Love Bites

LOVE BITES Chapter 15 : Shattered Reflections

Chapter 15 : Shattered Reflections

Pulling out the last of the bobby-pins, I let my hair cascade down my back in tumbles of white blond. The way it fell resembled thick snow on a cold day and I actually shivered. Not because of my hair but because of the air circulating the house. It was cooler than usual, springing goosebumps along my skin.

I fetched a hairbrush from the draw and sitting on the edge of my bed, I faced the full length mirror resting against the wall. I was already dressed for school and decided just before stepping out the door that I couldn't possibly leave with my hair in the messy state that it was.

Combing my hair over one shoulder, I ran the bristles through it. Honestly, it wasn't even that bad, I just didn't want to leave my room in case I ran into Alastair. Silly, I know, but I didn't think I could handle seeing him right now. I had the regrettable feeling he wanted to discuss something with me. I assumed it was about me or his leaving; neither of which I wanted to focus on right now.

I watched how my hair parted in smooth singular strands with each stroke of the hairbrush. I couldn't help but wonder how I'd look if I had black hair rather than blonde. My nose scrunched as I imagined myself looking more like Alastair. We really were different, and in more ways than our appearance. In a way, I liked that about us. He didn't seem so much like my brother when I looked at how dissimilar we were.

I tried hard not to conjure the mental image of that little girl I repeatedly saw in my visions with her long midnight black hair. Is that what I would have looked like?

A sudden thought struck me. Why hadn't I realised it earlier?!

My mind went back to that day when I was sorting through the family photo album. That photo Alastair smiled at, it was me, when I was younger.

Except I had black hair.

Just like that little girl I kept seeing. Or rather, that I kept being. I was her in my visions. I was the little girl.

I always thought my hair had lost pigment, that perhaps the photos were fake. But maybe they were real. Maybe I actually had dark hair once. The type Mom, Dad and Alastair had. And if that were true, then everything else in my visions could also be-

"No." I told myself forcefully. Glowering at my reflection in the mirror, I reigned a hold on my racing thoughts, pulling them to a screeching halt. "No more of this. You are a bloody human, Nikki. Just because you can't explain why your hair was once that colour doesn't mean that everything else you're seeing is real. You are, and always have been, a human." I stared directly into my eyes and let out a deep breath. "Just stop."

I stared at my reflection for the longest time. I was fixated on my face, the piercing gaze of my eyes as they reflected back at me like glossy marbles. They were a bright blue, filling my entire face. Have my eyes always been that big? Their intensity surprised me yet also captivated me.

I had stopped running the brush through my hair. My hands now sitting in my lap, limp and still. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't pull my focus from my eyes. They arrested my attention, pulling me deeper into a chilly depth of ocean blue...

I tried to ignore the way my forehead creased with lines as I tried to hold my attention on the teddy bear. Long dark hair kept falling in my face as my arms moved jerkily around me.