Archive of Our Own

She walked down the sidewalk, her left knee screaming in pain with each and every step she took. Blood still gushed from the open wound, yet she paid it no mind; she wouldn’t stop, no matter how much her body begged her for some rest. She simply couldn’t leave even a single opening for Lina and Agamemnon to get their hands on her yet again.

She just had to keep moving forwards, no matter how many violent waves of pain came crashing down upon her, no matter how exhausted she felt from countless nights of no sleep.

She simply couldn’t take any risks. Not now that she knew that Lina and Agamemnon were on the hunt for her.

Honestly, she didn’t know what she’d do if she woke up to find herself locked inside that hospital office yet again.

She didn’t want to even imagine having to face Agamemnon again…

She’d honestly rather simply die than become intertwined with Agamemnon yet again.

And so she just placed one foot in front of the other, trying to outrun the gruesome fate she knew was right behind her.

She didn’t have any particular destination in mind; she just walked about aimlessly, without a single direction in mind. She’d passed through the grassy fields of public parks, she’d walked along bustling city streets, and she’d wandered through dimly-lit paths through the woods. She’d wandered practically anywhere she physically could.

Today, however, she felt a strange sort of pull leading her through the city. It felt as though there was a rope attached to her chest, and whatever was on the other end was pulling on it, just barely strong enough for her to feel. She didn’t know where this strange feeling was leading her. But she was willing to go wherever she must if it meant being able to keep herself moving.

Right now, she was walking through a pretty busy area. Traffic clogged the streets, and hoards of people crowded the sidewalk. She kept her gaze low, avoiding people’s eyes as she pulled the cape she’d stolen from Lina tighter around her shoulders. She didn’t want a single soul to perceive her existence; all she wanted was to blend into the background, completely unnoticed.

All she wanted was a quiet life, one where she could live in peace, far away from Agamemnon’s wrath.

Was that really too much to ask for…?

*****

“Do I really have to go?” Nelly groaned, staring out the car window in discontent, “I already go through college once! Why do I have to do this shit again?”

“Because Julie’s going here soon, and I need you to have the opportunity to be around her more often,” Lina said simply.

Nelly nodded. “I know… but seriously, at a college??? Of all places you could’ve possibly chosen????”

“I know it’s not ideal,” Lina said, taking Nelly’s hands into her own, “But just remember what this is all for.”

Nelly nodded. “Yes. To make Lana pay for what she’s done.”

“Exactly!” Lina cheered proudly, “So do your very best!”

Nelly smiled hearing Lina’s encouraging words. She’d grown so accustomed to Lana’s constant torment, that now, it honestly felt a little strange receiving nothing but positive affirmations from Lina. In a way, she sort of liked how Lina would constantly hype her up. And the feeling of Lina’s hands in her own almost made her heart flutter with happiness.

“I believe in you, Nelly,” Lina told her firmly, “You can do this.”

Nelly smiled sheepishly, quickly running her fingers through her hair before she opened the car door. “I’ll try my best.”

“Perfect!” Lina said happily, “I’ll be here to pick you up after my shift. See you!”

“See you!” Nelly exclaimed.

And then she stepped out of the car, ready for whatever the day brought forth.

*****

“I’m just so nervous about this,” Julie muttered as Lana pulled the car into a parking spot.

“It’s just an orientation,” Lana said as she parked the car, “What’s so bad about that?”

“It’s just,” Julie stammered, glancing out at the crowd of people quickly forming at the entrance to the building. Everyone looked so young compared to her, serving as yet another painful reminder of just how much of her life she’d lost to Agamemnon’s little game. “I’m kinda worried I won’t exactly fit in. I mean, I’m literally 29. I’m gonna be like the black sheep in the herd of 18 year olds.”

“You’d be surprised at how many random people end up at college,” Lana said simply, all nonchalant as she added, “I mean, my first year of college, there was a convicted felon in my math class!”

“Uh, what—“ Julie said quickly, but was quickly cut off before she could say anything else.

“Just trust me, babe,” Lana whispered, gently squeezing Julie’s hand, “You’ll be alright.”

Julie sighed. “I sure hope so… wish me luck, sweetheart.”

“Wishing you the best of luck in the world,” Lana said, a gentle smile on her lips, “Just try to relax and enjoy yourself, okay? I’ll be back to pick you up after I’m done in the salon.”

Julie just nodded. She took a breath, trying to calm herself down. Today was going to be just fine.

Opening the door, she slid out of the car, shooting back one last smile to her girlfriend before she went on her way.

*****

Julie kept her gaze low. Conversations whirred all around her, but she didn’t dare join in. She could hardly even look at all the young, eager faces surrounding her without thinking of how her own life had been thrown completely off course…

Ten whole years of life, just gone…

She kept thinking back to the day she agreed to becoming a monster. She couldn’t forget such a fateful day; the memory was practically engraved into her skull. Closing her eyes, she could almost find herself back inside her office in the hospital. She could almost see Agamemnon’s shadowy figure standing before her, outstretching a shadowy hand.

Blocking the outside noise from her ears, she could almost hear his deep voice as he told her plainly, “If you agree to place your soul under my control and become my beast, then I will leave your little girlfriend alone.”

And she could almost feel her hand reaching out to shake his, agreeing to that deal, regardless of what the consequences may be.

She opened her eyes again, finding herself back in the crowd of future students, hearing the eager chatter as everybody awaited for the orientation to begin.

She tried her best to brush the memories of her past aside. She was no longer that naive little girl who had zero understanding of the grave danger she was in; she was a grown woman who had learned from the past and was ready to face whatever challenges may spring up next.

Dwelling on the past would do nothing to help her; she simply had to remain hopeful for the future.

Just then, a familiar voice tore through the sea of overlapping voices, snapping her out of her thoughts.
“Julie?”

Julie looked up to meet those same forest green eyes that belonged to someone she remembered all too well.

“Nelly?” She asked in surprise. She couldn’t forget about Nelly; not after all the events that unfurled the day Julie had filled in for Lana in Style Showdown.

Julie’s immediate reaction to seeing Nelly was feeling rage flood through her systems as she remembered just how distraught Nelly had left Lana feeling on that day. She honestly wanted to cuss the woman out for belittling Lana in such a manner.

But she had to bite the anger back; she had to remind herself that Nelly wasn’t to blame. Nelly was a human too; she felt hurt, and simply wanted a way to release her anger.

Besides, Julie didn’t want this conversation with Nelly to end up the same way her confrontation with the doppelgänger had gone.

Even still, that look of betrayal in that doppelgänger’s eyes haunted Julie’s mind.

Julie couldn’t let her anger win… not again.

“Wasn’t expecting to see you again,” Nelly said quickly, curiously adding, “What are you here for?”

“I’m trying to get some courses finished so I have enough credits to transfer into nursing school,” Julie explained, “I was going to attend a nursing school when I was younger, but then those plans kinda fell through, so now I’m kinda just trying to get myself back on track.”

“Honestly, I wish you luck,” said Nelly, “Being a nurse sounds like a lot. I mean, having to deal with patients all day? I don’t know if I could handle it. It must take a lot of strength.”

“Yeah, it does,” Julie agreed, thinking back to just how stressful her internship had been. Sure, she was grateful to have the internship. She was glad to get the experience, and genuinely cared about what she was doing, but it sure was a lot of work, especially for a teenager. “But I want to help people in whatever way I can.” She kept thinking back to how she’d agreed to become a monster, all for Lana’s sake.

She’d given up a decade of her life all because she wanted to help the girl she loved…

Before her mind could devolve back into that time again, she quickly asked, “Say, what about you, Nelly? What are you here for?”

“Well, when I was younger, I was an English major,” Nelly explained quickly, “But things didn’t exactly go according to my plan. So now I want to change my career path, and I’m planning on going into marketing instead.”

“Life is can be unexpected like that,” Julie murmured. After all, she knew better than anyone else just how much the course of one’s life could easily deviate off path.

“Yeah,” Nelly agreed, “But I’m doing my best.”

“Oh, by the way,” Julie said quickly, reaching into her pocket, “I have something for you.”

“What is it?” Nelly questioned curiously.

Julie felt around in her pocket for a second before she pulled out a familiar necklace. “This is your necklace, right?”

Immediately, Nelly’s eyes lit up. “Oh my goodness, where’d you find it? I was looking everywhere for it!”

“It was in the salon,” Julie explained, “I think you left it there after the Style Showdown competition a few weeks ago.

“Thank you, Julie,” Nelly said graciously as she took the necklace back and placed it around her neck, “I’m so glad I got it back… this necklace means a lot to me. All the coterie members had matching necklaces, so it’s sort of like a reminder of the friends I’ve lost…” her voice trailed off as she spoke.

Then, slowly, Nelly piped up again, “Does Lana still have hers…?”

“What do you mean?” Julie questioned.

“Lana had one, too,” Nelly explained, “To match with the rest of the coterie. And I was just wondering… does she still have it?”

Julie didn’t exactly know the answer. Because, truthfully, the Lana that owned that necklace was not the same Lana that Julie knew and loved. The Lana that Nelly knew was nothing more than a doppelgänger, a mere copy of the original.

But did Nelly even have any clue…?

Did Nelly even know that Lana and that doppelgänger were two separate people…?

“I’m not really sure,” Julie answered.

“Oh…” Nelly murmured, averting her eyes. Clearly, she seemed a little disapointed, as if deep down, part of her still hoped that Lana cared about her, even after everything she believed Lana had done to her.

Julie wanted to drop the truth all at once: the Lana that Nelly had known was actually a doppelgänger, and that the real Lana was completely innocent.

But she instead opted to take it slowly for now, not wanting to upset Nelly too much. “You know, Lana had a lot of doppelgängers. How were you always so sure that the Lana you were talking to is the real one?”

“Honestly… there’s no way of knowing whether it was really her or not,” Nelly admitted, “I was constantly questioning whether I was truly talking to Lana or if it was merely a doppelgänger. But whether it was a doppelgänger or not doesn’t matter to me, because she and all her doppelgängers are all the exact same anyways.”

