I woke up with a pounding headache and groaned as I stretched before opening my eyes. "Hey," I said with a cheeky smile despite the pain as I saw Adrian, Avian and Allison standing in front of me with blank expressions. They looked at one another and smiled back reluctantly.

"Sweetheart," Allison said as she walked over to me, "Can you recall yesterday night's events?" I frowned wondering why she was asking me such a weird question and why they were gathered around my bed like the seven dwarves.

The only thing I have in common with Snow White is that we both make the men do the chores.

"I was supposed to bring a friend home," I recalled, "He was following me in his car and out of nowhere, a car came and crashed into mine. I feel fine though." They looked at each other and sighed. I rolled my eyes and looked around.

This wasn't Arian's bedroom.

"Where's Arian?" I asked warily.

I felt a dull ache in my chest as if he wasn't okay. "He's out," Adrian said but at the same time Avian said "In his bedroom." Allison cleared her throat and then smiled at me. "What they mean to say is he's out cold. He's a bit under the weather so he's resting in his room," she told me.

I doubted the veracity of what she said but I blamed my suspicion on the ridiculous amount of crime series that I watch. Especially Pretty Little Liars. I'd check on Arian later just in case.

"Let's get some breakfast into you," Avian suggested. I shrugged and followed them down. I didn't really care that I looked homeless in comparison to them. I gratefully ate the entire portion of ham sandwiches and yoghurt that had been served to me and sighed happily.

I felt much better but the music that was coming from the above room seemed to agitate my headache and worsen it. It was coming from Arian's room. I excused myself and began walking out with Allison called out to me, making me stop in my tracks.

"There's something you need to know."

I nodded for her to continue.

"Arian came home around half past midnight with you lying unconscious in his arms. His shirt was soaked in blood but I have a feeling it didn't belong to either of you," she said with a hint of pity in her eyes.

"What do you mean?" I asked anxiously. I don't think I'll like her answer a lot.

"Arian's been a bit different since he came back. The way he was before he met you but umm like 10 times worse," Avian answered.

I shook my head in disbelief and confusion and walked towards Arian's room. I'm sure he'll have a reasonable explanation. Maybe he was drunk and hit a deer by accident? Or he spilt wine over his shirt? Or maybe it was gravy.

I knocked on his door but I'm guessing he didn't hear me because of how loud the music was. It was sensual music that made me shiver. I opened the door and the sight in front of me was nothing like I'd seen before.

His usual airy room was now filled with dull red light and the bed wasn't empty. Arian lay there naked with two girls wearing his shirts on either side of him. It felt like being stabbed by a thousand knifes when I realised that the shirt that one of the girls was wearing was my favourite one of his.

It was what I had worn the first night I slept in his room.

I shook my head in disgust and hurt as I watched him drain the blood from one girl's body as the other girl kissed down his chest and disappeared under the sheets covering his lower half. He looked at me and his eyes twinkled.

I expected him to push them off and say it was all a huge mistake but nothing of that sort.

Nada.

"Ah, Virginia, there you are," he purred huskily, "Care to join us?"

I wanted to say something that would hurt him just as much as his actions hurt me but my throat felt choked as the tears ran down my cheeks at a rate faster than my heartbeat. I just smiled sadly and walked away. I kept walking until I was out of the castle and into my car.

"Ally! Wait up!"

I watched Avian jog towards me and then pant for a few minutes, trying to catch his breath. "Sorry, I'm not a frequent runner. Hell, I'm not a runner at all," he chuckled,

"Where are you going?"

"Home."

I didn't wait long enough to hear his reply. I kept driving and crying my heart out until I reached my parents' house. I'd spent my entire life here but it didn't feel like my own. It just never did. I wiped my tears and smiled at my reflection before walking up to the patio and knocking softly.

The door opened and my mom came in view. "Ally? What are you doing here?" She asked with concern. I laughed.

"I missed you," I replied.

"Sweetheart, we both know that's a lie," she said with a snort, "Why don't you come in? Your father's new business partner is here. He's a fine young man."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm done with guys."

She shook her head at me and patted my cheek. "There are still some good chaps out there. Don't let one man decide the fate of all the others." I nodded without taking her words into consideration and walked in. Dad saw me and smiled happily. It felt weird seeing them happy to see me. It wasn't normal.

"Alaska, I'd like you to meet my new business parter."

He turned around.

"Zeke?" I grinned.

He got up and kissed my hand. I smiled shyly and looked away. I wasn't used to being treated so nicely. "You both know each other?" Dad asked with surprise. "We do, Mr. Ivanov. Your daughter is quite the charmer," Zeke told.

