Free Toxic Affections by D Sean

 
    RAINDUST LLC
    P. O. Box 669281
    Marietta, GA 30066
    DSEANBOOKS.COM
     
    This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
     
     
    Copyright © 2012 by D. Sean
    All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
     
     
    Published by Raindust LLC
     
    ISBN-13: 978-0-983-4034-3-2
    ISBN-10: 0983403430
     
     
     
     
     
     
    “Larson, wait!” a woman called. He turned around knowing who the voice belonged to.
    “What!” he yelled back, causing Kerri to stop in her tracks.
    Larson’s acidic tone stung Kerri right in the eyes, other commuters turned to stare at him momentarily. She stood there nervously tearing at her fingernails. Her light brown eyes streaked with red. He was waiting for her to say something. She could hardly swallow, yet alone speak. All her thoughts seemed to have gone into hiding like shadows dispelled by a beam of light.
    “Larson,” Kerri whispered in a voice that hardly sounded like her own. There was a fire in his eyes, much different from the passionate gazes he had once given her. She wished for those now. Any other look would be better than the one he was giving her. She blinked and in that quick moment, he was making deliberate steps in her direction. She almost wanted to run, but couldn’t manage more than a few steps backwards. Her limbs felt heavy and stiff, unmovable.
    “You wanted this! You! You! Not me!” His lips were set in a hard line as spoke through clenched teeth. He pointed an accusing finger at her. Kerri blinked repeatedly, hoping to change the image in front of her. He was a blur, but in moments of clarity, she could see the anger that drew lines around his eyes and mouth. His eyes, however, were beginning to soften and then she couldn’t see him anymore.
    Larson watched her pupils dilate and turn glassy. Her eyes were no longer focused on him, in fact, they weren’t focused at all. The following moments were slow moving. She buckled at the knees and her body crumpled as she fell forward. His expression turned from livid, to horror, to sorrow. He could hardly recall putting his arms out to catch her, her small frame becoming listless in his arms. Passersby looked on in confusion, some in disdain shaking their heads as though he’d done this to her.
    “What are you looking at! Call an ambulance! Why are you just standing there?” He was yelling at the strangers who watched them like spectators at a sporting event.
    Finally, someone pulled out a phone and dialed 911. He vaguely heard the man as he described what was happening. Before the man had hung up the phone a pair of EMTs —who were already on the premises—burst through the crowd that had gathered. They pushed Larson out of the way, removing Kerri from his arms and placing her on a bright orange gurney. He looked on as they secured her with straps and tape, loading their supplies on the gurney with her. He regretted that he’d been so harsh. Even more, he regretted that he’d left, walked away from her, even if she had asked him to. A few days ago, they’d been a happy couple, a source of envy for their single friends who only pretended to enjoy their single lives.
    * * *
    Larson and Kerri had dated since their first year in college, much to her father’s chagrin. Kerrington was the only child of Royston and Elaina Young, the sole heir to his enterprise; Young & Young Laboratories. Dr. Royston Young was a renowned scientist and his late wife was a nurse who’d died of meningitis shortly after giving birth to Kerri.
     
    Kerri was the mirror image of her mother with delicate features and a head of wild mahogany curls. She had a pair of plump cheeks, which never deflated, and a smile that won every debate, disagreement and desire. Kerri and her father were very close, but he didn’t