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F I V E
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Ever since I was small my teachers would tell me that they were certain my soulmate and I were Connected and that soon, I would be walking down the street and everyone I would pass would know my name.
Blakely Emory.
Like Cate and Matt Feily, with marks on opposite arms that looked almost like arrows pointing down their wrists. I would walk red carpets with my soulmates hand in mine, and we would show everyone our connecting marks and our utmost love for each other would be seen by every eye.
Every day after school I would run into the bathroom with a huge smile on my face. I would strip off all my clothes but my underwear, and would stand on the bathroom vanity to look for a mark on my body. I would search, and search, and then, I would search again.
Day after day, I would be asked what my mark looked like, where it was, who I thought I would be soulmates with, but still, I couldn't seem to find one.
Starting to give up the idea of being popular or famous, I agreed with myself that I didn't need any of those things, as long as I had my soulmate, I would be happy.
My grandparents met when they were thirteen years old. They crashed into each other in the hallway and my grandpa reached down to help pick up her books and saw his mark on my grandmother's pinky finger, and they knew at that moment they were bound by their souls and they fell in love. It became my biggest dream, if only I could meet my soulmate like that.
But, I never found one no matter how many times or how hard I searched.
I couldn't find a mark.
I wasn't meant to tell or show anyone how bare my skin was, it was too dangerous. My parents always told me about the girls and boys who had been taken into dark cells and killed because they were different and nobody understood why.
My parents always told people how gorgeous my mark was, how they would see it when I was a baby and how sad they were that I always had to cover it because of where it was, just so nobody would ask. They would go days not even being able to look at me afterwards, so disgusted by my bare skin, there scary stories being told by their mouths again, warning me to keep my skin hidden, that if anyone were to find out, I could be in serious danger.
"Why?" Anger wasn't something I could feel, it was more shock and confusion. So many thoughts were swimming through my mind and I couldn't even let the words sink in before I tried to push them out. "You didn't, you couldn't have."
Kacen still looked confused, not sure what Thea was referring to or why I was so disoriented by the news. "What secret?"
"Please, don't ask," Thea sat back down, looking down at her lunch. "Blake, I promise I wasn't even thinking about it, it just came out."
Standing, I looked around to make sure nobody had heard us. My heart was on the verge of explosion because of how fast it was beating.
Thea saw what I was doing and her shoulders fell in more regret. "Blake, I'm so sorry."
"Stop, please just stop." Looking over at her, my eyes brimmed with tears. I knew I failed at hiding it from her. "My house, alone," I gave them both sincere looks and then left the cafeteria and shoved my way into the schools parking lot.
There was no way I could stay, It didn't feel safe to be around Kacen and Thea, and I needed space. Time to think everything over.
°•°•
Nobody was home when I arrived in a mess of tears. There was a bit of throw up on my collar and my throat burned from screaming on the way home.
Pushing my window open, I climbed inside not having the house key today. Emerysn had it because she was going to get here first due to a half day.
Emersyn.
Images flashed through my thoughts, interrupting all my reasonable ideas.
Walking through my room, I screamed and pulled my gross shirt over my head, tossing it towards my hamper but I missed. I yanked my shoes off and threw them across the room, shattering a bowl I had made in the third grade.
Glancing over at the mirror I looked over all the bare skin I could see and fell to the floor with a heavy cry.
After a few minutes, I stood and finished undressing, tears staining my cheeks pink. Turning the shower on and avoiding the mirror, I stepped under the hot water and let the warmth wrap around me, washing away my tears.
My eyes stayed closed and I let every drop of water roll down my skin as I cried. I was unmoving, my mind running too fast for my body to catch-up.
Fog wrapped around my ankles and chills ran down my spine. The water felt thick like blood, and I began to choke on the air. Gasping, I pushed myself against the shower wall but my fingers hit cold stone.
Pulling my eyes open, I took a deep breath and looked around the bathroom. Everything was normal. I examined each and every one of my fingers, making sure they were all clear of anything.
My nightmares had been so consistent that they would fall onto me during the day time when I wasn't doing anything. It was like they were playing again, but they weren't.
The water stopped falling after I turned the shower off and jumped out and into the cool room air.
Pulling on some random clothes I grabbed from my drawers, water soaked into the shoulders from my hair and my body uncontrollably shook.
I took a seat on my bed and tried to calm my heart rate.
I caught a glance at the half read book, and let out a long breath. Grabbing the book, I pulled it open and searched for anything I could that could help me.
°•°•
The sound of the knock on the front door made me want to hide under my covers and never climb out.
I didn't want to face the truth, I wasn't ready for Kacen's reaction.
All Thea knew, was that I didn't have a mark and nobody could know, not even my sister could know. It took her a while to understand, and even now I'm not so sure she gets it.
Turning the doorknob, I faced my friends, both wearing sad expressions, Kacens eyes filled with a curiosity like fire and Thea trying to stay behind in the back, not sure how to feel.
After they walked in, I locked the door behind them and brought them to my room.
We didn't speak as I paced back and forth trying to figure out the right words to say, and finally, I took a deep breath and stood infront of both of them.
"I think I'm a Blank."
"What?" Kacen looked amused, as if I was tossing a joke around the room, but then his smile vanished catching Thea's expression. He turned away from me, his fingers running through his light curls. "What is that again?"
