Marked (5 page)

My heart picked up pace. “All right, I guess.”

Jace appeared at the top of the stairs, slipping a
black T-shirt over his head. A twinge of disappointment sparked its
way through me at the sight of him now completely clothed.

“
That’s not an answer. It’s sort of
a good or bad type question,” he said, jogging down the stairs and
stopping in front of me.

I tucked a stray hair behind my ear, meeting his
eyes. “Well, it wasn’t good, but it wasn’t bad either... that’s why
I said it was
all right
.”

He shook his head and walked past me toward the
kitchen.

“
What?” I demanded, following
closely behind him this time. “Why do you care anyway? Doesn’t it
bother you?”

“
Who says I care and why should it
bother me?” he asked indifferently, while fumbling through his
fridge.

I glared at him. “Because
this
would bother
most people.”

“
And what is
this
, exactly?”
he asked, staring me directly in the eye.

“
I don’t know,” I admitted, feeling
my face grow hot.

“
Then how can you presume to know
it would bother most people when you yourself don’t even know what
this
is?”

I dropped my eyes to the marble countertop in front
of me, unable to look at him, and studied all the speckles of dark
brown and tan that made it up. One shade stood out to me in
particular, a shade which matched the color of Jace’s eyes
perfectly. I touched my fingertip to a large speckle of it and
raised my eyes to meet his again.

“
Maybe I care because I’d like to
know where the two of you stand. And maybe it doesn’t seem to
bother me all that much because I know you won’t be with him much
longer.”

Jace’s bold words took me by surprise and rendered
me speechless. I wanted to come back with something witty like,
that confident, huh
, but it never found its way to my lips.
Nothing did.

“
Hope you like turkey clubs,” he
said, shifting his attention to the ingredients he’d pulled from
the fridge and acting as though he hadn’t just said those bold
words.

* * *

We sat outside on a red plaid blanket in the front
yard, eating. It was a crisp, clear night and every twinkling star
was visible. My eyes gazed upward, focusing on the massive moon
hung high, and lingered while images of Jace’s tattoo consumed my
mind.

“
So, where do you get those
beautiful eyes from?” Jace suddenly asked.

I swallowed a bite of sandwich before answering. “My
mom. I actually look a lot like her.”

“
She must be a beautiful woman
because you’re absolutely breathtaking.” An admiring smile reached
the corners of his eyes, and a lifetime of being insecure about my
looks tainted my thoughts, allowing his choice of words to
embarrass me when they shouldn’t.

“
You’re not so bad yourself, you
know?” I said teasingly, hoping it had gotten dark enough outside
to hide the color building in my cheeks.

“
You think so, huh?” He smirked and
I nodded. “I’ll be sure and thank my parents one day.”

I smiled at him as he leaned in closer to me,
waiting for the irresistible feel of his lips pressed against mine.
As our lips made the briefest of contact, headlights flickered
across where we sat. A vehicle rounded the corner and continued
toward the house.

We parted and my heart hammered against my chest as
my guilty conscience spun out of control with paranoid thoughts of
who it could be.

“
Expecting company?” I asked, my
body growing tense.

“
Nope.” Jace stood just as the
vehicle rolled to a stop behind my car. It was a silver Chevy
four-door truck. “Oh, crap.”

“
What, who is it?” I asked, alarmed
by his reaction.

“
My uncle.”

A tall man with a stocky build climbed from the
truck. “Jace, hey, sorry to interrupt. Didn’t know you’d be having
company.”

Jace’s jaw visibly tensed as he sauntered forward.
“Uncle Everett.” He nodded and started walking.

I followed a step behind Jace, unsure whether or not
this unexpected visit meant I should leave.

“
And who is this lovely young
lady?” Uncle Everett asked in a condescending tone with a
smile.

When Jace didn’t answer right away, I took another
step forward. “Tessa,” I answered.

“
Well, Tessa, it’s nice to meet
you.”

