A groan escaped Odessa’s lips as she stirred. The first waking sensation she gets is a crippling headache that makes her regret her former decision of attending Ethan’s party.

The last thing she remembered is walking down the hallway and hearing splashes from the pool outside along with hollering and candid laughter.

She was certain she barely even drank enough to get wrecked like this. The taste in her mouth was terrible and she felt like her whole body was as heavy as a tone of cinderblock.

Her eyes fluttered open only to be squinted as soon as the fresh beams of morning sunlight hit her eyes. She winced and rolled over and off the comfy sheets of her bed. She was suspended in air for what felt like eternity before her body suddenly hit the floor with a loud thud. She winced and groaned loudly. Luckily her thick red hair made the fall barely painful.

But it did make her head thump even harder. Her eyes jolted open. She stared at the floor.

Smooth polished floor. Not the grey carpet she bought at the local vintage clothing store, but brown matt tiles. There’s only one floor like this.

She heard the door swing open and heavy footsteps rushed in.

“What happened?!” Ethan exclaimed, quickly scanning the room and pausing when he sees Odessa sleeping facing the floor. She assumed correct. It was Ethan’s room.

“Oh it was just you falling on the floor.” He sighed in relief.

“Yeah, no biggie, I only just probably cracked a bone falling off your bed. Lucky it wasn’t anything expensive.” She croaked sarcastically.

It took a lot of effort but she sat up, grabbing the corner of the bed to hoist herself up.

“Sarcastic first thing in the morning too huh. Just curious is there ever a time you aren’t?” Ethan asked, amusement twinkling in his green orbs.

She massaged her temple with her fingers and closed her eyes.

“When I’m six feet under and all my belongings are burnt so nothing keeps me blinded to this gawd awful realm.” She replied curtly, her voice was hoarse.

Her hair stuck in all directions, defying the laws of gravity. A bird would find her thick mane of hair very comforting to nest itself in.

When she opened her eyes the light was easier to manage but her throbbing head was distracting.

“If this is a hangover I’m never gonna drink again.” She groaned.

“It’s not, you barely drank. It’s because you ate pot brownies. Two to be precise.”

“Fuck, put a sign up. Everything hurts right now. Where is your bathroom? Oh wait no I know where it is.” She muttered and pushed herself off the floor to stand up.

When she did she swayed and everything looked bright.

Ethan rushed over to her and held her shoulders to support her. Feeling his presence so close made Odessa’s hand distinctively fly over her mouth. She had bad morning breath and though Ethan barely noticed this small movement because he was telling her to slow down, she did.

After she was steady she gave him a pointed glare and he chuckled, stepping back with his hands up in mock surrender.

Odessa shut her eyes again to slow her throbbing headache. When she opened her eyes, she felt as if she had more grasp and coordination now that she was steady.

The bathroom was just down the hall so she placed her hand on the wall and walked down.

“Maybe I should help you –”

“No.” Odessa said sharply as she continued down the hallway to the bathroom. She realized much to her annoyance that the main reason she refused his offer was because she didn’t want him to catch a whiff of her bad breath and it irked her that such an insignificant matter affected her.

It took a while but she reached the bathroom, continuously being asked if she needed assistance from Ethan.

The bathroom was huge. There was a bathtub at one end and a transparent shower cubicle in the other. She chose the shower cubicle since the bathtub looked to comfortable and she didn’t want to fall asleep.

When she felt the cold water hit her skin she sighed in pleasure. It felt cooling and her whole body felt tired. She knelt down and let the water spray over her skin. It took a while before the water touched her scalp since her hair was so thick, but when it did her eyes shot open. The sensation was almost electrifying and she released a small giggle. Afterwards she furrowed her eyebrows. Must’ve been an after effect of the post brownies.

The Marshall’s had all sorts of shampoos and conditioners, soaps and all sorts of other things she didn’t even know the name of. She grabbed the two-in-one strawberry coconut fusion shampoo and conditioner since it was simple and she was certain that it wouldn’t make her bald or change the texture or color of her hair. It took a lot of lathering and massaging for her to get to her scalp and it was especially difficult since her hair was in a multitude of tangles and knots. It hurt like hell so she didn’t bother combing through it whilst washing.

She let her thoughts drift to her parents and the fact that she slept in Ethan’s bed. It was comfy and she liked it. Her lips curled into a smile and she tried to fight it off but it only made her smile widen. Now she confirmed that it was definately an after effect of the stupid pot brownies.

Her parents however…she doubt they even realized that her presence was missing. They would probably be glad if she were. Odessa wasn’t sure if she hated her parents. She merely yearned for that; for her parents to be her parents.

They stopped four years ago and she doubted that anything would revive what affection they had for her at that time. Usually teenagers who leave home when they’re grounded sneak back in but she wasn’t going to do that. She was going to walk straight into the house and up her room. And a lump formed at her throat when she realized that that was her painful reality.

When she was done she dried herself with one of the new towels they had stacked in the wardrobe and grabbed a smaller one for her hair. She changed into her clothes, crinkling her nose when she caught the smell of it. It didn’t matter, she was just going to cross the street and change anyway.

Odessa wrapped her hair with the towel and kept it there so it would dry. Her head felt particularly heavy. Leaning to one side was dangerous. She felt like one of those character on Nickelodeon whose head was too big for its body. With her head kept straight, she walked over to the cabinet to grab a mouth wash since she didn’t trust any of the endless rows of premium tooth brushes under the clear mirror.

She tried to open the cabinet when she froze, her breath hitching. The cabinet was next to the mirror and she absentmindedly let her gaze wonder to the mirror subconsciously whilst opening the cabinet.

Her hair was all held back by the towel so it could dry; that left her face completely bare of any bangs or strands of hair. Her skin was incredibly pale, as usual. Her lips were a dull shade of light pink, completely lacking life. But what really caught her attention was her eyes. Wide. Blue and brown.

Her mind went blank as she stared at her face; at her left ocean blue eye. This was sudden, too abrupt…she wasn’t ready. No. Definitely not ready.

She stared at her clear ocean blue eye that looked out of place, it made her heart hammer in her chest. In Odessa’s mind, she took the clear alabaster skin away and added specks of freckles, dusting on the bridge of her nose and her cheeks. She added more color to her heart shaped lips and then there she was…

Melissa Garcia.

She saw Melissa staring back at her, eye’s wide reflecting pain. Odessa dared not to breath. She stood completely still. She couldn’t look away, it was all too compelling.

Odessa wasn’t sure how long she looked at the mirror. It felt like a few seconds but it had been half an hour. During this span of time she had no thought, her mind was completely blank.

Melissa didn’t move, she remained completely still, staring wide eyed at her. She wanted her to move. Odessa yearned for Melissa to move, to blink when she wasn’t. To be there instead of it just being Odessa’s reflection.

Melissa didn’t. She followed every subtle movement that Odessa did. When Odessa breathed gently, so did Melissa. When Odessa blinked, so did Melissa. Odessa glared at Melissa heatedly and Melissa glared at her back. Why was Melissa copying her every movement? Couldn’t she do anything individually? Why was she like this all of a sudden? Odessa yearned for Melissa to smile while she scowled. That was usually how it went. That was how it should be.

Suddenly, as if something in her snapped, she froze. Odessa squared her shoulders and so did Melissa. That’s when her heart dropped and her soul crumbled. She realized that it wasn’t Melissa; it was Odessa. And it never would be Melissa for the rest of her existence.