Chapter 52 – Cracks in the Reflection

Chapter 52 – Cracks in the Reflection


"Nope," I said flatly, pushing the phone away like it might bite me. "Absolutely not. That is a cursed image. Burn it. Delete it. Throw the whole phone in a lake."

Lucas didn’t laugh. He just stared at the screen like it was going to reach out and grab him.

Lena leaned over and squinted at the photo. "Okay, but real talk—how is this even possible? If Rae didn’t take this photo, and no one else was with her then..."

"Then someone’s messing with us," Lucas said quietly. "Someone who has access to the mirror realm."

My stomach twisted. I hated the mirror. I hated that it knew how to play us like a horror movie soundtrack. I especially hated that it apparently had screenshots of my life on file. Creepy stalker energy much?

I shoved my hands into the sleeves of my hoodie. "So what now? We can’t exactly report a mirror ghost to the police."

"No," Lena said slowly, flipping through her clipboard, "but we can trace it. Whoever sent that message did it through a burner number, but I might be able to ping the location of the phone. If it’s close, it might mean someone’s already crossed over."

Lucas looked at me. "We should go check it out."

"We?" I raised an eyebrow. "As in, together? As in, more mirror dimension horror but make it a date?"

He cracked a small smile. "Well, technically it’s our thing."

"Romantic," I deadpanned. "Should we bring flowers? Or just an emergency first aid kit and salt?"

Lena tossed me a portable charger and her fiercest no-nonsense glare. "Take the salt. Just in case. Also, try not to die. I don’t have enough emotional bandwidth to mourn two people at once."

"Aww," I said. "You do love me."

"I tolerate you like a sibling," she shot back. "Now go get haunted."

Lucas and I followed the GPS ping to the back edge of town, to a weird, half-abandoned laundromat with a flickering neon sign that read: SPIN CYCLE.

"Why is it always creepy places?" I whispered.

"Because ghosts don’t haunt Starbucks," Lucas said. "They have standards."

I elbowed him. "Maybe the mirror realm just likes dramatic lighting."

The laundromat was mostly empty, save for one old woman folding socks like it was her job (maybe it was). She didn’t even look up when we walked in.

Lucas and I exchanged a look, then slowly headed toward the back wall where the signal had last pinged.

And there it was.

A long mirror bolted above the utility sink.

Cracked.

Familiar.

I stepped closer. "That’s the same one from the photo. I’m wearing the same hoodie. That’s me."

Lucas grabbed my wrist before I got too close. "Wait. If the mirror sent you a message... then maybe it’s trying to lure you in."

"Maybe it wants to swap again," I said slowly. "But why me?"

Lucas didn’t answer right away. His gaze searched the reflection, his jaw tight.

"Because you’re the only one it hasn’t broken."

That made me pause.

"What do you mean?"

He turned to face me. "It used me. It took Jamie. But you? You keep fighting back. You’re the wild card. And maybe the mirror doesn’t know what to do with you. So it wants you inside."

I swallowed. "Well, too bad for it. I’m not volunteering."

Lucas reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of mirror—a shard from our last encounter. He held it up to the larger mirror and something shifted.

The crack in the reflection pulsed like a heartbeat.

"Lucas—"

"It’s responding to the shard," he whispered. "I think... I think we can open it. On purpose."

"You want to open the portal?" I stared at him. "Are you insane?"

He looked at me with that dangerous, earnest determination I both loved and hated. "If we go in together, we might be able to get Jamie out. And maybe we can find out what it wants from you."

I hesitated. Every rational neuron in my brain screamed NOPE. But my heart—stupid, traitorous, kiss-happy heart—looked at Lucas and whispered: You won’t let me fall alone.

"Fine," I said. "But if this ends with us in a funhouse of doom again, I get to say I told you so."

"Deal."

We stepped toward the mirror.

The air around us buzzed, like static before a thunderstorm. The cracked surface began to ripple.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Nope."

"Same."

And then we stepped through.

Falling.

Always falling.

But this time, we landed together.

My knees hit a cold floor. Lucas landed beside me, cursing softly.

The mirror realm looked... different. Less distorted. More solid. Like it had been watching us and adjusting accordingly. Twisting reality into something that felt almost right—except for the way the shadows moved when you weren’t looking.

We were in a hallway of mirrors, like a maze. Every reflection showed us, but wrong.

One version of me had empty eyes.

One version of Lucas looked smiling. Too smiling.

"Okay," I said. "Definitely nightmare fuel."

Lucas pulled me closer. "Stick together. No matter what."

We began walking.

Every turn looked the same. Every corridor twisted. And then—
a voice.

"Help!"

Jamie.

We ran.

Turned the corner and—there he was. Or what looked like him. Trapped behind a glass pane, slamming his fists against it.

"Get me out! Please!"

Lucas reached for the mirror.

"Wait!" I shouted. "How do we know it’s really him?"

The figure paused.

Then smiled.

Too widely.

Its eyes turned black.

"Oh come on!" I yelled. "Do mirrors ever play fair?"

The fake Jamie lunged through the glass.

Lucas grabbed my arm and pulled me into another corridor, panting.

"They’re getting smarter," he said. "Mimicking."

"That wasn’t Jamie."

"But he is here. I know it."

We turned another corner.

And found a mirror.

Not cracked.

Not glowing.

Just... reflecting.

Except in the reflection, there were three of us.

I blinked.

"Lucas... why is there someone behind me in the mirror?"

He turned slowly.

Nothing there.

But in the glass, a third figure loomed.

Wearing my face.

And it whispered: "Come home."

Cliffhanger Ending:

Before either of us could react, the mirror exploded outward.

Glass flew like shrapnel.

And my double—the one with my face, but hollow eyes—stepped out of the shards.

Alive. Real.

"I’ve waited so long," she said, smiling.

Lucas moved in front of me instinctively.

The other Rae tilted her head. "Don’t worry. I’m not here for you."

Her gaze locked on me.

"I’m here to take her place."