“
Nice to meet you, too,” I said,
noticing the tension building between the two of them and quickly
becoming uncomfortable.

“
Care if we step inside, Jace?”
Everett asked.

“
Nope,” Jace said, starting toward
the porch stairs.

“
Can you point me in the direction
of a bathroom?” I asked wanting to give them some
privacy.

“
Straight ahead and to the left,”
Jace answered, his eyes meeting mine. I swore I saw an apology
lingering in them.

“
Place looks nice,” I heard his
Uncle Everett say as I walked away.

I closed the bathroom door behind me and washed my
hands, then ran my fingers through my hair, smoothing down the
flyaways. After counting slowly to thirty, I cracked the bathroom
door and pressed my ear to the gap, listening for any raised
voices.

“
Jace, this is pointless! There are
only four moons left. Haven’t you been stubborn enough? We all get
that you’re not happy with the way things are, but face it,
nothing’s going to change. It’s tradition,” Everett said in an
angry, hushed tone.

“
It should change... better yet, it
will. Tell them to give me one more month and then I’ll be back,”
Jace replied.

“
What’s one more month gonna
matter? Shelby’s waiting now and you know she won’t wait
forever.”

“
One more month is the world, and
screw Shelby; she’s not right for me. I know that without a doubt
now.”

My chest tightened.
Shelby
? Had he left a
girlfriend behind? Of course he had, look at him. Even so, the
thought of him being with someone else made jealousy burn through
me.

“
You know your parents won’t be
happy about any of this. You’re going to have to explain the
situation to them yourself.”

I opened the bathroom door all the way and plastered
a smile on my face that I hoped didn’t seem as phony as it felt
before starting back down the hall.

Jace stood leaning against the front door with his
arms crossed over his chest. His face softened when he caught sight
of me. “Look, I hate to ask, but can we finish this another
night?”

“
Yeah, sure,” I said, still
smiling.

Once we reached my car, Jace laced his fingers with
mine. Jealousy still burned in the pit of my stomach and unease
settled in my mind like a heavy fog, all because of what I’d
overheard.

“
I didn’t know he’d be coming
here,” Jace whispered.

“
It’s okay,” I muttered, struggling
to keep my emotions from leaking into my words.

He lifted my chin with his finger. “What’s the
matter, you disappointed because our night ended so quickly?” he
asked with a smug grin.

I chuckled and rolled my eyes. “Hardly.” I was upset
because he was only going to be here for maybe another month and
then he’d be going back to
Shelby
, whoever she was.

“
Right. Well, I’d better get back
in there. I’ll see you soon though; wouldn’t want you missing me
too much.” He winked and then jogged up the porch steps.

No
I’ll see you tomorrow
... just a flat
see you soon
? Lovely. I drove away hating how I felt inside
and how bothered what I’d overheard made me feel, even though I
knew it shouldn’t.

An entire day passed without me seeing or hearing
from Jace. Worries about whether or not he’d listened to his uncle
and left town tainted my every thought. By Tuesday night, the
second night of Jace’s disappearing act, I decided to drive by his
house and see if A: He was home, or B: It still looked lived
in.

It was dark when I pulled up in front of his house.
No lights were on that I could see, but his bike still sat parked
in the driveway, which brought on the biggest sense of relief I’d
felt all day. Another good thing was that his uncle’s truck was
gone.

I readjusted my ponytail before stepping out into
the chilly night air to knock on his door. My knuckles rapped
across the door and then I folded my arms tightly across my chest
while I waited for him to answer. Suddenly it dawned on me how
horribly desperate I seemed, knocking on his door around 10:30 at
night still dressed in my work clothes. I bit my bottom lip and
knocked a second time, torn between my looking desperate in a
creepy stalker way and wanting to see him again.

