I grip the edge of the sink so hard my knuckles turn white, staring at the woman in the mirror as fresh tears spill down my cheeks.
He’s still inside me, I can feel it.
And the worst part?
Some sick, twisted part of me is terrified he’ll come back…
…and even more terrified that he won’t.
Suddenly, thin black lines pulse beneath my eyes, crawling into black like spreading worms.
I blink hard, but they don’t fade.
They move.They fucking move.
I start hyperventilating, my heart smashing against my ribs as the streaks slither down my cheeks, branching out like cracks in shattered glass.
My fingers fly up, scraping at my skin as if I can stop it, but the more I touch, the faster they spread.
Then everything begins to dim, a suffocating darkness engulfing the corners first before seeping toward me.
My reflection changes—the veins now snake down my neck, curling around my throat, over my breasts, pulsing like something alive beneath the surface.
My breath shudders, coming out in a cloud of cold fog that drifts against the mirror.
Is he back? Is he watching me?
When I look back toward the mirror, my reflection suddenly smiles back at me.
But I don’t. I’mnotsmiling.
With expanded eyes, I drag trembling fingers over my cold, blue lips.
My reflection shifts and the light in her eyes flickers out until nothing remains but empty voids. Her face goes blank, mouth slack, staring right into what’s left of my soul.
Then, without warning, she jerks forward, screaming, her mouth opening into a black hole, like it’s unhinging.
I stumble back, the shrill pitch slicing through my skull like a hammer, and I cradle my head.
The glass ripples, distorting, and it’s like she’s inside my skin—something crawling, twisting beneath it, pushing outward.
The mirror fractures in slow motion, spiderweb lines cutting across her face as if the cracks are erupting from within. The glass starts pushing its way out of her skin until there’s thousands of shards covering her face, arms and breasts.
Her head tips back, body straining from the pain, throat stretching, the scream turning guttural and manic.
When her eyes snap back to mine, they are bottomless and alive, her lips curling into a cruel imitation of mine.
“What’s wrong, unless cunt?”my voice echoes from her mouth—low, distorted and demonic. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
My heart pounds so hard I can taste it, tears blurring my vision.
“You see it now, don’t you?”she hisses, smile spreading too wide across her cheeks.“What they did. What they made of us. What we’ve become!”
I can’t speak. I’m frozen.
“You killed us!”she screeches, tone furious, booming through my skull like it’s coming frominsideme.
Her features twist, eyes wild with betrayal, and before I can even blink, she slams her face into the glass.
