What Doesn't Kill You (Twisted Book 1)

by Jo Ho

  The girls sat at a booth near the busy counter where they could catch all the action as they pored over the varied menu. Sia’s latest track played on the radio as hectic servers raced around, trying to keep up with demand. Apparently, they weren’t the only students who had decided to give this place a try.

  “God, there are so many, how am I going to decide?” Marley exclaimed, overwhelmed by the selection. It seemed as though there were hundreds of drinks to choose from. Tyler didn’t seem to have the same problem. Her eyes skimmed over the menu fast as lightning, quickly deciding on her choice.

  “I’ll just have a carrot juice.”

  “Really? Don't you want a Colada Surprise or Passion Friday? They sound amazing.” Marley asked, surprised by the boring choice.

  Tyler shrugged. “It feels wrong to pay almost ten bucks for juice, not when I can cook a whole meal for the same price.”

  “Firstly, you cook? I’ve been known to even burn toast. Second, well, yes, sure, but as a once in a while treat…” Marley suddenly felt a bit of a heel for not even looking at the prices. Though she didn’t consider herself rich, she and her dad had never really struggled either, not to the point where she couldn’t get a drink without checking out the price first.

  “That’s OK, I can get it,” Cassie piped up suddenly. There had barely been a squeak out of her on the walk over, so Marley had almost forgotten she was there, and she felt immediately bad about that.

  “I’m fine with carrot..." Tyler began but Cassie cut her off.

  “Please. It’s a treat, for my new friends.” As if to prove she meant it, Cassie took out a fifty dollar bill from her purse. Tyler gaped at it.

  “Do you always carry such large bills?”

  “Not always,” Cassie replied but Tyler didn’t know whether to believe her or not. As Cassie had taken out the money, Tyler was sure she had seen more fifties in there and had found herself instantly hit by a wave of jealousy. If she had that kind of money, she’d hire the best lawyer in town and get Ally back in no time.

  Thinking of her sister, Tyler took out her cell and sent her a quick message. Hey Bug, I’m sitting in a hipster juice bar, thinking of you. What’re you up to? And have you decided what you want for your birthday yet? xoxo

  “So, what are you having?” Cassie prompted.

  “Sorry, I was just sending a message to my little sister,” Tyler said. “I guess I’ll have the colada drink then, thank you.”

  “Marley?” Cassie asked, with more excitement than Marley had seen in her since they’d met. Funny how buying them drinks could make her feel like that.

  “Same,” Marley said. “I love coconut anything.”

  Cassie smiled and took off to the drinks counter.

  “How old is your sister?” Marley asked.

  “She’s turning ten next week. Still hasn’t made up her mind about what she wants for her birthday though,” Tyler smiled.

  “I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to have a sister. I’m an only child,” Marley explained.

  “I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m super close to mine. Especially since our parents died recently,” Tyler wasn’t sure why she brought that up but there was something about Marley that made her feel that she would understand. There was just something about her manner.

  “Oh wow, I’m so sorry. What happened?”

  “It was a car crash,” Tyler answered in a monotone. She found that even after six months of saying it, it only became easier if she said the words but tried not to feel them.

  “Who has your sister now?” Marley asked, hoping she wasn’t intruding too much.

  “Foster mom. She’s a tool,” Tyler said suddenly, gritting her teeth. “I don’t know how she still has a license to foster any kid, she’s totally unfit for the job. I have plans to get Ally back, to become her legal guardian but I’ll need good grades and a steady income to do it.”

  “But if she’s that bad, why hasn’t her license been taken away from her?” Marley asked.

  Tyler shrugged. “Red tape? One troubled kid’s word against another? Maybe there aren’t enough foster parents to go around so they can’t be too choosy about who they accept, who knows?”

  “You don’t have any other family who could take her?” Marley couldn’t fathom what it must be like to be ripped away from those you loved, only to be living under the roof of someone negligent — or worse — abusive.

  “No. My grandma’s in care for Alzheimer’s and my only aunt lives in Holland. She’s a kind of free spirit. She doesn’t work, and moves around, living with whoever her latest boyfriend is. My mom said she was irresponsible and didn’t get on with her. I haven’t seen her for years.”

  Marley was rocked by what Tyler was revealing. Not only had she lost her parents, but she had so much more to deal with than the average student, she made her own issues seem tame by comparison.

  “Well, if I can ever help with anything, let me know,” Marley finished, hoping they didn’t sound like empty words. She meant them. The pain that seeped out from Tyler was palpable.

  A beep sounded on Tyler’s phone making it vibrate on the table. It was a reply from Ally. She picked up the phone and read the message.

