The Girl from Her Mirror (Mirrors Don't Lie Book 1)
Read The Girl from Her Mirror (Mirrors Don't Lie Book 1) Online
Authors: Becki Willis
The Girl from
Her Mirror
Book One: Mirrors
Don’t Lie Series
By Becki Willis
Text Copyright ©2014 Becki Willis
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. All characters and events exist
only in the writer’s imagination. Any resemblance to real-life people or events
is merely coincidental.
No part of this work can be duplicated, copied or shared
without express written consent of the author.
San Antonio, TX
June, 1991
The little girl stared into the mirror,
studying the reflection before her with wide, intelligent eyes. Even at the
tender age of three, she knew there was something monumental about this moment.
Something she needed to absorb, needed to remember.
Her solemn gaze roamed over the image,
taking in the tumble of wayward curls, tracing the outline of a chubby cheek,
memorizing the light in the wide green eyes.
“I’ll never forget you,” she whispered.
Her mother stepped into the room, her
body rigid. “It’s time,” she announced briskly.
The little girl continued to gaze into
the mirror. She put her tiny hand up, palm against palm.
“I’ll never forget you,” she promised.
“Never.”
Austin, TX
April, 2014
Makenna Reagan rushed through the
automatic doors of the Emergency Room, desperate to find her best friend. The
message left on her voice mail had been sketchy, at best; there had been an
accident, and she was listed as next of kin. If she hurried, she could make it
before Miss Reese went into surgery.
“I’m here to see Kenzie Reese,” she told
the receptionist, pushing back an unruly lock of auburn curls. “She was
admitted about an hour ago.”
“Have a seat. Someone will be with you
shortly.”
Be with her? What did that mean? Makenna
nibbled on her bottom lip as she took a seat in the hard plastic chair. Why
didn’t they just take her straight back? Maybe Kenzie was more seriously
injured than they said. Maybe…
“Ma’am? You may see your sister now.” A
nurse in blue scrubs motioned from the electronically controlled door she held
open. Makenna scrambled to her feet, not bothering to correct the mistake. The
two of them looked so much alike, everyone thought they were sisters. Being
listed as next of kin only cemented the misconception.
“How is she? Is she all right?”
“Pretty banged up, but all and all,
she’s very fortunate. The doctor will be in to speak with you before we take
her up to OR. She’s been asking for you.” The nurse talked as she led the way
through a maze of hallways and cubicles. “Here you go,” the nurse said, pulling
back the curtain and revealing her very bruised and battered friend.
“Oh, Kenzie! Kenzie, are you all right?”
She rushed to her friend’s bedside, trying to note all her injuries at once.
There was a wide bandage wrapped around her forehead, blood caked in her dark
tangled hair, an angry red bruise encircling the point of her chin, scrapes and
bruises and small cuts on both arms, and her left leg was heavily bandaged and
elevated on a stack of pillows. Wires and tubes sprouted from her in all
directions.
“Makenna. You came.” This, groggily.
“Of course I came! What on earth
happened?”
“Don’t know. One minute I’m driving
home, the next thing I know there’s a car in my windshield. When I woke up, I
was here. What time is it?”
Makenna glanced around for a clock.
“Uhm, just after noon.”
“Good, there’s still time.” She sounded
relieved.
“Time for what?”
“My flight. It leaves at 2:35.”
“You aren’t going anywhere, my friend,
except to the operating room.”
“Not me. You.”
Makenna frowned. Either she had taken a
nasty knock to the head or the pain medication was making her loopy. “I’m not
going with you, Kenzie. You were going on this trip by yourself. For work.”
“I know. But I need you to go for me.”
“Kenzie, I think you’re a little
confused. Why don’t you just lie back and relax? Can I get you anything, do
anything for you?”
“Yes.”
“What? You name it. Would you like some
ice chips?”
The young woman in the hospital bed
shook her bed, wincing at the pain caused by the simple action. “I need you to
do this for me.”
“Okay, honey, what? What can I do for
you?” She found a spot on her friend’s arm that wasn’t injured and patted it
comfortingly.
“Take my place. You get on that plane.”
“What? What on earth are you talking
about?” Makenna drew back, her brow furrowed.
“I need you to do this for me, Makenna.”
