Thank you for giving my book a chance. I hope you continue to read and enjoy the ride I will have for you guys. If you see this, I'm still re-editing the beginning chapters since I wrote them years back. I'm also uploading a new chapter while editing. If you don't see this, it's probably because I either finished editing or I finished the book.

Imogen

When the tape on my wrists pulled, the name of my soulmate underneath appeared. I had it since I was born. There hasn't been such a case of someone removing it before they came of age. Somehow, the elders on the Council would know. I stared at the flat grey tape; the shine worn off after years of showering and aging. Everyone was supposed to have a soulmate. But I heard if there was no name underneath; it meant no soulmate, and you vanished from the Earth like dust in the air.

You couldn't just rip the tape off. When I was younger, I would try to tug on it. Even in the shower, it didn't even become damp. It was attached to your skin until you turned sixteen when you would go to the Council and have them do their little magic trick.

Today was my sixteenth birthday, the day I've been dreading for years. I've always hated the idea where people force you to be with someone. I wanted to have the choice of being with the person I love, not the person I was supposed to be with.        

How am I supposed to believe in soulmates when I think about my mother's relationship with my father? Their relationship is a perfect example of a soulmate connection not working. I should have a choice. My heart pounded as I thought about the name underneath the tape. Honestly, the whole concept of 'soulmates' just felt kind of weird to me. Like, why should I have to listen to some name on my arm? How could a relationship be meant-to-be if it was forced from the start?

Never one to dress up, I grabbed an oversized grey hoodie: like my mood. As I braided my string black hair down my back.

I had the worst eyesight, so I usually wore large, black glasses. But if I was feeling special, the contacts would come on. I'd had them since third grade, so I was used to them. Besides, every time I took my glasses off, people looked at me like I was an alien.

My phone started buzzing. I looked down to see it was a message from Frankie.

Happy birthday IMIIIIIIIIIIIII

A smile crept on my face upon viewing the attached picture of her in bed—she was always the first person to greet me on my birthday. Ever since our early childhood, we had been drawn to each other like magnets. It was funny considering the only thing we had in common was our views on soulmates. We pledged when we were ten years old to never look at our wrist until we were older.

Our personalities were polar opposites, but it made us match so well. Second grade was where it all started. It was at lunchtime and I had just brought my favorite juice box. But as I was walking to the lunchroom, this short, curly-haired girl bumped into me, leading to my juice landing on the ground. She turned around, horrified at the mess she'd caused, and started apologizing profusely. I started having a tantrum and got taken by the teacher.

Later, during recess, she offered me a juice box for the one she'd spilled, and I decided to call it a truce. We sat there, giggling about what happened and — well, the rest was history

I quickly applied some light makeup to help me from looking like a walking zombie. By lathering the bright blush onto my white creamy tone skin and add a little lip gloss, I was ready for the day. Moments like this made me wish I had Frankie's skin tone. Frankie doesn't need to tan with her natural clear olive skin leaving me to look like a ghost beside her.

The smell of eggs and bacon wafted from the kitchen into my bedroom. My mom must've been home cooking my favorite breakfast. So I smiled and headed downstairs to devour my breakfast.

"Hey, honey!" she said.

"Hey, Mom."

I bet she forgot it was my birthday. My mother had been a single mother since I could remember. She always wanted me to do my best but spent most of her time working. She rarely remembered I existed most of the time. I didn't really blame her. There were other things to worry about more than me.

"Happy birthday!!" my mother squealed, shaking my body excitedly.

"Oh, you remembered for once, Mom," I sarcastically answered, waiting for her to let go of me.

"Of course, Imi. It's a special day." She smiled brightly, her monolids eyes turning upwards and appearing like cresents moons.

I rolled my eyes, dreading the conversation I knew was coming. "Just because of the soulmate thing."

She'd always wanted me to know who I would marry. I didn't know why. Every time I asked, she changed the subject. I just knew she married her soulmate, but he left when I was younger. She never mentioned him, and I didn't really ask. When she was around, we usually had other things to worry about.

