you read that booklet I gave you?" 

I gasp, "Oh man, I didn't. Sorry." 

He stares at me with a look of disappointment. It was just like the look my fourth grade teacher gave me when she found out I was getting other to do my homework for me. I never liked school, just like any other kid.

"This shows you have no responsibility."

"I am responsible." I exclaim. "If I wasn't, I'd be on the streets, you know."

"Ok ok." He places his hands in the air, surrendering the argument. "I guess we'll talk about what we are."

"Why do you have to discuss this. All I need to know is that I'm a monster who kills people for my personal gain. What else do I need to know?"

"There are many things you need to know. It's very important that you have the book and head knowledge."

"Ok. Tell me then. I'm all ears." 

He exhales very loudly, and pulls out a book from behind him. He flips the fragile pages and lands on the page he's looking for. 

"I know Kayla talked to you about this, for what I want to really talk about is the Tenebris Anima. I heard you ran into Gabriel at the club last night?" 

I raise my eyebrows, and look back over at Kayla and back to Chad. 

"She watches you for me." He smiles

"Yeah, I thought so."

"Gabriel sided with the Tenebris Anima leader. He left us when he was 16." 

"And I need to know this because...?" I trail off.

"He feeds on our own kind. Which is something like cannibalism. It's for the weak and desperate. Other than him breaking the rules, he was a really good kid. His father worked for me at the hospital as well, but Gabriel killed him when he was 14 years old. Sounds like something I've heard before."

A small smile cracks on the corner of my face knowing how he went through the same thing as me, but it was horrible so I quickly wipe away the smile off my face.

"Why? What happened?" I asked, crossing my legs out in front of me on the couch. 

"He always knew what he was since he was born. Both of his parents were Soul Eaters, and raised him like any other parents would. But as he got older, he started to get very power hungry and loved the sight of killing every chance he got."

"Is he still like that?"

"No. He got a little better, but he is someone we want to stay away from. He is actually one of the strongest Soul Eaters in the McCarthy clan, other than his older brother Ryan."

I shake my head in silence and chew on my lip. Chad rambles on about what we are, while my mind trails off. If Gabriel wasn't as bad as he was before then I don't see the problem of hanging with him now. Late at the club that night, I didn't quiet get a good look at him because of the strobe lights that were flashing around us. He seemed like a cocky guy who was just trying to get around the club and feed, so I don't know why he seems like someone I want to be around. It's good to keep my boundaries up, especially around someone like Gabriel.

"I'll talk with you tomorrow." Chad interrupts my thoughts.

I nod, and act like I'm willing to continue tomorrow. I smile, "Okay. Bye."

He picks up his book, and his bag off of the floor and walks out the door. I hear Kayla's footsteps skip over, and she plops down onto the cushion next to me.

"You up for the club?" She smiles excitedly. 

I think about it for a minute, then my mind screams Gabriel's name. I grin, "You already know."

"Good. I'm starving!" She giggles, and drags me out the door.