Marked Since Birth

Chapter 1

People are born with 2 birthmarks. Some are born with only one. One will always be an X, which shows what place the person is likely to die from. The other will be a random shape, that only one other person would have. Never should a person have more than 2, or less than 1.

I was sitting on the roof while staring up at the stars above and wondering how I got into this hellhole of a life. I was simply counting down the days until I would be 18, and with everything that had happened, I couldn't wait. I wanted this. Needed this.

I stood up, my brown hair falling over my shoulder. My amber eyes piercing through the night as my jacket fluttered against the wind. I looked down the two-story home to the concrete below, then up at the night sky. I took one foot off, then the other and fell down farther, farther, yet farther below the darkness. I watched the stars fade to nothing, and felt utterly alone.

I jumped awake within the darkness of my room, breathing heavily and my hand on my chest. My heart was pumping quickly and seemed unwilling to slow down. I searched my room and caught the light green eyes of my seven-year-old sister staring at me from across the room. " Nightmare again Lisa?" she asked.

I sighed. " Yeah. But you know our deal," I said, and added, " you tell, and I tell the whole school your baby name".

My sister widened her eyes " I won't! I won't tell I promise! I already pinky swear!"

I smiled and got up. " I'll be back in a little. I'm gonna go get a drink" I said and left her sister in the dark room.

I walked along the dark hallway, down the steps, and went into the kitchen, where there I grabbed a glass cup from the cupboard, only to drop it seconds later, swearing I saw a shadow cross my mind. It seemed to appear at just the corner in my eye, but it was gone before I got a good look. The glass scattered on the floor, and I immediately dropped down, covering my head.

But nothing happened. Of course, nothing would happen. This was a new home, with new parents, who were out late at night to get drunk at a bar. I sighed, slightly thankful for the loneliness creeping up into my mind. I walked over to the closet and pulled out a dustpan and broom. I walked back to where the glass had fallen, got down on my hands and knees, and started sweeping up the pieces in the dark.

Suddenly, the light flicked on, and I heard someone gasp near the entrance. I sighed, looked up, and saw my foster parents looking straight at me. I put my hands up. " I know, I'm sorry, I messed up, I didn't mean to. I thought I saw something and it just kind of slipped out of my hands and-"

" Go. Upstairs. Now" the tall, brown-haired male said.

" Ryan, come on, she didn't mean to," the woman said, her words slightly slurring together. She had her blonde hair tied up in a bun, and appeared to be clinging onto Ryan for balance.

They both reeked of alcohol and cigarettes and their clothes were crinkled and messy. But what do you expect from two low-lives with a job that keeps them out of the slums? That and foster parenting isn't free. They get paid at least triple digits just to " take care of us". I've seen the check.

" Sharon, why don't you go to bed as well. You're drunk out of your mind and you know it" Ryan said. Sharon simply nodded and made her way around the glass. She headed upstairs, and before I knew it, Ryan was in my face. " Listen here. Next time you fuck up like this, you're outta here. I don't care what Sharon says," he said. The putrid scent of alcohol and cigarettes was more prominent now than before.

" Got it, sir. I'm sorry. I thought I had seen someone walk through". I said, dropping my head so I wouldn't have to look into his cold gray eyes. I didn't want to see his anger and disappointment.

Ryan glared hard at me, and said with disdain " clean up your act, or else you're going back onto the streets. Get that through your thick head while you can".

The words stuck, that's for sure. " yes, sir" I said. I finished cleaning up the glass as Ryan headed up for bed. Once done I reached up into the cabinet and gave myself another try. I grabbed a glass cup and a pill bottle of sorts. I filled the glass cup up with water from the tap, threw two pills into my mouth and gulped the pills and water down.

Almost instantly, I felt more tired. I sludged up the stairs, went into my room, and fell into bed, where I slept the night away with those words still in my head.

" Get that through your thick head while you can".

Each time I woke up, I wrote it down. 12:38, 1:47, 2:21, 3:35, 4:43. I finally decided to stay awake when I woke up again at 6:02. I looked over and saw Julie awake too.

I went back down to the kitchen, Julie trailing behind me and worked on making myself a toaster strudel. " I'm gonna be outside," Julie said and headed out the front door. As I popped the treat into the toaster, a loud bang and a scream were heard outside. That scream...

Something happened to Julie.

I rushed to the front door, nearly slipping on the wooden flooring. When I opened the door, I saw three things.

1. A car was speeding away

2. Julie was on the ground, with her hands covering her head.

3. There was blood everywhere

Julie popped her head up though, looking at me with frightened eyes. The blood was not too far away from Julie.

I rushed to Julie immediately, who got up shakily.

I threw my arms around Julie and held her tight, near tears. Relief flooded through me. Ryan was standing in the doorway with Sharon, whose mouth was covered and eyes wide with shock. Both were staring not at us, but at the man just a few feet away from where we were in the grass

Ryan turned to Sharon and said something. She nodded, looked back at the man, and went inside. Ryan, in the meantime, came to us and hugged us both tight. " Are you girls okay? No ones hurt, right?" he asked, searching both of us for marks or scars or even bruises. Both of us shook our heads no, but we were shaking from fear.

I looked back at the man. That could have been Julie, I thought to myself. It could have easily been her right there, lying in a pool of her own blood. But instead, she watched a man get shot by a drive-by shooting. I looked back at Julie, at the tears forming in her eyes. She was thinking about the same thing. I pulled my sister close again, picked her up, and carried her back into the safety of their foster parents' home.

About 16 minutes later, sirens could be heard down the street.

Ryan and Sharon told both of us to stay inside. Both of us, who finally had stopped shaking only five minutes ago. We went back up to our shared room and watched out the window.

Police cars had just pulled up, and the sheriff, a bald-headed man with few facial features, stepped out of the car and walked towards him. The birthmarked X on his head was barely visible. But it was clearly right in the middle of his forehead.

Ryan and Sharon talked to the sheriff and gave their reports.

Eight or nine minutes later, an EMS showed up.

The people inside got out, a man and a woman. The man got into the back and pulled out some kind of bag while the woman went over to the man, checking for a pulse. Nothing. She nodded to the man, who brought the bag over.

Together, they bagged up the body, wrote down something on a little tag, and carried him to the EMS.

Cops were circling all around the neighborhood.

I couldn't take it anymore. I told Julie to stay, that I was gonna be back in a while. I went down the stairs, into the garage and got my bike out.

The next few moments happened in a flash, but I realized I was already downtown in their little town, pedaling as hard and fast as I could.