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F O U R
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Some used to say that when you found out your mark connected to your soulmates you were overcome with this sense of relief.

It meant you were smart, or strong, that you had something worthwhile and so did your soulmate.

Their marks aren't identical, but they are close enough to know you're meant to be. You could have the same mark but in a different place, you could have the same mark but bigger, or your marks were just compatible and shared many similarities. How people knew, I'm not sure, but it was different for everyone.

Unlike those with Identical, Connecting usually didn't feel incomplete from the lack of their soulmate. They actually, usually, had everything together, but as soon as they joined forces they only grew and there were many opportunities for success opened even more for them. They were able to grow even more than they were able to before and just become a force to recon with.

They know what they want, and they will stop at nothing to get it.

Most were different, some polar opposites completely, but they needed each other to find their full capability...or so it's told at least.

The sun bloomed over the horizon, my white walls kissed with pink and orange through my curtains.

I hadn't slept, I was too busy thinking.

My heart felt heavy, and I couldn't explain why it was keeping me from sleep.

I stared at myself in the mirror, a hard stare nonetheless. Not knowing how long I had been staring at myself, I tore my gaze away from the mirror and walked around my room as if I had just discovered it for the first time.

My phone started to ring, as it continued to sing the elements of the periodic table, I clicked the reject and fell onto my bed.

Trying to catch sleep, even if just for a second, I let my eyes fall closed. As my mind drifted into deeper thoughts, my phone rang again.

Growling in frustration, I grabbed my phone and answered it. "Hello?"

"Blake, it's Thea, I'm with Kacen in the hospital," Her voice was strained as if she was crying just before I had answered.

It was rare for Thea to cry, so I was instantly in a panic.

"What? What happened?" I sat up quickly, grabbing my shoes off the floor and putting them on with one hand.

"I- I don't know. It's all a blur, I can't remember what happened," I knew she was stressed, I could feel her emotions as if they were my own and I was fighting tears back trying to remain calm for her.

"Are you okay? Is Kacen?" My question made a sob break through her lips.

"I'm fine, but Kacen hasn't woken up-"

"I'll be there soon, okay? Hold on, everything will be okay." Grabbing my jacket, I raced down the hall, Thea still on the phone.

"What if he doesn't wake up and it's all my fault?"

"Thea, he will be okay," As I searched for the keys, Emersyn walked into the great room, wiping the sleep from her eyes and yawning.

"What is going on?" She scrunched her brows together, watching me struggle to find the keys.

"I need to go to the hospital, do you know where the keys are?"

She thought about it for a second. "Mom put them in her jacket yesterday when she brought me home, I'll go grab them," She was good at remembering silly things like that, and in this moment I was grateful for it.

"Blake? He is waking up," Thea sniffed and I felt a group of emotions release from my chest.

"I'll be there soon, okay?" She thanked me and hung up.

My sister ran down the hall and shoved the keys inbetween my fingers. "I will tell mom you had to tutor this morning."

"Thank you, I'll be back in time to pick you up," I hugged her quickly and raced out the door and took the car.

Thea was talking to a nurse when I came into the room. Kacen looked over at me and smiled. "Hey," his voice was weak and a bit shaken but that was to be expected.

Thea glanced over at me and nodded her head and she continued to talk to the nurse.

"What happened?"

"Eh, just a small wreck we will be fine. Me more than her I suspect," He glanced over at Thea and then looked back at me.

"It's six in the morning, what were you guys doing on the road?"

Kacen didn't answer me, he just watched Thea walk over to us. She had purple bags under her eyes and her hair was sticking out of her two braids, one of them no longer being held together by a hair wrap. A few small scratches lined her cheeks and her marked arm. She looked like she hadn't slept at all over the weekend and something was definitely weighing down her mind, more than just the wreck.

"The doctor said we could go whenever we were ready. Thanks for coming to pick us up." She rubbed her arm and watched Kacen closely.

"Of course? You don't need to thank me."

Thea looked like she was wrapped in plastic wrap made from guilt, which made me curious but I knew not to budge either of them. It clearly wasn't something they were ready to share with me, and I was okay with that.

"Are you both feeling okay? Do you need anything?" Not knowing how to help, I just kept looking between the two of them.

Kacen had a wound held together by a few stitches and butterfly bandages, his wrist was wrapped, but he looked fine otherwise.

"No, I'm good. Thea?" Kacen gave me a small smile and glanced over at Thea who was staring at the wall. "Thea?"

