Chapter 8

"You want to mark me? What are you talking about? You can't do anything to me." Jayla shook her head.

"Why can't I? I'm allowed to," he whispered and wiped her hair out of her face.

"You don't have the right," she muttered as she stared at the wall. He set his lips on her cheek softly, and she almost closed her eyes. He cupped her jaw and started to move down.

No boys had done that to her before. She was literally a virgin. She wondered if she should tell him that she had never kissed anyone before. When she read books, the author described how well the male character gave his girlfriend a hickey.

But this…It was different. She was supposed to feel pleasure and happiness, but she felt more than that. It was ecstasy.

She felt like she belonged to him and was in her rightful place.

She let out a moan as he started to suck her skin. He brushed her cheek with his hand while sucking the spot he decided to attack. He hummed. Jayla's eyes widened, and she held onto his arms tightly, afraid of falling down.

"That's it," he whispered against her skin and smirked. He licked the spot, and she shivered. She touched the wet spot lightly and looked at Max, who smirked proudly.

"I'm not trying to be a caveman, but that went too far," he said truthfully. He smiled and pecked her cheek for the last time, leaving her with a joyful sensation.

"I'm afraid that I have to leave you even though I don't want to." He frowned slightly and brushed away her hair. Jayla was still shocked.

"See you later," he said, touching her cheek for the last time, and then he walked away from her. She sighed with exasperation and looked at her watch. He had made her miss her first class, and since she had a free period next, she went home.

***

"Hey, I'm back," she said as she walked in the front door.

"Honey, what are you doing here?" her mother asked. She was holding a pan and wearing an apron. Yesterday, their parents had told them that their mother would work at night, and her father would work in the morning, which meant they would have time for their kids. Darby and Jayla were happy and excited, even though they felt guilty for separating their parents, but they assured them it was fine.

"Well, I missed first period, and I have a free period next, so I figured why not come home?" she said, taking off her shoes. "Where are Darby and Dad?" she asked. It was 8:40 a.m. Her father was supposed to be ready for work, and her brother was supposed to eat.

"Well, funny story. Darby passed out, and your dad tripped on your brother's body. He thought he was dead! So, he screamed and woke me up, then passed out just like Darby. I had to ask our neighbors to help me," she said, rolling her eyes. Jayla frowned while listening to her mother's weird story.

"Where are they right now?" She sat on the stool and watched her mother cook.

"We put them in my room. I also had some revenge," she chuckled mischievously.

"What did you do?" Jayla laughed as well.

"Oh, nothing dangerous." She smirked and grabbed a plate. "Do you want to eat? I made my special pancakes."

"No, thank you," Jayla refused politely and pulled out her phone. Karen looked up from her plate and gasped.

"What is it?" Jayla frowned.

"I should be asking you that question, young lady. What is that on your neck?" She pointed at her neck. There was a large hickey that Jayla forgot to check. She pulled out a mirror from her bag and hissed. She thought that hickeys were supposed to be small and pinkish. Well, this was not small or pinkish.

"Mom, I can explain."

"Of course, you are going to explain," she said, which made Jayla uneasy.

"Um, I stepped into a wall. You know this bruise is actually from the wall, haha," she joked, but when she saw that her mother was not laughing, she stopped and glanced at the door.

"Don't even think of le—"

"Mom, look at that! It's 9 a.m. I hate to say this, but I have to go."

"Jayla."

"Sorry, Mother, see you later!" she yelled and sprinted toward the door. She heard her mother screaming to come back, but she didn't obey her and ran. Her neighbors even came out to see what was happening, and they watched the comical scene.

"Fuck, I'm doomed," she breathed and stopped to catch her breath. She heard her phone ringing. She glanced at the caller's name and picked it up.

"What?"

"Kill Max for me."

"Darby, he literally said not to blame him if he posts that on Facebook," she stated.

"I don't care! Fucking kill him and bury him alive!" he shouted. Jayla had to pull her phone away from her ear.

"I can't kill him anyway. I don't have the energy to do that." She rolled her eyes.

"Alright then, fake sister, I will kill him," he grunted.

"Good luck," she scoffed and hung up the phone.

She wondered if Giovanni knew about the video. She snorted when she remembered her brother saying that he wanted to be a stripper just because he knew how to twerk perfectly.

***

Two Hours Later:

Jayla was about to go to the cafeteria when Eleanor grabbed her hand out of nowhere.

"What are you doing?" she asked Jayla.

"Well, I'm going to eat," Jayla replied, pointing to the cafeteria.