Julie gritted her teeth hearing those words as her monstrous rage roared and clawed within her chest, begging to be released. Julie wanted to scream right in Nelly’s face, telling her that the doppelgängers were nothing like the real Lana.

And yet she had to keep her composure; she couldn’t lose it right now. She’d already hurt that doppelgänger. She couldn’t do the same to Nelly.

“Say, how can you tell that the Lana you’re dating is the real one?” Nelly questioned.

Julie just shrugged. “Because I just… know. Even if her doppelgängers look exactly like her, there are countless little differences. Each doppelgänger may put on its best act pretending to be her, but they will always be just a little off, in some sort of way. Maybe their movements aren’t as sharp as Lana’s are, or their posture is slightly different. Even if the doppelgängers share her face, those small discrepancies come to show that no doppelgänger can truly be an exact match to the real Lana.”

As she went on her whole spiel, Julie kept thinking back to the doppelgänger she’d encountered. She remembered just how uncanny the doppelgänger had looked. The doppelgänger looked exactly like Lana, and yet she carried herself completely differently from the way the real Lana did.

There was a world of differences between Lana and her doppelgängers, and Julie found it hard to believe that other people simply couldn’t see that.

“I mean, they may be a little different,” said Nelly with a shrug, “But at the end of the day, they’re all still basically the exact same as Lana.”

Julie bit the inside of her cheek, the metallic taste of blood hitting her tongue. Her anger wanted to make itself known, but she had to keep fighting it back. She had to stay calm. She had to keep her anger under control.
Thankfully, Julie didn’t have to worry about keeping her anger at bay for much longer, as that was when the orientation leader’s voice boomed across the crowd, hushing all the chatter down to whispers. Everybody turned, eyes all focused on the orientation leader, who stood at the front, proudly holding her megaphone and swinging her lanyard around in her fingertips.

“Attention everybody!” The orientation leader called out, “I’m Kathy, your orientation leader, and I’m thrilled to get to welcome you all the New Hope Community College! Today, I’ll be giving you all a tour around the campus so you can familiarize yourself with the area so you’ll be prepared for when you start classes!”

“Well, I guess we’ll carry on with our conversation later,” Nelly whispered to Julie, “Let’s chat after the tour.”

Julie just nodded “Alright. Talk to you after the tour!” Even though she desperately wanted to be polite to Nelly, deep down, Julie was honestly relieved that the whole conversation about Lana and her doppelgängers didn’t have to go on any further. Julie didn’t even want to know how much longer she could hold back her anger listening to Nelly insist that Lana and her doppelgängers were all exactly the same.

*****

The tug on her chest kept growing stronger as she walked onwards. What had once started as a relatively light pull had now grown in force, practically tugging her along by now.

She didn’t pay much attention to where she was going; she was honestly pretty out of it from countless sleepless night. She was honestly surprised she even had to energy to keep moving forwards at all.

It was only when she saw the clean white rooftop peaking over the nearby buildings and trees that she slowly realized where she was going.

It was the Dress To Impress building…

For whatever reason, the force was pulling on her chest wanted to take her back to that wretched place…

She wanted to turn back. She wanted to run away and never step foot inside that building ever again. After all, she’d suffered long enough working there. And the last time she’d returned to the premises of this building, things hadn’t gone so well for her. She wanted to get as far away from that place as physically possible…

Despite her resignations, however, she simply couldn’t stop herself. She kept walking, almost as if her body was in a trance

Clearly, there was something her heart longed to find there. And she wouldn’t cease until she found whatever that thing was.

*****

It was a relatively slow day in the salon; there weren’t many models in the building today, which honestly, Lana didn’t mind too much. The past couple weeks following the recent summer additions had been pretty hectic, so it was nice to have a little break from all the chaos for once. Plus, maybe she could even clock out early and get a head start on driving back to the campus to pick up Julie.

There were a couple models roaming about the building, and occasionally they’d stop by her table to get their nails done, but for the most part, she was pretty much just on her own.

To keep herself occupied, she decided to organize her meme board on the wall behind her desk. She’d originally put it up so she could place funny picture she’d printed out on display for the models to see. Occasionally, she’d even put up some pictures she’d taken of herself and her friends.

She would even decorate it based on the current season, adorning it with cute decorations. It was honestly a little tradition of hers to decorate the board. She loved being able to customize her workspace a bit to better fit her taste.

After taking down the whole of images, she opened one of her desk drawers, sifting through some images she kept inside, choosing a few of her favorites to pin onto the board. Once she was finished putting everything up, she took a step back to take a look at her work.

Noting a blank spot in the corner, she headed back over to her desk to find one more image to put up. She went through a couple different options until she stopped at a photo Julie had taken of the two of them in the salon at the end of one of Lana’s shifts. Oftentimes, when Julie was bored, she’d take pictures on the camera for fun, and Lana kept around as many as she could, including this one.

She ultimately decided to occupy the vacant corner with Julie’s photo, deciding that it would the the perfect final touch for the board.

Leaning back in her chair, Lana took a moment to admire her work on the board. God, did she loved how it turned out. She couldn’t wait for Halloween so she could decorate it with Halloween themed decorations!

Just then, she heard footsteps against the wooden floor. Turning around, Lana prepared herself to greet the person by her desk, fully expecting it to be yet another model hoping to get their nails done.

But that was when she locked eyes with a face that perfectly mirrored her own, the only difference being an eyepatch that covered the person’s right eye.

The person just looked back at her, a clear mix of emotions in its visible eye. There were deep bags under her eye, she held a cape tight around her shoulders with trembling, bloody fingertips, and blood oozed from an open gash on her knee.

This person may have many notable differences from Lana. She may have been wearing completely different clothing, she may have had a completely different hairstyle, and she may have had a completely different posture.

But beneath all those differences, the girl’s uncanny resemblance to Lana was uncanny.

This was one of Lana’s doppelgängers…

*****

The orientation leader led the group through campus, stopping at each building to explain what it was for before moving onto the next.

In Julie’s opinion, the place was nothing special. This college was nothing in comparison to all the nursing schools she’d toured during and junior and senior years in high school. She honestly hated the fact that she’d be stuck here for at least the next year.

But considering she’d been possessed before she even had the chance to graduate from high school, she had no other choice. She had to attend here, at least until she could earn enough credits to transfer elsewhere.

And only then would her life finally begin to turn around…

*****

The doppelgänger almost felt like she was staring at a mirror. The girl sitting at the same exact desk that she used to sit at looked so identical to her, it almost made her feel uneasy.

She stepped back, her mind racing. She didn’t know what to think. Her heart was a wild mix of emotions.

Part of her was confused and angered by this girl. Even though she had the feeling she knew who this girl truly was, she pushed her own feelings aside; that girl sitting at the desk had to be a doppelgänger.

She was the real Lana; no one else was. It was simply a fact. She was the real Alana, and this stupid girl sitting at the desk was nothing more than a mere imitation of her.

She couldn’t help but hate all of the doppelgängers with a burning passion. Looking at her filled her with so much rage. The way they bore the exact same appearance as her, yet none of them were even close to being perfect, it infuriated her. She hated seeing her worst traits being completely exaggerated in the more advanced doppelgängers. And the ones that could do nothing but run around and scream were even worse; it was disturbing seeing a being which looked exactly like herself acting more like a rabid beast than a human being.

That very same hatred extended to this one to sitting before her. She hated the idea that while she was fighting for her dear life outrunning the echoes of her own past, this doppelgänger had taken her place here at the salon, completely complacent this this treacherous job.

She honestly wished she could rip that girl to shreds. She wanted nothing more than to see the life fade away from that wretched doppelgänger’s eyes.

And yet at the same time, she also felt strangely… comforted by the sight of the girl, somehow…?

She felt strangely warm, somehow. The colors around her almost seemed brighter, and her heart almost felt strangely at peace. It was sort of overwhelming, in a way. For the past year, her life had been nothing but a living hell. Each day brought about even more misery for her than the last.

But for the first time she could recall in recent months, she felt strangely content. For months, her entire life had been a blur. Each day was all the same. She felt like a walking corpse, simply going through the motions.

But now, for the first time in ages, she felt truly alive. And even though the feeling overwhelmed her, she also couldn’t help but appreciate it.

She didn’t understand any of what she was feeling. Why did the sight of this girl evoke such strong emotions within her?

Why did she feel such a strong connection to this girl…?

*****

Lana stared at the doppelgänger in complete disbelief. She’d seen countless doppelgängers during the time she’d been in Agamemnon’s captivity. Hell, she’d even seen the world through her doppelgänger’s eyes.

But no matter how many times she laid eyes on a doppelgänger, it simply couldn’t numb just how unsettling it was to look at one. Besides, for months, she’d assumed all her doppelgängers were dead now that she’d reclaimed her soul. So it was especially strange to be looking right at one here and now.

As she looked upon the doppelgänger, it slowly dawned on her: this was the same one that had mercilessly killed all the members of that cult she’d made…

This was the very same doppelgänger Julie had tried to murder not too long ago…

Cautiously, Lana got up from her chair, never once breaking eye contact with the doppelgänger. She carefully took a step forwards, eying the doppelgänger up and down.

“You’re a doppelgänger…” Lana muttered, her voice nearly a whisper, barely loud enough for the doppelgänger to hear. She didn’t even know what else to say; what was one supposed to say to their own clone?

Immediately, the doppelgänger grew defensive.

“The fuck do you mean?” The doppelgänger snarled, her face painted with anger, “I’m not a doppelgänger; I’m the real Lana. If anyone in this room is a doppelgänger, then that would be you.” She pointed a bloodstained finger right at Lana just to make her point.

Lana didn’t even know what to think. As offended as she was about being accused of being a doppelgänger, she couldn’t help but also be a little puzzled. How could this doppelgänger possibly believe she was the real one? Surely the doppelgänger couldn’t truly believe that she was the real Lana, could she…?

