Marked (16 page)

“
What’s this?” I asked. Excitement
bubbled within me as I carefully took it from his
fingers.

“
A birthday present.”

I rolled my eyes and lifted back the tightly hinged
lid. My breath caught in my throat as I stared at the gift Jace had
bought me.

“
Well, what is it?” Rachel asked
impatiently.

I tilted the box so she could see the
delicate-looking gold bracelet inside. Tiny crescent moons and
stars were etched into the thin metal. Everything seemed to be
formed by one never-ending line.

“
It’s Celtic. Do you like it?” Jace
asked.

“
It’s beautiful,” I said, my eyes
remaining fixated on it.

“
Wow, that’s gorgeous!” Rachel
beamed.

“
I didn’t know what you preferred,
so I went with my personal preference. Happy birthday.”

“
Thank you.” I leaned in for a
kiss. My lips had barely brushed Jace’s when my mother’s voice
filled my ears.

“
Dinner,” mom shouted down the
hall.

I pulled away from Jace with a smile on my face.
“Coming.”

“
Here, let me help you put it on.”
Jace took the box from my fingers and carefully removed the gold
bracelet. It felt ice cold against my skin in comparison to Jace’s
warm touch. “There, I was right, it’s a perfect fit.”

I held my wrist out in front of me and stared at the
shimmering present Jace had given me. My wish had come true; this
birthday had been
spectacular
.

Dinner was not nearly as awkward as I’d imagined it
would be. My mother still gave Jace odd looks throughout our meal,
but with Rachel and dad there to lighten the mood, it was actually
sort of nice.

After filling up on Chinese food and birthday cake,
which Jace didn’t hesitate to inform us did not go well together,
the three of us left my parents behind to meet up with Kyle. We
weren’t lying; we just didn’t tell them that it would be at a
party.

* * *

Mark’s apartment was on the second floor of a fairly
new two-story apartment complex called Forrest View. We had to go
up four flights of stairs to get to it. I could hear music blaring
from speakers as we started up the stairs and was sure it was
coming from Mark’s place. Jace’s hand found mine as soon as we
reached the top of the stairs and I felt myself become nervous. I
wasn’t sure how the night would pan out, especially with Jace and
Sam being in the same room, but I was hoping for the best.

“
Are you ready, birthday girl?”
Rachel asked, excitement flashing in her eyes.

I took in a deep breath. “Yup,” I answered with a
smile, hoping she couldn’t see through it and know that I was
lying.

My eyes zeroed in on Rachel’s hand as she gripped
the doorknob and turned. I could feel my heart pounding in my
fingertips as I sucked in another deep breath, while silently
praying for the night to go smoothly.

Jace squeezed my hand in his as we stepped across
the threshold as though he could sense how nervous I was. I shifted
my gaze to him and he flashed me one of those famous smirks of his
that made me feel ten times better.

“
Happy birthday!” everyone in the
room shouted out in unison.

My face instantly grew warm from being put in the
spotlight. “Thank you!” I said, smiling so wide my cheeks hurt.

“
All right, let’s party!” Rachel
shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth.

The music cranked up a little higher as everyone
resumed talking and dancing like before. Rachel gripped my hand and
began weaving us through the tiny apartment toward the kitchen,
forming a train. Random people stopped what they were doing to say
happy birthday to me again. I gripped Jace’s hand tightly and
laughed. Once in the kitchen, Rachel poured all three of us rum and
cokes before ditching Jace and me to find Kyle.

“
So, this is a high school party?”
Jace asked.

I took a swig of my drink. “It sure is.”

I glanced around, searching the faces of those
surrounding us, realizing I barely knew any of these people. Some
of them I’d seen around school and others I’d never seen in my
life. That was when I spotted Sam and Darcy, bumping and grinding
in the corner.

“
Looks like he’s moved on,” Jace
said, following my stare.

I turned away quickly and took another swig of my
drink. “Good.”

“
You know, he’s only with her to
make you jealous,” Jace insisted.

