Mirror Image: Shattered Mirror Prophecies Book 1

by Bailey James

  She smiles at me, but there’s something not quite right about it. “Why don’t you invite him to go with us to the movies? Carly, Owen, Noah, and I are all going. We’d love to have you and meet the boy who’s grabbed so much of your attention.”

  It’s my turn to twist my hands together. Movement at the mirror has me glancing over at it.

  Jackson gives me a sad smile and mouths, “Sorry.”

  I turn my attention back to Leah. “I’d love to, but I just don’t think that’s a great idea. I mean, Noah and Owen are Ty’s friends. I don’t think they’ll welcome the guy who stole their best friend’s girlfriend with open arms, do you?”

  She shrugs. “They’ll be fine. We’re all curious to meet him. Please come.”

  I shake my head. “I’m sorry. I just don’t think it’s a good idea. I’m just getting to know him, and I don’t want the boys to chase him off.” I grin and nudge her with my elbow, trying for some levity.

  Leah’s mouth forms into a thin line. “It’s this Jackson character, isn’t it?”

  My smile slips. “What?”

  “He doesn’t want you to see your friends. He’s the one who’s stopping you from seeing us. From calling me. He made you break up with Ty.”

  My mouth falls open. “What? No! That’s not it at all,” I say, after I find my voice. Where did she get that from? “It honestly slipped my mind. I was having so much fun with Jackson.” I let a little anger slide into my tone. “And no one tells me what to do. I didn’t want to be with Ty anymore. Yes, part of the reason was Jacks, but not the only reason.”

  She stares at me and then hangs her head. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”

  I reach over and hug her with my good arm. “It’s okay. I understand. I feel the same reason when you ignore us.” I lift an eyebrow to punctuate my point.

  She looks down at her hands. “That’s not the only reason I’m here.”

  “Okay, so what is the real reason?”

  She peers back up, and there’s a sadness in her eyes. “I’m hoping to convince you to take Ty back. He’s miserable, and I thought you’d be, too. Especially since you’ve practically gone AWOL on us. You guys have been inseparable since you started dating. I know you wouldn’t have told him you loved him if you didn’t.” She says it so fast and all in one breath that it takes me a minute for my brain to catch up with what she said.

  My heart pinches. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. I don’t love Ty.”

  “You did. Until the day of the accident.”

  I don’t know precisely when things started to change, but it doesn’t really matter anyway. The fact of the matter is things have changed. I can’t take Ty back. As much as I want to. Not when Jackson is my every waking thought.

  “I can’t, Leah. I’m sorry. I want Jackson, not Ty.”

  My eyes flit over to the mirror. Jackson smiles at me before I turn my gaze back to Leah.

  Her eyes flash, and her facial features turn hard. “You barely know this guy. You just met him a few weeks ago. Ty’s the one you’re meant to be with, not Jackson.”

  I sigh and shake my head, but force a smile to try and de-escalate the situation I can feel starting. “No. I’m not.”

  She grabs my hands tight in hers. “It’s the accident. It’s messing with your head. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

  “Leah, why can’t you be happy for me? You were happy for me a week ago.”

  She nods quickly. “Yeah, I was glad you found someone that seemed to make you happy, but that was before you started ignoring everyone. Before I saw what it was doing to Ty not to have you around. What it’s doing to you.” She gestures around my room. “I mean, look at this, Lily. This is disgusting. I know you still love Ty, and he loves you.”

  This time I can’t keep the anger from my voice. “Well, I like Jackson, and he likes me. I’m happy with him.”

  “He’s making you think that. Why else would you have ignored me?”

  Anger burns in my chest as I think about how many times she’s ignored me in this same exact situation. I take a deep breath. Enough is enough. I know she’s worried about me, but I’m tired of explaining things over and over. Not to mention, I’m tired of the hypocrisy.

  “Look, I’m sorry I ignored you, but it was an accident. I’m not taking Ty back. And I’m sure he wouldn’t take me back even if I wanted him to.” I force my back straight and stare into her eyes and say, firmly, “I’m staying with Jackson. If you can’t accept that…I guess…I guess we can’t be friends.”

  Her mouth falls open. “You’re dumping me, too. For a guy?”

  I sigh, shaking my head, my heart breaking because I can’t tell her the truth, and I know I’m going to lose her too.

  “I’m not dumping you. I’m giving you a choice. You can either accept my decision to be with Jackson, or you can’t.” I shrug to hide the pain. “I’m leaving it up to you.”

  She nods, her eyes welling up. “Fine. I guess…I guess I’ll go.” She grabs her purse and leaves the room without so much as a backward glance.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “Are you okay?” Jackson asks me.

  “Yes. No. I don’t know.” I drag my hands through my hair as I pace, cursing the knots my fingers find. I haven’t seen a portal-less mirror in over a week. Every time I look in one, Jackson is staring back at me. I’m sure I look like Medusa’s ugly stepsister.

  “Come here,” he says.

  “What?”

  “Come here, Tiger Lily.” His voice is quiet, almost intoxicating. Even if I didn’t want to, I have no choice but to do as he asks.