“You… really think you’re the real Lana…?” Lana asked slowly. Even though she hated the sight of the doppelgänger standing before her, she strangely felt a little empathetic towards the doppelgänger. After all, Lana had seen the world through this doppelgänger’s eyes. Even though this doppelgänger had committed crimes that Lana herself knew she’d never even think of, at the same time, she had seen the world from this doppelgänger’s perspective. In a way, the doppelgänger was almost like another side of herself…

“Of course I do,” the doppelgänger just scoffed, “Why does everyone keep insisting I’m a fucking doppelgänger? I’m the real Lana, and I don’t understand how anyone could possibly doubt me.”

“You don’t doubt yourself…?” Lana questioned, “Not even a little bit…?”

“Why would I?” The doppelgänger asked, “I’m the real Lana… I know I am…” her voice trailed off at that. She clearly seemed a little unsure of herself.

“And you don’t remember anything to the contrary?” Lana went on, “You can’t remember being created?”

“I wasn’t created,” the doppelgänger insisted, “I’m the real Lana! Not a doppelgänger! I don’t know what else you want me to say!”

But Lana just kept pressing on, in need of answers. “You can’t remember anything…? Not even the smallest of memories that seems out of place…?”

The doppelgänger frantically shook her head. “No, I don’t I don’t remember anything! I don’t know what you’re talking about…” the doppelgänger began backing away, still gripping the cape tight around her shoulders with a trembling hand.

“Or perhaps the memories are pushed to the back of your mind…?” Lana kept going, “Buried deep down, never to see the light of day…?”

“No! There are no memories like that!” The doppelgänger shouted aloud, her voice on the verge of tears as she fell to her knees, “I’m not a doppelgänger! I’m real…! I know it…!”

Lana couldn’t believe it. Clearly, the doppelgänger knew she wasn’t real. And yet, for whatever reason, she just kept insisting she was real anyways, even though the was caught in the lie.

“Why…” Lana muttered coldly, carefully drawing closer to the doppelgänger’s sunken form, “Why do you keep pretending to be me…?”

“I’m not…!” The doppelgänger insisted, “Why won’t you listen to me?!”

But Lana was done with this doppelgänger’s lies. Each time the doppelgänger insisted she was real filled Lana with unbridled rage. She simply couldn’t take it anymore.

“DO YOU KEEP INSISTING YOU ARE REAL WHEN YOU ARE NOT?!” Lana furiously demanded.

“BECAUSE WHO AM I IF I’M NOT YOU?!” The doppelgänger screamed aloud.

That was when both Lana and the doppelgänger fell into silence. For a moment, they both just stared at each other in shock. Neither said even a single word. The only sound shared between the two was silence.

Then, finally, the doppelgänger spoke again.

“If I’m not you…” the doppelgänger muttered, voice weak and her head held low, “Then I’m nothing more than a heartless monster…”

*****

It felt like the entire world was spinning around her as she sat on the hardwood floor, frantically trying to hold in her tears. She wrapped a hand around her one arm, clawing her nails into her own skin, trying to distract herself from the tears bubbling in her eyes.

But no matter how much she tried to ignore the emotions running wild in her brain like she had countless times before, she simply couldn’t brush them aside anymore. She’d kept all her feelings clogged up inside of her for ages, and now she had no other option but to let them spill out.

For so long now, she’d been suppressing the truth. She’d forced herself to overlook any hint towards the falsehood of her own existence. She did everything in her power to keep up the lie that she was the real Lana, both to her Patrons and also to herself.

But now the floodgates had opened, and she couldn’t stop all the memories she’d tried so hard to forget from swarming her mind.

She remembered the day she was created. She remembered opening her eyes to see Agamemnon’s face looking down from above. She remembered the look of pure satisfaction in his eyes as he admired the success he’d had with creating her.

And she remembered the day she’d taken out her own eye. She remembered biting her tongue until it bled as the suffered through the pain, all simply because Agamemnon had promised that in exchange for her eye, he’d allow her to forget that she was a doppelgänger. He promised that if she gave up her eye, then he’d give her the chance to believe that she truly was real.

But no matter how much she’d tried to forget, no matter how many times she’d brushed the truth aside, there was no fighting it anymore:

She was a doppelgänger.

She was never the real Lana…

She clenched her hands into fists, ignoring the sharp pain as the fresh wounds on her fingers opened back up again.

For all her life, she’d tried so hard to pretend to be the real Lana. She’d done everything in her power to convince her Patrons that she was real. Hell, she’d even tried convincing herself she was real.

But it was all merely a facade she hid behind because she knew she could never be the real Lana. She knew she was nothing more than a heartless monster.

She didn’t deserve to be regarded as real… not when she’d murdered her own friends all to feed into Agamemnon’s little game. Not when she had fallen for every one of Agamemnon’s lies without even a second thought.

A cry ripped through her throat. She tried to hold it back, but she just kept crying, unable to hold in her emotions any longer. She just started violently sobbing there on the floor, finally letting out all of the pent-up feelings she’d kept swept under the rug for months now.

She just didn’t understand. Why did Agamemnon have to make her in the first place? Why did Agamemnon need her specifically to carry out his plans?

God, how she wished she’d never even been created in the first place…

The doppelgänger looked up at the girl she’d confronted mere moments ago. It honestly pained the doppelgänger to look that girl in the eyes. After all, that girl that stood before her, she was Lana; the real Lana. This girl was the exact person the doppelgänger had spent so long trying to emulate.

The doppelgänger looked back down at the ground, hyperventilating as tears went streaming down her face.

She could never be who she was created to be…

She would never be the real Lana…

That was when, much to her surprise, Lana knelt down to her level. Reaching out a hand, Lana tried to comfort her.

While the doppelgänger would’ve usually flinched away at the sudden touch, now she simply didn’t care enough to move away. She didn’t bother to react as Lana’s hand gently brushed her shoulder.

And the next thing she knew, Lana pulled her into a hug.

“I’m sorry,” Lana whispered into her ear, voice low and soft, “I’m sorry you had to suffer because of me…”

*****

Lana didn’t understand why she felt so bad for the doppelgänger.

This doppelgänger had killed off the members of her Coterie without even a second thought. This doppelgänger had left Nelly locked up in a cage for months. This doppelgänger had manipulated her own Patrons into following along with Agamemnon’s plans. And this doppelgänger had done it all hiding behind Lana’s face and identity.

Lana should’ve hated the doppelgänger. Lana should’ve wanted to murder this doppelgänger for all the crimes she’d committed.

And yet Lana couldn’t bring herself to be angry with the doppelgänger.

In fact, out of anyone, Lana was mostly upset with herself. After all, it was her fault this doppelgänger even existed in the first place. If she’d never taken a bite of that apple Agamemnon had offered her, then there would’ve been no doppelgängers to murder anyone.

All this doppelgänger’s actions were because of a stupid decision she’d made when she was a teenager…

Lana almost felt bad for this doppelgänger, in a way. She felt sorry that this doppelgänger had been strung into this whole mess all because of her.

None of this was the doppelgänger’s fault… it was all hers.

But Lana had no clue what to even say. She simply kept her arms wrapped gently around the doppelgänger, who just kept crying into her shoulder, staining her white turtleneck with salty tears.

Lana hated seeing the doppelgänger in so much distress. Hearing the doppelgänger’s cries almost sounded like an echo of her own voice crying out.

This doppelgänger was created from a piece of Lana’s soul. This doppelgänger was almost like a reflection of Lana herself, in a way.

And yet at the very same time, the doppelgänger had her own thoughts and experiences completely separate from Lana. Lana had the chance to see the world from the doppelgänger’s eyes, and the doppelgänger’s perspective of the world was completely different from her own.

So even though the doppelgänger was a piece of Lana, at the same time, both girls were also their own separate people.

Even if the doppelgänger only existed because of Lana’s soul… she was still her own person. She was still a human being deserving of empathy.

Lana had to comfort her in any way she could…

After a good few minutes of sobbing, the doppelgänger finally began to calm down a little. She pulled out of Lana’s arms, trying to compose herself. She kept running her fingers through and hair, as if trying to soothe herself.

The doppelgänger nervously glanced over at the salon’s entrance. Following the doppelgänger’s gaze, Lana noticed a couple of models gathered just outside the salon’s entrance, curiously watching the scene unfold.

“Get out of here!” Lana called out, annoyed, “She’s having a rough time right now, so give her some room!”

While the models still appeared curious, they eventually moved on and kept going about their business, leaving Lana alone with the doppelgänger once more.

Lana turned back to face the doppelgänger. “Sorry about them… they don’t always understand that sometimes, people need a bit of privacy.”

“How do you handle them so easily anyways…?” The doppelgänger asked in a small, weak voice. “The people who come here are so annoying… honestly, they’re worse than my Patrons.”

“It’s just something I’ve gotten used to over the years,” Lana said with a shrug, “The real question is, are you doing okay?”

“Not really,” the doppelgänger muttered, “I… I just don’t know what to think of myself anymore. I mean, I spent so long pretending to be you, that I have no clue who I actually am…” as she spoke, she closed her eye, clearly trying to hold back yet another wave of sobs.

After taking a short pause to compose herself, she went on. “I just can’t stop thinking… who am I…?”

Lana didn’t have the answer. Honestly, she, herself, still struggled to uncover her own identity. So many years of her life had been consumed by Agamemnon’s little game, leaving her sense of self completely broken down. Even now that she’d been free for nearly a year by this point, she was still struggling to rebuild the person she was before she became intertwined with Agamemnon.

“I… don’t really know,” Lana began slowly, “I can’t say who you are. But just remember, even though you may be a doppelgänger, at the end of the day… you’re your own person. And you have to discover your identity for yourself.”

“But how…?” The doppelgänger asked, exasperated.

“I’m not quite sure,” Lana admitted, “I’m still struggling to understand myself as it is. But I promise you, you’ll figure out who you are. Someday…”

The doppelgänger averted her gaze, her bloodshot eyes full of doubt. “I sure hope you’re right…”

*****

Once the tour of the campus was finished, the orientation leader led the group into the cafeteria for some lunch.