"I can say the same thing about you," I said with a wide smile.

"Honey, why don't you go change? We have guests over," Mom suggested.

I looked down at my pyjamas and blushed. I came here in my freakin pyjamas.

"That's alright. It's adorable, dare I say," Zeke said with a small smile.

The four of us dined together but it was mostly Zeke and my dad that did the talking. Occasionally, my mom would take the opportunity to be an embarrassment (as always) by asking Zeke if he had a girlfriend or was interested in getting married. I kept quite the entire time but one question kept bugging me.

Where was Zeke when the car crash took place?

Mom went into the kitchen to clear up and since I was behaving like a guest too, my dad excused himself to lend her a hand. It's cute how they pretend to have a healthy marriage. I looked and Zeke and he met my gaze and immediately leaned over the table.

"We actually met yesterday, right?" He asked.

I laughed. "Of course we did. Where did you disappear? You were suppose to follow me home." He frowned and massaged his temples. "I remember getting into my car. The next thing I knew, I was in my bed and the car was in the garage," he whispered softly, careful not to be heard by my parents.

"That's odd," I mumbled, "I can't remember anything either."

After coffee, I put on my housecoat to show Zeke to the door but dad suggested that I show him our garden before he left. That's weird. My dad utterly hates having guests over.

The two of us walked out and I showed him my favourite flowers and the trees I used to climb when I was younger. I was afraid I'd bore him to death but he seemed fascinated with what I had to say and even asked a few questions regarding my likes and dislikes.

"And this is our pond. We used to have ducks before but my dad got fed up of them and shot them," I laughed awkwardly. He chuckled and shook his head. I walked over to the water smiling and threw a pebble in.

The surface of the pond was as smooth as blue glass; as the pebble skipped across the still water, the radiating ripples caught the sunlight. After three skips the stone sank, then once again the pond looked like glass and you could imagine walking right out onto it or skidding across the surface in your socks.

I looked into the water at my reflection and instead I found someone else staring back at me.

I didn't see my deep red hair and forest green eyes; I saw dark brown hair with caramel eyes. Neither did I see my slightly chubby face. I saw a slim, perfectly moulded figure.

I jumped back in shock and fear. Mostly fear. Why would Adrian's mate be in place of my reflection? I probably have a concussion after the accident and am hallucinating. I took small steps towards the pond and looked again. Again I saw only one person looking back at me.

"What's wrong?" Zeke asked, walking towards me.

"Come here," I whispered softly.

"What do you see?" I asked, pointing towards the water. He gave me a weird look but did what I asked nonetheless. He looked for a few seconds and kept looking until I cleared my throat impatiently. "I see my reflection and next to that yours."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said with a small laugh.

I frowned at him and once again looked at the water, telling myself to see my image and no one else's.

"Ally? Is Zeke gone?"

I turned to face my mom and indeed he had left. I nodded at her and continued staring at Cara's image in the water. Mom came and stood next to me. "Are you going back to Arian's?" She asked.

"No."

She didn't ask anything else and I didn't say anymore either. She walked away but I stayed out for an hour trying to will the image in the water to morph into my own. I gave up eventually and went to my room and dialled Adrian's cell number.

"Ally? Are you okay?"

Ignoring his question, I asked him what I wanted to know. "Is it possible for a person to see someone else's reflection in water in place of their own?"

"Why do you think that would be possible?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes at him, knowing fully that he wouldn't be able to see me do it. "Quit playing therapist. I'm not in the mood for that."

"You're never in the mood," he grumbled, "Anyway, yes it has been observed in a few cases. The elders say that a mirror is built to show you what is visible to the eye but natural bodies such as water show you what's in your soul; what is truly inside you."

I felt my heart beat frantically. I took in a deep breath and asked, "What does it mean to see another person?"

"It could mean a variety of things. You miss the person, you're thinking about the person way too much or in certain cases it could be your mind playing tricks on you. It could also be a spirit or...." he trailed off.

I had a feeling I wouldn't like what he was about to say.

"Or?" I prompted.

"Or you're possessed by that person."

This is going to sound a little weird to some of you, but have you ever been up somewhere really high, looked down and had the urge... to jump?

I take a ferry a lot and sometimes I look down at the churning water and wonder about what it would feel like to jump in. And then I shudder, back away and go do something else.

This feeling has a name — the call of the void, or l'appel du vide in French, where the term was first coined. Some people feel it, some don't. Most people ignore it, but not everyone does.

In simpler words, L'appel du Vide is the feeling that you get for a second that makes you want to jump off a cliff /boat or jump in front of a bus.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

Any thoughts on today's chapter?

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