"I don't have a mark. I wasn't born with one, and I never got one like some do." I tried to be patient so Kacen could let it sink in. I thought perhaps he would be calm seeing his first reaction, but when he turned and looked towards me, all I could feel was how furious he was.
"Kacen-" I felt like I was going to start sobbing, my lip trembled and tears brimmed my eyes.
"How is that possible?" Kacen sat down, his fingers digging into his scalp. "Why didn't you tell me?!" He sounded hurt, betrayed. I couldn't blame him for feeling that way, how could I? "You let me think after all this time that just maybe, we could-" He cut his words off and stormed from the room.
Thea and I chased after him, "Are you mad at me?" My words were shaken.
"For someone who has the highest scores in the whole school, you're not very smart," Kacen left the house and slammed the door behind him.
"I'll go with him," Thea hugged me quickly before leaving the house.
°•°•
Pacing the halls, I waited anxiously for Oliver to arrive. But I was more anxious knowing I would face Kacen again. He had refused to answer his phone or texts, and I had to accept that.
"Hi, um, Blakely?" I turned quickly, my gaze landing on who I assumed to be Oliver. His hair was short, and dark, it didn't look natural considering his roots were lighter, but I wasn't going to judge him for it. His eyes were light brown, almost a scarlet with the light on them. His face was dotted with a few dark freckles and blemishes.
He wasn't as tall as I had expected him to be, infact, his pants were dragging on the floor because they were too long. Even his sleeves past his hands, but he still beat me in height, not that there was much to compete with.
He pulled his large backpack off and set it at his feet. "You must be Oliver?" I smiled and reached over to shake his hand, which he looked taken aback by.
"Yes, that's me," He took my hand and shook it. "So like?" He looked around the entrance and waited for me to start talking.
"I am supposed to give you a tour and explain anything you may be curious about. Here is your schedule," I shoved the paper into his hand and turned.
As I walked, I could hear him grab his backpack off the floor and run over to meet my side. "Do you know any of these teachers?" He asked, reading his schedule.
"Brollen? Have him in the morning, very nice. Um, Grumo not so much. He's usually sleep deprived, perks of having another baby over the summer I suppose, but he is a definite grouch if you don't listen or turn in your work on time. We used to call him Mr. Grumpy," A small smile tugged at my lip.
"Noted," Oliver chuckled. "Samsen?"
"An absolute angel, if, that is, you aren't a complete slacker. She will cream you for that, and trust me, you will not want to walk through those doors again."
"Well, that's reassuring," He laughed. "You kind of suck at this," He commented.
I stopped walking and turned to face him. "I'm sorry, there is a lot on my mind. I wouldn't worry about the teachers too much, they are all pretty great at what they do. Just do your work. The cafeteria is right here, and the freshman lockers are down this hall."
"And the senior lockers?" An amused smile graced his lips.
"Right, of course. Those will be to your left, and the juniors share the same area so a warning there."
After showing him the rest of the school and where his classes were, students began to come inside and do their usual routines.
Oliver kept asking me questions and I wasnt paying much attention as I watched the front doors.
"Okay, so like, is the cafeteria food here good do you think? Or bring my own lunch for sure?"
"It's not awful, but I mean it's a highschool so keep that in mind." He laughed at my comment but I wasn't reacting much.
"I was told you were the best in this school? As I recall, our brightest student-"
As he spoke, Kacen and Thea walked in and I jumped up. Oliver followed my gaze and stood as well.
"Kacen."
"Blake," He raised one of his brows and glanced over at Oliver. "Who's this?" He snapped.
"I'm Oliver, just moved here from-"
"New then?" Kacen put all his weight into his left leg and looked back at me, no longer caring about Oliver..
"I had to give him a tour of the school."
"Oh, right, because you're just so smart?" Kacen scrunched his nose and rolled his eyes.
"Kacen-"
"Guys, stop! You need breakfast," Thea shoved Kacen towards the cafeteria and then looked towards me. "We can talk later. Nice to meet you Oliver," She smiled quickly before dragging Kacen off to the cafeteria.
"Are you two dating?" Oliver asked, watching me watch them go into the cafeteria.
"No." I didn't need to explain myself. I didn't feel like it. So I just grabbed my bag and started walking to the library. I needed to avoid my thoughts.
Oliver followed after me. "Wow, are you okay? I might not know you but you seem upset."
"Fine. I already gave you the tour, you don't have to keep following me," My words were hard, cold. As much as I didn't try to be so rude, I was trying not to fall to the floor and cry.
I knew telling Kacen was an awful idea, but I didn't think he would hate me because of it.
"You just seem like you need someone. From the looks of it, those were your friends? Assuming you and that guy-"
"Kacen," I shoved the library door open and walked inside. The door crashed into Oliver but he quickly caught up to me.
"Right, well. I'm assuming Kacen and you are going through a rough patch. We just met, but I've always been good at listening." I wanted to scream at him to shut up, but I knew he was just trying to be nice.
How could I be mad at him for it? "Thank you. But it's not really something I can just talk about."
After a few minutes of running my fingers across book spines, Oliver spoke again. "Do you come here often?"
"I guess so," I turned to look at him, curious as to what he was thinking.
"Cool."
"Cool? After all that, that's all you say?"
"Yup," He smiled and I chuckled.
"Okay."
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thank you for reading!! i am sorry for the long wait...that is, if you were waiting. updates may have to come once a week as we are trying to sell our house to move, but i will work on it when i can.
~skelocookie