All Chapters of Marked: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

{SAM’S POV}“Running barefoot is better for the feet,” Samantha lied.She quickly turned and walked into the other room.Surprised at her abrupt departure, Sam wondered if she were avoiding him. Maybe she’d changed her mind. He’d probably screwed it up somehow. Figured. Whenever he found something great, he always screwed it up.Sam followed her into the living room. He needed to clear the air, talk to her.As Sam entered, she was pulling her long, red hair out of her face, tying it in a ponytail. Her cheeks were flushed, and seemed to be getting more filled with color, right in front of him. She must’ve had a really hard run, he thought.“Samantha,” he began hesitantly, “last night was amazing.”She turned and looked at him, and her features softened a bit. She walked slowly to him, placed one hand on his cheek, and kissed him, slowly.Sam’s heart welled up. She wasn’t sick of him. He hadn’t screwed it up. He started to fill with optimism again. He wanted her.But before he

Sam sat in the passenger seat of the BMW as they raced down the interstate. He couldn’t believe it. It all felt like a dream. Here he was, in the passenger seat of a new BMW, racing down the highway, leaning back, with a hot girl by his side. And it was her car, and she was driving—stick. She was hot to begin with, but this made her really hot. He felt like he was in some kind of James Bond movie. Things like this just didn’t happen to him. Girls never even talked to him, and the few times he’d tried to pick them up, it hadn’t gone so well.And things just kept getting better. Not only did she have an awesome house, and a hot pair of wheels, but she, like him, just wanted to take off and go. They both had their windows down, and it was turning out to be a warm March day. Coldplay came on the radio, and Sam reached over and turned it up. He wondered if she’d turn it back down, or change the station. Instead, she reached over and turned it louder. He couldn’t believe it.Sam looked out

I set Rose down and allowed her to walk beside us. I was happy to see that she was well behaved, keeping pace with us and not wandering off. She ran to a small patch of grass to relieve herself, but then ran right back. I reached down and gave her another small piece of the hotdog, and she ate it happily.We passed a large, historic church, walked alongside a small, white picket fence, and then turned and entered a walkway that led through immaculately kept grounds. The grass was green and vibrant, even this time of year. To one side of us was a magnificent old whaling Church, and to the other was an enormous whaling house from the mid-19th century, with a large veranda in the back. The sign read: “The Daniel Fisher House.” It was the most beautiful house I’d ever seen. I could happily picture myself living there. Strolling through its backyard, with Caleb holding my hand and Rose by my side, it almost felt like we were home.We continued down the walkway another hundred yards or so,

{SAMANTHA’S POV}Samantha, in the passenger seat, looked over and was impressed by how Sam handled the car. Not bad for someone his age. She was surprised by how well he handled the stick, and she forgave him his initial grinding of gears. He was actually pretty good once he got past third. She liked his aggression, especially when the speedometer hit 120. He had spirit, she had to give him that.She leaned back, relaxing and enjoying the ride. It was a lot slower than flying, but not bad for human travel. She thought of the man who’d owned this car, that real estate broker—her morning meal—and smiled. His blood still ran through her veins, and it felt good. She was sated.She didn’t need to let the kid drive, but she figured his days were numbered anyway, so why not let him enjoy them, go out with a bang? It would only be a matter of hours now until she’d meet his father, and find out where that sword was. After that, she could dispose of them both.But something gnawed at her.

The notes echoed throughout the huge, empty church, reverberating off the walls, filling the empty space. It seemed to bounce off of everything.I had never heard music like this. Nothing even remotely like this. It made me want to capture the moment. And it made me want to cry.At that moment, I felt profoundly sad, as it struck me, again, that there was so much about Caleb that I would probably never know. I would just have to accept that I knew as much as I did, and learn to be happy to be with him for the short time that I was.It also saddened me, as it made me think of Jonah. I hadn’t thought of him in so long. When I was with Caleb, I felt no need to think of him. But he was still there, somewhere deep in my consciousness, even from just the short time we’d spent together, and a part of me still felt badly for ending it so abruptly. Whatever we’d had together, it felt unresolved. A part of me felt that someday we would see each other again. I didn’t know how, but I just knew