Discombobulate

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Denise was ill; horribly and terribly ill. Vomiting so violently, it left her trembling. The sour taste of stomach acid coated the inside of her mouth. The smell of her stomach contents was enough to make her hurl again.

The pink and lavender metal caskets were imprinted in her brain. They carried the cold corpses of her dead family members. She had tried to keep her composure during the hallucination of her mom and sister.

She knew it had been fake. She knew they weren't really there. The whole thing was due to her lack of sleep, but it didn't stop her from freaking out. They were there, but they weren't.

Hallucinations aren't real life; they're only mind tricks.

The thought didn't help Denise. It made her freak out more. She had seen them once and only once. That didn't mean they would come back.

Weirdly, she wanted to see them again. They freaked her out, but she wanted to try to communicate with them. She wanted to make sure they were only hallucinations. Was there a chance she'd be able to talk to them?

Dupe's sharp nails scraped along the outside of the bathroom door. A small meow came from outside. He raked his nails up and down the wooden door.

"Dupe, I'm fine." Denise shoved herself off the floor. She flushed the toilet and washed her hands. She cupped cold water in her palms to splash her face. The cold water was rejuvenating. It brought her back to life.

There was only so much she could do to ignore the wave of exhaustion that washed over her. Sleepiness came in waves. Sometimes she'd be feeling fine. Other times, she had to force herself to stay awake.

She gasped when she brought her head back up. Jennifer stood behind her in the mirror. She looked the same at the cemetery. She wore the same pink tank top and the same pair of black velvet shorts Denise found her in.

The blood pooling that her corpse had suffered hadn't gone away. Her skin was almost purple along her left cheek. It continued along the side of her neck and down her arm.

"Check the car." Jennifer's eyes never left Denise's reflected stare in the mirror. "It's in the car."

"What's in the car?" Denise wanted to turn around and hug her sister. She was afraid she'd disappear.

Jennifer didn't show any emotion. She met her sister's blue eyes. The two of them had the same eye color; the pale blue of an icy glacier. They shared the same shade of sandy blonde hair.

The only difference between them was Denise's weight. Denise had outweighed her younger sister by thirty pounds. Her thighs were thicker and her face was rounder. Jennifer's facial features were sharper.

"It's in the car." Jennifer repeated the same words.

Denise whipped around to try to see her sister. Jennifer had already disappeared. She frantically turned back to the mirror hoping she was still there, but it was no use.

Denise yanked the bathroom door open. She tripped over Dupe in the process. She quickly apologized to the kitten before hurrying into the kitchen to grab the video camera. He tagged along by running at her feet.

She turned on the camera and pointed it at herself. A red light blinked to let her know she was recording. Words trickled out of her mouth quickly.

"I might be going insane. I saw my mom and my sister at the cemetery. I went to watch people dig up their caskets. They were both there. I know that sounds crazy, but it's true."

She glanced at herself in the viewfinder and realized how disheveled she looked. Pieces of hair were falling out of her two braids. Her eyes were wide and huge bags sat underneath them. She didn't look camera ready. Luckily, she was the only one that would see these videos.