Marked (12 page)

With that, Shelby shouldered past me and out the
door. I leaned against the sink and wrapped my arms around myself,
trembling with adrenaline and anger. Great, Jace’s ex was
psychotic.

When I exited the bathroom, Jace was waiting outside
the door for me, his hands were shoved deep into his front pockets
and his face seemed flushed with color.

“
Sorry about her, okay? Don’t
listen to a thing she says,” he grumbled.

“
Not a problem, she’s crazy! I have
no clue what you ever saw in her, besides the obvious of course.” I
dropped my eyes to the speckled floor of the diner. “How long have
you two been split up?” I hated to ask, but it seemed like
something I should know.

“
About a month and a half,” he
said. Recent, but not too recent. “She’s really not as nuts as she
seems. She’s just jealous, which is an emotion Shelby’s not used to
feeling. Usually she gets what she wants, but it’s not working out
that way this time,” he added with a wink.

“
God, I bet your ego is loving
this,” I muttered.

Jace laughed. “Come here.”

I took a small step closer. Jace placed his warm
hands on my hips and pulled me into him. His lips smothered mine
and I enjoyed the warmth his kiss sent spiraling through me.

Jace pulled away and pressed his forehead against
mine. “You’re all I want, okay?” he whispered.

“
Okay.” I breathed, hoping he
really meant it.

Interlacing my fingers with his, Jace brought them
to his lips and lightly kissed my knuckles. “If you only knew how
much I mean that.”

I smiled and walked with him out into the parking
lot. Rachel stood next to my car, talking with Gavin and Jenna. I
cast a quick glance around, wondering where she-devil was. She sat
in the driver’s seat of the cherry-red Mustang. I should have
figured it was hers.

“
Hey, I was just asking them how
much longer they were in town for,” Rachel said when we walked up,
and I thanked her mentally because I’d found myself wondering the
same due to the fact Shelby wasn’t getting what she wanted. I’d
been hoping their plans hadn’t changed any.

“
Only for another day or two,”
Jenna answered. “I’ve really got to be getting back soon and we
wouldn’t want to overstay our welcome at Jace’s.”

“
You know that
you
could
never overstay your welcome at my house,” Jace said pointedly to
Jenna.

“
Oh, I see how you are.” Gavin
scoffed.

“
I wish I could hang out with you
guys, especially since you aren’t going to be here for too much
longer, but I can’t tonight,” I said, struggling to snuff out the
little flickers of jealousy that sparked to life due to Jenna and
Jace’s connection. I scolded myself with a reminder that they were
just friends. It was okay for him to have a friend that was a girl
I told myself repeatedly.

“
Well, I’ve got to run. I’m meeting
up with someone,” Rachel said. “It was nice meeting you, Jenna.
Talk to you later, Tess.”

“
Would that someone look
anything
like you?” Gavin asked, following after Rachel and
nearly salivating at the mouth.

Rachel chuckled. “Not really—blond hair, blue eyes,
tall...”

“
Sounds good enough for me,” Gavin
muttered a little huskily.

“
Really? I’ll be sure to tell my
boyfriend that you’re interested, but somehow I don’t think you’re
his type.” She smirked.

“
Ha, ha, funny,” Gavin
grumbled.

“
I thought so.” Jace
snickered.

“
You would,” Gavin muttered. He
stomped toward the Mustang with his hands balled into fists at his
sides.

I bit my bottom lip to hide my grin.

“
Okay so... hopefully we’ll get to
hang out sometime before we leave,” Jenna said with a smile,
leaning in for a hug.

Her arms draped around me, making me feel small and
frail like a little girl. Maybe Jace didn’t see her as a best
friend, but more like a big sister. I got that vibe from her during
our hug and figured I’d hold onto that thought. It soothed my
abnormal jealous streak.

“
I’d like that,” I said.

Jace walked me to my car and a depressing feeling
settled in the pit of my stomach. “I have school tomorrow and I
don’t work, so I doubt I’ll get to see you. Which means…” I fished
out a pen from my apron and reached for his hand. “Here’s my
number,” I said, writing it across his palm.

