The mirror never lies, I just did

I keep seeing my own reflection in that mirror holding a phone that was never mine. They wanted that picture. They wanted me holding it while the old guard watched and the client smiled. "Is she always this careful with rich men's things" — that was the setup. The watch was never the point. The point was to see if I would touch it.

I did not touch it.

But I saw myself in that glass and I looked exactly like what they wanted me to look like. Another pretty girl in a room where she does not belong. I have spent years climbing out of that and one phone reflection in a luxury tower and I am back at the bottom of the stairs.

Tasha Reed told clients I am a thief. I know she did. And I have been chasing envelopes like a detective who also has a rating to protect and a child asking about her hair and three stitches pulling every time I forget. The stitches do not hurt as much as the arithmetic. If I stop moving I will see it clearly and I am not ready.

My sister texted back goodnight with a heart. She has no idea I spent the evening mapping handoffs on a notebook like a woman who cannot sleep. She thinks I am fine. I texted her back that I am fine.