Behind the Mirror

“I think I saw a motel down the road,” Paige says, putting the car in park. 

I shift in my seat and cross my arms over my chest. “A motel? This late at night?” I look out my side window, though with the rain I can barely make out no more than a foot outside. “I am not so sure.” I can not imagine walking that far at night, on the side of the road, and with a storm that did not seem to be stopping anytime soon. 

Paige places her hands on my shoulder. “Mia, it is either sit here and drain the car’s battery, leaving us totally screwed, or spend the night at the motel.” She sat back grabbing her phone off the counsel. “Plus we both need to charge our phones to call someone to fix the car. Your choice,” She adds. 

I roll my eyes, knowing no matter how much I object I will not win. “Fine,” I say, not hiding my annoyed tone. In one hand, we each hold our bag, and with the other grip the door handle. In unison we each say, “Three. Two. One.” We open the door, rain instantly pelts hard against my face. I quickly run around the front of the car, Paige waiting for me with her hand stretched out for me to take. Together we laugh as we run down the side of the road, our clothes soaking with every step we take. It almost feels like we are kids again when we would dance in the puddles of our run down street. Though now it is three in the morning, in a freak storm, our car broke down, phones are dead, and we are running to a motel in the middle of nowhere. But hey, we weren’t seven anymore; I guess things are bound to change. 

After minutes of running, I almost think Paige had been mistaken, but I am filled with hope when I see a large red light up sign in the distance, and if I squint just enough through the mists of rain, I can make out the word, Motel. Paige begins jumping up and down dragging my arm with her as she points happily towards the motel. I giggle as her smile grows with every jump, bursting out laughing as she slips to the ground, dragging me with her. 

With no use to run anymore, now fully drenched from head to toe, we decide to walk. Not two seconds later we both flinch as a car roars down the road, driving far too fast for how much rain was coming down. The car skids slightly to the right causing a mixture of water and dirt to spray us. “Asshole!” Paige yells, flipping off the driver as if he could see us. 

As we approach the motel, the pit in my stomach forms. It was a single floor building with only ten or so rooms. A small overhead light lit each individual room with a number that appeared to be sharpied on the broken wooden doors. I swallow the lump in my dry throat as we walk to the main lobby which happens to only hold a school desk, a vending machine, and a lamp in the corner of the room. A single bell sits on the desk and Paige taps it once. We wait and wait. No one comes. Paige rings it five more times, pounding it with her fist. 

My lips mesh together in embarrassment as a man walks through the back door.  “I heard you the first time.” The man, no older than twenty five, licks his lips as he meets our gaze. It now just occurs to me of our attire; a skimpy mini skirt with a meshed top that shows the pattern of our push up bras. I clench my jaw as I watch him stare at us from our wet shoes, up our legs, slowly taking his time at our midriffs, and pausing a moment to bite his lip. 

When we both realize he clearly has no intention of removing his eyes, Paige blurts out, “Eyes up here prick.” 

The man cracks his neck then finally meets our gaze. One look at his red loppy eyes and I can tell that he is stoned. “What do you want?” He asks now unassumed. 

I speak before Paige has the chance, “I know that it is late, but do you have any available rooms for the night?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. The last one is open, just for you.” He stares at us again and chuckles, “Though it only has one bed.”

“That is alright. We'll take it.” I deeply want to leave this room and be somewhere with a lock. The man shuffles through the desk and hands me a key with an indentation, 10. 

“Thank you again.” I say with a smile. Paige goes to flip the guy off, but I catch her arm and drag her out the lobby. “Come on, let's go find the room.” I can tell that Paige is pissed off by the way she is biting her inner cheek. If we did not need the room for tonight, I would have let her punch the guy in his wandering eyes. But I did not want this night going any further south, and I know Piage knew that too; it just pains her to see him get away with it. “Here it is,” I say standing in front of room ten. 