When he didn’t come to the door still, I sauntered
back to my car and slid into the driver’s seat. The sensation of
someone watching me sent a shiver creeping along my spine. I
glanced at the windows in the house but saw no one. The sensation
didn’t subside but grew stronger, and fear settled in. Shifting
into reverse, I began turning around, not wanting to wait around
any longer.

It wasn’t until I was pulling forward that I noticed
a pair of golden eyes glimmering in the distance just before the
edge of the woods. My heart lurched and I slammed on my breaks
while I stared, trying to figure out what it was. It was too short
and stocky to be a dog, but too big to be a fox. Without notice,
the creature turned and darted into the woods, allowing me a
glimpse of its golden fur in my headlights. That was when I
determined what it was.

A wolf.

Dazed, I remained staring at the space it had
occupied seconds before. I’d never seen a wolf before besides on
TV. I wasn’t even sure we had them in North Carolina, but I knew
what I’d seen. There was no doubt in my mind I’d just witnessed a
wolf in Jace’s field. I’d have to let him know the next time I saw
him again, if ever.

* * *

I found it hard to sleep that night; my mind reeled
with questions of where Jace could have been, why I hadn’t seen him
in so long, and why I even cared. The last thought that floated
through my mind before I finally drifted off to sleep was of the
lone wolf with its glimmering golden eyes, standing at the edge of
the woods, staring at me.

* * *

The moon is full and bright, shinning brilliantly
above me and lighting up the sky like a midnight sun. I stand alone
at the edge of the woods near Jace’s house, staring through eyes
which seem crystal clear—clearer than ever before. Cicadas and
crickets surround me, singing the sweet music of the night. A
gentle breeze blows from behind me. Within it, a tantalizing scent
waters my mouth and triggers a hunger deep within me.

Leaves rustle; I cock my head to the side, listening
intently. Something moves across the darkened ground behind me and
to the left just a little. With the silent swiftness of a predator,
I turn toward the noise. I spot the culprit in the distance
easily—a deer nibbling on grass a few feet away.

I dash through the darkness, cutting through the
woods with incredible speed. I’m on the deer before it even has a
chance to fear me, biting into its slender neck.

Warmth fills my mouth and drips down my chin
while I chew. A hunger so strong it almost hurts rips through my
insides as I tear into its delicate flesh for a second time. I
continue eating with astonishing
speed
until there is
nothing left except a bloody carcass.

It’s not until I’m wiping my chin, full and
satisfied, that I realize what I’ve done and that I have no hands,
but instead fur-covered paws, which are now soaked in blood. Panic
fills me and a sickness sloshes in my stomach. I glance downward at
a body that should be mine—that should be human—but isn’t. I try to
speak, but no words come out, only whimpers. I try to scream, but
only an eerie sounding howl releases from within me.

I’m trapped inside an animal’s body!

* * *

I woke with a pounding heart and a mouth filled with
saliva, feeling as though I might vomit at any moment. Images from
the nightmare flashed through my mind again, intensifying the
nauseousness I felt already churning in my stomach. I bolted from
my room, heading straight for the bathroom down the hall, my hand
cupping my mouth the entire way. After flipping on the light, I
rushed to the toilet and dropped to my knees while quickly lifting
up the lid. I gripped the sides of the toilet as I broke out into a
cold sweat and tears pricked the corners of my eyes. Closing them,
I remained motionless, praying for this sickness to pass.

The next time I woke, it was to someone smoothing my
hair. I opened my eyes to realize that I was still in the bathroom
and must have spent the remainder of the night there.

“
Sweetie, are you feeling okay?”
mom asked, concern thick in her voice. “Did you get sick last
night?”

“
Almost,” I answered
weakly.

“
You don’t look so good, honey. Why
don’t you stay home from school today and get some
rest?”

“
Okay,” I said, standing. I
stumbled down the hall and crawled into bed, falling into a
dreamless sleep in no time.

* * *

“
Where were you yesterday?” Rachel
asked the next day at school.

“
Home. I wasn’t feeling good.” I
crinkled up my nose in remembrance.