“Should we just walk toward civilization?” Jenna asked.
“I guess so. Are you okay?”
Jenna nodded, knowing he meant something more than if she was fine with walking a distance. They headed in the direction of a faraway cluster of lights. Noah could tell she was upset by the findings, but he didn’t know her well enough to think of the right thing to say, so they walked for several minutes without either of them speaking.
Then Noah made a little joke, in an effort to cheer her up. “This isn’t exactly the way I envisioned our first date.”
Jenna smiled, remembering that they were actually on a date, her first one ever, in fact. “How much money have you paid all these people for me? I want to pay you back.”
“It’s fine. It hasn’t been much, really. Chris worked some stuff out for us, and my family does alright financially.”
“Do you really think Vivian’s innocent? I mean, other than changing her mark?”
“I don’t know,” Noah answered. “I’m not sure what to think about her.”
“If she didn’t kill those girls, then the real murderer’s still out there somewhere. I feel more afraid now.”
Noah laughed loudly, causing an echo through the dark empty space. Jenna shot him a hurt look. He immediately stopped. “Sorry, it’s just ironic that you feel safer living in the same room with a suspected killer than in the same town with an unknown one.”
Before Jenna could respond, a car slid up behind them. The driver rolled down his window and asked if they were Noah and Jenna. After getting Noah’s confirmation, he told them to get in. Jenna looked confused by this random interaction and held back.
“It’s part of the deal to keep their location uncompromised. They’re still tracking us,” Noah offered.
They got in without further questioning and sat there, holding hands, until they arrived back at Luigi’s. From there, Noah walked her back to the dorm, kissing her good night at the bottom steps of the entrance. Once again, she invited him up to her room, and once again he politely declined. She trudged up the steps alone, feeling like something must be wrong with her. After a day full of disappointment and rejection, she just wanted to be alone with her self-pity.
But back in the room, Vivian was already there. Jenna certainly didn’t expect her to be home early on a Saturday night. Then again, she’d just confirmed earlier that she didn’t know anything real about her roommate, and also that she was generally a horrible judge of character. To see Vivian sitting there, looking full of sunshine, angered Jenna at some level, for a reason she couldn’t even explain.
Guess I should just be happy that my Jenna-ness is finally rubbing off on this loser.
“What’s going on with you?” Jenna asked.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Vivian returned.
“It means you’ve been acting completely crazy all week. I want to know why you changed,” Jenna replied.
“I didn’t change,” Vivian answered. “You changed. When we got here, you were this over-achieving superstar, a golden girl with an even brighter future. Now you’re this paranoid angry chick, mad at the world, letting all that brilliant potential go to waste. It’s like you’ve become me,” Vivian snarled, like she was pleased with herself for such a veiled insult.
Anger flared inside Jenna. She resented anyone, especially Vivian, pointing out her flaws. “I’m not wasting potential. It’s just that I need to figure some things out.”
Vivian sensed Jenna’s anger. “Look, I get that you’re struggling with this being on your own adventure, and that you need to understand how the stars aligned to put you and me into the same degree program. But I think you need to move past all that and do your own thing. Just let me live my own life, and quit worrying about everyone else.”
“I’ll quit worrying about everyone else when they quit interfering in my life.”
“What the hell are you even talking about? I never interfered in your life,” Vivian grumbled.
“Why did you change your mark?” Jenna demanded.
“That’s absolutely none of your business. You don’t have a clue about what real people deal with, you know. Not all of us were born into a magic bloodline, Barbie J.”
Jenna realized the source of Vivian’s jealousy as she spoke. “Okay, so I was born with my mark. That’s not my fault. Can’t I just get an explanation from you? It’s all I want.”
“I don’t need to justify anything to you. But if it makes you feel better, I went through career counseling at the end of my junior year. They did some tests and told me I’d make a good doctor, if not for my theater mark. I figured I’d give it a shot, and that’s the story. Happy now?”