Jace laughed and pulled me into his arms once I was
done. “I’ll see you soon.”

“
I hope so,” I muttered, fully
aware of how insecure I sounded and I absolutely hated myself for
it.

He leaned in, but before I could get my reassuring
goodnight kiss, Shelby honked her horn, startling me completely. I
jumped and heard Gavin and Shelby laughing loudly from inside the
car. I felt my face become tomato red and anger burn through my
stomach.

Jace chuckled lowly and pulled me in closer, before
pressing his lips to mine in a tender kiss that made my heart race.
I relished the moment and melded my body against his, taking a
small sense of satisfaction in the knowledge that Shelby was sure
to be watching this mind-blowing kiss Jace was giving me.

“
There, that should tide us over,”
Jace whispered, resting his forehead against mine. He turned and
began walking toward Shelby’s car, digging in his front
pocket.

My phone buzzed. It was an unknown number.

Hey. Just making sure you didn’t give me a phony
number.

I smiled. It was Jace.

Never. ~Tessa

I watched him climb into the passenger seat,
noticing how Shelby barely waited for him to close his door before
she sped out of the parking lot. These next few days could not pass
fast enough for me; I was incredibly eager for her to leave.

* * *

I lay in bed that night, replaying the conversation
with Shelby from the bathroom in my mind and wondering what she’d
meant by
Jace will only bite you once, but me... I’ll tear your
ass up
. Was that her version of some wonky death threat? My
mind continued to buzz with questions while I tried to decipher her
seemingly bipolar threats, until I eventually drifted off to
sleep.

My breath puffs around me like a thick fog. I’m
surrounded by bare-branched trees, which tower above me, and solid
darkness. My lungs burn from the cold night air as I struggle to
keep my breathing even, while attempting to figure out where I
am.

Twigs snap to my left in the distance and panic
flutters to life inside my chest. My eyes scan the woods closest to
me. Suddenly feeling like I’m being watched, the hair on the back
of my neck stands on end.

Jace steps from the shadows and relief fills me at
the sight of him. I bolt from where I stand, heading straight for
him. Running and running, it seems to last forever without me ever
getting any closer to Jace. I can never reach him; he continues to
be just beyond my grasp.

My eyes become fixated on his. There is such sadness
reflected in his amber-colored eyes that it breaks my heart.

“
I’m trying!” I shout. My voice
echoes loudly back to my ears as I push myself harder to run
faster.

I never get any closer.

Jace shoves his hands deep into his front pockets
and hangs his head. Confusion clouds my mind. Is he disappointed
that I can’t reach him?

“
I’m sorry, Tessa,” I hear him
whisper and just like my voice did, his echoes around me, vibrating
through my body.

I stop where I am, knowing it will get me nowhere,
and wondering what he could possibly be so sorry for. My shoulders
slump as I wipe away the sweat that has beaded across my brow.

“
It’s useless... I can’t get to
you...,” I say, my voice cracking and my legs trembling with
exhaustion.

Jace shakes his head and raises his eyes to meet
mine. “No. You’ve already gotten to me and for that I’m
sorry.”

Warm tears slide down my cheeks. My knees buckle
beneath my weight and I crumble to the ground, wondering what he’s
talking about. “I don’t understand.”

“
Just know that I am sorry.” His
voice cracks with emotion matching mine.

Our eyes remain locked. I watch as he straightens
his back and removes his hands from his pockets. They curl into
tight fists at his sides. Letting out the most torturous scream
I’ve ever heard, Jace’s body begins to tremble and shake
violently.

I’m on my feet, running toward him again in an
instant. “Jace, what’s wrong?” I cry out.

Just when I feel again that it’s hopeless and I’ll
never reach him—I do.

My arms wrap around his neck and I try to hold him
as though that might help his quivering body to stop. A whimper
escapes him and I pull back to glance at his face. It’s beaded with
sweat and his eyes have taken on a strange glow.

I press my hands to either side of his face. “Tell
me what to do.”

