Delete ME,Darling.

Chapter 18: You’re Not Me, But You Could Also Not Be Me

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Chapter Eighteen: You’re Not Me, But You Could Also Not Be Me

“You didn’t sleep,” Sable said.

“Neither did you,” Elara replied.

“I never do,” Sable said, exhaling smoke. “I only close my eyes in dreams.”

“Did you dream about me?” Elara asked.

“Do you want me to have?” Sable looked at her.

“I don’t know,” Elara leaned against the wall. “I just… felt like someone was watching me.”

“Of course someone was,” Sable said. “Lorenzo’s out.”

“He’s not a person,” Elara said quietly.

“He used to be,” Sable said. “Now, he’s just a part of you.”

“I don’t want him in me,” Elara said. “I don’t want him.”

“But you let him in,” Sable stubbed out her cigarette. “You dreamed about him, didn’t you?”

“How do you know?” Elara lifted her head.

“Because you’re starting to sound like him.”

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They went back to the *Mirror House*.

Raphael didn’t come.

“He’s scared,” Sable said.

“He’s not scared,” Elara said. “He’s scared of me.”

“You finally said it,” Sable smiled. “You really are terrifying.”

“I didn’t mean to be,” Elara said.

“No one ever does,” Sable said. “But you still are.”

The door wasn’t locked.

They walked in. The air was colder than last time.

The mirror still hung on the wall.

But this time, there was no reflection.

Only a voice.

“She’s outside,” the voice said.

“Who’s outside?” Elara asked.

“You,” the voice replied. “You’re not inside.”

“Then where am I?” Elara asked.

“You’re watching,” the voice said. “You’re watching yourself.”

“This isn’t right,” Elara said.

“The right thing is the most wrong thing of all,” Sable said. “You have to learn to see yourself without a mirror.”

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That night, Elara dreamed of Echo again.

Echo was sitting on the floor, holding a shard of broken mirror.

“Do you want to know why he chose you?” Echo asked.

“I don’t,” Elara said.

“But you do,” Echo said. “You’re just afraid of the answer.”

“Then tell me,” Elara said.

“He chose you because you’re like him,” Echo said. “You both fear yourselves.”

“I’m not like him,” Elara said.

“No,” Echo said. “You’re not. But you’re not yourself either.”

“Then what am I?” Elara asked.

“You’re who he wanted to become,” Echo said. “And who you don’t want to be.”

“I don’t understand,” Elara said.

“You will,” Echo said. “When you finally see yourself.”

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The next morning, Elara woke up and found Sable sitting by her bed.

“Were you here all night?” Elara asked.

“I was,” Sable said. “You talked in your sleep.”

“What did I say?” Elara asked.

“You said, ‘I’m not him.’”

“And then?” Elara asked.

“Then you said, ‘But I don’t want to be me either.’”

Elara was quiet.

She walked to the mirror.

There were new words written on it.

> “You’re not me, but you could also not be me.”

She looked at herself.

She didn’t know who was staring back.

But she knew—someone was watching her, too.

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