“That’s a brilliant story, Viv. Very original, don’t you think?”
“Okay, I’m done with this pointless conversation. Believe whatever the hell you want to believe, golden girl,” Vivian answered.
“Why didn’t you want to go into theater? That’s what you were born to do. Marks don’t lie,” Jenna said.
Vivian froze in her tracks. “Did you check on me? Is that what you’ve been doing this whole time, sneaking around, digging through my stuff, following me?”
“No, I haven’t been following you. I’ve just been doing some alternative research into all this mark stuff, and your name happened to come up.”
Vivian grimaced. “What did you do? Did you go to a hacker?”
Jenna slowly nodded. Vivian unloaded on her.
“Seriously? You really need to take a break from this crap. It’s complete nonsense, and you’re buying into it hook, line, and sinker. Besides, you’re playing a dangerous game if you get involved with the Sub. You have your medical degree to think about, remember?”
“Okay, I give up. Let’s agree to disagree and live our separate lives. Alright?”
“Have it your way.”
Vivian got up and left the room without another word. Jenna dropped down on the bed and soaked up the feeling of sinking into her mattress. She drifted off to sleep within a few minutes, exhausted from the hectic day.
Chapter 14
Jenna woke up in a fog, as if she had a hangover, though she hadn’t consumed anything alcoholic. Her legs felt like she’d run a marathon in her sleep. A quick scan of the room confirmed that Vivian was gone again. She sat up, still yawning, even though her phone indicated she’d slept for nearly twelve hours.
What’s up with me and all this sleeping? I am definitely coming down with something.
Jenna put the back of her hand to her forehead, but she couldn’t tell if she had fever. Her mouth felt dry, so swallowing hurt a little, but she was probably just thirsty. Her right wrist itched profusely. After scratching it for a minute with no real relief, she put on her glasses and studied it closer. There were no signs of an insect bite or rash, but it was red from all the scratching. Then, faintly, she noticed the outline of a dark pattern, like an ink stamp that had been mostly washed off.
Did I go to a club last night? Or did someone stamp me during that savage frisking?
She was starting to panic about her fuzzy memory when her phone buzzed. It was Noah, and it looked like it wasn’t his first call of the day. She cleared her throat and answered in as normal a voice as she could muster, given the circumstances. “Hello?”
“So you are alive. I was starting to wonder,” he said with a combination of concern and aggravation.
“I know. I slept really late. Yesterday was just a lot for me. Guess it wore me out.”
“So, do I get to see you today?” he asked. “I’m already having Jenna withdrawals.”
“Absolutely. I just need to stop by the clinic first. I think I’m coming down with a cold or something,” Jenna said softly.
“Okay. I can go with you.” Noah paused. “If you want.”
“Yeah, that would be nice. It shouldn’t take long, and we can grab lunch right after,” Jenna said.
“A late lunch, I guess.”
Jenna ignored his attempt to mock
her for sleeping so late. She spent fifteen minutes getting ready, and was just finishing as Noah knocked on her door.
So this is how I get him to come up to my room.
*****
On the way to the clinic, Noah asked if she wanted to walk through the treed area. Jenna was ecstatic that he’d already figured her out, a girl that loved to go off the beaten path every chance she got, or off the sidewalk, in her case. Such an enigma for the one who’d grown up following all the rules and doing everything that was expected of her.
They arrived to a deserted waiting room at the campus clinic, and Jenna added her name to the blank list. Just as they were sitting down in the rows of empty chairs, a nurse stepped through the door and called Jenna’s name. She got up and started to follow before remembering Noah was with her. “Do you want to come with me or just wait here?”
“Your choice,” he said.
She gave him puppy eyes and squished her shoulders together to non-verbally signal that she wanted his support, so he followed obediently. The nurse took them into a room at the end of the hall, a typical medical exam room. Noah sat in a seat in the chair against the wall, while Jenna perched herself on the examination table without additional prompting.
