Marcus POV
Morning sunlight slipped through my curtains before my
alarm had the chance to go off.
I groaned, pulling the blanket over my head. Five more
minutes.
The alarm buzzed anyway. "You're annoying." It kept
buzzing.
With a sigh, I reached over and silenced it before
lying there for another few seconds. Something smelled good. Like really good.
I frowned. Pancakes?
I sat up slowly.
"Since when does mom make pancakes on a Wednesday?" my
stomach answered before my brain could.
I grabbed the nearest hoodie from the chair and headed
downstairs.
Ella was already sitting at the table, scrolling
through her phone while stuffing half a pancake into her mouth. She looked up.
"Took you long enough."
"I've been awake for at least…" I glanced at the
microwave clock. "Thirty seconds."
She snorted. "Sure."
Mom placed another plate on the table. "Morning,
honey."
"Morning, Mom." She smiled.
"Sit before your sister eats yours too."
"I heard that," Ella mumbled through another bite. Dad
folded the newspaper.
"I don't know where she puts all that food." Ella
shrugged.
"I'm growing."
"You've been saying that for years."
"And one day I'll prove you wrong." A laugh escaped
me. Damn… I'd missed this.
No. that wasn't right. I hadn't missed it. Because it
had never gone away. Had it?
…
I frowned for a second. Mom noticed immediately.
"What?"
"Nothing." The strange feeling disappeared as quickly
as it'd come. Probably because I hadn't had coffee yet. That had to be it.
The college parking lot was already filling up by the
time I arrived. Noah spotted me before I even shut the car door.
"There he is!" he jogged over with his backpack
hanging from one shoulder.
"You actually did the assignment, didn't you?"
"Maybe." He groaned dramatically.
"I hate responsible people."
"Nah dude, you hate doing your own work."
"Exactly."
Riley caught up a few seconds later. "Don't encourage
him." Then she smiled at Noah. "Hey, Babe."
I scoffed. "I wasn't planning to."
"You never do-" Noah replied.
"Yet somehow he still tries." Riley said, completely
ignoring him."
Noah looked offended. "I feel attacked."
"You should." We said at the same time, then laughed.
We headed toward the main building together. Just…
talking. About classes. Assignments.
A football match Noah had somehow convinced himself
he'd almost won by himself.
Normal things. Completely.
The lecture dragged. The lecturer somehow made
economics sound even more boring than usual.
I rested my chin against my hand. "If I have to hear
the words 'market equilibrium' one more time…"
Greg, one of my friends, leaned over. "I'll create my
own market."
"That's not how economics works."
"I don't care."
"You should."
Riley sighed from the row in front of us. "I'm
surrounded by idiots."
"You're dating the biggest idiot of all." Greg shot
back. I frowned a little. Since when? I
shook my head.
By the time classes ended, my brain had officially
given up. Noah stretched. "Food?"
"Always."
"Your place?" he asked.
"Sure."
As we crossed the parking lot, something caught my
eye. The window of a parked black sedan. Someone stood inside the reflection.
I stopped walking. "What the…" the figure didn't move.
It was a man with silver hair and golden eyes. He looked… familiar.
Like I'd seen him somewhere before. He lifted one
hand. His lips moved but I couldn't hear
anything.
"Marcus?" Noah's voice snapped me back. I blinked. The
reflection was empty.
"You good?"
"Yeah." I looked at the window again. Nothing.
"Thought I saw someone."
Noah glanced at it and shrugged. "I got nothing."
That night I couldn't stop thinking about it. Not
because it scared. More because it bothered.
Like trying to remember the name of someone I'd met
years ago. You know you know it but, you can't just reach it.
I stood in front of the bathroom sink, splashing water
across my face. When I looked up…
The silver-haired man was standing behind me. I spun
around. Nobody.
I looked back at the mirror. He was still there. Calm.
Hands tucked into his pockets. Looking directly at me. His lips moved again.
This time, I heard something. Faint. As though he were
speaking through water. "Rocky…"
I frowned. "Excuse me?" his expression softened
slightly. Again…
"Rocky." My heart skipped. Why? Why did that name
feel, important?
I reached toward the mirror. The moment my fingers
touched the glass, the bathroom lights flickered and the reflection vanished.
Leaving only me staring back.
I stood there for several seconds. "Weird." I laughed
to myself. "I seriously need more sleep."
Yet… as I walked away, I couldn't shake the feeling.
That someone had just to tried to tell me something.
The next few days blurred together. Wake up. College.
Lunch. Home. Sleep. Repeat.
It was nice and comfortable.
Every morning Mom made breakfast. Every evening Dad
asked me about classes even though he understood absolutely nothing about half
the courses I was taking.
Ella still found new ways to steal food off my plate.
Noah still somehow managed to copy my notes without me ever actually giving
them to him.
Life settled into a routine. A normal one. Exactly the
kind of normal I'd always wanted. So why…
Why did it still feel like something was missing?
I couldn't explain it. Sometimes I'd stop in the
middle of doing something because I'd get this strange feeling in my chest.
Like I'd forgotten an appointment. Or left the stove
on. Something important. Something I couldn't quite remember. Then it'd
disappear just as quickly as it'd come.
_
"Marcus!"
I looked up from my phone. Noah was waving two cans of
soda in the air. With Riley by his side.
