Mirror in the Forest: Book One (16 page)

She gasped when she saw The Spirit of the Mirror floating atop the stands. Just as he was there, then he was gone within a split second.

She blinked for a moment in awe. He did it, she thought turning back to the field in shock. He really did it.  

But, what did he do?

She turned again, and spied the deputies and Mark running to the injured cheerleaders.

Someone from the ground was screaming for help.

Teachers began to stand in front of the bleachers to give the medics and the police time to work on the injured without interference.

Jessica had no idea what to say or to think. She only knew that Mandy Cooper had been at the top of the pyramid, and Jessica had seen her land head first into the ground. The Spirit of the Mirror must have made her fall.

She swallowed hard not knowing why he did something so cruel to her, when that’s not what Jessica wanted. She wanted Mandy to be humiliated and embarrassed somehow, but not this. She had never asked for anything like this.

She began shake, because this was her fault.

“Mandy’s not moving,” Danny suddenly whispered into her ear, making Jessica shiver even more.

Jessica’s gazed turned back to the field, and she could see the other cheerleaders being treated, but Mandy was being worked on harder than everyone else.

Jessica spotted Mr. and Mrs. Cooper trying to run onto to the field along with Mandy’s little sister.

Jessica practically covered her ears, as Mrs. Cooper’s screams echoed across the field.

Jessica looked up at Danny who was clearly upset about the situation.

“I didn’t want that to happen,” he said, guilt written across his face.

“I didn’t mean it,” Jessica said, her eyes filling with tears. She began to rock back and forth in the seat.

Danny had mistaken what Jessica had just said to what Jessica had wished a week ago.

Danny suddenly hugged her tightly, and said, “It’s not your fault.”

Jessica did return the hug, and felt somewhat better, but she never in a million years thought The Spirit of the Mirror would be this cruel towards Mandy because of Jessica’s wish.

The way they put her on the stretcher, Jessica knew enough to realize that she might have broken her neck.

The crowd became deathly silent as Mandy was carted away on the stretcher and placed into the ambulance.

Mark stood there and watched them shaking his head and speaking to his fellow deputies as they continued to help the others that were injured. However, Jessica noticed something odd. The rest of the cheerleaders were barely hurt, and started to stand and walk around a little. She wondered what that was about. There should have been more serious injuries.

Jessica wondered if Mandy was dead, and even if she wasn’t, was she now paralyzed?

Jessica still could not fathom what happened as the chaos continued on the football field.  

That was not what she wanted for Mandy, she tried to tell herself. She never wanted anyone to get hurt on her account.

Or was it what she wanted all along?

Jessica turned away for a moment and began to smile.

Maybe it was.

Jessica could only roll her eyes as the crowd began to chant Mandy’s name when the ambulance pulled away. Jessica didn’t understand the feelings that were coursing through her mind, but she knew one thing; one of them wasn’t regret.

The administrators of both schools decided to keep playing the game since it was already the second half.  

The crowd from both sides of the stadium remained unusually quiet for the rest of the game after Mandy’s accident.

They had heard she was conscious, but nothing else.

Jessica turned towards her parents. She noticed they didn’t really move the rest of the game, with grim looks on their faces. She wondered what that was about.

Jessica sat there and had a few thoughts as Danny held her hand.

She wanted to have remorse, she really did, but the only thing she could feel was satisfied at what happened.

She remembered when she was younger, and watched a dog get hit by a car. She had cried for days afterwards. Now, she felt nothing, just nothing, but satisfaction.

Was it right to be happy about this?

She kept telling herself that all she wanted was for Mandy to be embarrassed, such as egg thrown on her face or something simple, but this was so much more than she could have asked for.

The game ended with the home team winning, and people began to chant Mandy’s name again.

The rest of the cheerleading team on the pyramid seemed to be just bruised with scratches with no major injuries. That was the weirdest part of the whole accident.

Tessa, Danny, and Jessica stood and waited for the bleachers to empty.

Danny turned, and pulled Jessica lightly, keeping a firm grip on her hand as they descended the stands onto the grass.

“So, whom are you going home with?” Tessa finally asked with a grin.

Jessica blushed, and Danny smiled.

“I can take her home,” he offered.

Tessa nodded and the two girls hugged. “I was expecting karma, but not this,” Tessa said whispering in Jessica’s ear.

Jessica smirked and said, “Me neither.”

Jessica turned to Danny and said, “I just saw my parents, I better tell them.”

“Good, you can introduce me,” he said.

Jessica and Danny made their way through the throngs of people. It was a chilly night, but the body heat of the crowd made Jessica begin to sweat.

Everyone was still talking about Mandy’s accident, and no updates were available.

“Mom! Dad!” Jessica called, waving to them.

The couple still looked a little grim, but smiled when they spotted their daughter.

Leading Danny along, Jessica came up to her parents and said, “Mom, Dad this is Danny. If it’s alright, he is going to bring me home.”

Mary smiled brightly and Don shook Danny’s hand.

“That’s fine, honey,” Mary said, putting out her hand for Danny to shake it. “Nice to finally put a face to a voice.”

Danny smiled, taking her hand, and said, “You too Mrs. Winters.”

“Don’t keep her out late,” Don warned, but winked at Jessica with his charming smile.

“I will have her home safely and not too late, sir,” Danny answered.

“Are you alright with what happened?” Mary asked them both but eyeing Jessica.

“I really hope she is going to be okay,” Jessica said, trying to be sincere, but didn’t mean it.

“The school will pull together for her,” Danny said, but Jessica noted a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“Well, Dale is known throughout the county and the state, so I am sure that the community will come together for support,” Don said.

“I hope she’ll be okay,” Mary said, worried.

