Watching Her

Chapter 14

Her Saturday night in, on her own watching television with a glass of wine was finished by consuming a final cigarette with her Reflection before going into the bathroom and thoroughly washing her teeth. There were four left cigarettes, her parents had done the shopping, there was no need to head out on Sunday.

When she woke on Sunday morning she didn't get far before stopping and kneeling on the stool in front of the mirror. Then after thinking for a couple of seconds, she sat down properly at the dressing table and tapped the cigarette pack waiting for her Reflection to catch up. Once she had received the nod, both of them promptly put a cigarette between their lips. She even said "Good Morning" to her Reflection who said Good Morning at the same time and nodded back with a smile as they both quickly grabbed the lighter.

She was enjoying the company of her Reflection, even if it was not being very communicative, it was highly expressive. Especially when it suggested another cigarette. However anxiously there were now only two solitary cigarettes in the pack, Lucy declined the offer to pull another one out of the pack when she stubbed the first cigarette of the day out, she knew she had to pace them out.

Lucy got up and headed to the shower, and then after drying off got dressed in the grey jogging bottoms and white crop top loungewear and headed down the stairs checking her phone as she went.

There was a WhatsApp message from Tammy suggesting that she and Rachael were going for a coffee at Carrington Woods Cafe and then for a bit of a stomp if she fancied joining them.

Lucy nodded at the phone and flicked on the kettle and then replied.

***

Lucy waved goodbye to Tammy as she drove off, and then kicked off her muddy wellies in the porch and padded into the house, pulled off her woolly hat, letting her long hair fall down as she then removed her coat. She shivered as she touched the cold radiator in the hallway and, then looked at the blank wall at the bottom of the stairs above the radiator where the coat hook should really go and mentally added it to her growing list of things that she needed to borrow her dad's drill and make holes in the wall with. She folded the coat over and placed it on the back of her chair in the living room and made her way to the kitchen to again boil the kettle. Tammy had asked when she dropped her off to come in and see the house, but Lucy had again suggested next weekend.

Lucy was still buzzing from coffee she had when they got back to the café in the carpark, but felt she needed more. Something was missing. Lucy was not sure if was going to sleep that night, but they had walked miles and miles in the woods, chatting away the time. They didn't realise that they had walked so far until they reached the end of the woods. They then had to turn around and come all the way back. Lucy concluded that she should be tired enough to sleep. What would make it better was if she got to see her Reflection before bed.

It was the it dawned on her, it was the first time since she left the house, that she had even thought about the mirror, she glanced up towards the carpeted stairs and then across at the kettle, she again nervously bit her bottom lip as she thought about the two cigarettes left in the pack and then headed to the kitchen.

***

Before bed, Lucy's resolve and determination not to smoke had long since disappeared. She sat on the stool in front of the mirror with the silver hairbrush in her hand. She hadn't done much brushing, as her Reflection had kept suggesting further deep inhaling on the cigarette.

Lucy smiled and copied, she deep down knew and needed that what Reflection requested was required, to have the nicotine rich smoke deep within her lungs. As her cheeks collapsed, her chest rose as she enjoyed the putrid smoke filled the waiting cavity, they then stared at each other as they held the smoke for what felt like an eternity before exhaling. The sudden delightful rush of nicotine flooding her bloodstream produced a euphoric feeling for Lucy, before the repeated the process, over, and over again.

Only after five deep drags did the Reflection let Lucy start brushing her hair to get ready for bed, the cigarette was then dangled in the corner of the mouth, the gentle exhales pushed out through the nose in almost perfect syncopation with the strokes of the brush kicking off dust particles in the air which then spun in the light produced from the lamp danced with the creamy smoke from her exhales as they bounced off the mirror.

The hair was brushed, and the cigarette stubbed out, the Reflection looked down at the pack and raised a cheeky inviting eyebrow, Lucy again nervously bit her bottom lip, there was a single solitary cigarette left in the pack. Does she have it now, or in the morning doing her makeup.

She glanced towards the bathroom. She still had to wash her face and teeth before bed.

The decision was made for her, as her Reflection pulled out one of her cigarettes, conducted a double pump inhale, held the smoke smiled and forcefully barrelled her exhale of smoke directly towards the mirror and as the smoke dispersed it was clear it was just Lucy's normal self again in the mirror. Just now with her own nineteen butts in the reeking ashtray.