“
It doesn’t matter,” I said, hoping
to sound nonchalant. My eyes fluttered toward Sam and met with his.
A jolt of shock rippled through me the moment we made eye contact.
I turned my head away from him and reached out for Jace’s
hand.

“
Do you want to dance?” I asked,
pushing everything from my mind and trying to focus on having a
good time.

“
I can’t promise you any boy band
moves, but I can try.” Jace grinned.

Once we got out into the mix of others dancing, Sam
and his dirty dancing with Darcy was forgotten. Jace and his smooth
moves consumed my mind. He’d lied, sort of. He didn’t pull any boy
band moves… but the guy could dance. I tipped my head back and
finished the remainder of my drink. Jace took the empty cup from my
fingers and placed it on a nearby table along with his half-full
cup.

Spinning me around so that my back was facing him,
Jace began slowly bumping and grinding against me the way Sam had
been with Darcy. I bit my lip to suppress the smile forming on my
face and keep in the tipsy giggles wanting to escape.

Running his hands along my sides, Jace nuzzled his
head in the crook of my neck and began trailing his lips along the
sensitive skin there. I moved my hips against him in sync with the
music and closed my eyes. Someone bumped into me from the side,
jostling me, hard. It was Sam.

“
Sorry, didn’t see you there,” Sam
insisted, his eyes dark. “Great party by the way.”

He was lying; I could tell. He’d bumped into me on
purpose. I could feel Jace tense behind me, apparently he’d seen
through Sam’s pathetic excuse also.

“
Thanks,” I said.

“
I see the two of you have become a
real item now, huh?” Sam asked, his eyes bouncing between Jace and
me.

“
What’s it to you?” Jace
replied.

“
It’s nothing to me, man, just like
she’s not.” Sam sneered.

I didn’t know whether I should feel offended or
relieved. “I need another drink; how about you?” I asked Jace,
finally deciding I felt relieved Sam thought I was nothing to him.
It made everything easier at the moment. I stepped past Sam and
started back toward the kitchen without waiting for Jace to
answer.

“
What the hell does that mean…
‘like she’s not’?” I heard Jace ask from behind me. “Don’t you
disrespect her like that.”

I turned at the exact moment Jace pushed Sam. He
jolted backward nearly losing his footing. Jace just stood there,
his nostrils flaring as anger clouded his amber eyes and sharpened
his features.

“
I’ve been waiting for you to do
that again,” Sam said, righting himself.

“
Stop it right now! Both of you,
this is Tessa’s
birthday party.
There will be no fighting,”
Rachel shouted from beside me. I hadn’t even noticed her standing
there.

Either they couldn’t hear her or they didn’t care,
because neither of them backed down. Sam got directly in Jace’s
face and the creepy sensation of déjà vu prickled across my skin.
It was like I was tossed back into that moment at the diner over a
month ago, the moment when I thought Jace would pound Sam into the
floor.

I forced myself between the two again, frantically
trying to keep the inevitable from happening. But that was what it
was, inevitable.

“
Would the two of you just chill
out, please?” I shouted, hoping to penetrate through the thick
cloud of tension and anger surrounding them, as I placed a firm
hand on each of their chests.

Neither Jace nor Sam responded to my words or the
feel of my touch.

“
I’m sure I’ve been waiting for a
hell of a lot longer than you,” Jace muttered.

Sam’s face twisted into a wicked grin. “Really,
pretty boy? Well then let’s do this.”

I could feel Jace’s chest muscles tighten beneath my
hand. It was the only warning I got before he threw the first
punch. His fist smashed against the side of Sam’s face with so much
power that Sam jerked back and into the people standing behind him.
My mouth dropped open. I couldn’t believe Jace had just done
that.

Sam was on his feet again and charging toward Jace
before I even had time to think about where I was standing—directly
in front of him. I could feel Jace’s warm hands grip my shoulders
and then push me to the side. My shin banged against a wooden, oval
coffee table pushed against the wall and I let out a tiny
shriek.

Jace and Sam began going at it full throttle. People
had gathered around the two of them in sort of a semicircle,
blocking my view but not the noise. Limping, I pushed my way
through the crowd. What I saw nauseated me.