“I’m sure she will Mom,” Jessica answered.

Mary turned to Don and said, “We’ll have to call Dale and see what is going on.”

Don nodded and the couple said goodbye to their daughter and parted ways.

The crowds around the stadium were thinning out, and Jessica was eager to get out of there.

Jessica wanted to know how Mandy was, and thought she would look around to see if the Sheriff was still here.

“Well, looks like we have to wait a while,” Danny observed.  

“Yeah, looks like traffic is bad,” Jessica answered, hearing cars starting up, and horns beeping.

Danny suddenly grabbed her hand again, and they started walking the other way from the crowd.

Jessica looked at him questioningly, but he didn’t say anything to her. They walked through the crowds of people still lining up to leave the stadium field. She really wanted to get away from there, but Danny had other plans for them.

There was a big warehouse type of building on the other side of the field, and they made their way there.

Jessica was confused as to what he was doing, but followed without question.

They turned the corner and it was dark except for one field light shining in a distance.

“Danny? What-“

Before Jessica could say anything else Danny pulled her into a kiss. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, Jessica sighed and reciprocated with her own.

She hadn’t even noticed there were other couples here doing the same, nor had she known this was an area for that before.

Still, she tried to enjoy Danny kissing her, but something or someone was tugging at her mind.

Something else was on her mind too, that made kissing Danny less important. She really needed to see The Spirit of the Mirror.

She cursed her foolishness. Danny had been everything she had ever wanted since freshman year, and all she could think about was The Spirit of the Mirror, and then the Sheriff. These sudden changes in her routines after all these years were annoying, but exhilarating at the same time.

She got closer to Danny and slipped her hands in his jacket and wrapped her arms around his waist as he pulled her tighter. Thinking maybe she should relax and enjoy Danny’s company without letting other things bother her so much.

She tried to show it, she really did, but she felt like she was not enjoying the moment like she should. She couldn’t relax, and kissing him was becoming a chore.

She gasped a little as he wrapped his hands around her bottom. She could feel the smile on his lips, but did not let go. Jessica cringed. She couldn’t help it; she wasn’t enjoying this at all.

“I am looking forward to tomorrow night aren’t you?” He finally asked after they pulled away.

“I am too,” she said, not really meaning it.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go to the dance?” He asked.

Jessica shook her head. “No. Mandy may be injured, but you know she will get homecoming queen anyway. What’s the point?”

“I hope you don’t still feel bad for what you said?” Danny asked.  

Jessica sighed. “I said a lot of things this week that I can’t take back, but I realize it was an accident.”

Jessica wanted to kiss some more to try to get into the mood, but the thought of it made her sick to her stomach again.

She knew she needed a way out, so Danny would just take her home.  

She got what she hoped for when someone came around the corner, and began to break up the groups behind the warehouse.

The bright light of a flashlight suddenly blinded her, and she held up her hand to cover her eyes.

“Ok, kids. Time to go,” the voice said from behind the flashlight.

Jessica froze as the other kids that were there groaning in protest.

It was Mark who had discovered them.

“Come on,” he said. “Time to go.”

He walked around shining his flashlight at the faces around him.

Another deputy joined him, and Danny let go of Jessica.

Finally, Mark’s flashlight settled on her face. She tried to look away, but noticed the hesitation when Mark realized who she was.

“Jessica,” he said flatly.

“Hi Sheriff,” she answered, feeling really guilty, and somewhat hurt by his tone.

She had no idea why she was feeling guilty. He did pay for her dinner one night, but so what? It wasn’t like some kind of date? Was it?

“We need everyone to clear the field,” he said directly to her.

“Alright,” she answered. “Sorry.”

He waved his flashlight, and Jessica said, “Sheriff, how was Mandy? Was she okay?”

Mark hesitated, stopping directly in front of Jessica and Danny.

Danny said hello and Mark nodded to him, but did not answer.

“All I know is she could not feel her legs when they took her away,” Mark said in a business tone.

Jessica’s eyes widened and she turned to look at Danny, who stood there in shock.

“Thank you, Sheriff,” Jessica said. “We’ll go now.” She noticed he didn’t correct her this time, and tell her to call him ‘Mark.’ She suddenly felt depressed about it.

“Yep,” Mark said, turning away and getting the other kids to move too.

Jessica thought she heard anger in his voice, and wanted to say something else to him, but it was too late. He had moved onto other kids in the area.

Jessica went to Danny’s car, and found it was a late
1970s Dodge Magnum
. It was black in color, but it was beat up, and the paint was peeling.

“That’s nice,” Jessica said, wishing she had a car by now.

Danny shrugged, answering, “I got it for a steal. It gets me around, but I work on it a lot.”

“Well, when you become a big baseball player, you’ll be able to get a BMW,” Jessica said smiling.

Danny laughed. “Yeah, right.”

Jessica and Danny got in, and thankfully, the traffic was clear now.

“Do you know the Sheriff personally?” Danny asked as he pulled into the street.

“Why do you ask?”

“He seemed a little pissed to see you and me there,” Danny observed.

Jessica didn’t know what to say, but Danny was right. She didn’t want to tell Danny that Mark bought her dinner a few nights ago.

“I don’t know. I think he was mad that I refused to do anything after the party. My Mom said he has been trying to bring down Mandy’s dad for a while,” she answered, hoping that would do the trick.

Danny suddenly looked at her seriously. “I just want to tell you that Mr. Cooper has been trying to help me get my scholarship. That’s what Mandy was talking about. He calls it some kind of charity for underprivileged kids, but I say he bribes it out of schools and sponsors.”

Jessica softened and took his free hand in hers. “I understand. You are being given a chance to change your life, you have to take it.”

Danny smiled at her understanding.