“So what brings you in today?” the nurse asked, in some variety of a Southern accent.
“I’m not sure what the problem is, really.”
“You don’t need to diagnose yourself, darlin’. I’m just asking about your symptoms.”
“Right. I just woke up feeling, I don’t know, funny. I got plenty of sleep last night, but I still feel exhausted. And my throat’s really dry.”
The nurse smiled at Jenna as she rambled about her vague symptoms while absent-mindedly scratching her wrist. Noah shifted around in his chair to get a better view of what she was rubbing. The nurse noticed too.
“Let me see your wrist, darlin’,” the nurse said.
Jenna complied, absent-mindedly holding her wrist out for the nurse to inspect.
“Did you go to a party last night, sweetie? That could explain this place on your wrist and also your, your current disposition.”
“No, that’s not from last night. I don’t know what it is, actually, I didn’t go anywhere but to bed.”
The nurse gave Jenna an all-knowing look. She’d seen a few doctors-in-waiting with a party side needing to be concealed. Jenna watched her write something on the clipboard papers, smiling at them as she wrote. Noah looked confused.
“Okay, darlin’, the doctor will be right in.”
The nurse watched Jenna and Noah suspiciously as she left the room, putting the clipboard in a tray on the door. Jenna sat on the examination table, kicking her legs alternately back and forth. Neither spoke about the nurse’s accusations.
Within a few minutes, an older man with grey hair and a neatly-trimmed beard burst through the door with Jenna’s clipboard in hand. He read through the notes from the suspicious nurse and then looked Jenna up and down. Without speaking at first, he went to work taking her vital signs, continuing to add notes to her chart. Finally, he paused and spoke to her. “Hello, I’m Dr. Robbins.”
She shook his hand awkwardly. “Jenna Andrews. Pleased to meet you.”
“Now let’s see that wrist,” he finally said in a low, gruff voice.
Jenna held her wrist out without questioning the doctor. He studied it up close and then pulled out a small machine with a blue light. Jenna had never encountered this tool at a doctor’s office, nor had she learned about it in her pre-medical studies. She looked into Noah’s eyes as the doctor finished his examination. For some reason, he looked unfazed by this peculiar device, which calmed Jenna’s mind while simultaneously annoying her.
Isn’t he supposed to be in sync with my feelings?
Finally the doctor put his utensils down, and flipped through the pages of what she assumed was more of her chart. He eventually either found the answer he was looking for, or he tired of reading her information. Then Dr. Robbins looked intently at her and asked, “Do you have a medical mark, or something else? And are you aware of any reconstructive surgeries to your wrist? I can’t find anything conclusive in your files.”
“Yes, I have the medical mark,” Jenna replied indignantly, pointing at her neck.
“I saw that, but I’m more interested in this thing on your wrist. Sometimes we see multiple marks.”
Jenna fumed over his insinuation. She stormed over to the small sink against the far wall and began washing her wrist, cursing about wasting time worrying about a nightclub stamp or something equally innocuous. Noah and the doctor both stood motionless, mouths ajar, waiting for Jenna’s outburst to end.
She scrubbed harder and cursed louder, as she began to realize that the mark wasn’t going away. The doctor approached her cautiously and turned the water off, offering her a stack of paper towels. She meekly accepted and blotted at her wrist, now red and almost raw. Tears began to well up in her eyes from the frustration and confusion over what had happened. “Maybe it’s some kind of permanent ink or something. Did I get a tattoo, Noah?”
Her questions were thick with anxiety and despair. He sorrowfully shook his head and walked over to her, gently rubbing her back. Jenna submitted, letting her head fall against his shoulder. Tears flowed heavily as she sobbed, emancipating all the bound-up emotions she’d buried. He wrapped both arms around her and held her tightly, letting her release everything. After a few minutes Jenna’s tears started to dry up, and she grabbed a few tissues.