Jace had Sam pinned beneath him and was pounding his
face with his fists. There was so much blood Sam was almost
unrecognizable. I hadn’t known someone could bleed so much in such
a short amount of time. Sam’s hands and forearms were blocking his
face, but it didn’t matter, Jace was still able to pulverize
him.

I glanced at Jace. His face was contorted into a
mask of sheer fury and his eyes seemed dark and faraway. Seeing him
like this made fear snake its way up my spine. A hush fell over the
entire party, even the music, blaring in the background, seemed
silent.

Sam’s arms went slack at his sides, but Jace didn’t
stop. It was like he was locked inside some animalistic rage.

“
Enough!” I shouted, rushing
forward. “Get off him!” I pushed Jace’s shoulder as hard as I could
but he barely moved. His arms fell to his sides and a blank
expression fluttered across his face. “Get off him!” I
repeated.

Jace’s eyes met mine and then fell to his bloody
hands. He stood and bolted for the door, people parting for him
quickly. I watched his back as he walked away and my vision blurred
with tears.

Someone finally turned down the music, making the
room so silent and still you could hear a pin drop. Darcy flung
herself to Sam’s side dramatically and I wondered where the hell
she’d been the entire time.

“
Somebody help him. Do we need to
call an ambulance?” Darcy panicked.

I walked across the room and through the open door,
fighting to keep in the tears that desperately wanted out. Jace was
nowhere in sight. Flopping myself down onto the top step, I allowed
the shock from the last five minutes to slowly begin to chip
away.

Rachel drove me back to my house. My entire body
trembled and my vision blurred as I continued to fight back
tears.

I went straight to my room, passing my mom in the
hall without acknowledging her concerned stare. It was horrible of
me to leave Rachel to answer all of my parents’ questions involving
my blotchy complexion and cold shoulder, but I couldn’t tell them
what had happened right now. Not when I knew my mother would only
say something along the lines of
I knew that boy was
trouble
.

Flopping myself against my bed, I buried my face
into my pillow and finally was able to shed the tears that had been
pooling in my eyes since witnessing what Jace was capable of.

“
I told them we ran into Sam, and
that he and Jace got into an argument,” Rachel said, closing my
bedroom door behind her. “It wasn’t a total lie… just not the
entire truth. But hey, at least this way when they run into Sam
sometime over the next few weeks and see his face, you can
elaborate further and they won’t jump you for some stupid made up
story.” She plopped herself down on the bed beside me.

“
Small towns suck that way,” I
muttered with a sniffle.

* * *

I couldn’t sleep that night. I lay in bed, twisting
the gold bracelet on my wrist and thinking of Jace. The way he’d
snapped. The wild glare in his eyes. The pure rage that seemed to
propel him. I’d never seen a person beat someone so badly in real
life. It was like something out of a movie.

Then my mind would drift to Sam… no matter how much
of an ass he could be, he’d never deserved to be beaten that badly.
I struggled to remember what had caused it all.
Don’t you
disrespect her like that
—Jace’s words echoed through my mind
like thunder.

My cell buzzed across my nightstand. I reached for
it, hoping the loud hum hadn’t woken Rachel. Her soft breathing
coming from beside me never wavered. Nervousness stabbed at my
insides. It was a text from Jace.

I’m so sorry, Tessa. I don’t know what came over me.
I completely ruined your birthday.

I bit the inside of my cheek. Yeah, he sort of had
ruined my birthday. My eyes drifted out my window while I wondered
how to respond to that. I couldn’t say, “It’s okay.” because it
wasn’t.

I don’t know what to say to you. ~ Tessa

He replied right back.

I know. I don’t expect you to say anything. I never
wanted you to see me like that. I’m sorry.

I didn’t say anything back. After putting my phone
back on my nightstand, I continued to gaze out my bedroom window at
the almost full moon, thinking. When mental exhaustion finally came
crashing down on me and I drifted off to sleep, it wasn’t a
peaceful, dreamless sleep. It was more along the lines of a
nightmare.