"Yes, it's very important. This will make or break you."

"Well, mom, I'm going to be late." I grabbed a piece of toast, kissed my mom's cheek, and dashed out the door.

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I got to the school entrance and waved at Kenny. Being friendly with the security guard had its perks, like him turning a blind eye when I felt like ditching. The halls were full, and as I walked through, I was forced to push through the horde of students. Turning around through one of the halls, I caught the sight of my locker which was completely blue like a robin's egg. I punched in the combination as I noticed a familiar figure in the corner of my eye.

"Hey, Imogen," a deep voice called out. The boy shut his locker.

"He-" I turned my head, coming face to face with Drew, who was leaning against his locker. I felt the butterflies in my stomach and my nerves went on edge. Why am I getting nervous? He's just a normal boy who's talking to me. I don't like him whatsoever. Wait, why is he talking to me? The last time he spoke a word to me was during freshman year, and it was only because I intentionally came up with a plan to get him to speak to me.  

For the longest time, I used to have the biggest crush on him. Unlike the rest of the meatheads on the football team, Drew was sweet and thoughtful. I'd only spoken to him five times, but there had definitely been a connection. Of course, it could've just been me. Hard to notice anything when he'd look at me with eyes the color of emeralds. 

And then he'd smile. The boy could've done toothpaste commercials.

I decided not to pursue the crush anymore. It was just a dumb little girl phase. It wasn't like I really liked him or anything.

"It's your birthday, isn't it?" He asked, crossing his arms and showcasing the biceps trying to pop out of his shirt. My heart started beating irregularly, seeing his veins on full display.

I raised one of my brows. "Yeah, how did you know?" I wondered, feeling the annoying butterflies erupt in my stomach.

"A little bird told me," he joked, biting his lip while eyeing me up and down.

I giggled at his joke, trying to figure out what else to say to him. Suddenly, the bell rang, and I closed my locker, grabbing my bag. I nod awkwardly. "I'll see ya," I said and rushed to class, baffled by what "little bird" he could possibly be referring to.

After dropping my books onto my desk, I sat down in the least comfortable chair ever. Sadly, Frankie was nowhere to be seen. Quickly, I took out my phone from my back bag and looked to see no new messages.

How dare she leave me alone on my birthday! Like suffering in school wasn't enough now I had to be in misery on my own. She's definitely missing the boy conversation today. I have no one to fangirl to about my crush finally speaking to me again. Wait. . .Did I say crush? I meant ex-crush.

Ugh

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"Honey, change into something fancy," my mother suggested, her lips flashing a wide grin.

My eyes instantly rolled, wanting to disappear for the night. "Fine." I rushed up to change, grabbing my black leather dress. I whipped my hair into two pigtails. At the last minute, I decided I should top off my outfit with some combat boots. Finishing up, I got ready to leave my room and barely noticed my glasses lying on my bed. Not wanting to go through the work of getting my contacts on, I reached for them and put them on. I prepared myself to face mom's nagging.

"Where are your contact lenses?" my mother asked as soon as I walked down.

"Don't even start, Mom. I'm not putting on contacts just for this. End of discussion."

"Okay, alright. I just think you look-"

"Better without the glasses, yeah. I know, Mom, I heard you the first time," I huffed, placing my loose hair strands behind my ear.

"Okay fine honey, get in the car." I grabbed the keys from her hand and walked down the driveway to the car.

I got in the car and mom drove me to the government brick house called Euphoria. Euphoria was massive— I had to crane my neck to take in the full view of the white pillars. It had red and brown bricks that gave the building an old appearance. I sat there, mesmerized by the gigantic waterfall in front of the building, surrounded by beautiful fresh flowers. I hoped there was someone in there to tell me where to go because I would be lost in a second. We parked right by the front, and I started to feel nervous.

I bit my lip, fidgeting with the edge of my dress. "Mom, do you have any advice?"

