Marked

Chapter 18

It had been an entire week of searching. My hands, they were striped with paper cuts from all the files I had gone over, I knew every single word by heart but they meant nothing the only became pieces of mental sound. Marcus had been here with me, he had become a ethereal presence in my life, but frankly I wouldn't have any idea of what to do without him. He somehow managed to keep me sane.

And today it was another one wasted, no different than the last or the one after that.

The horizon portrayed the beginning of dusk, the sun beginning to disappear from view. I looked at my hands, pale and clean, no marks at one point I thought that maybe I could feel like I did before everything happened, but the thing was, that I wasn't the same as before and I didn't know If I liked myself as I was at that moment.

"Time to go" Marcus said as he walked out the door.

His car was parked right in front of my old house, it's lights flared as he neared it. I turned around one last time and looked at the uneven grass, at the front door, the cream walls of what I used to call home.

I walked up to the car and stepped in.

"Let's go"

The lights at Jen's house were on by the time we got there, they stood out like a flare, the sun was almost completely hidden past the hill at the back of the building creating a skyline that was slowly fading into black.

Marcus sat still in his seat as he clutched the steering wheel.

"We'll find something next time" his eyes were sad, he tried to sound chipper but it just came out as a petty pep talk.

"Will we?" my words came out exasperated, Marcus flinched as if each one were an arrow to his self, "I have to go." I said in resignation.

I didn't look behind me as I got of the vehicle and went up the steps to Jen's front door, I could only hear the screeching of tires as Marcus speed of into the falling darkness.

I walked up the steps towards Jen's room; I took one deep breath as I stood behind her bedroom door. Keeping myself hidden from her was the hardest part of it all, it took me more energy and wore me of the most. When I wore my human skin I felt as if I were wearing a thin rubber suit; the world seemed blurred out, my focus was close to none, I felt endlessly tired, but most of all I felt numb.

It was almost as if nothing had changed in me, but it had and I had no idea if it was going to do me well.

I took another deep breath and thought about an armor, covering me from head to toe, I would be safe behind this armor and in order to stay safe my biggest weapon would be my heartbeat, slow and steady. Safe.

I opened the door.

Jen was lying on her bed, her flame red hair falling over he shoulders like a waterfall, her eyes focused on her laptop as her freckled face remained calm. She looked up to me and her green eyes smiled; her mouth formed a smirk.

"So how was your date?" she asked playfully as I walked over.

"It was alright" I said, I was never good at lying and so far Jen thought that all my outing with Marcus were only for mere romantic purposes.

"All right" she mimicked "Skylar, come on! Throw me a bone over here, it can't just be alright, I mean look at him".

I smiled inwardly, he was more than alright, lately him and Jen were the people I cared about most in my life.

I sat in my bed, Jen had been kind enough to buy me one, and caressed my dark blue blanket. I sighted.

"Somehow, I'm really not really sure how though, he has managed to get in my life and with everything that's happened he's still here, and now I have realized that I don't want him to leave"