He opens his mouth to speak, but his face begins to
change, becoming distorted. My hands fall to my sides and I take a
hesitant step back, watching with wide eyes as Jace’s face turns
into that of a beast.

In the blink of an eye, he lunges at me and bites
down onto my shoulder, hard, and then releases. I tumble to the
ground, gripping my wound and let out a blood-curdling scream. Jace
just stands there, gaping at me. Movement behind him catches my
attention. Shelby and the others slowly emerge from the darkened
woods, all with matching beast-like faces similar to Jace’s. I cry
out and scuffle across the ground to get away.

I woke to the annoying buzzing sound of my alarm and
jolted into a sitting position. My eyes darted around the dimly lit
room rapidly as my heart pounded away inside my chest. The
realization that it had been just a dream swarmed my mind, but I
still found it hard to calm myself down. It had felt real and the
fear from it still lingered in my veins.

Running my fingers through my hair, I let out a loud
sigh and clutched my chest for a long moment, willing my heartbeat
to slow. I slung my legs over the edge of the bed and paused as the
image of Jace’s beastly face biting down on my shoulder flashed
through my mind. A shiver crept along my spine and my fingers found
their way to my shoulder. I forced myself out of bed and down the
hall, thinking the only thing that would make me feel any better at
the moment was a hot shower.

* * *

School seemed to drag on at a monotonously slow pace
for the first part of the day, then came chemistry and the day
became completely agonizing.

I slid into my assigned seat with ample amount of
time before the first bell rang, feeling like I had for the last
week and three days—a nervous wreck. Even though Sam had been sort
of an ass for the last few months of our relationship, I still
didn’t gain any satisfaction from seeing him look so broken and
depressed due to our recent break-up.

I was slapping my pencil against the notebook on my
desk when Sam walked in, his arm draped across Darcy Miller’s
shoulders. My heart jolted at the sight of the two of them, and I
instantly felt the eyes of at least five of my peers become glued
to me, waiting for a reaction. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Sam
and Darcy and I hated myself for it, because I was giving everyone
watching me something to talk about for the rest of the day.

Sam’s eyes found mine as he led Darcy to her desk in
the back of the room and I tried my damnedest to appear unaffected
by his sleazy choice for a rebound girlfriend. I mean, that had to
be the reason he was with her—to make me jealous or angry. He
couldn’t be serious. Darcy Miller was the biggest slut of our
graduating class! By the tender age of fifteen, she’d slept through
the entire JV Football team and was well on her way to adding the
entire Varsity team under her belt, too.

I dropped my gaze to my notebook and began flipping
through pages, searching for a clean one to take today’s notes on
as Sam stalked over to his desk behind me. He roughly slipped into
his seat, causing the front of his desk to smack into mine. I
ignored it, knowing what he was attempting to do—get under my skin
even more. When his attempt to get a reaction out of me didn’t
work, he resorted to doing the most annoying thing ever— scraping
the bottom of his shoe against the metal bar beneath my desk.

Clearly he was well beyond the depressed phase and
had moved on to pure annoyance. Having never dealt with breaking up
with anyone before, because it was usually
them
breaking up
with
me
, I wasn’t sure what the next phase was for a guy
like Sam. Would it be too much to ask for us to be friends?

“
Could you stop doing that,
please?” I muttered over my shoulder, after ten full minutes of him
scraping the bar beneath my desk, trying to withhold as much venom
from my tone as I could manage.

“
Oh, is it bothering you? I’m
sorry,” he whispered against my ear sarcastically, before scraping
both shoes against the metal bar at the same time. “Why don’t you
say something to your new boyfriend about it? I’d love to hear what
he has to say.”

“
Yeah, I’m sure you would,” I
grumbled, folding my arms across my chest while wondering how much
longer his childish behavior would last.

Thankfully it only lasted about two more minutes
because Mr. Walters decided to spring a pop quiz on us. Apparently
Sam couldn’t think and annoy me at the same time.

When class ended, Darcy raced to be at Sam’s side,
snuggling her bottle-blond head into his neck. I was so sickened by
the sight of them together, I could have gagged. Sidestepping their
public display of affection, I booked it to my final class of the
day.