Mirror Image

Thirty

Lacey studied Anya out of the corner of her eye. No, she wasn't the right shape to be the shooter. She hated how she was looking at her classmates. Wondering if one of them was the one. Terry took the seat beside her, reaching for her hand. He wasn't shy about letting everyone know their status had changed. They were a couple now.

"No more walking the halls alone."

Lacey made a face at him. "Anya is always ahead of us."

"Except when she's not. Look at what happened to Zee."

"How could they let her out of jail so quick?" Lacey scowled when Anya turned to stare at her and jabbed her middle finger into the air. She returned the gesture, and her grin was pure evil.

"Same judge who wouldn't give you a restraining order, I'll bet." Terry guessed.

"Probably. I'll find out from Dad after school."

"And there was no CCTV footage. She knows where she can get away with her outrageous behavior. But I heard she has some conditions. She can't be seen with Lizzy and Molly anymore. If you do see her with them, snap a picture. She'll have to go back to jail."

"Why hasn't Principal Dalton suspended her?" Lacey couldn't figure it out. Who was pulling strings for Anya?

"More juicy gossip. Sally overheard the discussion in the office. Her mother's a piece of work. Mrs. Carson said she'd sue Dalton and the school board for malicious treatment of her precious daughter. There's no evidence other than Zee's word. And of course, Molly and Lizzy refused to admit they were lying." Terry squeezed her hand harder as he spoke.

"So, she doesn't get to have her friends around, but she can still stalk me. Hardly fair."

"But you have me, and you have Percy. We're not going to let you out of our sight. If we aren't in class with you, wait for us. One of us will meet you to walk with you." Terry raised her hand to his lips and kissed it.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Lacey went around to the kitchen entrance at the mansion. Sometimes she still had trouble with the idea of having a twin. The whole thing seemed like a dream she couldn't wake up from. Letting herself in, she stopped at the little bathroom under the back stairs, to check the mirror. Strange, her face was still the same even though everything in her life was twisting around her. How was Andrew Mackinaw mixed up in this?

Her hair was caught in a high ponytail, and her slate gray eyes didn't show a hint of blue this afternoon. Hopefully, Zee was feeling better. She splashed a handful of cool water over her cheeks and reached into her pocket for the tube of lip gloss she stored there. Smoothing the gel over her lips she rubbed them together. Good enough. Thank God for waterproof mascara. Her crying jag driving up, didn't make a mess.

A knock on the door reminded her she was here to deliver Zee's homework. Everyone else would be coming for dinner. Mama Rosa promised to make her spicy fried chicken. She unlocked the door and found Terry there.

"You okay now?" He reached up to cup her face with both hands.

"Yeah, thanks for letting me cry. Dad can never just wait for me to get over it."

"Mom says we have to let her get over them herself. Dad usually holds her hand if he's around. He says never assume a woman's tears are for any one reason. Sometimes he'll pick her up and cuddle her, but he never tells her to stop crying. She says he's smart. Since I like to think I'm pretty savvy too, I just let you cry."

"And you held my hand. I'm so lucky Dad let me drive his car to school today. And thanks for driving us up here."

"So. can you talk about it?"