The MirrorMasters

Chapter 5

I awoke to sunlight streaming into my room, while my open windows let in the fresh SoCal breezes and fragrance of tropical flowers. Their heady scent mingled with the delicious aroma of breakfast as I breathed in. Last night's dramatic events had drained me, so I snuggled under my covers and languished in bed with a groan, not wanting to move quite yet. Between the odd visions, Jenny's near death, and the dead ringer for a man who committed murder over a century ago, a lot of unanswered questions remained. For instance, I wanted to know why I'd seen those things in the mirror, how Jenny had ended up in the forest with a possible concussion, and whether the new neighbors had anything to do with it.

Persistent knocks on my door made me sit up to find David standing in the doorway, grinning as he ruffled the back of his hair with one hand. He was wearing his typical navy gym shorts and a grey T-shirt.

"Hey, Sleepyhead. Mom and Dad are making breakfast."

"As if I haven't noticed the aroma," I teased. "How come you're so chipper first thing in the morning?"

"Unlike you, I'm a morning person." David smirked then headed for the stairs, stomach growling loud enough for me to hear. In my doorway, he paused and considered me. "With those dark circles under your eyes and your hair all wild, you could probably use another hour or two of beauty sleep."

"Thanks for the lovely compliment." I smoothed my tousled locks and threw off the covers. Dragging myself out of bed without bothering to change out of my blue tank top and matching plaid pajama shorts, I chased after David, our feet thundering on the steps. "And since you want to be rude, the last piece of bacon is mine."

"You wish!"

Down in the kitchen, I inhaled the heavenly scent of pancakes and bacon.

"'Morning, you two," Dad said, pouring orange juice for everybody while Mom was busy flipping pancakes.

"Oh, good, you're up," Mom said. "I heard something odd happened at the cemetery last night. Do you two know anything about that?"

Avoiding eye contact with my mother, I peeked out the kitchen window and into the yard, where our retriever was rolling around on the grass until he lay with his belly up, golden against the green grass. Cameron rarely missed an opportunity to gather with the family at meals and beg a scrap from me. Guess we won't be getting away with that today, I thought.

"Last night was kind of confusing," I admitted.

"Oh?" Mom asked absentmindedly.

Breakfast ready, everyone sat around the screened-in porch area of the back deck, enjoying the fantastic ocean view. We helped ourselves to pancakes, bacon, and fresh strawberries, while David and I shared a condensed and understated version of last night's events.

Eyes widened and eyebrows raised, Mom and Dad exchanged glances. They probably hadn't heard about the pranks and parties that seemed to happen every year on that date. David often said that our parents lived in a bubble world where weird things just didn't happen. Not here in Sea Cliff Heights!

"I wish I'd known about it last night," Mom said. "I'd have called Katherine to see how Jenny was doing, or even gone to keep them company in the ER."

"Yeah." I bit my lip and rushed to say, "But she was taking Jenny to the hospital, and wouldn't have accepted any company." The last thing I wanted was for Mom to know how bad things had gotten.

"I'm just glad you kids weren't hurt or a part of that rave," Dad added, frowning.

David bristled at Dad's comment. His jaw clenched, and he sat stiff-backed in his chair, saying nothing but giving a curt nod. Suddenly finding breakfast fascinating, I dropped my gaze to my plate. I hated when they argued.