Mirror in the Forest: Book One

by B. Groves

  There was a quote by Rick that stopped Mark cold, and it was the mention of a mirror haunting him in a statement he had given.

  Mark never mentioned the connection he made to Hal and Bill, because they didn’t seem to notice it or maybe they knew already. It had made him stop and wonder what it was that was really going on with Rick Tanner and how it connected to Jessica.

  He wanted to write it off as psychosis, but he was still having doubts. Hal said he wondered if Rick had something to do with Sara Miller, but Mark didn’t think so. The strange way that Sara died and knife still missing continued to gnaw the back of his mind.

  It was funny before this set of incidents happened twenty something years ago; there were other incidents similar to Rick’s that went back even further. He didn’t want to, but there was something suspicious about Jessica, that made him want to question her. She had already lied to him about the bear when she first met him, and he had a hunch there were more lies.

  He had been keeping an eye on her, but found nothing out of the ordinary. He tried not to let his bias get in the way, but Jessica was a sweet girl who would not hurt anyone that he could see, plus he loved kissing her. He remembered back to Mandy Cooper’s party and how innocent she was, and then he remembered her change and how she hit a boy for teasing her not two months later.

  The mention of that mirror, though. It was still nagging at him.

  Mark shook his head, and began to close up shop for the night. Bill was already patrolling and the state police would be on the radio since Marge was sick, and Paul was out with Bill.

  He was really looking forward to that beer.

  Chapter 31

  Jessica was so proud that her parents trusted her enough to leave her the house for the weekend of her birthday party. Her parents decided to go off to Seattle for the weekend, and said that it would be her job to have everything clean by the time they came home Sunday evening. They also left her their phone number at the hotel they were staying at just in case something happened.

  Tessa, Alex, and Jessica had decorated the house, and even though Jessica had just turned eighteen that Thursday she was so happy to finally have a birthday party she could enjoy.

  She stood in the middle of the living room, and could not stop smiling as people began to fill in.

  Alex was able to talk to his older brother, and got him the liquor they needed along with a beer keg.

  The music boomed over the stereo system, and the best thing was it was brand-new and state of the art, that her father had bought her mother for Christmas.

  The Footloose soundtrack was playing on the stereo, and Jessica would switch it out soon.

  Her parents had bought her a big birthday cake that sat in the middle of the dining room table. It was her favorite; chocolate with white and blue icing saying Happy 18 Jessica!

  Presents began to pile up beside the cake, and the party was in full swing.

  Jessica had been happy about something else; Kelly Martin and the rest of the team showed up and seemed really excited to be there.

  They all congratulated each other on making the playoffs, and excitedly talked about the upcoming games.

  Even Danny Davenport was there. They exchanged smiles, and he gave her a kiss and a hug for her birthday, and Jessica was happy with just that. She had a sneaky suspicion that Tessa and Danny were getting closer, and Jessica was not angry at all, in fact she was happy for them. She would have to remind herself to tell Tessa that, so Tessa would not try to keep it a secret.

  Jessica kept peering out of the window in hopes of seeing a certain Sheriff pull up, but was disappointed when she hadn’t spotted him yet.

  Jessica mingled as she carried around a drink in her hand. She wanted to be responsible, and decided just a couple of them, and made sure she ate before she had them so there would be no repeats of last time.

  Tessa was not drinking either because of her past scares, and tried to prod Jessica to get wasted, but Jessica said she was fine with just a couple.

  Alex and Jessica had moved most of the furniture in the living room out so there would be a small dance floor. It worked, and Jessica was relieved to see people dancing and laughing already.

  Amber approached Jessica after a while, and Amber gave her a big smile. Jessica could see she was getting drunk, and almost laughed.

  “Good job, girl! This is awesome!” Amber squealed, looking around.

  “Thank you! Glad you and the others are enjoying yourselves,” Jessica answered.

  Amber suddenly turned serious. She tugged on Jessica’s shirt sleeve, pulling her aside. “I want to tell you something Jess, and I don’t want you to take this the wrong way.”

  Jessica knew the drinks were making Amber loosen her tongue, and Jessica was interested in what she had to say.

  “I like you, and I always have. I’m sorry Mandy was such a bitch that night, but she is my friend and I miss her,” Amber said.

  Jessica nodded. “I understand.”

  “So, you understand why we thought you joined basketball to get back at Mandy then?”

  “It was never about that. I just wanted to do something for my parents for my senior year,” Jessica answered, only telling the partial truth. “I would have tried out even if Mandy were still around.”

  Amber nodded seemingly satisfied with her answer. “Kelly is still having her doubts, but I talked her into believing you, but I will warn you…”

  Jessica’s eyebrows rose. “Warn me?”

  Amber looked around and hesitated, but said, “Listen. I’ve always defended you, and I always will, but Kelly will be Kelly, she can be worse than Mandy. Just play your ass off during the playoffs and you should be fine.”

  Jessica felt her heart sink a little. So, Kelly would never really be a friend to Jessica no matter what she did.

  “I will Amber, and thanks for the warning,” Jessica answered putting her hand on Amber’s arm.

