Marked Since Birth

Chapter 2

I had fallen asleep with a girl laying beside me and her birthmark drawn and colored in on my leg, just a little below the knee. Just like hers. Roughly an inch or two off.

But now, as I wake up, I realize that the pretty girl is gone, her clothes disappeared, and the Sharpie-made birthmark had been smeared from our fun that night. She must have figured it out.

I got up, looked around the room a bit, and hopped out of bed, realizing I was gonna be late for football practice. Yes, in this life, people still played football, despite knowing that an impact in just the right spot could kill them. Honestly, I loved the feeling of it. The adrenaline during a game. The pressure. The crowd. The cheers. I loved it all.

What I didn't love was the birthmarked X right on my chest.

Right over the random, squiggly shape for my 'true love'.

Though the "random" squiggly shape was actually an infinity sign. Doctors and scientists tried to figure out why mine seemed so much more special, but none could figure it out. After a ton of research, they said that it was just my mark. That my mark didn't make me any more special than whoever my true love was supposed to be. So, the scientists tried to find out who had the other mark.

No one could find the other lover.

I had tried a dating app once, to help me find my 'true love' but women were doing the same thing as I was now. Each time, I could barely make out the thin lines that showed the sharpie bleeding out around the skin. I never found my lover through the app either.

I figured, she probably didn't make it. Perhaps something happened to her and she was far off in a land away from here.

As he threw on some clothes from off the floor, I heard my parents yelling at each other down the hall. Though the usual, it sounded... different perhaps? More aggressive? I shook my head and headed out, walking down the hall to where my parents were. My father, a taller and darker skinned man, stood with his hands gripping his hair. " My lord Renae! I have not been cheating on you! You know I can't anyways!" he yelled, a southern accent mixed into my tone.

" Well, what else am I supposed to think when you come home late at night Sam?" The girl with blonde hair and lighter skin yelled across from me.

There wasn't much else I could do except ignore them. I pulled out my phone and earbuds. I put my earbuds in, plugged them into my phone, and got some music on while I was walking to the kitchen, blaring out my parents voices. I pulled out some bread and threw it into the toaster. After pushing the toaster lever down, I waited. Soon enough though, I realized my parents had gone quiet. Right as I took my earbud out, I heard a distant pop sound, followed by someone screaming. It had to have been on the other side of town, seeing as the area I lived in was known to be nicer, with less gang's around and more higher class people.

Nevertheless, I took both earbuds out and looked into the living room. My parents had both stopped for sure, but my mother was the only one left in the room. The front door was wide open, and my father could be seen down the sidewalk through the living room windows. He had his hands on his head, and he was staring down the street towards where the gunshot had sounded. My father looked almost horrified. But the gunshots had sounded so far away.

Did I care though?

No.

Instead, I gathered up my toast, got it all buttered, and headed out to the garage. A good 15 or 20 minutes later, I was walking my bike out, with my backpack slung over my shoulders. Within minutes I was heading towards downtown, the wind blowing my hair back. It made my shirt ripple with the wind as I headed towards the school.

That was until I crashed into her.

One moment I was flashing through the streets with speed and a clear path on my side, and the next I was on the ground, a little ways away from my bike and a girl on the ground equidistant from her own bike.

I quickly got up and went over to her, the gravel in my hands and knees burning and bloody from the impact with the ground. " Hey, you alright?" I asked, holding out my hand to help the girl up.

The girls amber eyes peered up at me. " Y-yea. I'm alright." she said. But she quickly jumped up, looking a little worse than I did. The girl went over to her bike and picked it up. " Just... watch where you're going next time," she said.

"Hey now, you ran into me," I said. " You can't put all of the blame on me. You were going just as fast as I was".

" And? You weren't paying attention in the first place. I was even trying to call out to you".

Was she really?, I thought to myself. " Yea right. Listen, you go your way, I'll go my way," I said. I got up and went back to my bike, realizing just how rude I sounded. Before I could say anything, she spoke first.

" I'm sorry. It is my fault. I didn't mean too. Just... If anyone asks, you never saw me".

The last part caught my attention. I looked back to her and took in more of her features. Amber eyes that seemed to flicker and spark, just like a real flame. Brown hair that fell past her shoulders. Just a little shorter than myself. Tan skin that told me she was outside more than you'd think. Either that or she's like every other girl. " Why would someone ask?" I asked her.

" Cause I don't know when i'm coming back," she said.

"Did something happen?"

She didn't say anything. I figured it out. " You were near whoever got shot, weren't you?" I asked

" Not quite. My sister was only a few feet from the guy who was shot," she said and shrugged. " Now I'm outta here". She turned to leave.

" Wait... What's your name?" I asked before she could get too much farther.

After a few seconds, she answered " Lisa. Yours?"

" Tristan. Nice to meet you," I said, and held out my hand. She looked at it and walked back towards me.

She shook my hand, said nice to meet you too, and left. It didn't seem to last long. For me, she was there for a second, and gone the next. A simple flash of black and some brown from the shirt she was wearing and her hair flying behind her. Nothing more. Nothing less

Something was off about her though. I know people say that if you find your 'true love' you automatically know. But I didn't feel it with her. She was just another stranger that might be dead in the morning. At least I got a name. A name that might not mean anything. I shrugged it off and headed back the way I was going.

Coach was gonna be pissed.