Julie sat alone by a window, mindlessly watching the people that passed by outside. The eager looks on their faces pained her to see, in a way.

She looked down at her own hands, which were covered in countless scars from the numerous injuries she’d gotten as a monster.

She’d once been young and bright too, just like those other students here.

But now she was far from that innocent teenage girl who was excited to become a nurse so she could help people.

She was now a broken, lost adult who was still dealing with the echoes of her own past that were haunting her.

She couldn’t help but wonder where she’d be right now if she’d never become a monster in the first place. She probably would’ve been a graduate of nursing schoolboy now and have a stable career lined up for her.

But instead of that perfect future she’d always been certain she’d have, here she was, sitting in a shitty community college cafeteria, eating a bland, soggy sandwich.

She didn’t even want to know what her parents would think if they could see the mess that was her life now.

She closed her eyes, wishing she could just disappear from this cafeteria. She wished to leave this stupid place behind and never step foot on this campus again.

But at the end of the day, she had no choice but to keep moving forwards. Whether she wanted to be here or not, this was the first step in getting her life back on track.

She was going to find a path for herself, whether she went into nursing as she originally intended, or carved out a different future for herself.

After all, she couldn’t change the past. And even if she was able to go back to that moment when Agamemnon had offered his deal, she knew that she would still make the same exact decision all over again if it meant that Lana was safe.

“Hey, Julie,” came Nelly’s voice from nearby.

Julie opened her eyes to find Nelly taking a seat across from her.

“Oh, hey, Nelly,” Julie said quickly, a little caught off guard. That same monstrous rage from earlier began boiling in her chest yet again, but she swallowed it back; she had to keep herself composed. After all, letting the monster within her win side win would only make her entire situation worse.

“How was the tour?” Asked Nelly.

“It was fine,” said Julie, “Nothing too special. It was at least helpful so I’ll know my way around here when classes start. What about you?”

Nelly just shrugged. “It was kinda boring, I’m not gonna lie. The orientation leader kinda dragged it on a little long. Honestly, it was so tiring, at some points, it made me rather be anywhere but here!”

Nelly paused for a second before adding, “Scratch that, maybe not anywhere. I mean, I’d at least rather sit through a boring tour than be locked up in that cage Lana and Agamemnon threw me in.”

Nelly prattled on from there, talking about the horrible things that doppelgänger had done to her under the pretense that it was all Lana’s fault.

Hearing Nelly’s words honestly made Julie’s blood boil. She wanted so desperately to get right up in the girl’s face and scream at her about just how wrong she was. But she held herself back. She had to keep herself calm; she couldn’t let her anger win.

“How long did Lana keep you locked in that cage…?” Julie asked slowly, prying for more information.

“About, like, seven or eight months, I think?” Nelly answered, “I kinda lost track of time, if I’m being honest. The days kinda began blurring past after a while… especially after Lana and Agamemnon stopped checking on me and giving me food. It’s weird to think that, if I’d been stuck in that cage for any longer, my remaining supplies would’ve run out…”

Hearing those words, Julie honestly felt enraged. Not at Nelly, but rather, at that doppelgänger. She simply couldn’t believe that doppelgänger could even sleep at night knowing everything she’d done!

Honestly, Julie was starting to wish she truly had killed that doppelgänger when she had the chance.

“How’d you get out anyways?” Julie then questioned.

“A friend of mine,” Nelly explained. She paused for a short moment before quickly adding on, “She’s no one you know. She was just an old Herd member I used to be close with. We’re actually roommates now, in fact.”

“That’a pretty cool,” said Julie, “I’m glad you got out… after all, I know what it’s like to be trapped…”

Julie’s gaze slowly drifted down to her hands. She looked down at each and every scar dotting her skin.

She could almost see the blood that had once stained these very same hands…

“How can you possibly bring yourself to love Lana knowing what she’s done anyways…?” Nelly asked slowly.

Julie desperately wanted to scream to truth aloud, bright and clear. She wanted nothing more than to drill into Nelly’s head that the real Lana was completely innocent.

But she bit back anything the monstrous rage wished to say. She had to remain cordial with Nelly, no matter how much Nelly’s words honestly pissed her off.

“Because,” Julie said carefully, “There may be blood on her hands, but…”

She closed her eyes, still able to see the horrified faces of her victims, still able to hear their desperate screams for mercy, still able to feel the fresh blood coating her fingertips.

“…who am I to judge?” Julie finally concluded, “I’m no better than she is, after all…”

“What do you mean by that…?” Nelly asked slowly.

“I’d rather not talk about it right now,” Julie muttered quickly as she opened her eyes again, “It’s… a lot…”

“Um, okay then,” Nelly said, “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Julie was honestly relieved by that response. She was glad she didn’t have to go in too much depth about her past.

She didn’t need Nelly looking at her any differently knowing her story. She didn’t want to be seen as the same kind of monster as Lana was in Nelly’s eyes.

She just wanted to be seen as a normal human being…

Julie spent the rest of the meal in silence. Neither her or Nelly said a word; they just sat there across from each other, dead silent, hearts heavy with difficult emotions.

*****

Lana found it difficult to get through the rest of the day. After watching the poor doppelgänger break down in tears right in front of her, it was honestly difficult to be back to going about her usual business and pretend that everything was completely normal.

Lana just had to try her best to get through the remaining hours until the end of her shift. She had to find some way to occupy herself so she wouldn’t keep thinking about her confrontation with the doppelgänger.

And yet she couldn’t help but keep glancing over in the doppelgänger’s direction every change she got.

The doppelgänger, who’d decided to stick around at the salon for the time being, now stood in a nearby doorway, blankly staring outside, clearly lost in her own thoughts.

Even though she still held a little bit of anger towards the doppelgänger for using her identity for the sake of aiding Agamemnon’s plans, regardless, Lana couldn’t help but feel horrible for the doppelgänger. After all, she’d just watched that doppelgänger’s entire identity being completely shattered right before her eyes.

The doppelgänger had spent so many months trying to convince the world that she was the real Lana, and now that facade had been broken into pieces.

Lana didn’t even want to imagine what must be going through that doppelgänger’s head right now…

None of the models dared to get anywhere near the doppelgänger. For the most part, they kept their distance. Whether they were giving her space out of basic human decency, or they were afraid of her, Lana couldn’t tell.

Seeing the doppelgänger out in plain sight for everyone to see did admittedly make Lana a little anxious. While the models didn’t appear to mind too much right now, who knew how much they’d spread the word about the doppelgänger outside of the salon?

Lana’s mind kept racing, thinking of the worst. She was terrified of what public would do if they found out one of her doppelgängers was still alive. What if they took their anger out on the doppelgänger? What if they targeted Lana herself by extension? What if Julie got dragged into the mix as well?

The doppelgänger simply existing could easily spell out danger for everybody…

And it didn’t really help that Lana had no clue where the doppelgänger was even going to live following today’s shift at the salon. While Lana wanted to let the doppelgänger stay with her for now, at the same time, Lana didn’t even know if she could entirely trust the doppelgänger knowing about all the deaths the doppelgänger had orchestrated.

And even if Lana did trust the doppelgänger, Lana knew that Julie wouldn’t be so forgiving.

She still remembered the day Julie had lashed out at the doppelgänger...

God, Lana didn’t want to know what would happen if Julie and the doppelgänger were in the same place again.

But before she could worry about what to do about the doppelgänger, she had to get through the rest of her shift. As soon as she was done for the day, then she could worry about where the doppelgänger was going to stay.

*****

Lana was honestly relieved when things finally began to slow down. As models emptied out of the salon, she began going about her usual routine of cleaning the place up. All the while, she kept looking back over at the doppelgänger, who was still standing alone in the doorway.

Just as Lana was finishing up, Serena stopped by.

“Hey Lana!” Serena said joyfully, “How was your day?”

“Not particularly great,” Lana muttered.

“Oh? What happened?” Serena questioned.

Lana simply pointed over at the doppelgänger. “Well… she walked in today.”

As soon as Serena laid eyes on the doppelgänger, her mouth went agape. “No way… is that really one of your doppelgängers?!”

Lana nodded. “Yeah… it is.”

“Why is she even here?!” Serena questioned.

“I’m not quite sure,” Lana said, “She just walked in for no apparent reason.”

“And you just let her stay here?” Serena asked accusingly. While she did sound a little upset at the idea of a doppelgänger hanging out in the salon, at the same time, there was a look of underlying fear in her voice as well. It was obvious that Serena was afraid of the doppelgänger, and honestly, Lana couldn’t really couldn’t blame her for feeling that way. Who wouldn’t have some level of fear seeing a doppelgänger that had murdered so many people?

And yet, regardless of the deaths on the doppelgänger’s hands, Lana couldn’t help but feel empathy for her. After all, the doppelgänger was created using a piece of her soul. The doppelgänger was almost like a reflection of herself.

In a way, Lana felt the need to protect that doppelgänger. Despite their clear differences, the two had many similarities. Both were heavily manipulated by Agamemnon into falling into his trap, and now it was clear that both she and the doppelgänger were just trying to recover from the trauma their situations had left them with.

She had to help the doppelgänger heal from her past in any way she could.

“I know it’s probably not the best idea to let her stick around here,” Lana admitted, “But I just feel bad for her… I mean, she didn’t ask to be created only to be thrown into this whole mess with Agamemnon… I want to help her.”

“But your doppelgängers are dangerous…” Serena murmured fearfully, “How can you possibly trust her…?”

“I honestly don’t know if she truly can be trusted or not,” Lana told Serena. She glanced back over at the doppelgänger, who still remained perfectly still in the doorway. Lana had no clue how much the doppelgänger was listening to this conversation right now. “But I can’t just let her suffer alone. What kind of person would I be if I simply treated her with callousness?”

“Okay, fair point,” Serena said with a shrug, “But what are you even going to do with her anyways?”

