She’d seen the mirror once before, at her mom’s lab on a “bring your kid to work” day back in elementary school. Her mom said the mirror helped inspire her when she was trying to solve a problem in the lab, though why she decided to bring it home a few months ago, Josie had no idea.
It stood about five feet high, with short legs on either side and a rounded top. Garish and ostentatious, the frame was heavily embellished with opulent wood carvings—jagged leaf flourishes that jutted out onto the surface of the mirror, connected by swirling vines that got denser and more entangled as they extended upward. At the top of the mirror, the heavy carved foliage entwined to form a kind of woodland crown, right in the middle of which was an angelic face. Josie’s arms got goose pimply as the delicate face stared at her with dark, unseeing eyes in the muted light of the hallway.
Part of her wanted to beat the mirror to a pulp: smash the glass, dismember the frame, and stomp up and down on its remnants until there was nothing left but dust and slivers. Instead, she found herself dragging the ugly thing into her room, where she shoved aside a beanbag chair and leaned it against the wall.
If the mirror was somehow connected to the flash of light and the explosion in her basement, she was going to figure it out. Maybe it would fix whatever her mom was dealing with. Then maybe, just maybe, Josie could fix her family too.
NINE
3:59 A.M.
SHE GLANCES UP AT THE SUN AS SHE WALKS ACROSS the track. Almost three full hours before sunset—plenty of time to get home before dark.
A pack of boys in mismatched red-and-white shorts and loose-fitting T-shirts rounds the upper turn. She steps onto the inner field and pauses next to a pile of gym bags.
The boys blow past her at a full sprint. Except one. From the back of the pack, he slows his pace, running straight up and down with a high kick to the knee. Cool and calm, with no display of fatigue or strain, Nick stops inches from her.
“Hey, Jo.”
She smiles. “Nick.”
“What are you doing here?”
She takes a step toward him. “You said you had something for me. Remember?”
“Oh. Right,” he says between deep breaths. “I just didn’t think you’d want it right now.”
“I do,” Jo says. “Is that okay?”
“Of course.”
She follows Nick across the field to a pile of backpacks and jackets. He bends down, unzips the front pouch of his bag, and removes something wrapped in blue tissue paper. “I think this belongs to you.” He puts the packet in her hand.
She trembles as she slowly peels away the layers of tissue. “Oh, Nick!” She gasps.
It’s a necklace on a gold chain. Two entwined hearts.
“Yeah,” he says, a black curl flopping over his eye. “I thought you’d want it.”
She reaches up and brushes the hair from his face, letting her hand linger against his cheek. He doesn’t move. She trails her hand down his chest and she can feel his heart pounding. She doesn’t care that he’s sweaty. She doesn’t care that he smells like the inside of the boys’ locker room. She presses her body into his and tilts her head up toward him. He looks down at her with those piercing brown eyes as she stands on tiptoe, aching for his lips. . . .
Josie let out a moan as her eyes fluttered open. Instead of Nick’s face just inches from her own, all she saw was darkness. The bluish light of the moon streamed in through her window, illuminating a patch of floor and bureau, including a loose photo of her and Nick. It was taken just a few weeks ago.
When Nick was already cheating on her.
The image of Madison kissing Nick on the track flooded Josie’s mind. Between the explosion in her mom’s lab and the mystery of the mirror, Josie had almost managed to forget her most recent humiliation.
Almost.
Ugh. Tomorrow was going to be a disaster at school. The embarrassment of getting caught spying on them was salt in the wound of their betrayal. Everyone at school would be talking about it. How was she going to face the shame?
Josie fought the panic welling up inside her. She just needed to get some sleep. Things would seem better in the morning. She rolled on her side, determined to put all thoughts of Nick and Madison out of her mind, and looked at the clock just before she shut her eyes.
4:00 a.m.
TEN
7:05 A.M.
“JOSEPHINE, ARE YOU GETTING UP TODAY?”
Josie stared at her bedroom ceiling. Getting up for what? What was the point?
So much for feeling better in the morning.
“Did you hear me?” Her mom cracked the bedroom door. There was a pause where her mom must have registered that Josie was still, in fact, in bed, then Josie felt a whoosh of air as her mom threw the door open. “You’re not even awake yet?”
Silence. Was she going to ask what was wrong? Josie wasn’t sure if she was hoping for it or dreading it.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“No,” Josie croaked.
There was the sound of footsteps across the hardwood floor, stopping short of Josie’s bed. “I’m sorry.” Her mom paused. “You should stay home.”
“Okay.” Maybe she could just stay in bed forever and never go back to Bowie Prep? That seemed like the best-case scenario.