Unforgettable (OLD COPY DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 10

The mirror shatters, shards of it raining down on the floor as Finn disappears and I'm left staring at the black backing of the mirror. I gasp in a few breaths as my heart flutters uneasily, like a bird trying to escape through my throat. My right palm stings and I look down to see that I've cut it open, an ugly gash tracing at least two inches long lengthwise across my hand.

I don't...I don't remember hitting the mirror.

Blood bubbles to surface of the wound and starts to drip onto the white tiles as I stare at it uncomprehendingly, not quite believing that the blood is real as I watch it trickle sluggishly across my palm. I can almost smell the salty, copper-like tang of my blood as I turn away from the vanity, only to stop as I am eye to eye with Finn.

I scream in surprise, the cry coming out more like a strangled shriek as I stumble backwards, my feet slipping under me as I crash back onto the tiles. My tailbone strikes the floor hard, the pain making me yelp as I scoot away from Finn, my spine slamming against the vanity as I conjure fire, the flames flickering and reflecting in his eyes as he watches me.

There is no malice in his gaze as he opens his mouth like he wants to say something, but he doesn't get the chance to as the door is suddenly flung open.

Tessa bursts into the bathroom and points her wand at me, her eyes narrowed as she looks around the bathroom, her wand following her gaze. Finn has disappeared, as I had looked away from him when the door had opened and my face begins to burn as I squirm under Tessa's gaze. Astrid joins her in the doorway as they stare down at me like they can't quite believe what they're seeing.

"You're bleeding," Astrid sputters at last, breaking the spell of silence that has settled over us as she ducks forward, her wand at the ready.

She presses the tip of her wand, a cylinder of redwood, against my hand, the flesh starting to knit together as it slowly heals. Pain burns through the skin as my fingers twitch, the intensity of it worse than what I had been feeling before as I pull my hand away from her.

"That hurts," I mutter.

"Kara, what did you do to yourself?" Tessa demands from where she's standing behind Astrid.

"Finn...he was here, I saw him in the mirror and then he was standing in the bathroom," I trail off as I try to put everything together, "he told me to find Cynthia Heartwood's killer, the girl who was found dead in the locker room, they were friends and she was an Unfamiliar."

They pause and watch me with wide eyes for a moment before Astrid shakes her head.

"Kara-."

I get up quickly, my hand dripping blood on the tile as I walk back into the bedroom. My laptop is still on the bed, the screen still showing me Cynthia Heartwood's home page as I start to scroll through it. Tessa and Astrid follow me soon after, Astrid holding a roll of gauze that she offers to me as I wrap it around my hand.

Some of the posts start to look different, like I haven't seen them before as I continue to scroll.

"I must have missed it," I tell them as I start to scroll back towards the top of her newsfeed.

"Kara...," Astrid trails off and I glance up at her.

Her mouth is set in a firm line, like she's going to say something that I'm not going to want to hear as I prepare for her to say it.

"Kara, I don't know if I can believe you," she says at last.

It's like I've been punched in the chest, a thin stream of air trickling out between my lips as I open them to gape at her. It probably would have been easier if she had punched me in the chest or said nothing at all and left.

But this...this was unexpected.

"Your parents are concerned, they don't think that you're getting any better," Astrid pushes on as she briefly eyes Tessa, who nods in agreement.

"They want you to get treatment after you've finished up your senior year," Tessa admits and the room becomes so abruptly cold that I have to look to the window to make sure that it hasn't been opened.

"What...what kind of treatment?" I ask in a low voice, but in my heart I already have an idea of where this is going.

They remain silent for a moment, the both of them not wanting to be the one to speak first. Tessa finally clears her throat and reaches up to wipe at a tear that has abruptly formed in her eye.

"BayRidge," she says at last as she gently sits on the edge of the bed.

I know the name well enough to understand the direness of it as I'm left breathless, all of my emotions stolen from me. BayRidge Hospital was located over in Lynn and most of all, it was a psychiatric hospital.

"Kara, we want you to go to BayRidge yourself, if you don't....," Tessa trails off as she clasps her hands in her lap. "If you don't, they're going to try and commit you."

My senses reel at her words, otherwise, I could sign myself up or they were going to have me involuntarily committed to the hospital. I can't feel much of anything, my breathing slowing to the point that I can't feel it as my heart thuds dully in my chest. My mouth is uncomfortably dry as I calmly shut my laptop and place it on the comforter beside me.

"I will, as soon as the year is over, I will," I promise them, even though I have no intention of following through with it.

Luke is getting out, this is what he wants, he wants you to look insane so you get locked up, just like him.

The puzzle pieces are painfully clear then as they snap together to form an ugly picture.

You have to hide this from them and hold yourself together.

Tessa leans forward across the bed then, her arms wrapping me up in a tight embrace as Astrid joins her. I accept the hug, my teeth holding my bottom lip in so they don't see it shaking as I remind myself that they can't see me cry.

You are strong, you will get through this.

You have to get through this.