Marked Read online

  Marked

  By

  T.L. McDonald

  Books By T.L. McDonald

  The Marked Series

  Marked

  Fated

  Redemption

  Photography by Mirish.deviantart.com

  Cover Art by phatpuppyart.com

  Font by The Font Diva a thefontdiva.com

  Smashwords Edition

  Copyright 2015 by T.L. McDonald

  The characters, events, and places portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Table Of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Acknowledgments

  About The Author

  Connect With Me

  CHAPTER ONE

  “We are so going to this tonight,” Kat Matthews says, as she thrusts a flyer into my face. She leans against the locker beside mine shaking the flyer as if it were on fire. Subtlety is not her finest quality.

  I grab the paper from her repressing the urge to smack her with it and read aloud. “Infinite Haze, performing this Friday. Live at The Iron Knife.” I hand the flyer back to her as I shut my locker and give the combination a swirl. “You know you have to be twenty-one to get into that club, right?”

  “So…” Kat takes the flyer, folds it in half, then folds it in half again before slipping it into the back pocket of her designer skinny jeans. “That’s what we have our fake IDs for, remember?”

  Like I could forget. She makes me use it almost every weekend. “I don’t know, couldn’t we do something else like go to a movie or something?” Kat gives me a look that says ‘absolutely not’. I sigh, knowing full well I’m going to give in. I always do.

  “You know how nervous I get using that thing,” I say. “One of these times, we’re going to get caught.”

  “That’s what makes it fun,” she says.

  “Unless we get arrested,” I point out.

  Her lips curve into a sly grin. “Depends on who’s doing the arresting. I wouldn’t mind being arrested by that new cop in town. Officer Hottie, as I like to call him.”

  I can’t help but laugh. Kat is the biggest flirt I know. She has about every boy in school wrapped around her little finger. She’s also drop dead gorgeous with dark brown wavy hair, big brown eyes, and a super model figure, so there’s that. Officer Hottie probably wouldn’t stand a chance.

  I, on the other hand, pale in comparison with my gray eyes, blue streaked blonde hair, and semi-short stature. I’m 5ft 5in, which isn’t exactly short per se, but compared to Kat who’s closer to 6ft (taller when she’s in heels), I look like a munchkin standing next to her. Plus she’s outgoing and confident where I’m shy and introverted. She seeks attention from everyone; I avoid it at all costs. She can flirt her way out of anything; I’d be lucky to flirt my way out of a paper bag. If Officer Hottie were to bust us with our fake IDs, she’d walk away free, I’d be hauled off in cuffs.

  Kat links arms with me as we walk into art class. She towers over me given her choice of heels and has to look down. “Come on Hanna.” She bats her lashes giving me her best puppy dog eyes. “Pretty please come with me?” Next it’s the pouty lips.

  I suppress the urge to smile. How can I argue with a face like that? Besides, when Katherine Matthews wants something, Katherine Matthews pretty much always gets it. “Okay, fine. I’ll go.” She squeals in delight, as we take our seats.

  Art is the last class of the day and my absolute favorite. Not because it’s the last class of the day, but because I love painting. There’s just something so relaxing and therapeutic about it. No matter what I’m feeling at the moment, be it good, bad, or somewhere in-between, if I have a brush in my hand, I can get it all out.

  I spend the next forty-five minutes so immersed in my work that when the bell rings signaling the end of class, it startles me so badly; I knock over my tray of brushes. They fall to the floor with a clang, scattering every which way. I bend down to gather them all up at the same time Rain Rivers reaches for them. Our heads collide in a loud thud.

  I rub the knot forming on my forehead, my cheeks reddening. “Sorry,” I mutter.

  The tiny dragonfly charm on her eyebrow ring jiggles as she rubs at the knot I’m sure is also forming on her head. “Its okay,” she says with a half smile. Grabbing a handful of brushes, she places them on my desk while I scoop up the rest.

  “Careful, she might put a curse on you for that,” Kat teases, once Rain leaves the classroom.

  Everyone has this notion that Rain is a witch just because she’s a little, well, odd. Sure she has jet-black hair, assorted facial piercings, dresses all in black, and pretty much keeps to herself all the time, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s a witch. Maybe she’s just really shy and likes the color black.

  “I don’t believe in stuff like that,” I tell Kat.

  Kat angles the strap of her bag over her shoulder and nudges her chair under the table with the tip of her zebra printed pumps. How the girl doesn’t break her neck in those things amazes me.

  “I got to run, but you’ll meet me tonight outside The Iron Knife around 8pm, right? Oh, and don’t forget your ID.” She winks at me before disappearing out the door. I roll my eyes, but smile despite myself.

  By the time I finish cleaning up my mess, the classroom is empty and the hall outside is pretty much deserted aside from a janitor pushing a large broom. I flip the light switch off and pick up my pace as I head to my locker to gather what I need for homework over the weekend. I don’t know why, but being in an empty school always tends to give me the creeps, so the sooner I can get outside the better.

