Marked (10 page)

“
Nothing,” I lied. “How long are
you guys here in town for, Jenna?”

“
I’m not sure; I think maybe a day
or two,” she answered, while carefully placing the hot cookies on a
cooling rack.

I bit my bottom lip. “Oh, cool.” I’d probably lose
Jace by Tuesday.

“
Those smell great,” Jace
gushed.

“
I can’t believe oatmeal raisin
cookies are your favorite,” I said, crinkling up my nose. “Most
people prefer chocolate chip or something.”

“
You haven’t tasted one of Jenna’s
homemade oatmeal raisin cookies. You’ll see what I mean.” He
smirked.

I glanced at the clock on the stove and realized the
time. I should have left fifteen minutes ago if I’d planned on
making it home before curfew.

“
Oh crap, I’ve got to go,” I said,
standing abruptly.

“
But you just got here, and you
haven’t even tasted a cookie yet,” Jenna insisted.

“
Shit, your curfew,” Jace said,
realization of the time dawning on him, too. “Here, I’ll walk you
out.”

“
Bye. It was nice meeting you.” I
smiled at Jenna on my way out of the kitchen.

“
You, too! I’m sure we’ll see each
other soon.”

“
Just so you know, I had absolutely
no idea I’d be having any visitors,” Jace insisted once we stood
beside my car, saying our goodbyes. “And I don’t want you to worry
about Shelby or anything happening between us while she’s here,
okay?”

“
I’ll try,” I said, flatly, knowing
it was easier said than done.

“
She can try all she wants, but
she’ll be thinking about you and me all night. Won’t you, Tessa?”
Shelby sneered from the side of the porch.

I hadn’t noticed she’d been standing there with
Gavin beside her. These people were like freaking cats they were so
sneaky.

Jace pulled me closer. “Ignore her, please.”

My lips curved into a smile. I couldn’t help the
sense of satisfaction that swam through my blood at the sight of
Shelby’s face because of Jace’s gesture.

I planted another soft kiss on Jace’s lips before
climbing into my car and driving away. Unable to help myself, I
glanced in the rearview mirror in just enough time to witness
Shelby saunter to Jace’s side and slip her hand over his forearm
while glaring in my direction. She knew I was watching and had
intentionally replaced my last image of Jace with one of her and
him together.

Jealousy and rage ripped through me. Was it possible
to literally
loathe
someone after just meeting them? I
thought so.

It was 11:23 pm by the time I made it home. I sat in
my car, staring at my darkened house and wondering if my parents
were still up waiting on me. Deciding I probably shouldn’t prolong
getting my butt inside any longer, I quietly closed my car door and
walked up the front steps.

The front door seemed to creak extra loudly on its
hinges in the utter silence of the house. I squeezed my eyes shut
and inhaled a sharp breath, praying no one heard my entrance. I
waited a few heartbeats with my hand still gripping the door knob,
before tip-toeing toward my room.

No lights were on and I found it extremely hard to
make my way silently through the house. After bumping into a long
table that lined a wall just before the living room, I came to the
conclusion I’d go bat-shit-crazy if I ever went blind.

I cut a left at the end of the hall and relief began
to swim through me. By some random stroke of luck no one had been
waiting up for me. The cool metal of my doorknob had never felt so
good. Fading adrenaline mixed with relief made me clumsy as I
opened my bedroom door and stepped in. I stubbed my toe on the door
frame and tripped. The hardwood floor of my room came rushing up to
meet my face before I could right myself and catch my balance. I
landed with a loud thud and a groan.

“
Tessa?” mom called out.

A light flicked on behind me and I remained where I
was, completely dressed and face down on the floor.

“
Are you just now getting in?” she
asked in a non-question tone.

“
Yeah,” I said, slowly managing to
get up off the floor. There was no point in lying; I’d already been
busted.

I bit the inside of my cheek as I turned to face
her. Both of my parents stood in their bedroom doorway, glaring at
me with alert eyes while dressed in their pajamas.