  When I sit in front of him, he reaches out, and I automatically put my hand over his. It’s only natural, after all.

  “I don’t know how you feel since I don’t have a lot of friends. You’re the closest thing I have to a best friend,” he says, and my heart breaks a little. “But I know if you suddenly started ignoring me for someone else, I wouldn’t be happy. But,” he continues with a frown, “I also wouldn’t have let you go so easily.”

  I sigh and drag my hands through my hair, hissing when I catch a knot. “I know that. I feel the same when she does it to me. And, honestly? I didn’t mean to ignore her. I wouldn’t. She’s as important to me as my own sister. Most of the time I think of her as one, but since this stupid accident, and then everything after, I just can’t seem to care about anything else.”

  “I know the feeling,” he mumbles. “You’re my every waking thought. I can’t get you out of my head. Not that I want to.” He winks and grins, showing his dimple. “But maybe you should talk to her. Go with her somewhere.”

  “I want to spend time with you,” I say, my voice taking on a whiny edge that annoys me.

  “I’ll be here when you get back.”

  “Promise?”

  “Yes, of course. I lo…I’ll wait as long as it takes.”

  I sigh and stand back up to pace. “What if she’s so mad she won’t talk to me?”

  “Well, that’s the chance you’re going to have to take. Is she worth it?”

  I spin around to face him. “She’s my best friend. Of course, she’s worth it.”

  He smiles and spreads his hands in a helpless gesture. “Well, then, don’t you think you should try and make it up to her?”

  With a groan I nod, but sit on the floor, cupping my chin with my hands. “I’m scared. There’s only so much I can share with her. I can’t tell her who you really are, and I can’t get back together with Ty. Not with all these secrets. And even if we get past that, what if she doesn’t want to be friends with me after all that?”

  “Well, you’ll still have me. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll always be here for you.”

  My heart melts, and I touch the mirror. “Thank you.”

  His hand meets mine. “You’re welcome.”
/>
  His door opens, and he jumps to his feet as his mom pokes her head around the door. “Jackson?”

  “Yes, Mom?”

  “Can I talk to you, please?” Her face and voice are oddly serious. I’ve only seen her a handful of times, but even I can tell this isn’t normal for her.

  “Of course, what’s wrong?” He glances quickly at me, giving me a questioning look. I shrug, and he focuses back on his mom.

  She glances at the mirror and then over at him. “There are some things I need to show you. Why don’t you come with me, and I’ll explain?”

  “Okay. Sure. Just let me finish what I was doing, and I’ll be right there.”

  She gives him a sharp nod and then walks away, leaving his door open.

  He steps closer to the mirror and lowers his voice to say, “I have to deal with that.”

  I make a shooing motion with my hands. “Go ahead. I’ll be here.”

  “It may be a while.”

  “I’ll still be here.” I smile.

  He kisses his fingers and presses them against the glass. I hesitate before doing the same, putting my fingers over his. He grins and goes after his mom while I wander back to my bed.

  He isn’t gone even five minutes before I start missing him. “Get a hold of yourself, Lily. You’re acting like an idiot. He’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Deciding that now is as good a time as any, I dig my phone out from where it hides among a banana peel and a bra.

  Butterflies war in my stomach as I hit the send button on Leah’s number. After four rings, it goes to voicemail.

  “Hey, Leah, it’s Lily. Uh…I wanted to apologize for…earlier. Will you call me? Or better yet, why don’t you come back over? Talk to you later.”

  Flipping my phone back onto the bed, I glance around my room and groan. It looks like a pigsty. I’m not the neatest person, but Leah was right. This is disgusting. I make a face and then look around for the remote for the radio. Cleaning is always easier with some tunes.

  After ten minutes, I give up and turn it on manually and then start sorting through the mess of clothes on the floor, putting them all in neat little piles, so I don’t have to do it when I get to the laundry room.

  Within an hour, my room is practically perfect. A few things can probably be straightened up yet, but all in all, I’m impressed with myself. A new song comes on the radio by the brand-new band Bach’s Revenge, and I smile when I recognize the opening melody. It’s become a fast favorite of mine. The voice of the lead singer, Sebastian Riley, reminds me of Jackson’s.

  I watch her in the shadows

  As twilight swallows day

  She’s close enough to almost touch

  But still a world away

  The stars are shining for her

  The moon, it’s kissed her face

  There’s nothing that I wouldn’t give

  Just to take its place

  I’d give anything to touch her

  If only for a day

  Instead, I am alone here

  So close yet far away

  Time is stacked against me

  Passing way too soon

  I’m racing hard against the clock

  I’m jealous of the moon

  It was over before it began,

  My heart was on my sleeve,

  If only I could stand beside her,

  This dream, I must believe,

  I’m outside looking inside,

  Trapped in this parallel,

  Secrets kept and never told,

  Inside this living hell,

  I’d give anything to touch her

  If only for a day

  Instead, I am alone here

  So close yet far away

  Time is stacked against me

  Passing way too soon

  I’m racing hard against the clock

  I’m jealous of the moon

  I hug myself and sway to the music, pretending it’s Jackson’s arms around me. Closing my eyes, I imagine I’m wearing a white dress, and the bluish-white light of his moon washes over us as we dance under the open sky.