  Once I get what I need, I head out to the student parking lot at the back of the building where I see Jared Vaughn lounging on the hood of my car. His back is resting against the windshield. One arm tucked behind his head, the other draped across his stomach. His legs are stretched across the length of the hood, ankles crossed. As I get closer, I see that his ear buds are in and his eyes are closed. He looks so peaceful that if not for his foot moving to the beat of the music, I’d think he was asleep.

  Careful not to alert him to my presence, I approach as stealthily as I can before slamming my hands down on the hood of the car on either side of his legs. He jumps, yanking his ear buds out while simultaneously sliding down the hood a few inches.

  He kicks his foot out barely grazing me as I jump out of the way. “That’s not funny,” he says trying not to laugh. “You scared the crap out of me.”

  “That was the point.” I laugh. “You should have seen your face.”

  “Ha ha. Glad I’m here for your amusement.” He scoots th
e rest of the way off the car landing in front of me where he then grabs ahold of my shoulders looking me in the eye. “Just know I’m planning my revenge Hanna Harper.” He smiles mischievously showing the cute little dimple in his left cheek.

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” I disengage myself from his grip to unlock the car door. “So what’s up? Need a ride again?” I throw my bag in the back where it proceeds to hit the edge of the seat before rolling off onto the back floorboards.

  “Yeah. My stupid Jeep won’t start again.” He grabs his backpack from the hood of the car before making his way around to the passenger side. Jared is pushing 6ft 2in so it’s always entertaining to watch him squeeze into my little blue Chevette.

  Granted, it’s not the roomiest or prettiest of cars, but it gets me where I need to go. And besides, it holds sentimental value. It used to belong to my mom. I get in then put the key in the ignition bringing the engine to life with a loud roar. Okay so it’s not the quietest of cars either.

  Jared struggles to fasten his seat belt in the limited space. His knees are more or less pinned against the glove box and his head nearly touches the ceiling. “I feel like a sardine in here.”

  “Good thing we only live ten minutes from school,” I say with a grin. Jared has been my neighbor and one of my best friends since he and his family moved in across the street when we were both five. Our moms were best friends too and would do everything together, but that all changed when my parents died in a car accident two years ago orphaning my older brother Adam and I.

  It happened the summer after my brother graduated from high school. He was so excited to be going away to college and he’d had all these big plans for how his life was going to go once he got there, but that all ended with a knock on the door, a knock that changed our lives forever. Adam was eighteen at the time so he inherited the house, control of the sizable life insurance money, and because I was only fifteen, me. After that he gave up his dream school and enrolled in a local college to stay here and take care of me so I wouldn’t have to leave my friends. I don’t think I ever thanked him for that.

  “Got any plans tonight?” Jared asks bringing me back to the here and now. He shifts in his seat attempting to get more comfortable. “Brad’s in town and you know how big of a douche he can be. I thought maybe we could see a movie or something.”

  I steal a quick glance at him, as I turn right onto Oak Street. His light brown hair is curled around the edges of his dark blue Lake Haven High School baseball cap. He likes to wear it so the bill hangs low covering his eyes, which he’s doing now. I asked him once why he wears it like that and his answer was so he could see out and I couldn’t see in. But I can see his bright green eyes now and they’re pleading with me to accept his offer.

  “I would, but I already told Kat that I’d go to The Iron Knife with her tonight. There’s a band playing there she wants to see.”

  “Oh.” His shoulders slightly droop. It breaks my heart. He doesn’t talk about it much, but I know his home life isn’t that great when his step-dad Brad is there.

  Though I know Kat and Jared pretty much despise each other, I can’t stomach the thought of him being stuck with Brad. “You should come with us. It could be fun.”

  “I guess a night out with you and Look At Me Barbie does sound better than spending the night in the house with Brad the Evil Step-Dad.”

  I narrow my eyes giving him a look of disapproval.

  “What?” He gives me his best innocent eyes, but the sly grin on his face means he knows exactly what.

  “You know I don’t like it when you call Kat that.” It’s true, Kat prefers to be the center of attention at all times, but she’s still my friend. And good friends don’t let other friends call them names behind their backs.

  “What? It’s not like I say it to her face.”

  I roll my eyes as I pull into my driveway. After shutting off the engine I turn to face him. “I’m supposed to meet Kat at 8pm in front of the club. If you want, you can meet me back here later and we can ride together.”

  Jared opens the door stretching his legs as he climbs out. “No, that’s okay. I called to have the Jeep towed to Mike’s Body Shop while I was waiting for you after school. It should be done by tonight. I’ll text you when I get there.”

  “Okay. Sounds good.”

  With a half grin he tosses his backpack over his shoulder before heading across the street to his house. “Later,” he hollers back.

