Running on Empty

MIRROR | 17

The mirror was back.

I sat on my bed, unable to do anything but stare at it.

It was bigger this time, the glass seemed more appealing and I could swear it whispered to me. Cliché I know.

"What are you staring at?" The second my attention left the mirror, it was gone, just like the last time. The foreboding sensation that it brought with it was gone too the second the wall was blank again.

"Oh, just the wall," Axle was holding label-less alcohol in a large glass bottle. He sat down on the ground beside my legs, stretching out with a soft groan, and then patted the empty space beside him.

"Let's drink."

"Trying to get me drunk again?" Axle responded with a lazy smile, soft droopy eyes that couldn't be anything but welcoming.

"Yes," I slid down onto the ground beside him. Déjà vu. We had sat here gotten sleepy drunk together and talked into the wee hours of the night before. Never with this many people within the house, never right after we kissed, and never when people were actively talking about killing me under this same roof, but that all didn't matter.

"Perfect."

The alcohol was strong, and we both sat quietly, just passing it back and forth until I settled my head against his shoulder and wrapped my arms around his bicep.

"Are you okay?" I peaked up at him, forming a small smile when he brushed the hair from my eyes with an expression so sweet that it made my heart ache.

"You scared the shit out of me out there. The whole..." He waved his hand around sloppily. "...Agonizing pain thing with the necklace and the dramatic ripping of it off," I couldn't help but giggle as he mimed the actions.

"I'm okay I think. My head is so quiet now," He nodded like he understood and rested his head back against the bed.

"I never thought that I would meet you," I shrugged a shoulder at his quiet words. I hadn't planned on meeting him either, just a happy little coincidence. "But now, I can't imagine you not being here with me. There is so much I want to tell you, but I don't even know where to begin with it all. Hurting you... it's my worst fear."

"You should have far greater fears than that," He raised an eyebrow and I looked back up at him with a poorly hidden smile.

"Like what?"

"Like– like.. being crushed by a falling tree. Or.. eaten by wolves," He grinned at that, laughing more than I thought was really normal about what I just said. "What's so funny about that? Those are two perfectly reasonable means of death, or.. or serious maiming at the least!"

"Yes, both of those things are likely. One of those more likely than you would think," He mused and we both settled into a comfortable silence.

"About what you wanted to tell me at the diner–"

"I was just about to get to that–"

"No," I cut him off, lightly placing my hand against his cheek, my thumb brushing against the light stubble with moderate fascination. He was rugged in such a soft way, not that that even made such sense. "It's late, we're buzzed, I think we should wait until morning," He nodded after a moment.

"Morning then," He glanced at his watch. "Which is in, three hours."

"I should probably sleep," My eyelids were heavy, and Axle brushed his knuckles against my cheek.

"You probably should," He helped pull me up to my feet, staring at me a moment longer before moving to step away towards the door.

"Wait," He paused and my cheeks burned. "Stay? Just until I fall asleep, well.. you don't even have to stay for long, or if you don't want to but.. please?" He didn't say anything, but the grin that lit up the dim room brighter than any sun could was all the answer that I needed. Well that, and his lips lightly pressing against my forehead.

"Okay."

We both crawled onto the bed, and in my sleepy drunken state I felt absolutely no reservations in snuggling up against his side. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me close against his chest and burying his nose in my hair with a satisfying rumble of his chest. Odd, but all it did was lull me to sleep faster surrounded by nothing but him and nothing but him.

"Maybe they won't kill me now," the thought popped into my head. THe necklace was off, so maybe they wouldn't have to guillotine me. 

"Hush," He kissed my cheek, halting my racing heart. 

"Thank you," My words were muffled against his chest.

"Always."

I woke up in a daze, Axle was gone but the bed was warm and crumpled where he had been. I don't know how long he had been gone, but it couldn't have been too long.

Amira.

My head lazily pivoted to the weird spot on the wall. Once again the mirror was back, and I was completely unable to stop myself from ambling closer towards it.

There was a strong smell of lemons, which struck me as odd, really really odd. For one, lemons were not in season, and for two, where the hell would that smell even be coming from. Last I checked, mirrors don't smell like citrus at any time of the year. The closer I got to the mirror, the stronger the smell. It made my head swim and cloud as my hand reached out almost like it was attached to a string.

Amira.

I touched the cool reflective surface, and the last thing that I saw before the world dissolved around me was a woman with leaves in her hair that stood where my reflection should have been.