Marked

   I sigh, sitting up in bed. I glance down at my arm and find a large pink scrape there. "Why do I keep getting these?" I mutter to myself.

   You see, almost everyday I wake up with a new scrape or cut. Sometimes I look down, and see a cut that wasn't there five minutes ago. I don't understand it at all.

   I stand up, and pull my pajama pants down. I gasp when I glance at my thigh and see large black marks swirling on my thigh. My fingers brush over it, and I feel no bumps. Oh no, no, no. Is that a tattoo? My mom is going to kill me. I didn't get a tattoo! I pace my room, trying to calm my frantic mind. I grab my jeans off my floor and wiggle into them. I next go to my dresser and grab a black Tshirt with AC/DC in bold across the front. I pull it over my torso and sigh. Okay she can't get mad if I explain it. How do I explain to her that a tattoo just showed up on my leg? I should just tell her about the marks. I take a deep breath and open the door into the hallway.

"Mom?" I yell down the hall.

"Down here!" She calls from the kitchen downstairs. I hurry down the stairs and sit at the breakfast bar.

"Mom I need to tell you about something and you need to promise me that you'll hear me out and not jump to any conclusions."

"Before I promise that, are you pregnant?" My mom asks me, calmly.

"No mom, I'm not"

"Good, continue"

I sigh and glance at my hand again. "I get these marks.. they come from no where. I can just look down and they'll be there." My mom turns and looks at me. Her face holds a cold seriousness.

"Anything else?"

"I have a tattoo I didn't get on my thigh, I woke up with it, I swear" I say, putting my right hand over my heart.

"I was hoping this wouldn't happen" My mom sighs.

"What?"

"You weren't showing any signs of it before. I was hoping you wouldn't go through this. Everyone has a soul mate. We're connected to them. Everyone is injected at birth. It connects you to the person you're perfect for. It puts you in sync. You will get their marks, and bruises. It's like this on both ends. I was hoping this wouldn't happen to you. This is how I got stuck with your father." My mother tells me. "If the government finds out you indeed have a soul mate, you'll be forced into marriage then and there. It doesn't matter who they are."

I stare at my mother, shocked.