Marliza Soulmate AU

Chapter 5

     Eliza eventually found Peggy wandering the streets. She had to convince her not to get a tattoo of a mermaid on her shoulder, but eventually her sister was back in bed. Eliza finally took of the red dress, swearing never to let her hyperactive little sibling pick out her clothes ever again. 

     As she was slipping the delicate fabric over her shoulders she noticed it for the first time. The bright red splotch that ran all the way down her arm. The imprint from where someone had brushed into her. Forever imprinted on her skin. Her soulmark.

     Eliza could feel the panic rising in her chest. She'd brushed into dozens of people in the street and at the club. And the only person she knew by name was her sister. She looked through her clothes. Only half of the things had long sleeves. She remembered Alex nervously pulling on his sleeve. She took a deep breath, and than sighed. 

     Slowly she pulled out a pair of pyjamas. They were fluffy and yellow with ducks on the front. Eliza would usually never wear it. But desperate times call for desperate measures. She looked back in one more time, and started frantically pulling out garments. Eventually every article of clothing she owned was laying in a heap on the floor.

      She got into the middle of the floor, clearing a space on the wood floor in front of her. First she threw the pants, underwear, and jackets into one pile. Than she turned to the shirts.

     All of her graphic t-shirts had to go. She couldn't be too safe. Yes, she could always wear a jacket, but than she would risk mistakenly taking it off. Plus, she could at least get thin shirts when it got hot. You couldn't exactly get a thin jacket. 

     After staring forlornly at the pile of shirts, but than moved over to the dresses. All of her Summer sundresses were in the donation pile. Everything with three-quarter sleeves was too much of a risk. She was down to three dresses. She didn't even want to think about the shirts.

      But she had to.

     After sadly saying goodbye to more items than she could count, Eliza was left with a severely depleted wardrobe. But maybe it was a good thing. She could finally try minimalism. 

     Maybe it was a good time to try minimalism. Her sisters would be very suspicious of her sudden clothes cleanse. She might as well try to hide it and throw everything away. She opened her first box of books, taking in the amazing scent of literature. She realized she would never be able to get rid of any of her books. Those could stay. 

     Instead she turned to her skirts and pants. Slowly she pawed through the pile. Anything that reminded her of Alex went into the donation pile. It was actually a great strategy. Before she knew it, she'd gotten rid of over half her clothes. 

      She dove head first into pile of DVDs, carefully considering the pros and cons of each. Anything to not think about the red on her arm, the color of blood, or of someone's lipstick. 

     No, she was going to think about DVDs. Not mysterious women in bars who won't even tell you their name, just to be poetic. 

     Ten DVDs, that was all she was going to keep. She had thirty to start with, so it took her nearly an hour to choose the best ten. But it was fun, and she ended up with a very tailored selection. She looked at the clock, and realized it was almost 5 in the morning. She needed to sleep. Really. 

     Plus, if she was sleeping, she wouldn't be able to think about the mysterious woman. Her name had started with an M, Eliza thought. Mary, or maybe Marianne. Perhaps her name was Margerate, or May. Molly or Minny. Or Ophelia. That was good too.

     And she certainly wasn't going to think about the red splotch on her arm. The one that told her that there was someone that she was destined to be with, and who she may never know. Sure, she could embrace it, flaunt her soulmark for all to see, try with all her might to find her soulmate.

     But it was going to be so hard to find that person again. There were hundreds of possibilities, who each could have gone a thousand different ways. Which meant that Eliza would be alone forever. But at least she could try to find someone else. Maybe, even, she'd run into her soulmate again. Hopefully not literally, although, knowing herself, it would probably be in the most literal sense of the phrase.

     And since she would never find her soulmate again, despite her half-hearted attempts at hope, the best thing Eliza could do was hide it. Because what other choice did she have?