“
Do you know what time it is, young
lady?” dad growled.

I swallowed hard. “Yes… I do.”

“
It’s 11:30, Tessa...,” he said,
answering his own question anyway. “Where have you
been?”

“
I was hanging out with Jace and
lost track of time. I’m sorry,” I said, unable to look at either of
them directly.

“
Oh, so you were out with that boy
and lost track of time, huh?” Mom folded her arms across her chest.
“I’m telling you, this Jace boy is bad news.”

“
No, he is not! It was my fault. He
had some unexpected people show up from out of town and I
completely lost track of time,” I explained, hoping she’d see
reason.

Mom raised an eyebrow at me. “You were out with a
boy past curfew at some
party
?”

“
Have you been
drinking
? Is
that why you were stumbling through the house?” dad asked, shaking
his index finger at me.

“
What? No!” I shouted, shocked by
how both my parents had just twisted my words so drastically and
jumped to all the wrong conclusions.

“
You know what, Tessa, you’re
grounded!” mom said, her words dripping with venom.

“
Fine, Mom. I know you don’t like
Jace for whatever reason. I’m not surprised you’d jump on the first
chance you got to ground me so I can’t spend any time with him!” I
spat.

“
Tessa Lynn, I can’t believe you!”
she shouted and I knew I was in deep trouble the second I’d heard
my middle name. “I was only planning on grounding you for one week,
but now... let’s make it two!”

They turned back into their room and closed the
door. I could hear them murmuring, but couldn’t make out any words.
Spinning on my heel, I stalked into my room and slammed my door
shut. I changed into my pajamas for the night—a faded pink T-shirt
and some gray flannel pajama bottoms. The night had gone from
amazing to absolutely horrible and all I wanted was to get some
sleep.

I flipped off the light and stumbled my way toward
my bed in the darkness. As soon as I pulled the covers up, a light
tapping noise startled me. I held my breath and listened, trying to
hear it again. It was coming from my window. I bolted into a
sitting position and stared, something was moving in front of the
glass. My heart hammered in my chest as I reached over to flick on
the lamp beside my bed.

Jace’s half lit face appeared and a huge smile came
to my face as fear dissipated from me quickly. I crawled out of bed
and crept to the window, my smile never wavering.

“
What are you doing here?” I asked
in a hushed whisper after thrusting it open.

“
I couldn’t stand the way our night
ended. Plus, I wanted to see if you’d gotten into trouble for
breaking curfew,” Jace said. “I guess you did.”

“
Well, I didn’t like the way our
night ended either. Seeing your ex-girlfriend’s hands all over you
as I’m pulling away was not the last image I wanted of you in my
head.”

“
See, exactly why I’m here.” He
flashed me a dazzling, white smile.

I rolled my eyes, but my smile still remained
intact. “And yes, I did get grounded—for the next two freaking
weeks.”

“
Bummer,” he said, his smile
dwindling slightly. “Come outside with me.”

“
What? Are you
crazy
?” I
muttered. “I just told you I was grounded and you ask me to sneak
outside with you?”

His lips twisted into a devilish smirk. “Me, crazy?
You’re the one who asked me to buy your underage-self alcohol, a
crime punishable by jail I might add. All I’m asking is for you to
simply step outside into your own backyard with me.”

I put a hand on my hip. “And what if I get
caught?”

“
Well, they won’t haul your butt
off to jail, that’s for sure.” He winked.

I stared at him, my hand still on my hip. “My mom
was right; you are bad news,” I teased.

“
Your mom thinks I’m bad news?” he
asked seriously.

“
Well yeah, but it’s only because
she thinks you’ll break my heart.”

“
Why would she think
that?”

I shrugged and began attempting to pop out the
screen in my window. Jace grabbed it from my hands and leaned it
against the house. I threw my leg over the windowsill, nearly
kicking Jace in the process, and carefully attempted to slip out.
“Who knows? I wouldn’t worry about it.”

Jace placed his hands on my hips and lowered me to
the ground. “Thought you weren’t going to sneak out with me.”

