Scattered Souls

Chapter 33 - Carbon Copy

My eyes had to be deceiving me, right? There's no logical explanation for what's in front of me. There's no way for this to be possible. A couple of weeks ago I would've been dead certain that the picture in front of me was photo shopped in order to play a prank on me, however, there was a nagging voice at the back of my mind saying "what if it is possible?'. Could it really be possible though? I mean it wouldn't be the most farfetched thing to happen thus far now, would it? My mind felt as if it was trapped in a whirlwind, trying to make sense of everything. This was actually becoming a regular occurrence for me now, discovering something that would be considered preposterous and then battling to wrap my head around it. Definitely not something I'd anticipated after my eighteenth birthday. I'd expect things to be more relaxed, that I'd have more freedom to do as I pleased, not to be stuck solving a mystery that I initially thought had nothing to do with me. I knew differently now though. And I was hungry for answers. Was the startling image in front of me my reality? Was this a piece of my heritage as well. Sure, I knew it was probably a late ancestors prized possession, however, I had absolutely no idea it was directly related to me.

I looked up at my only source of sanity at the moment: Xypher. He was my anchor in this dastard whirlwind.

"How?" I questioned him. "Is this even possible?"

I stood up and held the locket, that contained my black and white mirror image, in front of his face for him to explain. However, judging from his frozen stance and expression, he was so still it was almost as if he was afraid to even blink, I realized no explanation was necessary.

"That's Julia." I said, simply making a statement. However, his head nodded slowly in response.

"Julia looks exactly like me." I said in disbelief.

"Actually, I look exactly like her." I corrected myself, realizing that she existed way before I did.

"How is this even possible?" that question was right at the tip of my tongue once again. At this point, it wasn't even a question, it was more like I needed to vent, like I needed to release the confusion and turmoil my mind was in.

"When I first laid eyes on you. I was just as surprised as you are now." Xypher interrupted my thoughts.

Well at least he seems to be out of his initial state of shock. Maybe he'd help me process the situation better.

"Is this the part you weren't ready to tell me? " I asked him. There's no point in beating around the bush.

"Yes." he admitted, with embarrassment evident on his face.

"Are you sure there isn't anything else you're hiding from me?" I had to ask, I couldn't be too sure considering recent events.

"I'm sure." he said decidedly. "That's all there is for now." he added on, in a whisper, almost as if he was having an afterthought.

"For now? What do you mean for now?"

His head jerked up. He looked beyond confused. From his reaction, I highly doubted he intended for me to hear him say that.

"I... I... " he started off, however I could tell he was looking for an excuse. He was like a fish out of water.

"You what?" I demanded. I was done playing nice, I was done doing things his way. "What are you hiding Xypher?"

"Nothing. I'm not hiding anything." his voice was shaky. "You found out the main bit of information that I was keeping from you."

"Why were you keeping it a secret though?" I wondered out loud.

There was no response from him.

"Surely you should've known that I was bound to find out eventually." I pointed out.

"I know, Robyn. That was silly of me." he admitted. "A part of me was hoping you wouldn't find out so soon."

I scoffed. "Is that supposed to appease me?"

"You seriously thought hiding the fact that I was a carbon copy of Julia was the way to go?" my tone of voice displayed exactly how ludicrous I thought his actions were.

I was greeted with nothing but silence. All that did was add on to my irritation.

"Answer one question for me."

"Sure. "

"If the locket hadn't fallen or if I hadn't picked it up, when would you have told me?" I was genuinely curious.

"I don't know how to answer that." he responded, while looking down shamefully.

"Just be honest." I tried to encourage him.

"Well, I must admit that I was trying to postpone telling you for as long as I possibly could."

This time it was me that didn't have any words for him.

"I think you should leave." I said simply.

"Robyn, please try to see things from my point of view."

"I just really need some time to myself to process everything that's happened today." as I said that, I realized that I really did need some time to myself.

"It's been a long day." I said, seeing that he was making no attempt at moving out of my room.

"Will you be okay if I leave?" the genuine, caring tone he used was softening my resolve.

"We can talk in the morning." I reassured him.

"Very well then." he said, my eyes widened as he pulled me into a hug unexpectedly.

Where was this coming from?

There were a million different thoughts running through my mind after Xypher left. He's got such a tragic past: being killed, then having his soul trapped. Watching the love of his life marry someone else, only to take her own life later on. Unknowingly, right in front of him. Discovering that part explained a lot. However, it also left a few unanswered questions in my mind.

My resemblance to Julia though was not something I'd have anticipated in my wildest dreams. Is that why Xypher's attracted to me? Is that why he's been opening up to me?

Why do I look like Julia though? What twist of fate is this really? Is this why I feel such an intense attraction to Xypher? This came as such a curveball that I didn't know what to make of it. The fact that Xypher hadn't and didn't plan on telling me had me on high alert. What else could he be hiding?