  Amber looked around again, saying “I can’t wait to graduate and get away from some of these bitches forever, but the act will go on till May.”

  Jessica raised her eyebrows at the confession and said, “I feel the same way.”

  Amber smiled, but Jessica could see it didn’t reach her eyes, but then she was suddenly distracted by one of the footballs players who whisked her away.

  Jessica stood there for a moment, and didn’t talk to anyone. So, Kelly was planning something, and Jessica would be the victim of it. Jessica felt the sadness wash over her as she replayed Amber’s words in her head. They were setting Jessica up to fail, and that made her even more determined to help them win the state championships.

  Jessica thought for a moment that she may have her next wish after all…..

  Jessica stayed in the corner and contemplated what to do next. She knew she needed to see The Spirit of the Mirror again soon, and try to put a stop to it before something happened. She didn’t want to take Kelly out if she was innocent of anything, and in case Amber was talking out of her ass. She knew she might just have to watch and wait.

  She already had to deal with that once, and that was with Sara Miller.

  Jessica stayed in her corner for a while just letting the beat of the music interrupt her troubled thoughts.

  She felt the tears start to well up in her eyes, but wiped them away. She would not let these girls get the better of her no matter what she did.

  This was her party, and she wanted to enjoy herself. She decided to put her thoughts aside, and try to be the best hostess she could be.

  Yet, there she stood in the corner, and just muttered a few words as people breezed by her to retrieve food or drinks from the kitchen.

  She knew she had to pull it together somehow…

  “Jessica?”

  Jessica was still lost in her thoughts, not hearing the male voice at first.

  “Jessica?”

  Jessica’s head snapped up to focus on the person calling her name.

  Mark McKenzie stood a few feet away fro
m her holding a small present, with a slight concern in his deep blue eyes as he tried to get her attention.

  Jessica shook her head and tried to smile. “Hi!”

  “Hey! You okay?” Mark asked, walking up to her and putting a hand on her shoulder.

  Jessica tried to smile again in reassurance while responding, “Yeah, I think the drinks got to me a little again.”

  Mark smiled knowingly and said, “Well, as long as you’re alright.”

  “I am and I am so glad you came,” Jessica said, hoping he would not take his hand off her shoulder, in fact she wished his hand would do other things.

  Mark softened, and said, “Me too.”

  Jessica frowned as she spotted his clothing. She noticed that he was in civilian clothes with jeans and a black T-shirt with a brown jacket. God, he looked hot, she thought almost turning a dark crimson. He was definitely not into the fashion of the times, and Jessica liked it that way. It would just make him look silly.

  Mark followed where Jessica’s eyes traveled and laughed. “I’m on my break right now. Another deputy is covering for me. I didn’t want to scare your friends, but some were giving me the evil eye.”

  Jessica laughed and said, “So, I guess you’re gonna ignore the keg and…..”

  Mark winked at her. “I didn’t see a thing.”

  Jessica grinned, but still felt relief wash over her. She remembered the night of Mandy Cooper’s party and heard about the arrests they made.

  “How long can you stay?” Jessica asked hopefully.

  Mark looked disappointed, “Not too long, but I promised I would stop by and here I am.”

  Jessica gave him a soft smile. “I’m so glad you did, even if it just for a short time.”

  Mark still hadn’t taken his hand off her shoulder, and then he started to lean into her.

  “Happy Birthday,” he whispered against her cheek.

  Jessica turned towards his face, smiling when he leaned closer to her.

  She opened her mouth ready for his lips to touch hers, and felt her excitement rise in her belly knowing he was going to kiss her.

  She could just barely feel his breath on her face, and leaned back a little to steady herself waiting for Mark to put his lips on hers.

  But! The kiss never came.

  The music suddenly stopped making Jessica and Mark both jump.

  Jessica regretfully left Mark’s grasp and frowned as she made her way down the hallway through groaning and moaning of the party goers.

  She turned to see Mark right behind her, and almost ignored it so she could get that birthday kiss she wanted so badly.

  She turned to the dining room and spotted Tessa standing there at the birthday cake.

  Tessa laughed when she spotted Jessica’s confused look.

  “Everyone! May I have your attention please?” Tessa hollered to the crowd of people.

  Jessica turned looking doubtfully at Mark, who in turn gave her a nod of support.

  “I am going to keep this short and sweet, and wanted to wish my best friend in the whole world a very happy birthday!”

  Everyone cheered around Jessica, and Jessica couldn’t help but blush at the attention. People raised their drinks in the air, and Jessica almost laughed at the drunken singing of the birthday song break out for her.

  Tessa lit the candles on the birthday cake and beckoned for Jessica to come blow them out.

  The partygoers cheered again as the song finished, and Jessica spotted Mark standing there smiling at her.

  Then the yells of “speech!” began to come from the crowd.

  Jessica blushed again in embarrassment, and said, “I want to thank everyone for coming. I never thought I could be having this much fun.”

  Jessica took one more deep breath and yelled, “Fuck speeches! Let’s party!”

