The Shadow Side [ManxMan] (short story)

Chapter 7:

I stopped in front of the mirror and took my phone out of my pocket. My eyes widened slightly when I saw that it was Antony who was calling me. My finger was hovering over the phone and I was wondering if I should answer. I sighed and closed my eyes as I decided to answer his call. "What do you want?"

"Oh wow, I didn't expect such a cold welcome. I'm sorry for not contacting you sooner."

"You always say that and then you ignore me for days. I doubt your job as a cook is making you so busy that you don't even have time to send me one message..." I told him, the words coming out of my mouth before I even had the time to think about it. "Sorry... I don't feel very good today and I'm on my nerves..."

"I can hear... But you're not totally wrong. I'm not the best at staying in touch with people and I know it's a weak excuse... I'll make some efforts, alright?"

"We will see about that... Can I call you later? I have some important stuff to do..."

"Sure. I'll talk to you soon then." He said and, after one last goodbye, I closed the call and put my phone on my bed. 

I turned back toward the mirror and put my hands against the cold glass. "Show yourself..." I whispered while staring at my reflection. I could see the dark circles under my eyes that contrasted with the white of my skin. My eyes had that weird light in it but with everything that had been happening to me these past days, I wasn't surprised. "Show yourself!" I screamed in frustration as nothing was still happening. I punched the mirror, making it vibrate and shake slightly. 

"Breaking it won't help making me appear." A deep voice said from behind me, making me turn around.

"Stop playing with me and let me know what the fuck you want!!" I screamed as I walked closer to my reflection. 

He smiled at my reaction and watched me advance without blinking or flinching. "Come with me."

"I will never come with you. Leave me alone." I growled as I stopped a few centimeters away. I wondered what would happen if I tried to touch him. Would my hand go through him? Or would I feel something hard, like the body of a real person? As if he had read my mind, he started to laugh which made me shiver. I hated that sound more than anything. It was terrifying.

"Try it." He whispered, his smile getting bigger.

His confidence made me doubt something good would happen if I did try to touch him but, after a slight hesitation, I decided to try it. I had nothing to lose anyway. Trying not to shake, I slowly approached my hand toward my shadow that was looking at me with a big, scary smile. I watched as my hand went through my shadow without any difficulties and it was like he wasn't even here. Seeing my surprise made him laugh and he stared at me as his eyes began to darken once again. Blood tears slowly started to run down his cheeks as he got up. He stood in front of me for a few seconds. "You lost." 

At this moment, he exploded in the air and I saw droplets of blood everywhere around me. I screamed as I felt something cold and viscous run down my back and I turned around, looking at the mirror. I was covered in dark blood and I quickly put my hands on my face, wanting to remove it. I then raised my hands in front of my eyes and frowned as I saw that there was nothing on it. "W-What the fuck is going on..." I whispered in horror as I could see myself be covered in blood in the mirror but my hands were clean. I ran to the bathroom and undressed myself before throwing myself under the water. I rubbed myself with shaking hands, not understanding how I couldn't see the blood when I was so sure I saw it in the mirror.

I left the shower and looked at my clothes that were completely clean. Slowly, I put them back on and walked toward the small mirror above the sink. I turned my eyes and looked at the shelves with various products on it. "You can't escape me. No matter where you go I will be there." My reflection said appearing suddenly next to me.