Chapter Text
Eddie drops her off close to 3AM. Their interaction hanging heavy in the car ride as he tries to make light of the situation, but Chrissy’s nerves take over her mind.
“You know, you were already late so what’s the difference?” He shrugs and Chrissy flushes when she catches the mark that she left on his jeans, still very visible.
God, you have no control. Everyone’s going to think you’re a slut now.
She feels tears burn and fails to stifle her herself. “I’m sor-sorry Eddie. I just don-don’t know what came over me.”
She covers her face with her hands, tears falling freely now. She notices the car stops and can feel his tentative touch on her shoulder.
“Chrissy, you don’t need to apologize.” She looks at him, her cheeks wet and nose running.
His eyes kind, always kind, with a soft smile.
“I won’t tell anyone, not that they’d believe me if I did.” He grimaces, “Chrissy, we can just forgot what happened.”
She doesn’t want to forgot though. She’s never been more bold in her life, never felt so free, living.
She closes her eyes and works on her breathing, in through her nose one two three four, out through her mouth, one two three four.
When she opens her eyes again, Eddie’s sleeve is on her cheek wiping away the tears. His shirt is soft and she clenches her hands to hopefully stop herself from crying again.
“Thank you” she whispers, “I won’t forget tonight.”
She notices a deep sigh and then Eddie runs his hands through his hair. He chuckles almost bitterly.
“How you looked when you were wet is something I cannot forget, Princess”, his voice hoarse and she bites her lip, remembering the feel of him underneath her.
She be lying if the look in his eyes, dark and wanting, during that time wasn’t engraved in her mind as well.
“Well, um”, she swallows but finds it is of little help for her dry throat. “I guess, I’ll see you at school?”
Chrissy internally cringes. That’s the best you come up with?
She opens her eyes and thinks she catches a quick frown, but it must be trick of the light.
“Sure thing, Cunningham. We’ll go back to our regularly scheduled programing on Monday.”
She can practically feel the hurt coming from his words and hates herself for not knowing what to do. “Um, okay.”
What do I say? What can I do? I never make the right choice.
Chrissy’s eyes drop down to her lap. “Thank you for driving me home.”
She hears him open the door and then open the passenger side for her.
“Of course.” He holds his hand to her and gently squeezes when they connect.
She feels the touch in her heart and suddenly wants to go back to his trailer and stay forever.
But she walks inside her house instead; missing Eddie flex that hand that clasped hers as if it burned him.
Laura Cunningham was not pleased with her daughter and grounded her for the rest of the weekend.
“I don’t care if you were reciting hymns with the pastor. There’s no reason for you to be out so late and as long as you live here you will obey me and your father.”
Her father just nods along, but does give her a small smile and brief hug before following his wife up the stairs.
Chrissy wonders what other punishments might be in store, but she’s too tired and emotional to think of that as she collapses into her bed, only removing her white sneakers.
Chrissy wakes the next morning feeling sticky with her legs sore. Memories of last night’s extracurricular activities flood her mind as she feels heat pool deep inside.
Her hands in Eddie’s hair, his fingers in her mouth, on her body, how good he could make her feel without them really doing anything.
She feels antsy and jumps to take a shower. Sadness comes in the water as she also recalls how they left things.
I won’t tell anyone. We’ll go back to our regularly scheduled programing.
She knows that he thinks she’ll just ignore him, but she won’t, can’t, do that. Can she?
As Chrissy dries off she takes more notice of the E.M. how the markings seem darker now, more filled in than just lines.
She gently traces them, forcing herself not to think that E.M. fits perfectly with Eddie Munson.
How could I be Jason’s soulmate and he not mine? Why did the marks burn whenever Eddie touched me?
Her face flushes again. No more hot showers.
She stops to look at herself in the mirror, now truly noticing how close the marks are to her center.
If he- if anyone, were to see this I would need to be the one to show them.
Chrissy breaths deep, imagining that opportunity might never come up. Shaking her wild of these wanton thoughts, she dresses in a light pink sweatsuit with a white t-shirt and goes downstairs.
It’s not surprising that her mother ignores her. She always acts the betrayed mother whenever Chrissy doesn’t follow her rules to a T.
She goes to reach for an apple when she feels a slap on her hand.
“Ow!” Rubbing her hand more from shock than pain, she looks at her mother. “What was that for?”
Her mother’s eyes burn into hers, but Chrissy does not look away.
Her mother huffs and says, “You will be eating when I say you can today.”
So matter-of-fact that Chrissy blinks, mouth ajar.
“You broke your curfew, so this is the punishment. You need a bit of help anyway, dear, prom will be here before you know it.”
Her mother’s words are spoken sweetly, but laced with poison. All Chrissy can do is grab a glass of water before returning to her room.
As she sits on her bed an idea pops into her head.
Might as well do some research if I’m trapped.
Chrissy rummages through her gym bag and grabs, Permanent Marks: Initials for Life that she borrowed from the school library.
She knows that this will most likely not explain all her questions, but she needs to do something to quell her concerns.
Part 1: What Are Soul Marks?
Every single person is given soul marks on their 18th birthday. This has been happening since the beginning and no one truly understands how they are formed. Each individual’s soul marks are the initials of their soulmate….
Yes, yes everyone knows this. Chrissy skims the pages for something new.
…No one can force someone to be their soulmate even if the individual’s initials are the same. There are some tell-tale signs that your have met your soulmate. Your marks might tingle or burn when you come in contact with your soulmate. While the universe tries to place soulmates in close range, this does not happen for all. If you bump into a stranger and notice that your shoulder where the initials are tingle, you might’ve bumped into your soulmate!
Chrissy works to control her breathing as she recalls her hip burning whenever Eddie touched her.
Your marks might also change in shape, size, or darken the more time you spend with your soulmate. This showcases the change in relationship, physical and emotional, between the two of you.
Chrissy’s hands grip the book, heartbeat increasing with each sentence.
But what about Jason’s marks? He can’t lie about them can he?
Part 2: Types of Soul Mates
While the most common form of soulmates are that of a romantic nature, a soulmate can also be platonic friendship, a strong familial love, or a universal love. These forms are described using the Greek words: Eros, Phillia, Storge, and Agápe respectively. Although uncommon, some Storge can be seen within sets of twins or triplets, and as of the publishing of this book, it seems that Mother Theresa possessed agápe. *Please note there is limited research of the types of soul mates and this is to be a reference only*
Chrissy’s head just spins more as she reads.
Maybe Eddie is meant to be just a close friendship?
But even as she thinks this she knows it’s a lie. She continues to flip through the book, ignoring her stomach tensing in hunger.
Common Questions
Will my soulmate change?
No, your soulmate will be the same person throughout your life.
Can I change or remove my soulmarks?
No, even if you are with another person at the time your soulmarks appear they cannot be changed or removed. This has been tried in the past (King Henry VIII was famous for saying his soulmarks changed) but a person’s true marks will appear again even with a removal process *See index for images*
What if I get a tattoo of initials ? Will people notice?
Most likely. If you are worried that your soulmate is lying to you refer back to Part 1 and review the signs of meeting and being with your soulmate. You can also go to you local SoulMarker’s office and they can clarify.
Can I have more than one soulmate?
While highly unlikely, refer to Part 2 and review Storge soulmates.
Can I be someone’s soulmate but aren’t mine?
Chrissy braces herself and reads on.
As of the publication of this edition, there have been less than 100 known cases of this. In rare instances where that other individual’s soulmate has died, they might still have their former initials on their body.
Chrissy closes the book, her chest heaving and feeling more uncertain than before.
She brushes her hip and whispers to herself. “Eddie Munson is my soulmate.”