The Day My Life Ended

by Authora97

Chapter Thirty-Two (Revised)

There’s nothing wrong with what I’m doing. This is all perfectly natural for a person in my position. When a man is trying to kill you, you switch places with your twin sister. She’s always been better with knives. If the man is stupid enough to attack again, she’ll handle him before I have to. This is why twins were invented.

Or maybe this is why I invented my twin. It’s hard to define things so strictly right now. There’s a time table here.

“That’s not how that happened.”

I went back to my notepad. The framework made sense on the flowchart. It’s not working alongside the info graphs. A few bullet points need to be corrected, then things are back to working order. The only issue is a gathering of supplies. The right mental suggestion can get my sister on the right track. Maybe I could even warn Twilight? No, no. That’s impossible.

“So you admit something’s impossible for you?”

You know what? This week has been strange enough. Let’s try this method.

“This isn’t going to work.”

“I like to believe in myself.”

“I have watched you every day of your life, and I know that’s not true.”

It’s not fun when the voice in your head makes fun of you. It’s less fun when she’s a literal whole other person. This can be considered torture in other universes. I’m being mentally tortured by a delusion. Since when was that ever fair?

I stared up at the woman. She was familiar now. Delilah Patterson, a complete delusion. She didn’t even have the injuries from when she died. It’s the image I saw most often of her. It should’ve been the look my subconscious chose for her. She stands in front of me clean of bruises or cuts, with her hair perfectly combed and no blood anywhere on her clothes. The expression she wore was the only thing unfamiliar.

Well, unfamiliar from her face, but I am very familiar with the actual expression. Folded in eyebrows, a heavy frown, and her hands on her hips. She’s annoyed and angry with me. Mrs Spencer had been giving me that look since I was four years old, when Jimmy Cipes and I brought mud into the house. The look almost slides off me with water off a duck.

To even say I looked up at her was wrong. This place doesn’t have things like ‘up’ or ‘down’. We aren’t anywhere physical. It feels more like empty space. An abstract dimension no human can reach. A stop gap between worlds, forming because of my presence. It makes more sense to see a delusion here in a world without the laws of physics. Delilah Patterson is as real as the notepad in my hand.

“Listen, the plan has weak spots, but it’s also the best solution.” I explained. “She’s not dead anymore so she’s fully entitled to a body. That one doesn’t exist yet means I need magical help. There’s ingredients I need.”

Delilah snorted. Her eyebrow rose up higher. “How are you going to tell her that? You don’t even exist.”

“No. You do though.” I countered.

“You’re ready to acknowledge my existence? That’s fast of you.” Delilah ‘sat’ down. We were at a desk, and also not at a desk. It kept blinking out of existence and repairing, same for the chairs. Yet neither of us fell when it disappeared.

“Hey. Are you like wifi? Do you need to be close to Darcy for it to work, or can this distance work for you?” This part mattered for the equations.

“I’m a portion of an abstract immortal soul, and you’re asking if I’m equivalent to the human invention of wifi?” Delilah asked, almost incredulous.

“Well? Are you?” I asked.

Delilah considered it. Genuinely considered it, frowning down at her own hands. “...maybe?”

“Okay. Working with yes.” I went back to the notepad. The equations can now be properly solved.

“So you admit I’m part of you.” My new least favorite delusion said.

“I’m not going that far. You claim to be part of myself and my sister. Do that. We’ll see what happens.” I finished it with a dramatic flourish of a pencil. There. That’ll do.

Delilah shook her head. “You have to confront it at some point.”

I dropped the pencil on the table. It vanished after leaving my hand. Then, I stood up and walked away. The table and chair vanished too.

“I am part of you. Both of you. Think about what that means.” Delilah pleaded. Gone was the annoyance, but the frustration remained. Her voice wavered on this thin line. She was showing an odd kind of restraint. That’s something I’m not used to seeing at all, if ever.