"You buying lunch or are you planning on surviving off
oxygen today?"
"I was thinking about it."
"That explains why you're so skinny."
"I'm not skinny, I'm muscular."
"Barely."
Riley walked between us carrying a stack of books.
"Babe, I've known you shorter than I've known him." She looked between me and
Noah. "I still don't know how he puts up with you."
Noah looked offended. I zoned out the rest of their
argument.
"Excuse me, Marcus?" I frowned and looked at him.
"What?"
"You've been staring at the vending machine for like…
thirty seconds."
"Have I?"
"Yeah." I blinked. Noah exchanged a look with Riley.
"You sure you're, okay?"
I forced a smile. "Yeah, just tired."
"Go to sleep before three in the morning then."
"That's asking a lot." He laughed.
On the drive home, rain began tapping against the
windshield. The roads emptied quickly. I spotted at a red light ahead. Without
thinking…
My eyes drifted to the rear-view mirror. Someone was
sitting in the back seat. I slammed on the brakes so hard the car behind me
honked.
My heart hammered against my ribs. The seat was empty.
"Get it together man."
I rubbed my face before looking back at the mirror. He
was there again. Silver hair. Golden eyes. Watching me.
Then he slowly raised one hand. His fist hit the
inside of the mirror. Then his mouth moved. This time I almost heard it.
"…Rock…"
The traffic light turned green. A horn blared behind
me. I looked away. When I looked back and he was gone.
That night sleep didn't come easily. Every time I
closed my eyes. I'd see those golden eyes. Just waiting.
I rolled over with a groan. "Who are you?" no answer
of course. Because reflections don't answer questions.
The following afternoon Ella walked into my room
without knocking. "You've been acting weird lately."
"I thought I was always weird."
"Not like this." She flopped onto the end of my bed.
"You keep staring at mirrors."
"I do?"
"Yup." She tilted her head. "It's like you're looking
for someone."
I laughed. "I think you're watching too many horror
movies."
"I'm serious."
"So am I, Ella." She studied me for another moment
before shrugging.
"If you say so." As she reached the door, she stopped.
"Oh." I looked up.
"What?"
"Who's Val and Rocky?"
Everything inside me stopped. "What did you say?"
She shrugged. "You've been saying that name. in your
sleep."
She smiled suggestively. "Maybe a girl from college or
girls, I'm not judging."
Rocky. Val…
The names echoed inside my head. Rocky… why did that
hurt?
A sharp pain bloomed behind my eyes. Images flashed so
quickly I couldn't catch them.
Fire. Chains. Blood. A ruined city. Then, nothing. I
grabbed the edge of my desk until my knuckled turned white.
"Marcus?" Ella's voice sounded distant. "You, okay?"
"Yeah… You should go, Ella."
She hesitated but then left. I wasn't okay though.
Because for the first time, I knew. Something wasn't right.
I barely remembered walking into the bathroom. I just,
ended up there.
The lights hummed softly overhead. i looked up. The
mirror reflected the room behind me. Empty.
I let out a shaky breath. "I'm losing it." Then, the
reflection changed. Not all at once.
Like ink spreading through water. The bathroom seemed
to disappeared.
The silver-haired man stood where my reflection should
have been. Only this time, he wasn't calm.
His hand was pressed flat against the inside of the
glass. His breathing was uneven. Like he'd been running.
The moment our eyes met, relief washed over his face.
"Rocky."
I couldn't breathe, "Who…" my voice cracked. "Who are
you?"
His smile was small. Tired but genuine. "I was
beginning to think you would never look again." My head pounded.
"I know you." I shook my head. "But from where?"
He placed his hand against the glass again. "You have
known me longer than you think."
"Then tell me."
"I cannot."
"Why?"
"Because she built this place to answer your
questions." His expression hardened slightly. "If I answer them, the illusion
will answer with me."
I stared at him. "Illusion?"
"Rocky." His voice dropped. "Think."
My heart raced. Think?
Think about what? He watched me struggle for a few seconds before
quietly saying-
"It's your eighteenth birthday. What about Callista"
I blinked. "No… my eighteenth birthday was last year…
and whose Callie…"
he just kept looking at me.
A crack appeared across the mirror. Tiny. Barely
noticeable. Then another. The bathroom flickered. The walls trembled. Images
slammed into my mind without warning.
Callie. Noah. Seraphina. Riley. Darren. Livia. Ella.
Valen. A bracelet around my wrist. Training until I couldn't stand.
My breathing hitched. "Val…" the name escaped before I
realised, I'd spoken.
The man smiled. "There you are."
Everything came back at once. The tears. The demons.
Nysera. The smoke. My stomach twisted. I stumbled backwards.
"This…" I looked around wildly. "None of this." Valen
nodded once.
"It never happened." I squeezed my eyes shut. Mom and
dad… they'd died. And Ella was safe with the Reyes.
The grief hit me all over again, so violently my knees
almost gave out. I looked at Valen. Pain filled his eyes too.
The mirror groaned. More cracks spread across the
glass, the house shook. Outside, laughter turned into static.
The illusion was breaking. Valen stepped back. "Time
to wake up."
I nodded. This time, with no hesitation. I drove my
fist through the mirror. The world exploded into fragments.