The Girl He Marked by Laila Callaway novel Chapter 4

Phoebe's POV.

I apply the last of my lip—gloss and then step out of the bathroom. I'm wearing a short black skirt and crop top.

It's summer and the evenings are still warm, and I want to show off some skin.

Now that I finally can.

My twin sister is waiting in the kitchen, texting on her phone. She looks up and smiles as I come in.

'It's a really beautiful place you have here,' I compliment her apartment.

'Thank you,' she replies with a smile. Her brows furrow slightly as she thinks of something. 'You know, you can stay over any time that you like You're welcome here whenever.'

I give her a tight smile back. She better not start this tonight, I'm not in the mood.

This is the first time we've spent time together alone in a while. I want it to be a good night, not one filled with arguments.

'Thanks,' I reply bluntly.

'You look great!' Paige says, trying to lighten the mood.

'Thank you, so do you.'

We have some drinks at hers, picking safe topics to talk about. Our parents, Xaden and Noelle, are one of the topics we avoid.

When we're feeling a light buzz, we get a taxi into the city center. It's a Saturday night and the streets are filled with people.

Paige takes me to her favorite bar first. I order a cocktail and we find a table on the upstairs floor.

We're identical twins. We both have dark hair, dark skin and dark eyes. We take after our mother in our looks, which I am very thankful for. Our mother, Noelle, is stunning.

Paige's walnut—colored skin is contrasted beautifully by her orange dress. Not many people can confidently pull off orange, but my twin and I can.

'Mum and Dad stopped by last week,' she says casually.

I narrow my eyes at her. 'Don't start.'

She shrugs, feigning innocence.

'I'm just saying that they stopped by. They asked about you.'

I roll my eyes and down the last of my drink. 'I texted her last week, I don't know what more Mum wants.'

My twin frowns at me. 'She wants to see you, Phoebe. She misses you.'

Guilt fills me and I hate it. 'I'm getting another drink. Do you want one'

Paige shakes her head. I buy my drink and return to her, hoping that we can change the topic of conversation.

Paige doesn't mention our parents again. We continue enjoying our evening. We move on to another bar and have a laugh. We drink some more and dance together.

It's nice to feel so carefree after stressing for so long.

After we've danced for a while, we sit down again to cool off. I'm sipping on my cocktail when I make eye contact with a guy across the bar.

He's human for sure, but he's cute. He smiles at me, and I smile back. Paige catches our interaction and rolls her eyes.

'He's human,' she comments.

'I know,' I reply and take another sip of my drink.

A few moments later, the human comes over to us.

'Hey, I'm Grant,' he introduces himself. 'I'm sorry to disturb your evening, I promise I'll be quick.'

I smirk at him. 'I hope not.'

He grins back at me. 'I just wanted to say that you're gorgeous and I'd love to get your number so that I could take you out sometime.'

'Thank you, Grant. I like your confidence. I'm Phoebe.'

I put out my hand for his phone. Grant smiles excitedly and hurriedly pulls his phone from his pocket. He unlocks it and hands it to me. I input my number and give it back.

'I hope to hear from you,' I tell him.

'You definitely will. Have a good night, ladies.'

My twin remains silent, judging me from across the table. I sigh as Grant walks away and she's still eyeballing me.

'What' I ask irritably. 'Go on, say it. It's written all over your face.'

'You have a mate,' she says disapprovingly.

'Oh, yeah Where is he'

'He's a human. You shouldn't date him, a relationship with a human is a bad idea.'

I snort and shake my head. 'Who said anything about a relationship It's just a bit of fun.'

She doesn't understand how good it feels to be able to do this, go out and get guys' numbers..

Paige's shoulders drop. I break eye contact, unable to handle the look of disappointment in her eyes.

'Dad regretted sleeping around,' she states. 'You will, too.'

'I don't need a mate,' I tell her.

She snorts. 'That's a stupid thing to say.'

'Time for another drink, I think,' I retort and get to my feet.

'I think we've had enough,' Paige states, grabbing my hand.

I tug my hand free from her grip. 'I want another.'

I strut over to the bar and order another two cocktails. When they come, I down one and take the other back to the table.

'I know you're going to hate me for saying this…' Paige says.

I scowl and roll my eyes. 'But you're going to say it anyway.'

She grimaces. 'I want you to come over to Mum and Dad's next weekend. We could have lunch together, or dinner, whichever works best for you.'

'I don't want to, Paige.'

'Why not They're our parents, Phoebe. You can't avoid them forever.'

I know I can't. But I need more time.

'They will try and make me go to therapy.'

'Maybe you should. You need help.'

'No, what I need is for everyone to back off and leave me be. I'm fine.'

'You're not fine, Pheebs.'

I glare at her. 'You have no idea what I feel, Paige. Don't sit there thinking you have any idea what I went through.'

Her eyes soften and she reaches for my hand over the table. I pull it back, out of her reach and pain flashes across her face.

'I know, sis. I get that. I have no idea what you went through.'

My eyes burn with unshed tears, and I curse under my breath. This is why I don't like seeing them, they force me to talk about it.

'Please, Paige, drop it.'

She does, for all of an hour. We move onto a club, and I get well and truly hammered.

At 3 AM, Paige demands that we leave and says she is taking me home. I refuse to get in the taxi she orders and wander off. She follows me down the street.

'What has gotten into you I don't even recognize you anymore,' she shouts at me.

I spin around and glare at her. 'You know, I expected our parents not to understand, but I really thought my own twin might.'

Hurt crosses her face again. Paige stops walking and crosses her arms over her chest.

'I'm not chasing you all around the city. I'm going home, Phoebe and you need to come with me.'

'I'll see you soon, Paige,' I call over my shoulder and march away from her.

She calls my name, but I ignore her and keep walking. I'm too drunk to deal with this right now. She runs after me and grabs my arm, trying to drag me over to a cab that has stopped.

I shove her off me and she trips in her heels. She falls to the floor. Paige and I both stare at each other, shocked by my actions.

'I'm sorry,' I mumble.

After seeing that she's okay, I run off.

I don't know where I'm going, but I run into the trees in my heels. Luckily, they're wedges, and I don't sink into the leaf litter.

I walk for ages. I recognize that the scent changes and I've crossed a border, but I don't know the area well enough. I don't know who owns what land around here.

Eventually, I find a patch of grass in a small clearing. I lie down and pretty much pass out on the ground.

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