  Jackson’s voice is in my ear, his warm breath tickling my neck as he sings to me…

  To wrap my arms around her

  And bring her into me

  The pain, it breaks me up inside

  Cause it will never be

  To whisper to her softly

  To tell her it’s okay

  I’d give it all, everything

  Just to make her stay

  I’d give anything to touch her

  If only for a day

  Instead, I am alone here

  So close yet far away

  Time is stacked against me

  Passing way too soon

  I’m racing hard against the clock

  I’m jealous of the moon

  A smile creeps over my lips as the last two weeks play like a movie behind my eyelids, and I realize what I’ve denied to myself. I’m not falling in love with Jackson. I am in love with Jackson.

  “Oh my God. I’m in love with Jackson,” I say and start laughing. “I’m really, really in love.” This is so much stronger than anything I’ve ever felt for anyone. I spin around in a circle, tossing my arms out, and then fall back onto my bed, hearing the springs squawk in protest. I stare at the ceiling with a massive smile on my lips.

  Then panic sets in. “Oh my God, I’m in love with Jackson.”

  Now, what do I do? Before I can answer myself, there’s a knock on my door.

  “Lily? Can I come in?” Mom calls through the door.

  “Yep.”

  She cracks the door and then cranes her neck to peer in. She has the same worried look on her face that Jackson’s mom had on hers. “We’re all going out to dinner. I won’t insist you go with, but I’d really like it if you did.”

  I glance at the mirror out of the corner of my eye. Jackson is still gone, and I have no clue when he is getting back. I’ve been ignoring my family as much as I have Leah. It’s time to fix that. “Yeah, that sounds great, Mom.”

  Her chest rises and falls on a sigh, and a smile blooms across her face as she glances around my room. “Great.” She makes a face at my clothes. “Go take a shower and then put on something nice. We’re going to Christeney’s.”

  My mouth falls open. “Oh my goodness! Really? What’s the occasion?”

  She grins. “Your continued good health.”

  At the restaurant, Alder and Rose sit on either side of me and argue over which band is the hottest. It’s a toss-up between The Weekend and BTS. I just roll my eyes as the argument grows more heated, and Rose tries to bring me into it.

  “Oh, no. Leave me out of it,” I say with a laugh.

  “Spoilsport,” Alder says, grinning, and then leans over to whisper in my ear. “I’m glad you came out of your monastery, Friar Lily. The brethren have been worried about you.” He tilts his head in the direction of Mom and Dad.

  I school my face into a serious expression. “Sorry. I didn’t even realize I was doing it.”

  “This Jackson’s that great, huh?” Rose asks.

  “Yeah, he’s the best,” I say with a smile.

  Rose wiggles her eyebrows at Alder. “Uh, oh. Someone’s in love.” She elbows me.

  “Ow!” I hiss, rubbing my ribs. “Don’t say it so loud. Mom and Dad will hear.”

  Her eyes widen. “It’s true? You are in love?”

  “Yeah. I think I am.”

  Alder opens his mouth, but Mom interrupts him. “Rose, Alder, go wash your hands.”

  “But what about Lily?” Rose whines like she’s six. Mom gives her “the look.” “Okay, okay. I’m going, I’m going,” Rose grumbles as she leaves.

  Mom watches them
until they disappear around the corner and then nods to Dad, who leans forward and clasps his hands together on the table. My stomach drops, and I tense.

  “Lily, we know that your personal life is your own,” he starts, keeping his eyes on mine, “but we’ve been told something that we’re a little concerned about.”

  I twist my hands together in my lap and try not to squirm in my seat. That does not sound good. “Okay?”

  Mom places her hands over his in a move I recognize as something she does when she wants to show solidarity with my father.

  Shit.

  “Ty’s father called today.”

  My heart jumps into my throat. Fuck. Did Ty tell him what happened and now he’s calling my parents to talk about it?

  “Okay?” I say again, not sure what else there is to say yet.

  “Well, he said Ty was telling him that he thinks that you may not be telling us the truth about this new boyfriend and you still see this…Jackson in the mirror. And that’s who you’re really seeing, instead of the boy you met at the beach.”

  Double fuck.

  Unsure what else to do, I start laughing and say, “Oh, boy. Wow. Did Ty put him up to that? That’s really lame.” My parents glance at each other, then back at me. “Mom, I told you. I’m over that. I haven’t seen the ‘fake,’” I make air quotes with my fingers, “Jackson since the CT scan. I’m fine.”

  They exchange another look, but whatever it is they’re going to say is interrupted by Alder flicking water from his hands onto Rose as they come back. She squeals and knocks over the tray of water glasses a passing waiter is carrying in her hurry to get away. Mom immediately drops into mom-mode and scolds them for acting like idiots while Dad apologizes to the waiter.

  I’ve never been so grateful to be embarrassed by my siblings in my life.

  Hours later, happy and exhausted, I pad into my room with a smile on my face. The whole evening was a blast and made me realize what a wonderful family I really have.

  I glance at the mirror, but it only shows my room, not Jackson’s.