Mirror in the Forest: Book One (22 page)

Jessica could not focus all of the next day. She found she was feeling awful about what happened to Sara Miller. Every time she thought of her body lying on the floor, Jessica grimaced. She would never forget that sight the rest of her life. She thought she would be over it today, and ready to move on, but she found she wanted to cry most of day, and regretted seeking help.  

Her mother had heard at the hospital, and came home crying her eyes out. She had called Jessica’s dad to tell him the news, and he said he would try to get back to Leon’s Crossing early.

“Jessica, are you sure you’re okay?” Tessa asked, when they sat down for study hall.

Jessica had barely slept the night before, and the dagger was safely hidden under her bed until she could slip out to see The Spirit of the Mirror.

She had been up all night, not because of what happened, but because she kept worrying someone had seen her leave the shop, and she would become a suspect in the murder of Sara Miller. Or they would come up with something in the investigation.

Even though Jessica knew it was a horrible accident, she panicked and ran. It was not the right thing to do, but she had come so far, and this would just hold her back from her goals.

She didn’t know if her mom would get off from work tonight, and she was hoping she wouldn’t. She needed the alone time with The Spirit, without explaining where she was going.

Jessica shrugged at Tessa’s question. “Yeah, sure.”

Tessa glowered, but didn’t say anything for a few minutes.

“My parents said I could have the day off from school if Mrs. Miller’s funeral is during the week,” Tessa commented, as she did some homework.

“So did mine,” Jessica said, rubbing her hands over her face in exhaustion.

Tessa looked up from her book and asked, “Have you seen Danny today?”

“Nope.”

“Alright….because he  asked for you before study hall,” Tessa said, giving Jessica an annoyed look.

Jessica shook her head and answered, “He can find me around.”

Tessa put her pencil down loudly on the table. “Wow, you’re really bitchy today.”

“I told you, I didn’t sleep good,” Jessica answered wearily. She was not in the mood for Tessa’s questions.  

“Are you sick?”

Jessica sighed in irritation. “I said no already!”

“You seem jumpy and moody,” Tessa observed. “You haven’t stopped looking around since we came in here.”

“Maybe I was looking for Danny,” Jessica said.

Tessa rolled her eyes. “Liar.”

“Whatever.”

Jessica could tell that Tessa had enough of her attitude. She stood, throwing her books angrily into her bag.  

                   “If you’re going to be that way then. I’m outta here,” Tessa said, as she walked away.          

Jessica thought about stopping her, but she really didn’t care when Tessa left.

Jessica closed her books and sat looking around. She leaned back in the chair, and closed her eyes for a moment trying to cool her anxiety.

She then opened them to find a group of boys, most likely freshman based on their looks, staring her down.

She looked at them questioningly, and one of them did the gag motion, putting his finger down his throat, making his friends snicker lowly.  

The old Jessica would have hurried out of the study hall to go cry in the bathroom, doing nothing about it, however the new Jessica wasn’t going to take their taunting her.

Jessica stood and grabbed her books. She was in no mood for this today. She made sure she left a heaviest book out of her backpack. She threw the backpack over her shoulder, and stomped over to the laughing boys.

She made sure the teacher who was overseeing the study hall was still half-asleep in his chair.

“That’s funny huh?”

“You gonna puke on me? Then you gonna run away and cry?” A freckled boy sneered at her.

Jessica gave the boy her sweetest smile. “No, but I’ll do this.”

The book hit the boy square in the nose, and he began to scream as blood began to pour from it, and she thought she felt a slight crack through the book. Jessica never knew her own strength, making her smile even wider. “What did you want to say to me again?” Jessica asked as the other boys stood up in shock.

Jessica continued to smile in satisfaction as the teacher came over demanding what happened. The other boys started pointing fingers at her. She smiled sweetly again, taking full responsibility for her actions. The teacher picked up the crying boy on the floor, and put a tissue to his nose.     He turned angrily to Jessica, telling her to go straight to the principal’s office. Without another word, but a grin still plastered on her face, Jessica did as she was told.

The principal decided not to give Jessica any punishment, but warned her to keep her temper in check and go to a teacher if she found she was being bullied. “We are here to help you when something like that happens, Jessica,” he explained to her. Jessica sat there and listened, knowing full well they have never done a damn thing to help her in the past.

Satisfied with the outcome, she left the principal’s office. “You have less than a year to go, and you’re a model student, but please don’t do that again,” he added, as she gathered her book bag to leave.

“I know, sir,” she answered, closing the door behind her.

