Soulmates

“Baby,” my girlfriend, Chelsea, whined. “What,” I asked. “We need to do something,” she said, in that whiny voice of hers. “Read a book,” I suggested. She looked at me like I was an idiot. “Or not,” I said. Buzz buzz. Chelsea checked her phone. “Shoot,” she muttered, “I gotta go.” She grabbed her keys and ran out the door. “Bye,” I said to the empty room. “Is she gone?” Shayla, my younger sister, asked. “Yes,” I said. “I don’t see why you put up with her,” Shayla said. “You wanna swim?” I asked, not wanting to talk about Chelsea. She nodded. “Go grab your suit,” I ordered, walking to my truck. She got her suit on, grabbed one of my old shirts, and ran out the door behind me. We headed to the Rec Center. The Rec Center is really just a hangout spot. You can swim, play pretty much any sport, and get free food.
“Angel!” I hear a yell, as I step out of the truck. It’s one of my best friends, Chase. “Hey, man,” I said, slapping him on the back. A few feet behind him, I noticed his girlfriend and soulmate, Kara. In some ways, I envy Chase. He has his soulmate, and all I want to do is find mine. Even though I’ve never seen Chelsea’s tattoo I know she isn’t the one. As we walked the Rec Center, I noticed a group of guys playing basketball. The weird thing was, there was a girl playing. She was good, too. Just then, her eyes met mine and I felt a jolt go through my system. She had the most startling shade of green eyes I’d ever seen. They were dark green with light green and gold flecks. I wondered if her long black hair was as silky as it looked.
I went into the locker room and changed into swim trunks. When I was very young, I got into the habit of covering up my tattoo in public. I put gauze on my shoulder, covering my tattoo. I met up with Shayla, Kara, and Chase outside the locker room. We made our way across the court, and a basketball flew out of nowhere and slammed into the side of my head. I slowly looked around, trying to find whoever threw the ball. I noticed Kyle Lane, standing off to the side, staring at me. I made a beeline for him. The green-eyed girl stepped in between us. She put a hand on my chest to prevent me from going further. “Sweetie, this is between me and him,” I said. “I’m not your sweetie,” she fired back, her eyes flashing. This close to her, I noticed she smelled like vanilla, and she only came up to my chest.
Kyle moved her out of the way and took a step toward me. “I don’t think you’re gonna find anything here, wings.” Kyle said, using a nickname I despise. “You throw the ball?” I asked, noticing Shayla come closer to me. “What if I did? What you gonna do? Dive-bomb me? Oooh I’m so scared, I’m shaking,” he said laughing. I lunged forward and punched him in the mouth. For the most part, anyway. “No!” I heard Shayla and the green-eyed girl yell. I headed out the side door to the pool, leaving the green-eyed girl to tend to Kyle. When we got to the picnic area, Chase spoke. “That was a nice hit, man,” he praised. “I guess,” I said. Shayla just stared at me. “I thought you wanted to swim,” I said.
She took the hint and ran off to the diving board. “You okay,” Kara asked. “Awesome,” I said sarcastically. “She’s not supposed to see that from me. She sees it enough.” “Shayla will be fine. She’s a tough kid.” Kara said reassuringly. “Yeah…..” I said, staring at the other side of the pool. Kyle was making his way outside with the help of the green-eyed girl. It looked like his jaw might’ve been broken judging by the swelling. He had a little stream of blood trickling out of his nose, too. I felt a sort of sick satisfaction. I couldn’t help noticing the green-eyed girl looked good in a two-piece. They sat next to the snack bar.
When she turned to put a towel over the seat, I noticed a tattoo on her right shoulder blade. The same place as mine. “Hey, guys I’ll be back,” I said, leaving before they had a chance to respond. I walked around the pool toward the snack bar, trying not to get my hopes up. As I approached them, I slowed my pace. Did I really want to see the tattoo if she wasn’t the one? Did I want to suffer the disappointment again? I decided I did. I passed their table. When I saw the tattoo, I stopped dead. Her tattoo was an exact copy of mine. I forced myself to keep to the snack bar. I bought a Dr. Pepper and made my way back to the picnic area. “Angel,” Kara said worriedly as I sat down. “What’s up, you look like you seen a ghost,” Chase said. “Nah I’m good,” I replied, deciding to keep it a secret for now. A little while later, I got a text from Chelsea saying I needed to come get her. I sighed. “What,” Chase asked. “Just Chelsea,” I replied.
“Dude, that girl is whack,” Chase said. I glared at him. He raised his hands in surrender. “Just my opinion,” he stated quickly. “You guys mind giving Shayla a ride,” I asked Kara. “You know we will,” she said. I texted Chelsea, told her I’d be there in a minute, and took off to my truck. I pulled up outside her house a few minutes later, and she met me at the road. I pulled away from the curb, as she stared out the window. “What happened,” I asked. “We need to talk,” she said. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. She looked nervous. “Just spit it out,” I said. “I’m…..I’m seeing someone else,” Chelsea said, looking out the window. “Is it your soulmate,” I asked, my thoughts flickering to the green-eyed girl. “I’m not sure,” she said. “Find out,” I said. “Are we….okay,” she asked tentatively. I shrugged.
“You found her, didn’t you?” Chelsea asked. “Why do you ask,” I said. “I’ve been with you for two and a half years now. I can read you pretty well,” she said. After a second's consideration, I nodded. “Who is she,” Chelsea asked curiously. “I don’t know,” I said. “Well, I hope she deserves you,” she said. Yeah, me too, I thought.