“
I never said I wouldn’t. I just
asked if you were crazy. Besides, it is just in my backyard, after
all.” I grinned, mocking him.

“
Right.” He winked, reaching for my
hand.

The warmth from his touch made me realize how chilly
the night air was. A shiver ran along my spine and I shook
involuntarily.

“
Cold?”

“
Yeah, a little,” I admitted,
crossing my free hand over my chest.

He dropped my hand and began slipping out of his
coat. Holding it up for me, he nodded. I slid my arms in, relishing
in the warmth his body had left inside. The scent of his cologne
wafted in my nose and I smiled.

We walked to the edge of my backyard, where the
woods butted up against it, and stopped. A twig snapped beneath my
bare foot at just the right angle to pierce my skin, and I cursed
under my breath for not wearing shoes.

“
You okay?” Jace asked with a
chuckle.

“
I’m fine,” I whispered, bending
over to rub the bottom of my foot. “Just hurt, that’s
all.”

“
I bet, you should have worn
shoes.”

I flashed him a tight-lipped smile and cast a
paranoid glance back at my house, being sure no new lights were
on.

“
Don’t worry,” Jace whispered.
“They’re not going to see us.”

“
How is it you’re always so sure
about everything?” I questioned, hyperaware of his closeness and
enjoying it more than I should in the moment.

He shrugged. “I’m not. This one’s just easy—human
eyes...,” he trailed off, seemingly shocked by his words of choice.
He cleared his throat. “I mean, with the distance between us and
the house, along with the darkness, there’s no way they could see
us.”

Human eyes
? What the hell was that about?
“Right. Well, I’m still paranoid.”

An awkward silence fell over us. I shifted my eyes
toward the starlit sky while struggling to come up with something
to say.

“
How long did you say you were
grounded for?” Jace asked suddenly.

“
Two weeks.” I sighed.

“
That sucks, but it could be
worse.”

“
Yeah, right.” I scoffed. “Two
weeks is a lifetime.”

He shrugged and I thought I caught a glimpse of a
tiny smirk. “Look on the bright side, at least you won’t be
grounded on your birthday—if you can behave yourself, that is.”

I smacked his arm playfully. “Says the guy who asked
me to sneak out of my room in the middle of the night while I’m
grounded.
”

Jace laughed, but it was cut short by a cell phone
chiming in his pocket.

“
Thought you said you didn’t have
one of those,” I said, unable to help feeling slightly
miffed.

“
I do. I just didn’t bring it with
me when I left Winburg,” he said, fishing it out of his front
pocket. “Shelby brought it with her.”

My stomach twisted. I couldn’t determine what I felt
more—anger or jealousy due to that new bit of knowledge.

“
Oh,
Shelby
brought it to
you. That was nice of her.”

“
Yeah, speak of the devil,” Jace
said, glancing down at his phone. “She just sent me a text
wondering where I’d moved all the spare blankets.”

“
How
impersonal
of her,” I
snapped, quoting his line of crap he’d fed me.

“
Are you mad?” Jace asked, focusing
directly on my eyes. “I planned on giving you the
number.”

“
I’m not mad,” I said, folding my
arms across my chest.

Jace’s lips twisted into an amused grin. “Are you
jealous, then?”

“
What? No, I’m not
jealous
,”
I answered so unconvincingly it was pathetic. “Fine, whatever. I
just don’t like how she is—all beautiful and sex-kittenish all the
time. It’s sickening really.” I dropped my gaze to my bare feet and
wiggled my toes in the grass.

Jace took both my hands and I raised my eyes to meet
his. “First off, Shelby is far from any kitten anything. In fact,
once you get to know her, you’ll realize she’s more like a freaking
tiger.”

“
Great, even better,” I said
sarcastically. “She went from a cuddly, cute kitten to a fiercely
sexy tiger. Awesome.”

“
No, that’s not what I meant. I’m
not doing so good with the analogies here, so I’ll get to the
point—you have nothing to worry about. Trust me, okay,
please?”