Chapter 2 Shards

Nadia's scowl dropped, and her eyes filled with worry. She grabbed Noelle by the shoulders and pulled her close.

"What happened back there, Noelle? What did you see?"

"Remember when we were 10 and I would tell mom I saw a shadow move in the corner of the room or how I'd say I heard someone whisper?"

"Yes, I remember; mom started putting meds in your water because she thought you were having hallucinations until you stopped talking about it altogether. What about it?"

"Mom did what?!"

"She was worried about you, but knew you would protest to being drugged. That is not important right now, what about the shadows and whispers?"

"Right, sorry. All this time, the, shadows, they've always kept their distance from me. Sometimes they'd be outside my window or at the corner of a room watching me. But today, it came close, closer than it ever has."

Noelle didn't realize until then that she was shaking slightly. Nadia took her hands off her shoulders to hold Noelle's shaking ones.

"Is that why you freaked out in the cafeteria? Because they moved closer to you?" Nadia whispered even though they were alone.

"No, I freaked out because the shadow was standing right behind you. It looked like it wanted to do something to you, and I panicked and ran over to try and protect you somehow. I'm sorry for embarrassing you, but I didn't know what else to do." Noelle said, her voice cracking as tears welled up in her eyes.

Nadia pulled her in for a hug and rubbed her back soothingly.

"I'm scared, Nadia. I don't know what to do."

Nadia silently comforted her until the tears stopped. They remained like that for minutes until Nadia spoke.

"I have had strange encounters as well."

"You mean that afternoon 6 years ago? The time you swore there was a gap in our memory and that mother knew why?"

"No, well, yes, but aside from that, I have been having these weird dreams almost every single night since then."

"What do you see in them?"

"I see us lying in beds in an unfamiliar room. There are these two women muttering things I can't seem to decipher, as though their words melt into each other and become incomprehensible. And the little I do grasp, I forget when I wake up."

Noelle pulled away with a determined look on her face.

"We need to confront Mom about this."

"Absolutely not."

"Why? Something's haunting you in your dreams, and me when I'm awake. If we both go she'll have to take us seriously."

"Or she can put us both on anti-psychotics. You can confront Mom if you want, but I am going to find answers elsewhere.

"I'll come too then."

"No, if you want to be useful, you can try and get the keys to the attic. It's the only place in the house we've never been in. Maybe there are answers there. "

Noelle pouted slightly but agreed nonetheless. Nadia returned to her friends and Noelle to hers.

"What was that about? Noelle looked super spooked." Piper asked.

"I will explain everything after school; for now, let us put it aside. What were we talking about again?"

"Piper was showing us the archaic mirror she got scammed with," Mason replied.

Piper slapped his arm and glared at him lightly.

"I didn't get scammed, you pig! It's an antique; it's said to show you either a good omen or a bad one. It sounded intriguing, so I purchased it! What's wrong with that?"

"You nepo babies never cease to amaze me with your wastefulness with money. So, have you figured out what sort of omen you will get?" Nadia asked sarcastically.

"Let me have a try, perhaps it only works on attractive people," Mason said.

He then tried to snatch the mirror from Piper. They began a struggle, which led to the mirror falling and shattering on the table.

"Look what you did," Piper whined as she pounded on Mason's arm.

"You guys," Nadia called.

"Calm down, you ape. I'll buy you another fake prophetic mirror." Mason laughed.

"Hey, listen."

"It's not just some fake mirror you can find any-"

"For goodness sake would you both shut up and look?!" Nadia yelled.

Both stopped their bickering to see what she was talking about and froze.

From behind the broken mirror, crimson liquid began slowly seeping out. Piper opened her mouth to scream, but Mason covered it before it could escape.

Nadia grabbed a paper towel from her bag and began trying to wipe it away, but the paper towel didn't absorb a single drop. She tried pressing the towel down harder, but it remained dry.

"Why isn't it wiping? Why is it not gone?" Piper asked shakily.

"And why is no one else bothered? It's as though only we can see, it."

Mason slowed to a stop as the three realized that no one else could see it. A few people had walked by, but none took notice or showed any signs of alarm. Nadia picked up the mirror shards with the towel and wrapped them neatly.

"Do you think that was the omen?" Piper asked quietly, having calmed down.

"No, I think it's something far worse. Noelle saw something, too."

"You saying that isn't exactly helping my nerves."

"It's not meant to Piper. Something has been haunting my sister and me, and it may have just latched onto both of you as well. After school, let's meet at Mason's so I can tell you two the full story."

Mason and Piper nodded, and they both left Nadia behind at the table. She felt eyes on her and looked up to see Noelle staring with a look of worry. She pointed to her phone, and Nadia opened her messages.

'What happened? Piper looked quite frightened when the mirror broke.'

'You saw the broken mirror? Did you see anything else?'

'No, was I supposed to?'

Nadia shut off her phone and gave Noelle a look. Noelle nodded and looked back at her friends, acting like nothing had happened.