Cracks in the Mirror
930 Words
Chapter 12: Cracks in the Mirror
Lily didn’t sleep that night.
She lay in bed, wide-eyed, staring at the ceiling as the storm brewed louder inside her than the wind tapping on her window. Her thoughts spun—images of Blake’s mouth on her skin, Nate’s eyes narrowing in suspicion, her own voice saying You’ve been controlling like she’d only just realized the truth.
She wasn’t the same girl she was couple months ago.
And that terrified her.
The morning light broke over the horizon in soft pink and gold, but it didn’t bring peace. It only made everything feel more real.
She sat up and stared at herself in the mirror.
Hair messy. Lips still slightly swollen. The silver bracelet Nate gave her glittered mockingly on her wrist.
She yanked it off.
For a moment, she just held it in her palm. Cold. Elegant. Fake.
Then she dropped it into the drawer and slammed it shut.
The quad was buzzing with noise, but Blake stood alone under the tree near the fountain, hands in his pockets, head tilted to the sky like he was trying to drown out the world.
Lily found him instinctively, like a compass drawn north.
When she reached him, she didn’t say anything.
She just stood there.
Blake’s gaze shifted down to her.
No smirk.
No teasing comment.
Just… quiet recognition.
“You okay?” he asked finally.
She shrugged. “Define okay.”
“Breathing?”
“Barely.”
He chuckled softly, but there was no amusement in it. “You saw him last night.”
It wasn’t a question.
Lily nodded. “He’s not who I thought he was.”
“He never was.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Do you know something?”
Blake didn’t answer right away. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “I didn’t plan to show you this.”
She hesitated, then took it.
It was a photo. Of Nate. And another girl.
Holding hands.
The timestamp said last month.
Lily stared at it, her stomach twisting. “Where did you get this?”
“I’ve got friends,” he said. “People talk.”
She blinked back the sting in her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
Blake looked away. “Because I didn’t want that to be the reason you walked away from him.”
Her heart lurched.
He didn’t say it, but she heard the rest.
I wanted you to choose me for you.
Lily folded the paper and held it tightly in her fist. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Blake.”
“Good,” he said. “That means you’re about to do something real.”
Later that day, Lily skipped her afternoon class for the first time.
Instead, she followed Blake.
He didn’t ask her why.
He just let her walk beside him, in silence, until they reached an old, abandoned greenhouse on the edge of campus. Overgrown vines twisted through shattered glass panes, wildflowers reclaiming the cracked concrete floor.
It was beautiful in a forgotten kind of way.
“Why here?” she asked.
Blake pushed open the creaky door. “Because no one else comes here. And I like quiet.”
She stepped inside, her shoes crunching over old leaves and dirt. “You’re full of secrets.”
“You like that about me.”
She didn’t argue.
Because he was right.
She turned to face him. “Why do you hate Nate?”
Blake’s jaw tensed. “Because I know him.”
“That’s not an answer.”
He looked at her, eyes darker than she’d ever seen. “Because I’ve seen what he does to girls once they stop being perfect.”
Her breath caught. “He’s never—”
“He hasn’t hit you,” Blake said. “But he’s gaslit you. Controlled you. Made you feel small.”
She looked away, ashamed. “Why didn’t I see it?”
“Because you wanted to believe the best in someone who never earned it.”
Silence stretched between them.
Then, Blake stepped closer.
Not with the hunger from before—but with something deeper.
He reached out, brushing a lock of hair from her face. “I won’t be gentle with you, Lily. Not always. I don’t know how to be. But I’ll never lie to you. And I’ll never make you feel invisible.”
Her heart cracked open like glass under pressure.
And still, she whispered, “I’m scared of you.”
“I’m scared of me too,” he said, voice rough. “But I still want you.”
She took a shaky breath. “Then take me.”
He didn’t move.
Didn’t pounce.
Didn’t kiss her.
He just stared at her like she was the most dangerous, fragile thing he’d ever seen.
And then, slowly, he pulled her into his arms.
No words.
No fire.
Just warmth.
And for once, Lily didn’t feel like she was breaking.
She felt like maybe—just maybe—she was beginning again.
That night, as she lay in bed, her phone buzzed again.
Nate: I’m sorry. Let’s talk? Please?
She stared at the screen for a long, long time.
Then blocked his number.
Not because of Blake.
Not because of revenge.
But because she was finally starting to remember who she was without someone else’s shadow dictating her light.
And she liked that girl.
Even if she was messy.
Even if she was broken.
She was herself.
And she was done being afraid of it.
- Writer