"Oh, um. No, I'm fine."

°•°•

"Thank you, Blakely. It's glad to see you back with good spirits," Mr. Brollen smiled and used the table to line up all my papers I had just handed in.

"Well, it's good to be back, and about that test-"

"Don't worry about it, I know you know the answers, I'll just remove it from your grade. Although, I will need you to go to the office before lunch starts, so I'll let you leave a little early if that's okay," He grabbed a sticky note to scribble down a hall pass for me.

"Yeah, that's fine?" Taking the note in confusion, I took my seat and pushed my finished assignment to the corner of my desk.

Kacen and Thea weren't in most of my classes, so I didn't know if they showed up or not, they hadn't made it the day of the crash, but it had been two full days since, which made me a bit anxious. Class would be out soon and everyone around me worked on class work and I just kept my eyes on the clock, waiting.

When I left, I wasn't exactly sure why I was needed in the office, but I didn't let myself think about it much. It wasn't something that never happened, but it still made my heart race.

"Blakely," The office ladies greeted me with large smiles.

"Miss.Muray, Mrs.Rotger, how are you today?"

"Great!" They both said in unison, large smiled between their cheeks.

After talking for a few minutes, they sent me back to speak to Mr.Hudson, the principal.

It wasn't uncommon to be called by the principal to his office, so it was almost a relief. "Good afternoon," He smiled when I walked in like he always did.

"To you as well," I took a seat and waited for him to tell me why I was in there.

"We have a new student joining us in a few days, his name is Oliver and I was hoping you would be able to give him a tour right before class starts?"

I had given tours many times the last few years to the new students, so it wasn't a surprise that he had asked. "Yes, of course."

"Great, it's always nice having such a bright and positive young lady like you willing to help others succeed," He handed me Oliver's schedule so I got an idea of what to show him and I looked over it, not really knowing what to say to his words.

After the meeting with the principal, I walked into the cafeteria and spotted my friends sitting at our usual table.

"Hey," Joining them, I noticed how quiet they became.

"Hey," Thea forced a smile and tried to avoid eye contact with me.

"Thea?"

Was I meant to ask her about everything that happened? Was I meant to wait for her to tell me herself? It was difficult and I didn't know how to make a decision so I looked over at Kacen to do it for me.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Thea, you should tell her."

"Yeah, tell me what happened. I'm here for you, I won't-"

"No!" Thea stood fast, her hands slamming down onto the table. "You don't understand, you won't understand!"

Standing up, I walked over to her and pulled her into an embrace and she broke into tears. Rubbing her back I shushed her and let her cry on my shoulder. It was eating at her by day, and I was worried she would break completely.

"There's probably nothing you could tell me that I wouldn't be able to at least listen too. It's clearly bothering you a lot, and if you don't want to tell me, you don't have too but I am here-"

"I went on a date," She cut me off and pushed away from me, watching my confusion wrap into realization. "He was...manipulative."

"It's okay," Kacen whispered next to her, it seemed as if it was his first time hearing the story as well.

"He asked me weird things, and since he had picked me up I couldn't leave. I had no idea where I even was and I didn't know what to do. It was really late, and he kept tricking me into saying what he wanted me to say," She wiped a tear away from her cheek.

"I accidentally told him, but I didn't mean too! I swear! I don't know how he knew, or why he wanted to know," She stepped back, holding onto her hands, watching me with worry.

"You what? Please don't tell me its what I'm thinking right now because you know how important that is to me." Trying to stay calm felt impossible when your whole body screamed. Rollercoasters growing up and then dropping right through my pounding heart.

"I'm sorry! It just came out, I didn't mean to tell him, I promise you I didn't," She cried more, confirming my thoughts.

I had to sit down because my mind was trying to process what she was saying, I was overtaken by dizziness and covered my mouth so I didn't throw up.

"What? What did you tell him?" Kacens nostril moved up with his lip as he tried to put the puzzle together.

"My biggest secret," It fell from my lips before I could think about my words, and when they came out, the world fell around me.

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Thank you for reading! I hope this chapter was written okay. Sorry for any mistakes, I'll go through it later and edit it.

If you enjoyed the chapter you can give me a vote if you so wish too!

The next chapter may be a bit late, but I'm still sticking with Thursday. I'm not sure if this update schedule is the best, should I change it? Let me know what you think.

~ skelocookie