“I mean, I can’t just leave her all on her own,” Lana said, “I was considering letting her stay at my place for the time-being, but-“

“Please don’t,” Serena cut in.

“And why not?” Lana questioned.

“Because who knows what she’s planning?” Serena began worriedly, “What if she’s only trying to gain your trust so she can exact revenge on you? She could easily be planning to kill you in your sleep, and you’re falling right into her trap!”

Lana glanced back over at the doppelgänger once again, inspecting the doppelgänger’s blank expression.

Sure, this doppelgänger could merely be putting on an act in order to manipulate her, just as Serena insisted.

But what if the doppelgänger truly needed help? Lana couldn’t just turn her back on someone who was at their most vulnerable state.

She had to take a risk if it meant the possibility of helping someone just like her…

“There’s no way of knowing if she’s planning anything or not,” Lana said firmly, “But regardless, I want to at least give her a chance. Besides, I’m less worried about her attacking me compared to the possibility of Julie lashing out at her. I mean, you know what happened the other day…” her voice trailed off. She didn’t want to remember that fateful day…

“Oh yeah…” Serena muttered in a hushed voice, “I remember you told me about it.”

“I know that she and Julie wouldn’t particularly get along,” Lana went on, “But at the same time, I don’t want to leave this doppelgänger on her own… especially considering the amount of people that’ll want to target her simply for existing.”

“Well, if you truly think that letting the doppelgänger stay with you is the best idea, then why don’t you call Julie and ask her how she feels about it? Just to make sure she’d completely on board with the idea.” Serena suggested, “If Julie’s okay with it, then the doppelgänger can stay at your place. And if not, then I’m sure you can figure something else out.”

“I guess I probably should call Julie and see what she says,” Lana said with a sigh, “I’m just a little anxious about what her reaction will be to hearing about the doppelgänger again.”

“Don’t be,” Serena told Lana firmly, “Just be honest with her. I’m sure she’ll understand.”

“Me too,” Lana said slowly pulling out her phone, “Today was just a lot… I don’t want anymore stress added on.”

“Well, I’m sure things’ll go smoothly,” Serena assured Lana.

“I sure hope so,” Lana agreed, “Now, give me a couple minutes to call Julie, alright?”

Serena nodded and left the salon, leaving Lana alone to get on the phone with Julie.

*****

After lunch, the orientation leader had led everybody through a couple group activities. As fun as they were, admittedly, they did feel a little awkward to Julie. After all, most other people were basically kids, just barely out of their teens. Her life was far too different from theirs for any sort of interaction to feel natural.

After the group activities had finished, the orientation leader went through one final speech. Julie didn’t pay too much attention to the speech; it was mostly just inspirational stuff about how everybody was going to have a great first year. Back when she was younger, she probably would’ve eaten up every single word of this speech like it was some sort of sacred text. But now, she honestly couldn’t wait for the orientation leader to finish up so she could go home.

At long last, much to Julie’s relief everybody was dismissed, and everybody went their own separate ways.

Julie headed over to the parking lot, checking her phone to see if Lana was on the way, but Lana hadn’t texted her yet. Julie just assumed it was a busy day in the salon, and Lana was still busy finishing things up for the day.

Julie waited around for a few minutes, waiting for Lana to show up when she got a call from Lana on the phone.

Pinking up the phone, Julie assumed that Lana was going to tell her that she was running late. She expected to hear some sort of story of how Lana had gotten stuck in traffic on the way or how a model had made a huge mess that she’d been forced to clean up.

But nothing could’ve possibly prepared Julie for what this call was truly about.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Julie said, smiling, “What’s up?”

“Hey, babe,” came Lana’s reply. Her voice was full of hesitation. “I’m about to head over and pick you up, I just… need to talk to you about something first.”

“What is it?” Asked Julie, confused. Her mind began running wild with countless possibilities. Did something happen? Was something wrong?

“See, someone came into the salon today…” Lana began, hesitating a little as she spoke, “Someone you already know…”

Immediately, Julie jumped to the worst of conclusions. “Oh my God, was it Lina?! What did she do to you?! Are you okay?!”

“What?” Asked Lana, surprised. “No, don’t worry, it wasn’t Lina! I’m alright! Don’t worry about me! It’s someone else…”

“Who is it…?” Julie asked slowly. She had the feeling she already knew, but wanted Lana to tell her directly.

There was a long pause. Lana was clearly reluctant to confirm Julie’s suspicions.

Then, finally, she said, “It was the doppelgänger… the one you saw the other day…”

As soon as Julie heard those words, anger boiled in her blood. What was that doppelgänger even doing there?! Why did that doppelgänger feel the need to bother Lana?!

God, Julie wanted nothing more than to give that stupid doppelgänger a piece of her mind…

Lana began talking about her whole confrontation with the doppelgänger and how the doppelgänger had a whole mental breakdown right in front of Lana. As Lana began going on about just how bad she felt for the doppelgänger, Julie had no clue what to think.

Sure, Julie could understand why Lana felt empathetic towards the doppelgänger. After all, that doppelgänger was created from a piece of Lana’s soul. It was only natural if Lana to feel empathy for the doppelgänger.

But at the same time, that doppelgänger had murdered so many people in cold blood. How could Lana possibly forgive that?!

That doppelgänger was nothing more than a heartless monster that deserved to rot…

So Julie was in complete disbelief when Lana finally asked her an unexpected question: “Are you okay with letting the doppelgänger stay with us…?”

Julie was about ready to scream through the phone at Lana about just how absurd of an idea it was to let such a monster live in their home. Julie honestly thought that the idea was completely idiotic of Lana to even begin to try and suggest. After all, God only knew what the hell the doppelgänger was planning. For all Julie knew, the doppelgänger was planning on murdering the both of them!

But Julie quickly stopped herself as her sense of reason kicked in.

Sure, the doppelgänger had blood on her hands.

But so did Julie. Julie was no different from the doppelgänger.

Both were guilty of the same crime…

Both were monsters I in their own ways. So perhaps Julie should extend some level of empathy towards the doppelgänger.

Besides, perhaps keeping the doppelgänger around in the house could prove to be beneficial. It would at least make keeping tabs on her a little easier. Julie and Lana could easily keep an eye on her to ensure she didn’t cause anymore deaths.

“Julie?” Asked Lana, “You still there?”

Julie hesitated for a long moment. After all, despite the clear upside to letting the doppelgänger stay in the house, and despite Julie’s own similarities, she still didn’t particularly want to share a roof with that doppelgänger. Both because Julie was somewhat afraid of the doppelgänger, but also because Julie knew that her anger would be difficult to contain around the doppelgänger.

But if it meant protecting the rest of the world from that doppelgänger’s evil plans, then perhaps it would be worth it.

“I’m fine with her staying with us,” Julie answered finally.

“You sure?” Lana asked nervously, “I promise, Julie, it’s perfectly fine if you don’t want her living with us! I can figure something else out.”

“I’m sure,” Julie said firmly, “I think it’ll be for the best.”

*****

The doppelgänger was off to the side, staying out of the way while Lana was busy cleaning up. She stood in the doorway, gazing up at the sky, not knowing what to even think anymore.

For months now, she’d tried so hard to convince the world that she was the real Lana. Hell, she’d even tried to convince herself that she was the real Lana, despite knowing the truth: that she was nothing but a fraud.

She’d kept up her lie for so long now that she didn’t even know who she was beyond that facade of hers.

And as much as she wanted to forget about today’s events, as desperate as she still was to go back to her status quo of believing she was real… she knew she had to accept the truth.

She couldn’t keep lying to herself forever.

She was just afraid of what her Patrons would think. If she dared to tell them that was merely a doppelgänger, not the person she claimed to be… what would they say? What would they do…?

Just how angry would they be at her for misleading them this entire time…?

She didn’t even want to begin to think about the consequences of telling them the truth…

“Hey,” came Lana’s voice. The doppelgänger turned her head to find Lana slowly approaching. While she was clearly trying to keep up a sympathetic look, the look of fear in the nail tech’s eyes was clear, and it honestly infuriated the doppelgänger; sure, she’d just had her entire world shattered, but the last thing the doppelgänger wanted was to be looked at like she was a damn monster! She was a still a human, after all. At least, she believed she was one. After all, she wasn’t anything like the other doppelgängers, which could only run around and let out blood curdling screams; she was far superior, as she was able to think for herself.

She looked down at her own cut up hand, watching as blood leaked out. She had to in the very least be human, even if she was a doppelgänger.

She was a person. Sure, she was a carbon copy of somebody else. But still, a person, regardless.

“I wanted to know if you had anywhere to stay,” Lana began.

“Not really…” the doppelgänger murmured, keeping her gaze low, “I had a house a few months ago, but then I kinda just ran away one day. Now… I had no clue where I’m even going anymore.”

She was met with silence for a moment.

Then, carefully, Lana asked, “Would you like to stay at my place for now?”

The doppelgänger looked at Lana in disbelief. There was no way that damn woman was serious about this. Who in their right mind would willingly let someone who literally tried to steal their entire identity live in their home?

The doppelgänger looked in Lana’s eyes. She tried to find some sign of deceit, but there was none.

She was completely serious about this.

“Why are you helping me…?” The doppelgänger asked suspiciously, “I’m sure you know what I’ve done. Why would you want to help somebody like me?”

Without even a second thought, Lana just answered calmly, “Because if I deserve to live a better life, then you deserve to live a better life too.”

The doppelgänger doubted those words. After all, what kind of monster like her deserved to live a better life?

Honestly, the doppelgänger knew she deserved to suffer, just like how all her Coterie members had when she mercilessly murdered them one by one.

And yet somehow, despite it all Lana still believed in giving her a second chance…

The doppelgänger reached out a hand, gently grabbing hold of Lana’s own. The touch reinvigorated something deep within her soul. She almost felt complete, somehow, as though she’d just found her missing half.

She felt lighter, somehow, as if gravity was less harsh against her body.

And as she basked in the feeling, she began to think: maybe she truly did deserve a second chance…

Maybe she did deserve to live a better life…

“Is that a yes?” Lana asked.

