Shattered

Chapter 9

I woke up to find myself back in bed again. It's as if last night didn't happen. As if it was all just a nightmare. But I know it's not. The memory sits in my mind still fresh. It feels like it could be a nightmare though. A part of me hopes it was that night. Connor will come over as usual and we'll all hang out and find more ideas. A part of me remains naively optimistic.

A major part of me, on the other hand, knows the truth. Connor is truly locked up still and is going to wake up to me not there anymore. I can only imagine how lonely and alone he must feel. Maybe new inmates will appear, though I can't imagine they'll be the best company to have. But who knows? We are the opposite of our Reflected in some way after all. So they may or may not be bad people. I pray they aren't. Luckily, the police can only keep him in custody for 24 hours so he should be able to be free. Unfortunately, however, there's also a chance that he could be charged with something.

As usual, I go through the routine that Emily does to get ready for her day. Willow woke up to find herself at home too. She seemed a little lost about it at first but then realize what had happened. I drop her off at her grandparent's place as well. I meet with Harmony at work and when we aren't forced to be in front of a mirror, we simply just talked.

"So how are you holding up?" I shrug, taking another chug of water. "Your best friend is in jail and you shrug?" I sigh. "I don't know how to react. I'm worried about him, of course, but there's nothing I can do. I can't break him out. One moment, we'll be walking the streets and the next, he's been right back where he started."

"Are you going to see him today?" I open my mouth the speak but everything suddenly disappears before me when I blink. Next thing I know, I'm helping a girl with her dress. I feel nothing but frustration. I want to kick and scream to fight but the only kicking and screaming I'm accomplishing are in my head.

When I'm finally free if mirrors for a short while, I hurry to find Harmony. But unfortunately, I transfer back to Emily. Emily's fake smile glimmers in the mirror. She seems generous and friendly to others at a first glance but I've been living her life too long. I know what lies behind her facade. It's why she's so good at her job. She can be friends with even her enemies and they wouldn't know. She's not exactly a cruel person though. She's confident to show off but insecure enough to hide what truly matters. Either way, cruel or not, hateful or not, I despise this life.

I make use of the next short time of freedom and pull out my phone this time. I text Harmony instead. I ask her if she had done any of the plans we came up with last night. Then in another split second, my phone is away as I walk towards a girl and help her this time.

***

When night came and Emma fell asleep, I immediately get up and change to see Connor again before he's let free. I told Willow to get ready as well so I can drop her off at my parents again. I feel bad for just leaving her there more often now but I'm worried about what will happen if she gets involved. "Can I go with you this time, mommy?" I sigh, bending down to her level. "Not this time either, baby. I don't want you to get in any trouble with me if something happens."

"But I don't want you to either, mommy. What if you disappear and I never see you again?" I chuckle and hug her. "I won't disappear honey. If something happens, I promise to fight tooth and nail to come back home to you." I feel her body shake as she sniffles. I pull away and wipe her tears with my thumbs. "I'll be fine. I'm just going to go see Connor, that's all." She sniffles again. "Then can I come with you? I wanna see Connor too. They were talking about him on the news." I immediately tense up. The news? He's already on the news? I stand up and turn on the tv. I switch channels and see Willow is indeed right. I can't wrap my head around how she knew though. Growing up, I hated watching the news and hardly understood what was happening. "Grandma told me what happened."