“Are you all right to proceed?” the doctor asked emotionlessly.
“Proceed with what?”
“I’d like to send you for some more tests. It does look like you had something removed from your wrist.”
Jenna started to protest, but the doctor cut her off. “I’m not accusing you of anything, but there’s evidence of skin regeneration around that area. I’m not sure what the faint marking is, but we can do some analysis. It could be nothing, but let’s be sure. The Registry requests that I take these steps.”
Noah released Jenna from his embrace, and he addressed the doctor abruptly. “No, I don’t think that’s necessary. I’m sure it’s just residual ink from that place we went last night. Remember?”
He grabbed Jenna by the hand and led her forcefully out. She followed without resisting until they were completely outside, at which point she yanked her hand away and stood her ground. Noah took a couple of steps forward without her and then stopped where he was, without turning to face her.
“What’s happening? Why did you do that?” she pouted.
He walked back toward her and whispered, “I have no idea, but you need to keep your voice down. I’m just trying to save you.”
“Save me from what?”
“Are you in denial right now? You heard that doctor. It sounds like you had a mark removed. Are you playing dumb with me, or what?”
“I’m not playing dumb—” Jenna trailed off as the light bulb finally went off.
Could I really have a fake mark? But what about the Registry verification?
Noah took her hands in his and gazed deeply into her eyes. The intimacy of the moment caused Jenna to start crying again. He hugged her and patted her back as if she was a small child. His empathetic actions made Jenna feel like he could tell what she was thinking, but most likely he was just trying to comfort her. Either way, she appreciated it. She surrendered her deepest fears to him. “Do I not belong here, Noah? I don’t know who I am.”
“Of course you belong here, Jenna. Everything’s going to be okay. We’ll figure this out together.” “I trust you, Noah.”
“You can completely trust me. But just to be sure, don’t tell anyone else about this. Okay?”
She nodded, though his constant insistence on her trusting him made her feel uneasy. Still, Jenna heard Noah’s underlying message and agreed. The fewer people that knew about her predicament, the better.
“So, do you want to go anywhere else?” he asked.
Jenna detected that Noah was trying to take her mind off the day’s shocking revelations, but she just wanted to go back to her room. She shook her head. Every second that passed triggered one more thought that caused her to question her very existence. Luckily Noah supported her as they walked back to her dorm, because she wasn’t sure her legs would hold out much longer.
Noah and Jenna got back to the room just as Vivian was leaving. They passed each other without any acknowledgement. Jenna was greatly relieved by the lucky timing, since she definitely wasn’t in the mood for any questions or annoying jokes or nicknames. Noah sat down across from her on Vivian’s bed.
“Does your roommate ever come home?” he casually asked.
“Luckily not much,” Jenna answered.
“Do you want to order pizza or something?” he asked.
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
“Any preferences?” he asked.
“Anything’s fine. There’s no such thing as bad pizza,” she grinned.
Noah picked up his phone and worked on it for a couple of minutes before announcing that it was done. Jenna felt relaxed again, happy to have someone taking care of her.
“So this is what it takes to get you into my room?” Jenna asked with a smile.
Noah looked at her for a few seconds before grinning back, as if he was afraid to assume she was making a joke in her current state. Then Jenna turned more serious.
“I don’t know what to do, Noah.”
“This doesn’t have to change anything, Jenna. We still don’t even know what it means. Let’s just hang out today, and we’ll come up with a plan of action tomorrow when our heads are clear. Try not to worry about it anymore.”
“Now you sound like my father,” Jenna said.
Jenna meant it as a compliment, but Noah frowned. As soon as the words left her mouth, she couldn’t stop thinking about whether her parents knew all along. There was also the question of whether her birth parents were aware, or even involved.
What kind of parents keep something like this from their child?
“Pizza’s here. I’ll be right back up,” Noah said as he stood to leave the room. “Don’t talk to anyone, got it?”
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