The doppelgänger just nodded.

She knew that she had done the unforgivable. She knew that the lives she’d ended would never return.

But even if the blood would never be washed away from her hands, she would at least try and find a way to atone for what she’d done. Somehow.

Even if there were many mistakes from her past that simply couldn’t be erased, she was going to mend what she still could.

She was going to make a better life. Not just for herself, but for everyone around her too.

*****

After the whole orientation was over, Nelly hung out in the corner of the library, reading a book, waiting for Lina to arrive to pick her up.

Nelly was getting rather antsy from waiting. God, it was taking Lina forever to get here; what the hell was taking Lina so long anyways?

Nelly was just about to give Lina a call to ask where she was when her phone buzzed with a notification. Checking her phone, it was a text from Lina.

Opening the message, she got her hopes up, thinking Lina was letting her know she’d just gotten to the campus to pick Nelly up.

Much to her disappointment, however, Nelly saw what it actually read:

My fucking boss wants me to work an extra shift today

As Nelly registered the words on the screen, she honestly wanted to fucking murder Luna’s stupid boss. She bent over her phone screen, frantically typing up her response:

Seriously?! So you can’t pick me up?

Lina then sent a reply:

Not for at least another 3 hours. I’m sorry.

Nelly honestly wanted to throw her phone across the room in anger. Nelly had barely even wanted to come here in the first place, and now she was going to be stranded here for at least three more hours?! Honestly, Nelly couldn’t wait to save up enough money to buy her own car so she and Lina didn’t have to share one.

Coming here in the first place was completely pointless anyways. Lina’s whole plan of gaining Julie’s trust to put a wrench between her and Lana’s relationship was never goi my to work. Not so long as Julie loved Lana so deeply that she was willing to look right past all the deaths that were on Lana’s.

Honestly, Nelly couldn’t tell whether Julie’s unwavering loyalty to Lana was impressive or ignorant. Surely it wasn’t easy for Julie to justify loving someone who was such a monster in the past, but it was also a foolish idea to have so much trust in such a person.

Nelly was just about to close her phone when Lina sent another text:

If you don’t wanna wait, maybe try finding someone else to drive you home?

Nelly sighed; she supposed that was her best option right now if she didn’t want to be stuck here on this stupid college campus any longer.

Okay. I’ll let you know if I find a ride. See you later, Lina

Later, Nells

As Nelly shut off her phone, she racked her brain for someone to call to ask for a ride. There weren’t many people she knew who would be willing to drive her, especially on such short notice. She’d always been a bit of a loner in high school, so she barely had any friends from back them. The few friends that she did have, she hadn’t seen in years.

Part of why she’d joined the Coterie in the first place was because, at the time, she was lonely. She was so desperate for human connection, she was willing to join a literal cult if it meant she wouldn’t feel so alone.

When she first became a member of the Coterie, everyone was so kind and accepting of her. For a short moment, she believed she’d finally found her people.

But over time, things began to change. She slowly became the laughing stock of the entire group. Lana was constantly ridiculing and making fun of her. She tried her best to ignore the comments Lana had on her appearance, but deep down, they stung. Lana’s words made her feel ashamed of living in her own skin.

Regardless, she stuck to the group. After all, where else would she go? These were the only people who were willing to accept her, even if they always made fun of her. She had no one else to turn to outside of the other Coterie members.

Little did she know just how much worse things would become…

Little did she know just how many people would end up dead…

The only people Nelly really had contact with in recent years who were still alive were the members of the Herd. Even then, she still had a pretty rocky relationship with them.

Jasmine, for example, was part of the reason Nelly had ended up in captivity in the first place, having snitched to Lana about every little thing anyone did wrong just so Lana would give her even the slightest hint of validation.

Kayden, meanwhile, simply didn’t seem to like Nelly all that much. Nelly had only seen him on a few occasions, but each time, it was clear he wasn’t very fond of her.

Perhaps the best possible option out of all the surviving Herd members was her younger sister, Audrey. And even then, Nelly was a little anxious at the idea of giving Audrey a call.

After Lana had been brought back to life by Agamemnon following the day Nelly and Nathan had killed her, she’d formed the Herd to work with Agamemnon and aid in his plans. And one of the people Lana had specifically chosen to be a part of the Herd was Audrey.

Nelly had no clue what sort of lies Lana had fed to Audrey about her. She had no way of knowing whether Audrey despised her or not. And honestly, Nelly wasn’t sure if she even wanted to know the answer. She didn’t want to live knowing that her own sister, her own family, despised her.

But at the same time, she couldn’t help but wonder: did Audrey even know that Nelly was still alive?

Audrey was still Nelly’s sister, no matter how much Lana had tried to put a wrench between them.

Audrey at least deserved to know that her own sister was still alive…

Nelly picked her phone back up and scrolled through her contacts until she landed upon Audrey’s name. Her heart pounded in her chest as her finger hovered over the call button.

Anxiety flooded through her entire system. She had no idea what Audrey would say. Hell, she had no clue if Audrey would even pick up the phone at all.

But she had to at least give it a try.

And so, taking a breath, she pressed the call button.

She anxiously awaited for Audrey to Answer the call. Each second that passed without a response made Nelly feel all the more tense than before.

Then, finally, Audrey’s voice came through.

“Hello?”

“Hey, sis,” Nelly began immediately, relieved that Audrey had actually answered, “It’s Nelly…”

Audrey went silent for a moment. Nelly held in a breath, her mind running wild. What was Audrey thinking? What was she going to say?

Was Nelly about to be rejected by even her own family…?

Then, finally, Audrey spoke again. “Nelly…?” She honestly sounded bewildered. Her voice trembled as she she said, in nearly a whisper, “I thought you were dead…”

“Yeah, I should’ve died, but it seems that I was so powerful that not even death itself could catch me,” Nelly joked, grinning to herself a little.

“How are you even still alive?!” Audrey demanded, “The last thing I heard, Lana locked you in that cage…”

“Oh, a friend of mine let me out,” Nelly explained, “She’s kinda my roommate now.”

“Roommate?” Asked Audrey. Nelly could practically hear the eager grin on the girl’s face right through the phone. “So you’ve got a girlfriend now?”

Immeidately, Nelly’s face grew hot with embarrassment. “What?! No! She’s not my girlfriend! She’s just a friend!”

“Suuuure,” came Audrey’s response, “Totally just friends.”

“Shut the fuck up, Audrey!”

“Oh don’t worry, sis, I’ll keep it between you and me,” Audrey said, “Anyways, why are you calling me anyways? It’s been so long since I last heard from you… is everything alright? Did something happen that I should know about? Give me all the tea.”

“Don’t worry, nothing happened,” Nelly assured her sister, “I just have a favor I’d like to ask of you.”

“Which is…?”

“See, my roommate drove me to New Hope Community College today for an orientation, but now she can’t pick me up. I was wondering if you could maybe give me a ride?”

“Okay, for one,” Audrey began, “Why in the world are you going back to college? I thought you already graduated, like, four years ago.”

“Not your fucking business,” Nelly scoffed.

“And two, I thought you were scared of my driving,” Audrey went on, “And now you’re asking me to drive?”

“Oh shush,” said Nelly, rolling her eyes, “I’m desperate, okay? So if you wouldn’t mind, would you please give me a ride back to my apartment?”

“Well, sure, why not,” said Audrey, “We might as well use this as an opportunity to catch up anyways.”

“Thanks, sis,” Nelly responded, “I guess it’s truly not that hard to be nice to your own sister.”

“Oh shut up, Nelly. I’m only doing this because I’m bored because I wanna hear more about your girlfriend.”

“She’s not my girlfriend!”

“Whatever you say. See you in a bit, sis!”

“See you!”

As soon as Nelly hung up the phone, she let out a massive breath of relief. That went better than she thought it would. It seemed that Audrey didn’t absolutely hate her guts.

Nelly got up from the table to head out of the library. She might as well head to the bathroom real quick before Audrey arrived.

*****

The doppelgänger sat in the back seat of Lana’s car, leaning up against the window, watching the road zip past outside.

She’d barely spoken during the entire car ride. Lana had tried to stir up some conversation to try and ease the mood, but the doppelgänger was simply disinterested in small talk right now.

She was far too busy reeling from everything that had gone down in the salon earlier.

Just a few hours ago, she’d thought she’d keep up her facade of being the real Lana forever. She proudly wore her lies like they were a badge of honor.

Sure, she was lying about who she was.

But at least she had some sort of identity for herself, even if it was an identity stolen from somebody else.

But now? She was a broken mess. Any form of identity she thought she had was stripped away. Her sense of self was a barren wasteland that no amount of lies could cover up now.

How was one supposed to go on with their life after their entire world was shattered…?

She also couldn’t stop thinking about all the people she’d killed.

Her own Coterie members. Her own friends. All dead, all by her hands.

How could a monster like her possibly atone for such tremendous sins…?

The doppelgänger broke out of her thoughts when she noticed Lana pulling the car into a parking lot on some sort of college campus.

“Um, why are we here?” The doppelgänger questioned in confusion, “I thought we were heading home…?”

“Oh, shit, I forgot to mention,” Lana said quickly, “I need to pick up Julie. She had an orientation earlier today, and she needed me to drive her.”

Immediately, the doppelgänger felt a sense of dread welling up inside her. “Julie…?”

“My girlfriend,” Lana explained, “You know her, correct?”

“I do…” the doppelgänger murmured, “Do you know what happened, or…?”

“Julie told me,” Lana confirmed.

“Well, I obviously know her from… that…” the doppelgänger murmured. She shivered at the thought of seeing Julie again. She didn’t want to see the very girl who had tried to strangle her to death.

“Outside of that, I remember her from my— your memories,” the doppelgänger added on, “I remember you loved her a lot…”

“And I still do,” Lana said.

“Even if she tried to kill me…?” The doppelgänger asked slowly. Even though the whole conversation was about Julie, in a way, she could almost see a little bit of herself in Julie’s rage.

