Chapter 4 – Secrets in the Mirror
Lucas's POV
I closed the door gently after Rae left—well, after I left.
This was insane.
I leaned against the door, hands shaking just enough to notice. I hadn't told her the full truth. Not about the shoulder. Not about the mirror.
And definitely not about the fact that her—my—reflection hadn’t moved in sync earlier.
I wasn’t sure if I was going crazy or if this body swap came with a side of haunting.
I rubbed my—her—eyes and sighed. My head throbbed. Or maybe it was Rae’s usual headaches? Ugh. I needed to stop thinking like this or I was going to spiral.
I made my way upstairs to my—Rae’s—bedroom. Soft pink curtains. Books stacked in uneven towers. Sketches taped on the walls. The scent of lavender and paint. I shouldn’t have known this much about Rae’s room, but now that I was literally in her body, there was no escaping it.
I sat down on her bed—my bed now, I guess—and immediately felt a jolt of guilt. Like I was intruding. Like I’d stepped into something sacred and left footprints on the floor.
I picked up one of the sketchbooks from the side table. Just curiosity. I flipped it open.
The first page was a rough pencil sketch of someone’s hand—mine, I realized after a second. My real hand. Rae must’ve drawn it from memory or observation. It was detailed, right down to the scar near the thumb joint.
Why would she draw me?
I turned the page and found more. A sketch of me skating. Me laughing. Me leaning over the lunch table with a book in my hand. Some of them had little notes beside them.
"He looks like he belongs to a world I can’t reach."
"Is it weird to wish I could be him just for one day?"
That last one hit me like a slap.
A wish.
One day.
Was that the reason we swapped? That one line?
I closed the sketchbook quickly, chest tight. I wasn’t supposed to see this. But now that I had… I couldn’t unsee it.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Rae’s phone. Right.
I checked the screen: a text from her mom.
Mom: Don’t forget to clean your brushes. And eat. No skipping dinner tonight, okay?
I swallowed the lump in my throat. I hadn’t even thought about parents in all this. Her mom didn’t know she wasn’t Rae. What if I said the wrong thing?
I typed a quick reply.
Me (as Rae): Got it. Will do.
Three dots appeared for a second, then disappeared. I exhaled.
Okay. I could handle this. Just stay quiet, don’t say anything weird, and keep the mirror out of sight.
Except... the mirror wouldn’t let me.
My eyes drifted to the old standing mirror in the corner of the room. It looked completely normal. Oval frame, some chipping on the edges, soft reflection. But something about it made my skin crawl.
I walked over slowly.
It was my reflection. Rae’s body. Her face. My expression.
I tilted my head.
So did the reflection.
I lifted a hand.
The reflection followed.
I turned around.
But the reflection didn’t.
I froze. Blood pounding in my ears.
That wasn’t possible. That wasn’t—
The reflection smiled.
I didn’t.
I took a shaky step back. My whole body felt like it had turned to ice.
And then the reflection blinked.
Twice.
Wrong.
I backed away fast, heart racing, and knocked into the desk behind me.
“Okay. Nope. Nope, nope, nope.”
I turned and grabbed Rae’s hoodie off the chair. Threw it over the mirror like I was dousing a fire.
What the hell was that?
I sat on the floor, knees pulled up, breathing hard. This wasn’t just a body swap. Something else was going on. Something… worse.
My phone buzzed again.
New text. This time from Rae. Well—me.
Rae (as Lucas): You okay? You kind of slammed the door like a horror movie villain.
I stared at the message for a few seconds, then replied:
Me: I think your mirror hates me.
Three seconds later:
Rae: Same.
I blinked.
Me: Wait. It’s doing weird stuff for you too?
Rae: Not gonna lie, I’ve been avoiding it all day. Thought I was just tired. But earlier, it felt like it was… watching me.
I swallowed hard.
Me: We need to talk about this. In person.
Rae: Tonight. East Building. After hours. Nobody will be around.
I hesitated.
Me: You sure? That place is creepy even when it’s full of people.
Rae: Exactly why it’s perfect. Less chance of anyone catching us being… weird.
I sighed.
Me: Fine. But if your reflection murders me, I’m blaming you.
Rae: Deal.
I looked around the room once more. Everything felt like it was holding its breath. Like the walls knew more than they were saying.
Whatever was going on, it wasn’t just about us.
I had the strangest sense that we were being pulled into something bigger than a freak body swap. And the worst part?
I had a feeling it was only just starting.
By the time I made it to the East Building that night, the sky was bruised purple and the air felt sharp enough to cut. I pulled my hoodie tighter around me—Rae’s hoodie, actually—and slipped around the back door where the janitor usually left it unlocked.
It creaked open with the kind of dramatic horror-movie flair I really didn’t need right now.
I stepped inside. The hallway lights flickered once before settling into a sickly yellow glow. Shadows stretched weirdly across the floor, too long, too quiet.
I hated this place.
I walked quickly down the corridor, my footsteps echoing way louder than I liked. Every time I passed a mirror—or even a window—I looked away.
Until I saw her.
Rae. Standing near the abandoned drama room. Dressed in my clothes. Hands in the hoodie pocket. Her expression unreadable.
“Hey,” she said as I approached.
“Hey,” I said back. “You beat me here.”
“Didn’t want to be alone at home. After… you know. The thing.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I know.”
We stood there awkwardly for a second. Swapped bodies. Swapped lives. Swapped everything except the ability to be normal about any of it.
“You brought the journal?” Rae asked.
I blinked. “What journal?”
She frowned. “The one on your desk. The old one with the cracked spine.”
“There wasn’t a journal on your desk.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Yes, there was.”
“No, Rae. There wasn’t.”
We both turned slowly to face the wall of mirrors just outside the drama room.
There, in the center one, was me.
My real self.
Standing perfectly still.
Smiling.
And behind me, something moved.
Not a reflection.
A figure.
Its face was wrong.
Rae grabbed my arm.
“Lucas,” she whispered.
“I see it.”
I reached for the door to the drama room.
But before I could open it, the lights flickered.
Then went out.
And something cold grabbed my shoulder.