[Mirror Me Series Book 1]
Hope Martinez was taught to fear her reflection, but the magical world on the other side is too tempting. Descended from those who can use mirrors as weapons, Hope has many dangers to face if she wants to get home before a...
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"You did what!" shouted my mother as she angrily prepared breakfast.
"I didn't mean to. It just happened, ok. I couldn't control it. No one was seriously hurt." I looked at the burnt toast on my plate. I wasn't hungry. "That boy was in the mirror again along with something else." My mother was not amused. "I'm sorry."
"I could forgive an accident, but the email says four times. Four times! There is no excuse, young lady!"
"Barbara," said my abuelita, glancing over her cup of tea. "Hope said she was sorry."
"No excuse!" My mother slammed butter on another slice of burnt toast and handed it to Laura. "You broke your promise!"
"This is stupid," I replied, rolling my eyes. "This promise is stupid. You keep saying it's all in my head. If so, why do things like this keep happening when I look into mirrors? Who is this boy? What is wrong with me?"
"Hope, mija, dear--" My abuelita was quickly cut off.
"Hush," said my mother. "You stay out of this, Magdalena." By now I was grabbing my backpack and stuffing it with textbooks.
"I'm leaving," I said, tossing the toast across the table. "Who knows if I come back."
"Go, leave." My mother waved goodbye. "Hurt other people why won't you?" I slammed my hand hard on the table causing the plates to clatter.
"That's exactly what you told dad before he died," I snapped. A sudden silence fell over my mother. I realized I went too far.
My mother bit her lip and turned away. She slowly came to sit at the table. Her coffee shaking in her hand. She blew on it and sipped.
"Mi abuelita, Maggie! Mi abuelita!" Shouted Laura rushing to her grandmother's side.
"No, Spanish," whispered my mother. She sipped her coffee again. "Remember the rules."
"I'm sorry," said Laura. "I meant grandmother."
"That's better," said my mother. She looked at me and snarled. "I wish you were as obedient as your sister."
"You control everything," I said standing in the doorway, my eyes tearing up. "You make up all these rules. You take away everything. Like...like...You took away my reflection, then you took away dad, and finally you took away our identity. No Spanish. It reminds you of him, doesn't it? We remind you of him. Dad is dead. We are alive, but just barely." I turned to leave. "Congratulations, mom. You succeeded in taking one more thing from me. My love for you." I jabbed my fists into my coat pockets. "We can choose our friends and what we want to wear. Then why can't we choose our mothers too? I hate you. I hate you." I wiped the snot out from under my runny nose. "I'm not coming back. I promise this time."
I twisted on my heels and left, slamming the door behind me. I was so angry that I didn't bother looking to see my mother's face. If I had, I would have seen a different expression than the angry one that snarled at me moments earlier. Instead I would have seen tears dripping into her coffee and the comforting gesture of my abuelita and Laura hugging her close.
