Shattered

Chapter 2

"Connor, sit down." He hesitantly sits down on the couch. His face is blank but I can see the storm of emotion in his eyes. I feel as if he's trying his best to look more collected and less like glass on the verge of breaking. I sit down beside him. "He hurt someone else." I nod, unsure of what to say, despite having done this several times before. No one will get used to this and it's especially worse for him. "I tried to fight it but he always has mirrors."

"It's not your fault." My eyes travel down to his hands and I can see they're shaking. I know my words have no effect. They mean nothing to him. It doesn't matter if it's his fault or not. Someone's life was lost by his hands and he fully knows whether he wanted to or not, it was by his hands. "I keep hearing her screams, Brooke. Her eyes were begging me to stop but I couldn't. I tried to but I couldn't." His voice trembled at the end of his sentence. I grab his hand in what I hope is a comforting way. "It wasn't you doing that. It was him. If he didn't always prefer mirrors around him, then you wouldn't even be there."

Connor sits there quietly. He is shaking so badly right next to me that I can feel the couch shaking with him. "I'll go make some food. It's the least I could do to try and cheer you up." I stand up. "I'm sorry I can't do much of anything else. If I could, I'd chain you to a tree or ask the police to hold you in jail overnight but we both know how that works. We can be grocery shopping and the next thing we know, we're walking down the street and all because of reflections."

I can feel my irritation start to bubble in me but I soothe it down again. "We're having waffles. How many do you want?" I turn around to see Connor already in the kitchen behind me. "You don't have to."

"I know I don't have to. Do you see my Reflected anywhere nearby?" I see a corner of his lip quirk up in a smile. " I'll have two." I scoff at him with a smile. "Two he says," I mock, "that's weak." He glances at the dining table and sees my stacked waffles sitting on my plate. "Well, I guess I can't beat a woman with a big appetite." I shrug, popping in another two waffles. "It's not my fault Emma doesn't eat that much. I don't know if it's because she forgets, thinks she doesn't have time, or what?" He laughs as I call Willow out from her room. She rushes out and places herself right back at the table where her waffles wait.

When the waffles pop out, I do the same with his. I spread butter and pour syrup over it only it's not as much as Willow's or mine. I hand it to Connor with a fork and sit back down in front of mine. "How was your day Connor?" Willow asks. I see Connor tense from the corner of my eyes and I glance to him. He swallows before turning to Willow. "It was okay, yours?" Willow smiles at him and he seems to relax. An affect Willow seems to have on us both.

"It was good. I stayed with grandma and grandpa." Connor and Willow continue to have a conversation with each other as I finish my waffles. "You need to go to bed after eating, okay?" Willow nods as she takes another bite. I pick up our empty plates and place them in the sink. Willow grabs her plate as well.

"Goodnight." I pause for a second as Willow walks by me. "And brush your teeth," I add once I remember to tell her. "I will! Goodnight Mommy." She hurries to my side and hugs me before scampering away. I sit back down at the table. "They don't lie when they say they grow up fast." I nod in agreement as we listen to the water running in the bathroom.

"I wish time would slow down just like it seemed to do when we were younger, but at the same time, I want it to speed up so I can end the days faster instead of being trapped in the routine." I go silent when Willow hurries from the bathroom into her room flashing a quick smile to Connor and me. After she closes the door, a soft light glows from under her door. I imagine the tiny fish pictures spinning around on her nightlight as they illuminate her room with fake marine life.