Focusing her eyes on her friend with obvious effort, the injured woman spoke in
a clear, strong voice. “My career depends on it. Please, take my place. Pretend
you’re me.”
“I can’t do that!” Makenna cried. “I
don’t know the first thing about taking pictures.”
“Of course you do. Point and shoot. And
you know how to do research.”
“Kenzie, I think that bump on your head
knocked something loose. Do you know what you’re asking?”
Kenzie Reese took a deep breath, willing
the pain away until she made her point. After she won the argument - which she
knew she would - she would reward herself with a nice, deep sleep. Medically
induced, perhaps, but numbed to the pain that radiated throughout her
body.
“I’m asking you to save my shaky career.
The trip is already paid for, but I maxed out my credit cards doing it. The
magazine will pay me back, but only if I turn in the story. If I don’t make
this assignment, I’m toast. Please, Makenna. I need you to do this.”
“I can’t just up and leave at a moment’s
notice!”
“Why not? You don’t have a job.”
True. As of two days ago, she was
‘relieved’ of her duties as reporter for the
Austin Daily Newsprint
. If
Kenzie weren’t in her current condition, Makenna wouldn’t appreciate her blunt
reminder of the situation.
“Still, I can’t just hop on a plane and
fly off to New England for a week!”
“Why not? What’s keeping you here?” she
asked pointedly.
This time, she was polite enough not to
remind Makenna of her new status as ‘single’. Seemed when it rained, it really
did pour. Within five days, Makenna had lost her boyfriend and her job.
Surprisingly, the first didn’t smart nearly as much as the latter.
“You, for one thing. Who’s going to take
care of you when you get out of here?”
“There was something about cracked ribs
and a bruised spleen, plus this leg. I’ll be in here a couple of days. You’ll
be home before I am.” Her strength was fading. She closed her eyes and
continued, “If not, I’ll call Marci or Linda.”
“I couldn’t leave you at a time like
this!”
“You’ll be doing me a bigger favor,
bigger service, by going.”
“But the plane ticket is in your name .
. .”
“So take my driver’s license, I won’t need
it. Pretend you’re me. We’ve done it before.” She opened her eyes long enough
to summon an impish grin.
“Fooling blind dates, job interviewers,
and crazy old Professor Nolan is one thing; impersonating someone else to
airport security is a federal offense!” Makenna protested. Nibbling her lip
again, she added, “At least, I guess it is. Yes, I’m sure it must be. Why would
you ask me to do something like that?”
“Because I’m desperate. I have to make
this assignment, Kenna. My job depends on it. My financial future depends on
it.” She tried a new tactic. “Our apartment rent depends on it.”
“But…”
“I’m stuck here with a busted leg. I’ll
be out of commission for who-knows-how-long. This piece can either make me or
break me. Please, Kenna. The magazine will never know who gets on that plane,
who takes those pictures. Please, do this for me.”
Makenna hesitated, thinking of all that
could go wrong with her friend’s scheme. Something always did.
“Please, when have I ever asked anything
of you?” At Makenna’s unbelieving snort, the bruised and battered woman changed
her question. “Okay, so when have you ever turned me down? And why start now,
when it’s so important? As your best friend, as your roommate, please, please,
I’m begging you to do this for me.”
Makenna shoved back a handful of curls
as she leaned over the hospital bed to peer more closely at her friend. What if
her wounds were more serious than she thought? Should she deny her something
that was obviously so important to her? But could she leave her at such a
crucial moment? Torn between wanting to go and needing to stay, she insisted,
“Kenzie, it’s not that simple!”
“Of course it is,” Kenzie argued.
“You’ve been saying you’re stuck in a rut, that your life is too boring, too
predictable. For once, do something spur-of-the-moment. Do this for both of
us.”
“But - But the plane leaves in two
hours! I hardly have time to get to the airport, much less pack.”
She was weakening, Kenzie thought with a
smile. “Already done. Half your closet is in my suitcases anyway. You have just
enough time to pack your own overnight bag, drop my bag with Linda to bring
down here, and get to the airport.”
Makenna paced the small confines of the
cubicle. “But so many things could go wrong! I would have to check in with the
magazine, wouldn’t I?”
“By e-mail. You know my account.”