Lana just let out a sigh, the look in her eyes growing distant as she said slowly, “I mean, it’s not like either of us are any better…”

The doppelgänger just nodded. Even though she hated the idea that she wasn’t any better than Julie was, at the end of the day, Lana was right: neither she or Lana were angels by any means.

The doppelgänger was honestly a hypocrite for being angry with Julie over something she’d done herself…

After a couple of minutes of waiting, at long last, Julie showed up. As Julie slid into the passenger seat beside Lana, the doppelgänger felt her heart pounding in her chest. She felt ringing in her ears as her gaze met those emerald green eyes.

She remembered the look of pure fury on Julie’s face as her hands made their way to the doppelgänger’s neck.

The doppelgänger instinctively clutched the car door, sweat dripping down her palms. Countless memories from Lana’s past played through her mind as she looked on at Julie.

She recalled memories of Lana crushing on Julie. She recalled memories of the short moments they’d shared in the hospital. And she recalled memories of Lana’s sorrow the day she left the hospital, knowing that misfortune was sure to find its way to Julie.

All these memories that felt like her own, yet they didn’t align with the pure hatred in her heart for this woman…

“Oh, hey…” Julie began. She was clearly trying to appear friendly, yet she couldn’t conceal her own discontent with being in the same car as the doppelgänger.

The doppelgänger just glared back at her. She wanted nothing more than to take this woman by the throat and strangle her to death in turn.

Yet at the same time, the doppelgänger was terrified of being anywhere near her. She couldn’t forget about the feeling of Julie’s hands around her throat. She couldn’t forget the dread she’d felt seeing darkness creep across her vision as she struggled to breathe in air.

She couldn’t stay here. She had to get away!

“So, I know you both had a bit of a rough start, but…” Lana began.

But the doppelgänger didn’t want to listen as Lana tried to soothe the situation. She couldn’t stay in this car even a second longer!

Before Lana could say another word, the doppelgänger pushed the door open and bolted out of the vehicle. She heard Lana’s voice call out from behind, sounding almost the exact same as her own, but she didn’t pay it any mind.

She dashed across the campus, blatantly ignoring students passing by, who gave her weird looks. She didn’t care about being perceived right now; all she could focus on was getting away from Julie.

She eventually ducked behind a building, where she stopped to take a breath. She tried to calm down a little. She held the cape tight around her shoulders, trying to find comfort in the feeling of the fabric against her skin.

She kept trying to tell herself that she was going to be okay. Julie wasn’t going to hurt her… she was going to be alright.

And yet the memory of feeling her own consciousness begin to slip away as Julie held tight onto her throat haunted her like a ghost…

She slipped inside the building. She wandered through the hallways until she made her way to a bathroom.

Standing by a sink, she kept washing cold water over her face, trying to soothe herself.

“Calm down,” she told herself, looking her reflection in the eye, “Calm down, Lana, calm down. Calm down La—“

She stopped herself before she could even let another syllable out of her mouth. She stared blankly at her reflection in silence for awhile, her train of thoughts brought to a halt. Her reflection just looked back at her, its face an exact copy of the person who she knew she was not.

Then tears began to bubble in her eyes.

She wasn’t Lana… she knew it. So why was she still referring to herself as such?

She would never be the real Lana, no matter how much she pretended she was.

She was nothing more than a doppelgänger… a mere imitation of the real deal.

The doppelgänger sank to her knees, placing her head in her hands.

She ran a finger through her hair, watching the brown locks glide through her bloody fingertips.

She just didn’t know what to do.

She was nothing more than a goddamn clone of Lana. She was always meant to play the part pretending to be her.

So how was she supposed to become her own person now?

Was it too late to be somebody else…?

*****

Julie gazed out the window, watching as the doppelgänger ran off.

“She’s afraid of me…” Julie murmured, voice low, almost in a whisper, “She’s fucking afraid of me…”

Julie buried her face in her hands. “Oh God, I’m a fucking monster…”

“You’re not a monster,” Lana told her firmly. She took told of Julie’s hands, holding them gently within her own.

“But I tried to kill her…” Julie went on, “I don’t know how she’ll ever be able to trust me…”

“I’m sure we’ll figure it out,” Lana assured Julie, “I just… I want to make sure that you’re completely okay with her staying with us. I know you’re not exactly fond of her. You don’t have to put up with her if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t really mind the idea of her staying with us,” Julie said, “But… if she’s always going to be afraid of me, and if I can’t control my own anger…”

“Well, I may not be able to fix your anger” Lana said softly, “But I can talk to her.”

Lana opened the car door, stepping outside.

“I’ll go and find her and speak with her, alright?”

“Alright,” Julie murmured, “Just please, be safe… you know how dangerous your doppelgängers are.”

“Don’t worry, I can handle it,” Lana reassured Julie before heading off after the doppelgänger.

*****

She kept her gaze low, watching her own tears drip onto the tiled floor.

She was nothing more than a doppelgänger… a monstrous creature meant for nothing but evil.

Slowly, the bathroom door creaked open, followed by the sound of heels clicking against the floor.

“Hey.”

The doppelgänger looked up to find Lana standing there, eyes full of concern.

“Lana…” the doppelgänger let out, voice barely above a whisper.

“Is everything okay?” Lana asked, taking the doppelgänger’s hand and helping her back up.

The doppelgänger just averted her gaze, unable to bring herself to look at the face she’d hidden behind for so long. “What do you think…?”

Lana was silent for a long moment.

Then, slowly, she asked, “You’re not upset about Julie, are you…?”

“I mean, I’m still not too fond of her,” the doppelgänger muttered, “She did kinda try to kill me…”

The doppelgänger shrunk away, almost in shame of existing.

“But I’m mostly upset because I can’t stop thinking… how am I supposed to live my own life, be my own person, when I was meant to be nothing more than a clone of you?”

She fought to keep her voice steady as a sob tried to form in the back of her throat.

“I was never meant to be my own person…”

Both she and Lana were quiet for a moment. The doppelgänger almost hated the silence: it reminded her of what death had felt like after she’d been murdered by Nelly and Nathan. Nothing but pure darkness and eerie silence all around.

“Just because you look like me doesn’t mean you have to be me,” Lana finally said after a minute of two of silence, “I know you weren’t ever meant to be your own person, but if I can break free from Agamemnon’s purpose for me, then do can you.”

“You really think so…?” The doppelgänger asked, voice full of hope.

“I’m sure you can,” Lana assured her with a gentle smile, “You’re more than just a doppelgänger. Now let’s get going. I’m sure you’re just as tired as I am right now.”

The doppelgänger nodded; after days without any rest, laying down and getting some precious sleep sounded like a dream come true right now.

She followed Lana out of the bathroom, still keeping her gaze low, still keeping the cape wrapped tight around her shoulders.

As the two emerged out into the hall, however, she noticed a familar person in the corner of her eye. Turning her head, she locked eyes with none other than Nelly, the very same woman that had stabbed her to death in retaliation for executing the other coterie members. The very same woman who the doppelgänger had tried to execute twice. The very same woman who the doppelgänger had left locked in a cage for months.

Nelly just looked at her and Lana, mouth agape in shock.

“Nelly…” the doppelgänger began, reaching out a hand. She remembered how Lina had told her all about how she and Agamemnon were using Nelly for their own plans, gaining her trust so they could take advantage of her.

Even though the doppelgänger wasn’t particularly fond of Nelly, regardless, she hated what Lina and Agamemnon were planning with her. She had to warn Nelly of the trap she was stepping into!

But as soon as the doppelgänger spoke, Nelly almost looked offended, and before the doppelgänger had the chance to let out another word, Nelly turned away, racing down the hall to get away.

“Nelly, wait!” The doppelgänger desperately called out.

But Nelly was gone before the doppelgänger could say anything else.

The doppelgänger stared off into the distance, her mind storming. She had to tell Nelly the truth! She had to put Agamemnon’s plans to a halt before they went too far!

But before she could chase after Nelly, Lana grabbed hold of her arm.

“Leave her be,” Lana said firmly, “I don’t think she’ll be comfortable with speaking to either of us right now.”

“But Agamemnon and Lina are using her!” The doppelgänger let out in exasperation, “I need to warn her! I can’t let Agamemnon get his way…!”

“And what makes you think she’ll listen to either of us?!” Lana demanded coldly, “We’ve hurt her in ways that we simply can’t undo. She’ll never listen to a word we say.”

The doppelgänger just tore her arm out of Lana’s grip. “I have to try… I have to do something to make up for my past mistakes!”

And without another word, she bolted off down the hallway.

She ran through the corridors, in hot pursuit until finally, the Nelly was within her sight once again.

“Nelly!” She called out, desperately reaching out a hand, “Please, just listen to me! Lina and Agamemnon are using you!”

“And why should I listen to you?!” Nelly demanded in a furious rage, turning around to look the doppelgänger in the eye. “I have no way of knowing whether you’re even the real Lana or not, so why should I believe a single word you say?! For all I know, all you’re spewing out are lies!”

“I… I know I’ve spoken lies in the past,” the doppelgänger admitted shamefully, stepping back a little in reaction to Nelly’s anger with her, “Lots of lies. But I swear, Nelly, I’m telling you the truth this time!”

Nelly just scoffed. “You’re nothing but a fucking liar. I’d trust Lina above you any day.”

And before the doppelgänger could get in another word, Nelly turned away and stormed off.

Not long after, Lana caught up to her.

“The doppelgänger let out a sigh. “You were right, Lana. She won’t listen to me. But she’s in so much danger, and I don’t want Agamemnon to get his way…”

Lana shook her head. “Me neither… but we’re not the ones who will be able to convince her. She’s on decent terms with Julie, though, so maybe we could see about having Julie speak with her. But for now, I think it’s best to head home and get some rest. I’m sure neither of us are in any state of mind to do anything about it right now.”