  ***

  At least fifty people are ahead of Kat and I as we get in line to get into the Iron Knife. Why I let her drag me to these places all the time is beyond me, especially here in the sketchy part of town where my chances of getting mugged or worse are pretty high. Not to mention the lines are always long and the people waiting in them are almost always rude.

  We move ahead a few paces and I take out my cell for about the millionth time to see if Jared has texted. No such luck. No new messages. I shove it back in my pocket resisting the urge to pull it back out and check it again.

  “Ow.” I turn to see who or what jabbed me in the back. Some girl I’ve never seen before with a gold hoop in her nose and fake lashes glares down at me as if her jabbing me was my fault.

  “Problem?” Fake Lashes asks. She shifts her weight to one side putting her hand on her hip.

  “No,” I sigh turning back around.

  Fake Lashes jabs me again then follows it up with a series of giggles and insults. Choosing to ignore it, I move closer to Kat. I really don’t want to end up in a fight with some random girl. I wouldn’t even know how to fight her anyway having never been in one before. Fake Lashes on the other hand, looks like she could take me out with one punch.

  Kat is too busy adjusting her black mini skirt that looks like it was made for a small child and not a seventeen-year-old girl to notice my almost fight. She reaches down the front of her red tank top and pulls out a hidden tube of lipstick then applies another layer to her already red lips. Seeing me watch, she holds the tube out offering me some. Boob lipstick—I think I’ll pass. I shake my head. She shrugs then drops it back into her bra.

  Bright red lipstick is not my first choice in lip color. It’s way to bold for me, but definitely not for Kat. She tends to gravitate towards the bold. Sometimes I wish I were more like her. She can be so fearless, never afraid to put herself out there, never caring about what anybody else thinks. The only bold thing I’ve ever done was put blue streaks in my hair. I’m not even bold enough to dress the part of going to a club. Every girl here is dressed in tight clothes, short skirts, heels, or knee-high boots and I’m in jeans, a plain pink t-shirt, and Converse.

  We finally make it to the door where I hand the bouncer my ID and cover charge. My heart pounds in my chest, my hands growing sweaty as he looks back and forth between my photo and me.

  I hate this part.

  “I love your tattoos,” Kat says to the bouncer as she runs a long red nail down his arm. Without a second thought he hands me back my ID giving Kat his full attention. She winks at me with a sly smile while I move over to the side to wait for her.

  Kat blows the bouncer a kiss setting his cheeks on fire before we make our way up a set of dimly lit narrow stairs that have been painted a dark red. The walls are the same color and covered in ‘for a good time call blah, blah, blah’ messages. As we inch closer to the top my Converse start to stick to the stairs under my feet. Gross. Who knows what it could be and truthfully, I’m probably better off not knowing.

  At the top of the landing we’re ushered into a large area that’s packed full of dancing bodies. The walls are black and the floors are the same dark red as the stairs as far as I can tell. I wonder if they’re painted that way on purpose. This club looks like it’s the kind of place where fights break out no doubt leaving blood splattered on the floor. Hopefully that wasn’t the sticky substance I stepped in earlier.

  The main stage is set up at the far end of the room where the band Infinite Haze, is already performing. To my
left is a bar that runs the entire length of the room, and to my right, is a series of tables and booths, leaving the middle of the room clear for dancing. Above me, colored lights shine down flashing to the beat of the music, and in each corner, large iron cages hang from the ceiling containing a barely clothed dancer.

  A bead of sweat runs down my back. Even with the air conditioning and the low hanging fans oscillating throughout the club, it’s hotter than hell in here. Using the hair tie I keep around my wrist I pull my hair up into a ponytail to keep it from sticking to the back of my neck.

  “This band’s pretty good,” I yell over at Kat.

  “They’re awesome.” Closing her eyes she begins swaying to the music attracting the attention of every male in close vicinity. When the song finishes she grabs ahold of my arm leading me over to the tables. “I think I see Jessica and Ryan over there. Let’s go say hi.”

  Jessica and Ryan toss me out a hello as we take a seat at their table. Ryan’s arms are wrapped around Jessica holding her cozily against his chest. They’ve been together since 6th grade and are one of those sickeningly cute couples that are practically glued at the hips. You never see one without the other.

  Ryan is the Lake Haven High School quarterback and Jessica is co-captain of the cheerleading squad with Kat so they’re really more her friends than mine and it isn’t long before the three of them slip into their own little world leaving me on the outside. But I don’t mind, discussions of cheerleading and football really don’t interest me and that’s all they ever talk about when they get together anyway.

  “Buy you a drink?” A familiar voice whispers in my ear between songs. Jared smiles with a wink as he places a glass of something dark in front of me. There are no seats left at our table so he steals one from the table behind us. Swiveling it around he straddles it resting his arms along the back as he watches Kat flirt with some guy at a neighboring table. “I see Look At Me Barbie has caught another Ken doll.”