Luckily, the boys’ nose wasn’t broken from what the nurse said, and she heard later the group of boys was in for a week of detention for instigating her.

Danny waited for her outside of the principal’s office.

“Since when did my girl become a fighter?” He asked, smiling proudly.

“Since I got sick of everyone’s bullshit,” she answered, as they made their way to their next class.

“If that happens again, let me know, okay?” He said, seriously.

Jessica stopped and took Danny aside.

“Danny, I appreciate it, but I can take care of myself,” Jessica replied. She didn’t need or want his help.

Danny looked at her a little in shock. “Okay, I was just offering.”

“I know, thank you.”

“I tried to call you last night, but I kept getting your machine,” he suddenly said, disappointed.

Jessica sighed. Why didn’t he just go away?

“I’m sorry. I had to run an errand for my mom, and it took longer than I thought,” she answered.

She knew Danny didn’t believe her, but he didn’t say anything just yet.

“Are you going to be there tonight?” He asked, hopeful.

Jessica wanted to feel bad, she really did, but she was just sick of him, and knew she was getting tired of stringing him along. It almost time to tell Danny Davenport to move along. She had better things to do.

“I should be. I have to do a few things, but you can call me,” she finally said.

The bell rang before Danny could say anything else.

Jessica was grateful. She didn’t want anything to do with him tonight. She had to go see The Spirit of the Mirror.

She spotted Kelly and Amber with their group as she passed the tryout sheets for basketball. They gave her funny looks, because they knew she had already signed up.

Jessica was determined to show them that Mandy Cooper could not beat her, and neither could they. She would prove that with the help of her guardian angel.

Jessica made her way through the forest after school and smiled as the leaves fell from the trees and silently hit the ground as she walked along her favorite path just below the mountain.

Her sneakered feet crunched the already dead leaves on the ground. The lake was a little rough today, making her stop to admire the beauty of the shimmering water, reflecting the setting sun.

Soon, all of the trees would be bare except the evergreens. She looked forward to their first snowfall in the area. At their elevation, the snow would come right after Halloween.

Her thoughts drifted back to Sara Miller lying dead on the shop floor, and Jessica shuddered wrapping her jacket tighter around her. She knew it was an accident, wasn’t it?

Jessica reached The Spirit of the Mirror, and he immediately appeared to her. She was always fascinated when the mirror began to swirl, while the glass, like molten lava formed The Spirit into the humanoid figure. She would never get bored watching that.

“I never meant for her to die,” Jessica said, after greeting the Spirit.

The spirit smiled at her. That worried her a little. Sara had said some strange things to Jessica when she was there, and it made her wonder…..

“If nothing had happened to her, you might not be where you are now, ready to take on a new challenge” he answered.

Jessica felt the tears threaten as she removed the dagger from her jeans.

“I know, but Sara was such a nice lady,” she said in remorse.

“Jessica, you did what you had to do, and Sara would have ruined your future,” he said, taking the dagger from her hand and admiring it.

“She didn’t have to die though. I could still be caught,” she argued. She surprised herself, when she felt tears threaten to fall.

“You were not seen, and it was a tragic accident. You will learn that accidents happen all the time, and sometimes the outcomes are not what we expect,” he said looking at her sympathetically.

Jessica wiped her eyes. “I felt scared for myself. Scared that someone was going to walk in on me standing over her body, and then I would be arrested right there. Is that wrong?”

The Spirit tilted his head in introspection.

“There is nothing wrong with the way you feel. Any human with regret would feel the same no matter how much they try to deny their feelings,” he answered.

Jessica was itching to ask him a question that had been bothering her.

“What do you want to ask, Jessica?” He questioned.

Jessica let out a breath and tried to calm her raging emotions. She never saw Sara’s face after she was killed; however the body was enough.

“Did you push the heater to help me?” She finally asked.

The spirit’s eyes glowed a little brighter at her question.

“Sometimes fate needs a helping hand,” he answered.

She had her answer, and she didn’t know what to do. She was in so deep now that there was no going back, and she knew it.

First, Mandy Cooper permanently paralyzed from her fall, and now Sara Miller the antique shop owner was dead because of her gifts for The Spirit.

She looked back up to The Spirit and asked, “Are you evil?”

“I am here to make your life better. Do you think that is evil?” He asked steadily.

“The way things are going, I am not sure,” she answered truthfully.

The Spirit tilted his reflective head once more and said, “You have a choice Jessica. You can walk away now and never see me again, or you can have your wish fulfilled, and continue to progress into the person that you’ve dreamed of becoming.”

“You said this is the last thing I have to steal?” She asked, hopefully.