That got me to turn around again. She’s taller than me, but not by much. “It means I invented a delusion.” I told her. “That a man decided that my being born the same day you died means something. And I, in my grief and guilt from Lilac’s abduction, decided to play along with the delusion. I’m trying to get inside his head. It’s what I was trained for. Imaging you helps me imagine him, which’ll help me put him away for good.”

The woman chuckled. “Wow.”

“That’s it.”

“Then why am I in her head too? If I’m just your delusion.” Delilah asked.

“She’s in my body.”

“If I’m a delusion, then why am I trying to convince you I’m real?”

“That’s what delusions do. This isn’t my first rodeo.”

“Right. I always knew convincing you would be an uphill fight.”

Always? You didn’t exist until yesterday. I scoffed, laughing at the pure absurdity.

“If I’m a delusion, and you know I’m a delusion, why are you still talking to me?”

“Cause I have class, and watched Spy Kids 3. The one where the guy made a bunch of holograms to complain at until he invented something smart.” I held up the completed ingredient list. “Like so. Thank you for being useful, Delusion.”

Delilah sighed. She turned, running her hand on her face. I smiled. It’s time for her to go deliver the list. She does this, all my problems go away.

“You’re avoiding things again.” Delilah realized. She turned back around to me. I tilted my head. “You’re avoiding talking to your sister. To your family, your friends, everyone.” Delilah walked back over to me. The table vanished, so now I am left to stand. “You still plan to run away after this. I can see it in your head.”

“I’m thinking somewhere Northeast. Nobody would expect me to go north.” I supplied. She’s in my head already. “I’d need to check the housing market again, but I can get away with it.”

Delilah smiled, laughing, shaking her head. I almost frowned at her. “That’s good. Are you thinking New York or Vermont?” My suspicions went up. People aren’t this polite to me. “You were always partial to New York City.”

“It would be nice there.” The conversation confuses me. The delusion confuses me. Somehow, someway, the control of the conversation is slipping from me to her. “Cause- cause in big cities-”

“-people get lost. Businesses need warm bodies and ask less questions.” Delilah nodded in agreement. Fuck, she even looks proud? What the fuck? Now my delusion is proud of me. That’s- That’s- That’s so fucked up. “You’d be able to hide. For how long?”

“Realistically? A year. Maybe eighteen months if I send Lilac to a school.”

“But to switch her from a twenty-kid school to a 2000?” Delilah asked.

“It’s too strong a jump, but I can’t homeschool-”

“You can’t leave her home alone either.” Delilah walked closer. I stepped back. Delilah paused, but continued to smile. She still looks so proud. “So you’d need to send her to a school, and hope she adjusts. She’s smart, only seven. She’s grown up with the needed basics. Can she handle a whole new world? Metric instead of Equestrian?”

“Yes.” I couldn’t manage to say more. I’m too weirded out by Delilah talking.

“Of course she can. You’re her mom.” Delilah praised.

And fuck that. Fuck being praised by this person. I don’t need praise. Not from my friends, my sister, my parents, least of all from a delusion. “Shut up. You’re- shut up.”

“Why? I’m just a delusion.” Delilah countered. “If anything, you’re just praising yourself. It’s what the guy did in Spy Kids 3. Why is it a problem now?”

“Because.”

“Because? Oh, if it’s because, then sure thing!” Delilah slid her hands to her hips. She took a big breath, watched me, and continued to smile. It hit me in the chest, like a fucking bus. I hate it so much. “Why won’t you tell Darcy about me?”

“Tell my psychotic sister that she has a voice in her head? Yeah right.” I dismissed it. “That went over really well for me. She’ll take it just fine!”

“Morgan.” Delilah came closer again. She put her hand over my chest, smiling oh so gently. “You need to tell her.”

I disagreed. “Over my dead body.”

She giggled. “Okay.”

“Ok- what?!”

Delilah pushed her hand. It hit my chest, and suddenly I was shoved back. Magical force slammed my chest. It grabbed me, and pulled me away from Delilah Patterson.