As much as the doppelgänger wished she could find Nelly again and keep trying to hammer the truth into that girl’s skull, she knew she had to take care of herself first. After all, she hadn’t slept in days; she needed to get some rest before she could even begin to think about changing Nelly’s mind about Lina.

Her concerns had to wait until she got some actual sleep.

*****

Following Lana across the campus back to the car, the doppelgänger listened to the sounds of bird songs all around. In particular, she could hear some mourning doves off in the distance, letting out their chirps and coos that reminded the doppelgänger of Lana’s memories back on her family’s farm.

The doppelgänger had always loved the sound of mourning doves. They sounded so pure, so innocent… all the things she wished could be.

Whenever she saw those birds flying past, wings glistening against sunlit sky, part of her longed to sprout wings and fly free, just like them.

She’d just always felt connected to doves. Hell, she’d even chosen the title of “Duva”, Swedish for dove, as her rank in Saudade.

It was a title that just felt right for her… one that matched who she was as a person.

“Dove…” the doppelgänger whispered to herself.

“Huh?” Lana asked, caught off guard.

“I think that’s what I’ll call myself from now on,” the doppelgänger explained, “Dove. I think the name fits me perfectly.

Lana smiled sweetly. “I think so too, Dove…”

*****

The whole car ride with Audrey was pretty silent at first. It just felt awkward, as Nelly had no clue where to even begin with Audrey after all these months of being apart.

The whole time, Nelly kept thinking back to the sight of those two Lanas. She had no clue which one was real and which one was merely a doppelgänger. Hell, who was to say that either of them was real?

But regardless, she hated them both with a burning passion. Lana and all her doppelgängers were all exactly the same: heartless monsters who deserved not even a drop of empathy. Honestly, if shey could, Nelly would stab all of them to death with her own two hands.

At long last, around halfway through the car ride, Audrey spoke up.

“So uh… how’s your life been?” She asked curiously.

“It’s been… fine,” Nelly admitted, leaning against the car window, “I mean, being locked in a cage for months wasn’t exactly fun. But ever since I got let out, things haven’t been to bad.”

She glanced over at Audrey. Even though Audrey’s eyes were on the road, Nelly could see the clear somber look in the girl’s eyes.

“I’m sorry I didn’t do anything…” Audrey said slwoly, “I would’ve helped, but I was just so scared…”

Nelly had heard that Audrey had tried speaking out against Lana a couple of times, but her efforts never really amounted to anything. It was clear that Audrey was afraid to do anything too drastic.

Even though Nelly felt a little hurt that Audrey hadn’t saved her… she kind of understood Audrey’s hesitation. After all, Nelly had been a target for Lana since the very start. So she knew that Audrey, being related to her, could easily become a target next.

“You were afraid of Lana, weren’t you…?” Nelly asked.

Audrey nodded. “She would always threaten me, warning me that there would be consequences if I ended up like you…”

Nelly felt horrible that her own sister had to be out through so much torment, simply because she was related to her…

Lana was seriously a goddamn monster if she truly thought this was okay.

“I’m sorry…” Nelly whispered.

“Oh, don’t worry about it, sis,” Audrey assured her, “It’s not like any of it was your fault.”

Even though Nelly knew that nothing was her fault, she felt guilty regardless, simply for being involved at all.

God, how she wished she never joined that stupid cult Lana had made. How she wished she’d lived out a normal life instead of getting involved in this whole mess!

“What about now…?” Nelly asked slowly, “Do you still keep in contact with Lana?”

“No,” Audrey said, “She cut contact with all of us back in October, and no one in the Herd has heard from her since. After that point, we all kinda just went our separate ways. We all went back to our normal lives.”

“Do you know what happened to Jasmine and Kayden?”

Audrey just shrugged. “Not really. To be honest, I don’t really care that much about their whereabouts. I’m pretty sure they lowkey didn’t like me all that much anyways.”

Nelly giggled to herself. “I’m sure they’d much rather get freaky in Jasmine’s room than attend any of the questionnaires.”

Audrey rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I don’t even want to know what was going on in Jasmine’s room at night.”

“Honestly, I never really liked them,” Nelly admitted, crossing her arms, “Especially Jasmine.” Nelly recalled how Jasmine used to make fun of her, right alongside Lana. Jasmine would constantly insult and belittle Nelly in the hopes that she’d somehow please Lana.

Honestly, Nelly couldn’t understand why Jasmine was always so desperate for Lana’s attention. It was honestly a little pathetic seeing that girl suck up to Lana every second she could when Lana couldn’t have given two shits about her well-being. It boggled Nelly’s mind how anyone could possibly want to be liked by that bitch.

“You know, Nelly,” Audrey said slowly, “I missed you…”

“I missed you too, Audrey,” Nelly replied. “It’s nice seeing you again.”

Even though, sure, Nelly found Audrey a little annoying someday, Audrey was her annoying sister. Even though they never got along perfectly, at the end of the day, they were family.

She cared about Audrey, more than Lana and Agamemnon and the rest of the Herd ever could.

Eventually, they reached the street that Lina and Nelly’s apartment was located on.

“Where should I park?” Asked Audrey.

“Anywhere is fine,” Nelly said, “Just don’t crash into any cars while you’re trying to park.”

Audrey scoffed. “Now why would I do that?”

“Don’t forget about the time you hit mom and dad’s car pulling out of the driveway that one time.”

“That was years ago, Nelly! I’m not stupid enough to do that again.”

“Sure. Whatever you say.”

Audrey seemed a little annoyed, but didn’t say anything as she pulled the car into a spot.

As soon as Audrey put to car into park, Nelly let out a dramatic sigh of relief. “Thank God you didn’t hit anything.”

“Shut up! My driving’s perfectly fine.”

Nelly opened the door and stepped out. “Anyways, thank you for the ride, sis. Even if your driving is a little scary. Hopefully we can see each other again soon!”

“Don’t forget to introduce me to your girlfriend next time!” Audrey called out.

“She’s not my girlfriend!” Nelly barked back as she slammed the door shut.

Once Audrey pulled away, Nelly headed over the the door. She was honestly just relieved that Audrey didn’t want her dead after the whole situation with the Herd.

*****

Lina trudged into the apartment, exhausted. Her shift had been turturously long today, made worse by all the rude customers she’d been forced to deal with.

She honestly hated working in that stupid coffee shop. Honestly, if she’d just sacrificed Lana’s soul as planned, then maybe she’d still have a job as the nail tech at that salon and she wouldn’t have to be busting her ass for minimum wage.

But oh well; whatever kept food on the table and a roof over her head.

Nelly sat at the table, eating some food. As soon as Lina got near, Nelly looked up, smiling sweetly at her.

“Oh, hey, Lina,” said Nelly, “You’re back.”

“I’m guessing you got a ride home?” Asked Lina.

Nelly nodded. “My sister drove me back. Her driving does lowkey scare me, but I’ll take that over sitting in that stupid college library for hours on end.”

“Oh, speaking of which, how’d the college orientation go?” Asked Lina.

Nelly just let out a sigh. “Nothing’s working, Lina. Julie’s so in love with Lana that nothing I say will change her mind.”

Lina just rolled her eyes. “Seriously? Why does that stupid little nurse gotta be so stubborn?”

Nelly shook her head. “I have no clue. We honestly need to step up our game if we want any hope of making any progress. We need to find a way to make far more personal attacks.”

“Oh, trust me, I already have some ideas,” Lina assured her with a wicked little smile.

Even though Lina was a little upset that things were still going painfully slowly, in a way, she almost didn’t mind. After all, it meant more time to hang out with Nelly.

Honestly, she quite enjoyed having Nelly by her side. Nelly was genuinely an amazing person to be around. Being with Nelly made her happy in a way she’d felt with no other person…

“Oh, also,” Nelly added, “I saw something strange today.”

“Which is?” Lina questioned.

“Well, when I was gonna use the bathroom before my sister picked me up,” Nelly explained slowly, “I saw not one, but two Lanas in the hallway. One was the one we’ve been targeting, but the other… she looked exactly like the one that had been responsible for all my friend’s deaths.”

Lina imemdiately got hit with a feeling of dread. “Oh?”

Nelly’s face darkened as she added. “I have no clue myself which one is even real anymore… so I wanted to ask: do you know which is real?“

Luna was silent for a long period of time. She could feel her heart beat rapidly in her chest.

She had to ensure that Nelly believed that the doppelgänger who’d destroyed her life was the real one. She had to keep Nelly oblivious to the truth!

But quickly, Nelly added, “It’s not like I care which is real anyways. I mean, all of them are practically the same anyways. I’m just curious.”

Lina felt instant relief wash over her. If Nelly truly didn’t care whether it was the real Lana or a doppelgänger who was responsible for all her suffering, then Lina had nothing to worry about.

“Well, if you wanna know,” said Lina, “The Lana that was in charge of Saudade was a doppelgänger. The real one is the one who works in the salon, who we’ve been targeting.”

Lina would’ve lied to Nelly that the doppelgänger was the real one. But she ultimately decided not to dig herself into a hole she couldn’t get out of. Besides, Nelly deserved to know the truth.

“I had a feeling,” Nelly muttered, “It’s just nice to have my suspicions confirmed.

“I know we haven’t been focusing on targeting the one that hurt you,” Lina went on, “But now that you know that she and the real Lana are seperate people, maybe we could go against them both.”

Nelly put on a mischievous grin. “I’d be down for that!”

Lina smiled deviously. “Oh, and do I have some plans…”

“And I can’t wait to hear all about them Nelly added, getting up and giving Lina a little hug. “I hope that whatever you have in store will make Lana and that doppelgänger suffer…”

Feeling Nelly’s arms around her, Lina couldn’t help but blush a little. For some reason, the feeling of Nelly’s skin against her own just felt so… right, somehow. She loved the feeling, and part of her wanted the short embrace to last forever.

But she quickly pulled away; she had to remind herself that she was only using Nelly for her own purposes. Nothing more.

And as soon as Nelly’s use was done with, she had to discard of the girl.

But at least, for now, she was enjoying Nelly’s company while it lasted.