  She blew out her eighteen candles among cheers from the crowd and the music came back on courtesy of Alex. Tessa came and gave her best friend a strong hug, along with Alex and everyone else.

  Mark placed his present down the on table, and said, “I have to go.”

  Jessica pouted a little as she cut the cake. “Already?”

  Mark was regretting leaving, but Jessica knew he had to. “Don’t worry, there is something in the gift for you.”

  Jessica gazed upon the present on the table, and then smiled back up to him.

  “Thank you, “ she said softly.

  He smiled back to her, and turned to leave.

  She hated seeing Mark leave, but knew he had his duty as the Sheriff to protect and serve the people of Leon’s Crossing.

  She hated it that they couldn’t finish their kiss.

  She turned to Tessa and said, “Can you finish this?”

  Tessa nodded and began to finish cutting the cake, but tried to look on as Jessica greedily unwrapped Mark’s present that she picked up first.

  “What is it?” Tessa asked dying to know what Mark had bought Jessica.

  Jessica couldn’t help but laugh as she held a copy of the book Ugly Duckling in her hand.

  A noted fell out of it and she picked it up off the floor.

  Jessica beamed when she read the note, handing it over to a waiting Tessa, who started giggling.

  Chapter 32

  Jessica was exhausted, but happy. The party had gone very well, except the occasional mess she had to clean up. Everyone had been mostly respectful the whole night. They had to chase a few couples out, but otherwise no issues that Jessica could see, and nothing broken except a couple of glasses.

  It was now five o’clock in the morning, and Jessica, Alex, and Tessa were finishing cleaning up the house.

  Jessica leaned against the table and wiped her brow with a rag in her hand. Tessa was napping on the couch, and Alex sat there with his head in his hands on the table.

  “You better not barf there,” Jessica warned Alex.

  Alex looked up and gave her the middle finger. “I won’t, your highness. Isn’t there something you need to do?”

  Jessica took a deep breath and started to tremble a little. “I have a few more things I need to do,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady.

  “Bullshit,” Alex muttered and put his head back in his arms.

  “I do,” Jessica tried to reason, but not convincingly.

  “Like Alex said, ‘Bullshit,” Tessa suddenly said from the couch smirking.

  “I…..”

  “He's waiting for you, moron,” Alex said.

  Tessa got up from the couch, and came over to her friend. “We can finish up here, just go.”

  “Says you,” Alex said groaning.

  Jessica hesitated. “I can’t. I want this place to be spotless.”

  Tessa threw her arms up in frustration and Alex raised his head again and shook it.

  “It’s fucking fine! You’re going to miss getting laid on your eighteenth birthday?” Alex asked, incredulous.

  Jessica looked from Alex to Tessa and back again. She still hesitated, because her nerves of what was going to happen were frazzled already.

  “If you don’t leave now, then I am taking you over there myself, and dropping you off,” Alex threatened.

  Tessa made Jessica look her square in the eyes. “I know where the spare keys are. I will lock up.”

  Jessica took a deep breath, and said, “I should go, huh?”

  Alex ran a hand through his hair and banged his head on the table, but regretted it. “Ouch. Godammit, go!”

  Jessica made her decision as her two friends continued to stare her down. She finally rushed up the stairs, and began to freshen up. Her hands shook as she washed her face and did her hair.

  She gazed into the bathroom mirror, and was satisfied with how she looked, even though she was tired.

  She grabbed her purse, and her keys. Taking another deep breath, she walked back downstairs and hugged her two friends thanking them for finishing up for her.

  Jessica’s heart pounded against her rib cage when she pulled up in front o
f Mark McKenzie’s house.

  Jessica spotted his Camaro in the driveway, and an outside light still on.

  She looked around and was surprised by how big the house was.

  It was two different brown colors, and just one story. The roof was a dark brown and the house was a light brown that looked like a brick home painted over. The shutters were also a dark brown, and a big window accented the front, but was covered by a white curtain.

  There was a carport where the Camaro was parked, and Jessica could see another car sitting behind it, but could not make out the model from her viewpoint.

  The yard was bigger than her parents’ house, and Jessica thought it looked well maintained.

  A small landscape decorated the front of the house, but everything looked dead right now from the winter. There were other houses dotting the street here and there.

  She gripped the steering wheel for a minute, trying to decide if she had enough courage to do this or not.

  She looked up to see the door open, and Mark stood there in the same clothes he had on when he came to her party.

  Jessica felt herself relax a little as he waved to her from the door.

  Jessica smiled and waved back. Trying to calm her inner thoughts, she grabbed her purse and exited the car.

  Mark opened the screen door as she walked up and she could see he was holding a cup of coffee.

  He smiled brightly and said, “Hey, thanks for coming.”

  “Thank you for having me.” Jessica swallowed hard, but tried to hide it.

  She smiled as she spotted the sunrise off in the distance, and thought this was the longest she had ever been awake.

  “Come on in,” he said, stepping aside to let Jessica in.

  Jessica knew she walked by him too fast and entered his home, but she was so nervous she could barely breathe now, feeling a lump form in her throat.