Page 46 of In All My Dreams

“Ouch! Dang girl! You didn’t have to punch my lights out!” the clown shouts and grabs his shoulder.

I look over and see Auden’s small hand bundled into a tight fist.

“Stop being a bully, and let us pass!” she says fiercely.

The clown looks down at me while still nursing his shoulder and moves aside, letting us pass without another word. We all walk through the door, and as soon as we set foot into the nextroom, the door slams loudly behind us, making us all jump. This room is brightly lit and full of fun house mirrors.

Ahh, the mirror maze. These mirrors probably still have imprints of my forehead from slamming into them so many times while trying to find my way out the first time I came here.

“Hell of a punch, Auden. Hell of a punch.” Ian’s voice is full of pride and astonishment. “But, and I’m sure your mom will agree, we don’t need to hit people to get what we want. Right, Mom?” Ian glances over at me, a smile playing on his lips as he tries to sound serious.

“Right. Auden, thank you for saving us. But no more hitting people. Deal?” I raise my eyebrows at her, and she gives me a thumbs-up before she snuggles closer to Ian. “I really didn’t want to kiss that gross clown,” I say with a mock shudder.

“I would have high-fived the thing before I let you get your lips anywhere near him,” Ian says, very unconvincingly.

“I only want Mommy to kiss you,” Auden whispers, rather loudly, into Ian’s ear before she giggles. I catch his gaze in the mirror in front of us, and we both smile shyly at each other.

“Let’s just get through this room, and then the exit should be on the other side,” I tell them, moving ahead.

I keep one hand on the mirrors, letting it guide me through the maze, hopefully without slamming my face into any of the other mirrors.

It isn’t long before I realize Auden and Ian aren’t behind me anymore. I catch their reflection in one of the mirrors and turn toward them, promptly slamming my body into a mirror.

“Son of a bitch,” I whisper, rubbing the knee that took the brunt of the collison.

“Mommy? Where’d you go?” I hear Auden’s voice, but when I turn in a full circle, she’s nowhere to be seen.

“Just get to the end, and I’ll meet you guys there!” I shout.

This room isn’t huge, but the way they set these mirrors up makes the maze look never-ending. I hear something that sounds like a plastic wrapper.

“Is someone eating something?” I ask loudly. The music is thankfully low in this room, probably for this exact reason.

“Auden and I found the end!” Ian’s voice sounds like it’s coming from the opposite side of the room. “She got hungry, and I forgot that I brought some snacks from home. Banana bread okay for her to eat?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Auden shouts excitedly.

I chuckle as I continue to reach out in front of me. My hand meets both air and mirrors on every other turn. I reach another turn, and when I make it around the corner, my heart stops in my chest.

“Mom?” I whisper as I stare at the mirror ahead of me.

Her back is turned, her dark hair in damp ringlets down her back. I step closer, and my breath catches in my throat. She is staring at herself in the mirror. The blood drips slowly down her nose, past her lips, and onto her white dress. Her right arm lifts, and she points toward another set of mirrors. Her mouth opens and closes as she whispers something.

I step closer, straining to hear her.

All of a sudden, she turns, facing me dead-on, her face inches from mine.

“Don’t trust . . . don’t trust . . . protect . . .”

Her voice is a strangled whisper, just like the last time she repeated these same words to me. I break her soulless gaze and risk a look around us. Her reflection and mine echo throughout all the mirrors that surround us.

She’s everywhere, and she’s nowhere at the same time.

“Georgia? Are you okay?” Ian’s voice sounds closer than it was moments ago.

I turn back toward my mother, and her mouth opens wide, wider than I’ve ever seen it. Her teeth are rotting from the inside out, her tongue black as coal.

This can’t be real. This can’t be real. This can’t be real.

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