"Honey, let's go eat pizza instead of this rubbish. The food is so disgusting. It's like it came out of the trash can!" She cringed and dragged Jayla out of the school. They went to a small pizzeria with a weird name—My Big Fat Italian Pizza. Very original.

"They are all here eating their favorite pizza," Eleanor said, referring to the gang. Jayla sat next to Giovanni, who was not in his usual good mood. He was grumpy.

"What's wrong with Gio?" she whispered, staring at Giovanni. Then, she turned and saw Peyton munching on his pizza right in front of her face.

"The disrespect, man," she said, staring at him.

"What are you talking about?" he said with his mouth full of pizza. It looked disgusting.

"Can you not eat your pizza right in front of me?" She cringed in disgust and pushed his face away from her.

"What kind of pizza do you want to eat?" Huxley asked, sitting across from her.

"Pepperoni pizza, if possible." She grinned.

"We already have one. Wanna share?" Cole asked Jayla, who nodded.

"Great, can someone come here? We need a plate," Cole shouted as if he owned the restaurant. Jayla frowned and cringed.

She thanked the waitress who gave her a plate and watched Eleanor put a slice of pizza on it. Jayla was about to take a bite of the pizza when Huxley called out to her. She sighed and put down the pizza.

"Yes, Huxley?"

"Where were you during first period?" he asked. She paled and quickly glanced at Max, who was sipping his drink silently.

"I was doing something."

"What is that something?" he asked curiously when she was about to pick up her pizza again.

"Well, things that don't need your attention," she replied and opened her mouth to take a bite, but then stopped when he asked another question.

"But what kind of things?" he repeated.

"Dude, let her eat." Marco slapped his forehead. Jayla chuckled and finally took a bite of her pizza. She hummed and blushed when she saw everyone staring at her, except Max.

"What's wrong?" she asked hesitantly.

"Nothing is wrong. We just want to know if you like the pizza?" Eleanor asked.

"It's good. I love it." She smiled and was going to take a bite but stopped when she felt them staring at her again.

"Fucking weirdos, let her eat," Max growled. Everyone listened to him. Jayla smiled in relief and ate her pizza in peace.

"Max, why did you do that?" Giovanni whined.

"Well, you shouldn't twerk." He shrugged.

"I was drunk!" he screamed.

"Well, you shouldn't drink!"

"Max, I hate you," he groaned.

"He's not the only one," Cole snorted, and Max glared at Cole, who laughed.

"He ruined your life, buddy. Want to smash a good—"

"Marco!" Peyton shouted.

"I was about to say cucumber!" he said.

"But how do you smash a cucumber? Do you put it in your dick?" Huxley asked again with curiosity.

"Bro!"

"Fuck!"

"That ruined my appetite," Jayla muttered and dropped her pizza on the plate.

"Dude, are you dumb? What the fuck is going on in your brain?" Cole growled as he poked his forehead.

"Eleanor, don't you pleasure him?" Marco chuckled. Eleanor growled and glared at Marco.

"What the fuck did you say?" she snarled.

"I said, don't you pleasure him?" he smirked.

"You are dead, buddy," she threatened him.

Marco gulped nervously and started to pack his stuff.

"Good luck, buddy." Cole smiled as he patted his shoulder. Marco smiled sadly.

"You better run!" she yelled.

"Call the cops, please!" he muttered and then ran outside the pizzeria.

"I will deal with you later," she said, pointing to Huxley, who played with his fingers nervously.

"See you tomorrow, Jay. I have to kill someone," Eleanor said casually.

"Um, yeah, see you tomorrow." Jayla smiled forcefully.

"No need to be afraid. It's normal," Peyton stated.

She wasn't afraid. She was kind of weirded out that everyone was watching them, which gave the pizzeria a creepy vibe. She looked at Max, who smiled at her. She blushed and saw him tilting his head. He wanted to give her a signal that he wanted to be alone with her outside.

"I have to go right now. I have to meet someone," she said and left the restaurant. She heard Huxley asking another question, and Cole slapped his forehead again.

She went behind the pizzeria and waited for Max.

"I'm so sorry about them. They are dumbasses and don't have brains," Max apologized.

"It's alright. I'm having fun with them," she chuckled.

He watched her laughing her sweet laugh. He could stay here for hours watching her laugh. He was grateful to have a beautiful mate. She was gorgeous to him. He felt like he didn't deserve her. He sometimes asked the Goddess how he had gotten such a beautiful mate?

He was happy and proud. Because of her, he would finally be able to breathe and live in the castle with her after being crowned king. He was excited and wanted to tell her the truth, but his mother told him not to ruin anything.

"So, I was thinking that we should do something," he suggested.

"What should we do?" she asked.

"Let's skip school," he said.