“What if I need some sort of
verification for something?”
“Like what? You know all my
information.”
It was true. Kenzie was terrible at
remembering passwords and numbers; her best back-up was Makenna’s uncanny
memory for details. Still doubtful, she threw out a half dozen other scenarios,
all of which her friend had an answer for.
“Makenna!” Kenzie finally stopped her.
“It’s already 12:30. If you don’t leave now, my career is over. Will you do
this for me, or not?”
Makenna hesitated another full thirty
seconds, staring hard at her friend. She was torn between the duty to stay and
the thrill of going. Kenzie was right; this was the perfect time, the perfect
opportunity, to step out of her boring little box and do something completely
spontaneous, all while helping her best friend. It seemed to be a win/win
situation, so what did she have to lose?
Before she could answer her own
question, Makenna drew a deep breath and took a leap of faith. “I have a feeling
I’m going to regret this, but … all right. I will take your place this week. I
will pretend to be Kenzie Reese.”
If she could have managed it, Kenzie
would have squealed with delight. Instead, the best she could muster was a
weary smile as she closed her eyes and sighed in relief. “Thank you. I can’t
tell you what this means to me.”
“I still feel terrible about leaving you
at a time like this…”
“Don’t. It’s what I want.” Kenzie took
her hand and squeezed, her grip strong. “They put my purse on that shelf. Take
my wallet. It’s got everything you’ll need, even cash. I stopped by the ATM
just before the accident. Now get out of here, before you change your mind.”
“I’ll call when I land. Please, please
be fine.”
“I’m already better, knowing you’re
doing this for me.” They said their goodbyes, and Makenna grabbed her friend’s
wallet from her purse before leaving. Just as she pulled open the curtain,
Kenzie called groggily, “Oh, and I may have borrowed your new black boots.”
With absolutely no time to spare,
Makenna made it to the airport. Check-in went smoothly enough, but she feared
hyperventilation at the security checkpoint. When she handed the TSA agent her
ticket and photo ID, the woman looked first at Makenna, then at the license,
then back at Makenna.
“Says here you have black hair.”
Makenna grabbed a curly auburn strand
and stared at it, searching for a plausible excuse. Praying she wouldn’t get
arrested, right then and there, she struggled to keep her voice light. “They
did an amazing job, right? Who would guess this wasn’t my natural color?”
The woman raised her eyebrows, still
unconvinced. “Birth date?”
Without hesitating, she rattled off her
friend’s birth date. “2-21-88.”
“Address?”
Again, she supplied it without missing a
beat.
“Guess I need the name of your stylist,”
the security officer muttered, handing Makenna back her license. “Have a good
flight.”
Makenna’s knees were weak as she made
her way to screening. Her hands trembled as she tugged off her shoes, placed
them in the plastic bin alongside her purse and Kenzie’s camera case, and
waited her turn through the full-body scanner. As she feared, the camera case
had to be searched, costing precious minutes before she was cleared. She
started down the long corridors at a fast clipped pace that soon turned into an
all-out sprint. She arrived at her gate, out of breath and practically frantic,
just as the first passengers were called. Her borrowed ticket granted her
select boarding privileges, so she went straight to the gate.
Makenna stumbled through the boarding,
hoping her breathlessness would be attributed to cutting her arrival so close.
It was one of those seat-yourself flights, so she found the first empty row and
plopped down by the window. As more passengers filed down the aisle, she found
herself watching for someone in uniform. Any minute now, they would stop at her
row and demand she come with them.
She looked at each passenger without
really seeing them, scanning their faces for any sign of censure. A nun, a businessman,
a grandmotherly type. Her gaze fell on one particularly nice looking man with
vivid blue eyes. On some level, as their eyes met and held, her brain
acknowledged how attractive he was, but she didn’t have time for chemistry
right now. She looked past him, to the next person. So far, so good. No one in
uniform appeared.
Her line of vision was blocked as
someone stopped to deposit their case into the overhead bin in front of her.
She tried to see around the person, but all she could see was a torso wrapped
in blue. Again, on a subconscious level, she appreciated the trim waist and
well-toned abs, quite nicely defined beneath the clingy blue knit sports shirt;
on a conscious level, she was slightly irritated at the man for obstructing her
view.