I place the key in the hole and turn the lock. It takes three hard nudges, but the door finally gives in. I push through the doorway and turn on the nearest light. A soft hue light beams from the center ceiling barely providing enough light to see the whole room. Well shit. The guy at the front desk technically did not lie saying that there was only one bed. But he failed to inform us that the bed was a twin. I let out a loud sigh, “Well, this is…cozy,” I say, as Paige pushes past me. I lock the door behind me before I fully enter the room. I can hear deep voices coming through the thin walls–it almost sounded like an argument, but there was no yelling. “Damn our neighbors are hella loud.” I protest. 

“Oh hush. It is better than sleeping in the car. Plus, we can charge our phones to call someone to fix the car in the morning.” Paige throws her bag on the bed, and I follow her, adding my own on the floor. “Man, it’s stuffy in here,” Paige complains. She was not wrong. My clothes were sticking to my skin like wet glue, and the hot air made my skin sticky to the touch. I really did not want to have to take a shower in this shit hole – the sink would have to suffice. Paige begins stripping off her top and I follow. We had been friends since we both were in diapers, so neither of us were fazed when we were left standing in our bra and underwear. 

I bend down and shuffle through my bag trying to find my makeup wipes. I grab them and head to the bathroom. I am not sure how, but the lighting was even worse here. I turn on the facet and splash cold water on my face trying to get the night off. A wave of nausea passes over me. I thought I saw someone in the reflection of the mirror, I quickly shot my head up whipping it around, only to find the doorway empty. “Paige? Are you still there?” 

“Yeah. Everything good?” Paige says, stepping into frame. 

“Yeah, no I am fine. It’s just – well I just thought…”

Paige cuts me off, placing her hands on my shoulders. “Mia, you are alright. No one is here. And if someone was, I would kick their ass before they got a chance to lay a hand on either one of us.” She smiles nudging me in hopes it would make me feel better. It did not. But I nod, giving her a smile back to assure her that I was okay. 

I had been catcalled, yelled at, and stalked. I was no stranger to having lingering eyes on me. But I had to constantly reassure myself that the man that frightened my core was behind bars. Forever. But I can not shake the feeling that someone was here. I take a deep breath. This was a single bed, one bath, the door was locked, Paige checked under the bed, and I checked in the bathtub. No one is here. No one will hurt me. 

I wash my face in the water, not wanting to think of how unfiltered it must have been and I whip the remaining droplets off with my hands and stare at my reflection. My eyes are worn out from the night, my hair looks like a rat’s nest, and I can count every pore on my acne skin. The bags under my eyes sag, and I am in desperate need of a good night rest. I sure as hell will not be receiving that tonight. 

Something shifts in the mirror, I can not tell what it was, but the nagging pit in my stomach returns at full force. I notice the voices across the walls had silenced. I suck in a sharp breath, I can feel my heart pounding against my ribs, aching with every beat. I slowly tilt my head ever so slightly, my eyes glued to my reflection. “Paige.” I call out. 

“Yeah?” She yells from the other room. 

“I–I think someone is watching me.”

“What?” I can hear her shuffling to get off the bed. 

My jaw clenches and my brows narrow as I reach my arm out connecting my finger to the mirror. They touch. My finger’s reflection touches one another. It is a two sided mirror. Something within me starts to boil – something I can no longer keep hidden. 

Without a second thought, I punch the mirror, the glass shattering into hundreds of pieces. My eyes gleam to see a man standing on the other side, staring at me as if he has seen a ghost. Blood trickles from his forehead and I smile as I feel my own warm blood drip from my knuckles. I miss this feeling. The man brings his hand up to his head and snarls, “Crazy bitch!”

What this man does not know is that I have killed before. Paige has told me the second time around is just as easy, if not easier – she would know.

I could hear Paige’s chuckling from behind before she asks, “Do you want me to take care of him?”

I smirk devilishly as I stare directly into a man’s frozen eyes. “This one is mine.”