Aaron looked into the mirror. He met his own eyes and stared, trying to remember. But the images that came to him were fuzzy and disturbing. The message written in lipstick on the mirror told him that life as he knew it was over. That which he feared has come to pass. He couldn't deny it anymore; she made sure of that. Letting out a hard breath, he looked at the three words that shattered his world.

"I'm Back Bitch!"

It started as it had before with minor blackouts. There were ten to twenty minutes where he'd lose track of time and couldn't remember how he had gotten to where he was. Aaron had been working hard, hoping to get promoted, so he shrugged it off as being stretched a little too thin. He told himself to get more sleep, and things would be fine. But instead, it got worse.

He'd wake up having weird dreams feeling more tired than when he went to bed. He pushed the truth from his mind foolishly, making believe that it was all related to stress. He couldn't even pick up the phone to call his former psychiatrist because he didn't want it to be true.

Aaron had not had to worry about Beth since high school. A chill ran up his spine as he thought of her and the things she made him do. He played it off with his friends as a practical joke when Beth tried to seduce the captain of the football team. Aaron was there; he could see it happening but couldn't do anything about it. It was like watching a bad movie at a drive-in theater.

The look on Jake's face when he saw his tailback stroll in the room in a long white dress and red high heels was mortifying. Beth had taken the clothes from his mother's closet. She ran her finger down his face and threw her arms around him as she sat on his lap.

"Can I tell you what I want for Christmas, Santa?" she whispered in his ear.

"Umm..." Jake stuttered, "A-a-aron w-w-hat a-a-re y-y-ou d-d-d-oing?"

"I'm trying to give you your Christmas wish."

Beth stood flipping around to face Jake as she straddled him. The perplexed teen was frozen solid as he tried to make head or tails of what his teammate was trying to accomplish. Suddenly his whole body shook as he rose to his feet, shoving Beth across the room.

Hitting the floor, Beth lost control, and Aaron was again in charge. Just two nights before, Aaron had found some weird writing stashed under his bed, a diary that spoke the words of a lonely but determined girl.

He doesn't even know I'm alive. Every time we are near Jake, there is a feeling that surges through my body. A sense that is suppressed and dismissed. Aaron is the only thing standing in the way. If I could have one night free from this cage, I might have a chance to tell Jake how I feel.

Aaron studied the diary he had found under his mattress. He thought that maybe one of his sisters or maybe his brother was trying to pull a fast one, but he found nothing when he pushed them for information. Thinking he'd have a leg up when they tried to collect on the gag, he let it go. Then came the night of the party.

He remembered going up to his room to get ready and looking in the mirror to check his outfit. Then as he smoothed the fabric and styled his hair, he froze. That's when the movie started. He didn't understand why or how, but he found himself in his mother's closet picking out a dress. Then here at the party on the floor with the team surrounding him.

Letting out a forced chuckle, Aaron stood, "you should see the look on your face right now."

"What?" Jake stepped back, running his hands through his thick black hair.

"I got you good," Aaron laughed.

"You asshole!" Jake laughed. "I was like, what the fuck? I thought you'd fucking lost your damn marbles."

The crowd, once silent, howled. Aaron knuckled and high-fived his teammates, forcing a fake smile.

That night when he got home, he sat down to talk to his mother. It wasn't hard to make her believe or understand the situation. He felt it was all too easy, leading him to understand she knew it could happen. That was the night Aaron learned about his father and his seven personalities.

Dr. Huttons began to work with Aaron as he started to lose the battle of control. He was forced to understand Beth and was encouraged to accept her as a part of him. Something he could not do. Something his doctor realized shouldn't be done as he came to know the young woman trapped in Aaron's mind.

Beth was dangerous. The more she came out, the more it became clear of her malicious intent toward the world. And when she tried to kill Aaron's mother, they all knew she needed to be erased.

It took years for Aaron to learn to suppress Beth and her destructive urges. His own body suffered for it as she carved into it, trying to break free. As he graduated his senior year, Aaron had found the control he needed. He thought he was done with her, but now he knew he would never be done. Aaron tried to fight her one last time as he stared again into the eyes in the mirror. However, this time he didn't recognize them because they were hers.

A smile spread across Beth's face as she took control. Taking a deep breath, she stared into the mirror. Wandering into the bedroom, she entered Aaron's wife's closet picking out a long white gown and some red high heels. Working a blonde wig on her head, she headed down to the kitchen as Aaron's wife walked in the front door.

"Honey, I'm home," May shouted, juggling brown paper grocery bags. "Aaron," she stopped entering the kitchen, "what the hell are you wearing?"

"Do you like it?" Beth said, twirling.

Dropping the bags on the counter, May began to unload their contents.

"If we are entering a new kinky phase in our sex life, Aaron, it would be nice to have a heads up," she laughed.

"Yeah," Beth slid a large knife from its wooden block, "we're entering a new phase, alright."

May turned surprised as the knife was plunged into her stomach.

"And the name is Beth."