My mother placed her hand on my thigh, letting out a sigh. "Imi, you might not like your soulmate, but life keeps going. Now hurry and go in." She unlocked the car, shooing me out of it.

Well, thanks, Mom!  I exhaled loudly, dreading what was coming next.

There were police officers right out in front to keep everyone safe. I showed them my ID to prove I was sixteen. They opened the door for me, and another officer inside opened the other. I thanked them both, and I entered the building. The brightness of the room made me squint. My shoes clicked against the floor as I walked to the front desk. An older woman sat behind, focusing intently on her computer screen.

"What do you want?" she snapped, sending a shiver down my spine.

"I'm here to find out about my soulmate," I mumbled, fidgeting with my foot.

She sighed, lifting herself from her seat. "Make two rights and a left."

I started going on my merry way, following the direction that she'd pointed towards. Midway through, I lost track of the directions and couldn't decide if it was two lefts or two rights. Eventually, I found a room that had the word "Soulmate" on top of it.

Wow, moments from now, I will be facing my biggest fear.

"I guess this is the room," I mumbled, trying to take deep breaths before going in.

I opened the door slowly, causing it to creak. I kept my pace slow, not being able to see in the dark. This wasn't how I imagined it going. A lamp sat on the table, acting as the only light source for the room. Surprisingly, I avoided tripping as I made my way around. I noticed someone sitting at the desk and started walking towards it. The man there played creepily with his fingers, thumping them against his desk, not uttering a sound until I arrived.

"You must be Imogen."

How the hell did he know that? I couldn't be the only one with a birthday today. . .

"Um, yes. . ."

"It's your turn to find your soulmate."

"Yeah," I said, clasping my hands together. "That's why I came here."

His finger pointed up at me. "Don't give me an attitude." I lifted my hand and positioned it on the desk. The man put his hand on my wrist, pain instantly searing through me. It felt as if needles dipped in alcohol were constantly stabbing me through my skin. I started to feel a tear form from the intense pain.

No one mentioned this would hurt! I've never felt unbearable pain in all my sixteen years; now I really wished this day would just end. Why do I have to go through so much to find out who my soulmate is?

Finally, he let go of my wrist, and the pain disappeared with his touch.

"It's done. Check when you go home." He motioned for me to exit.

I nodded, taking in what just happened. I walked slowly back to the main entrance, holding my wrist. I waved goodbye to the cruel lady at the desk, but she ignored it. I thanked the pleasant police officers on the way out and wished them goodnight. My mom's car was still parked by the front. She was smiling brightly as I walked over.

I waited sixteen years for that! I wasn't expecting a life-defining moment, but come on. My arm still ached from the man's grasp and my wrist felt itchy. At least it was all over now. The only way to salvage this day was to go home and eat cake.

"How was it?" my mother asked, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"Terrible! Can we go home? I'm tired." I really just wanted to get home and check things on my phone. All that pain took out a lot of energy from me. Frankie should have warned me about how painful it would be. Her birthday was a few months ago, so she had experienced it already. I would be sending her a slightly mean text.

Once we reached the house, I went straight to my room to sleep. My bed was calling my name, and I collapsed in it, losing the urge to devour my cake. After I checked my messages from Frankie, I turned off my light. I lay in my bed, twisting and turning, not being able to fall asleep.

I couldn't sleep, feeling my arm beginning to irritate me. My wrist started to ache with unbearable pain. My arm felt like it was replaced with ice and electricity. Like a reflex, I ripped off the bandage and gasped. I didn't mean to! I tried to cover my tattoo again. I struggled to make the adhesive stay, but it was too late. The tape fell to the floor and my gaze unwillingly went to my wrist. 

Hi, I hope you like my book!! Thank you for reading it!! I hope you enjoy it!!!! Comment if you like Imogen so far!!!! I really enjoyed writing this and love the character I made and I hope you're able to love it too!!!!

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Edited