Mirror // Van McCann

9. The Mirror

I could hear my phone ringing. Groggy from sleep, my hand went searching for my phone. After a few seconds, I finally found my phone. I opened my eyes and squinted at my screen. Liz was calling. Why would she call me?

"Hello?" I asked sleepily.

"Hi Jess, it's me, Liz. I'm so sorry to bother you but I have a huge favor to ask of you," Liz said quickly. I could tell she was stressed. Something was wrong.

"What is it?" I asked, slowly getting up.

"Someone at my work called out sick and my manager asked if I could come into work today. I know it's your day off but I was wondering if you could watch Ryan for a couple hours today? You don't have to go over right now. What time is it?" I heard her pause. "Oh, it's almost 7 AM. I wouldn't come over until around 10 AM. Ryan usually sleeps in on the weekend."

"Uh...yeah, that's fine. Don't worry about it, I can watch him. Go ahead and go to work, Liz," I said, trying to calm her down.

"Thank you so much Jess. You're the best! I'll pay you extra."

"No need, Liz. It really is no problem."

I hung up and glanced at the clock. My mom is most likely on her way to work right now. I pulled out my phone and texted her.

Jess: *Just letting you know I'm watching Ryan today. Liz has to cover for a sick coworker. I'll be fine, no worries.*

I thought about waking up and getting some work done but thought against it since my bed was still warm and I was still tired. I set my alarm for 9 AM and went back to sleep.

Once it was five minutes before 10, I started walking over to the Fuller's house. I let myself in and dropped off my stuff.

"I'm here, Ryan!" I shouted. I heard no response but figured he might still be sleeping. I moved my stuff closer to the couch and walked into the kitchen. I noticed a note from Liz on the counter letting Ryan know that she was out at work and that I would be watching him. I guess she didn't want to wake him up. I saw a stack of dishes and began washing them. After I was done, I went over to the couch and began studying again. After working through ten practice problems, I looked up at the clock. It was almost 11:30 AM and Ryan still hasn't woken up yet. I walked over to the stairs and looked up.

"Ryan?" I called out. No response. I slowly headed up the stairs making sure I stomped so he could hear me. "Ryan." I turned the corner and saw that his bedroom door was open. His room was bright which meant his curtains were open. "Ryan?"

I walked up to his room and looked around. He was nowhere to be found. His bed still wasn't made. I poked my head into every room and called his name. He was nowhere to be found.

A thought suddenly occurred to me. Since he isn't home, should I look through the stack of pictures again? I stared at his bedroom door down the hallway. I was tempted to pull the box out from under his bed, but at the same time, I kept thinking it was a set up. As soon as I would pull the box out, Ryan would jump out and say "I knew it was you!" I was conflicted but my curiosity had a slight edge. I took a few steps closer to Ryan's room.

I saw something in the corner of my eye which scared me, and I quickly turned to look at it. I realized it was just my reflection in the mirror. My heart was still pounding. Angry, I walked up to the mirror. The bed sheet that used to cover the mirror had fallen off. I grabbed the bed sheet and pulled it over the mirror. I never understood why the Fullers had a mirror in the middle of the room. It was just downright creepy. I used my hands to remove the wrinkles in the bed sheet and yelped in fear. Something was not right.

The mirror is supposed to be solid but for some reason, my hands went through it. I saw my fingertips disappear but as soon as I pulled back, my fingertips were visible again. I pulled the bed sheet off, confused. My hands were shaking. I used my index finger to poke the mirror. Again, the tip of my finger disappeared. I quickly pulled back in fear. What on earth is happening!?