The Mom in the Mirror Wants to Take Me Away Chapter 02

The Mom in the Mirror Wants to Take Me Away Chapter 02

My lips trembled, and tears stung my eyes.

Instinctively, I looked toward Mom and Dad.

Their expressions shifted slightly, like they’d suddenly remembered all the things they used to force me to do.

Ever since Chloe’s autism had gotten worse, they’d constantly pushed me to talk around her.

Every single day, they made me sit beside her and chatter endlessly, hoping she’d eventually respond.

Most of the time, I talked until my throat hurt.

Chloe never reacted.

Then Mom would break down crying and take all her frustration out on me.

“Talk to your sister!” she’d scream, clutching her chest. “Say something! Keep talking! What’s the point of that mouth of yours if you won’t use it? Chloe’s always been so good to you, and all you ever do is upset her!”

But Chloe’s version of being “good” to me was sneaking me candy even though everyone knew I couldn’t eat sugar.

I was only three when it happened.

My teeth rotted so badly from all the candy that I cried myself to sleep almost every night from the pain.

In the end, all my baby teeth had to be pulled.

Afterward, my parents still blamed me for it.

Dad used to kneel in front of me with a serious expression and say, “The therapist said Chloe needs someone at home to guide her speech development and constantly reinforce positive communication. As her little sister, it’s your responsibility to help her. You need to set an example.”

But I had tried so hard.

I’d done everything they asked.

So why were they still unhappy with me?

Standing there under the pressure of everyone’s questioning stares, I twisted my fingers together helplessly, not knowing what to say.

Then Dad suddenly handed me a bowl of strawberries.

“Go sit somewhere and eat,” he muttered. “And stop talking so much.”

I took the bowl carefully.

The second I did, Chloe lunged forward, ripped it from my hands, and hurled it onto the floor.

Strawberries exploded everywhere.

Then she let out a piercing scream.

Mom and Dad instantly went pale.

Chloe was having another episode.

Mom’s eyes reddened as she jabbed a finger against my forehead.

“Lily Miller! Why are you always so greedy? Chloe hadn’t even touched the fruit yet and you were already helping yourself?”

Her voice rose sharply.

“You know Chloe struggles with security issues! Everything in this house has to prioritize her first!”

I stared down at the ruined strawberries scattered across the floor, bitterness clogging my throat.

Quietly, I crouched down and started picking them up one by one.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I won’t eat them anymore. Chloe can have all the strawberries.”

Uncle Wayne frowned as he watched me.

“Lily’s changed a lot,” he said slowly. “When she was three, nobody could take food away from her without a fight.”

Hearing someone defend me made warmth bloom painfully inside my chest.

Before I could stop myself, the truth slipped out.

“Because the mom inside the mirror already gave me strawberries…”

The second I saw my parents’ icy expressions, panic crashed over me.

I quickly clamped both hands over my mouth and shook my head hard.

Aunt Cheryl let out a cold laugh.

“This kid really knows how to act. First she plays the victim, now she’s making up nonsense about a mom living in the mirror? What’s next? You gonna tell us you plan to move in there too?”

I froze.

How did Aunt Cheryl know the mirror family wanted to take me away?

Mom noticed the fear on my face and started trembling with anger.

“Lily,” she said through clenched teeth, “haven’t I taught you that good children don’t lie? Why are you embarrassing us in front of everyone with this ridiculous story? Tell them right now that the ‘mirror mom’ is fake.”

Instinctively, my eyes drifted toward the hallway mirror outside my bedroom.

The woman inside slowly poked her head out.

Her hollow eyes locked onto mine.

A strange smile stretched across her face.

My voice came out small and shaky.

“Mom… I’m not lying…”

There really was another mother inside the mirror.

But under my real mother’s furious stare, the rest of the sentence died in my throat.

Uncle Wayne, who had secretly trained for years with the Templeton Foundation as an exorcist, narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

“I don’t think Lily’s making this up,” he said carefully. “There might actually be something wrong with that mirror. Want me to check the house?”

As he opened his bag and pulled out a quantum specter detector along with a silver cross engraved with mysterious symbols, Mom’s expression visibly tightened.

Just as Uncle Wayne started to question me about the mirror…

Chloe suddenly let out another ear-piercing scream.