  You said you hated hipsters! Not doing much today, had my dialysis earlier so doing homework now. Heepie Jeebie’s at the hairdressers. And I think I want that bag I told you about, the one shaped like a ladybug! Is it next week yet? Why is it so far awayyyyyyyyyyy? xoxoxo

  Heepie Jeebie’s was the nickname Ally had given to her foster mom, Cheryl Heep. The two thought it suited her brilliantly.

  “Here they are!” Cassie said suddenly, back with their drinks — and a whole lot more. The tray she carried contained a mound of brownies and cookies. “I wasn’t sure what you guys liked, so I got some of everything.” She handed out the drinks with gusto as Tyler tried not to gasp at the total on the receipt. Cheap, this place was not.

  “So, I heard of a private party happening tonight. This cute guy over by the counter was handing out flyers. He even gave me one. It’s at a bar! We should check it out,” Cassie said happily.

  “We’re not exactly legal yet,” Tyler began, but Cassie shrugged off her hesitation with a wave of her hand.

  “The host has hired the place out and they’re not serving alcohol so it’s all fine.”

  “Then sure I guess,” Marley responded. Tyler looked as if she didn’t want to go but Marley gave her an encouraging look.

  “Might help to take your mind off things,” she said simply. Appreciating her discretion, Tyler nodded.

  “OK, sure. I’m in.”

  Smiling, Marley took a sip of her drink and leaned back happily.

  “This is so good. Thanks, Cass.”

  Sunlight filtered in through the large trees dotted around the common. Enjoying her drink, Marley watched the leaves swaying in the breeze and the shadows dancing in the light. They moved in such a way that they seemed to form the figure of a woman. As Marley watched, the outline became clearer until it was a woman she was looking at. She wore an old-fashioned dress but there was something large wrapped around her neck that she couldn’t make out. Squinting her eyes, Marley stared through the black shadows that seemed to have suddenly appeared. When it finally sank in what it was she was looking at, she gasped.

  The thing around her neck was a noose, and the woman was hanging from a giant elm tree.

  The surrounding air seemed to change. Marley could feel her hair turn static. All sound faded until the creak of the noose swinging in the breeze took over everything else. It was so loud, that it could have been right next to her.

  Then the dead woman started to move.

  Her head lifted from her chest as her dark eyes pinned themselves onto Marley. Slowly, her right arm began to rise until she pointed a finger at Marley.

  And then she screamed.

  An awful, piercing sound that made Marley jump and lose her grip on her smoothie, though the rest of the world couldn’t hear it.
This horror was for Marley’s ears only.

  The smoothie hit the table, spilling its contents over the food and all over Cassie’s pretty dress. As her glass landed on the table and rolled off the edge, all sound came crashing back to her. The chatter of the juice bar, the glass as it bumped a table leg before finally stopping, and Cassie’s shocked gasp.

  Marley jumped up, feeling awful.

  “I’m so sorry!” she said as she scrambled for napkins to help Cassie. Seeing the large wet stain soak into her dress, Cassie uttered a cry of dismay before tearing off towards the restroom, leaving Tyler staring at Marley while faces turned to watch them, wondering at the sudden commotion.

  “What the hell happened?” Tyler asked.

  “I thought I saw something… it doesn’t matter.”

  “It looked like you did that on purpose,” Tyler said uneasily, staring at her with that uncomfortable expression Marley knew only too well.

  “Did what, throw the drink on Cassie? No, that’s not what happened…” Marley wanted to explain, but how could she? How could she tell her what she had just seen without Tyler thinking she was crazy as well?

  Tyler seemed to stare at her for an indeterminate age before she finally spoke again.

  “You clear up here, I’ll see if I can help her,” Tyler said, hurrying off after Cassie.

  Alone, Marley waited until Tyler had disappeared out of sight before quickly diving under the table to find her bag. Fishing out one of the medical vials she had hidden under her bed, Marley popped a pill and swallowed it quickly, stealing another glance at the elm tree.

  But the hanging woman had vanished.

  Chapter 10

  With Tyler and Cassie ensconced in the restroom, Marley made a quick call. Her dad picked up after only two rings.

  “Missing me already?” His familiar voice broke through the panicked haze Marley found herself feeling again.

  “Dad… I… I just saw something.”

  They had been through this enough times that he didn’t need any clarification on what she meant. She heard his intake of breath followed by a silence as her words sank in. When he spoke again, his voice was warm and calming which wasn’t that surprising — he’d had years of dealing with her particular problem after all.

  “Did you forget to take your meds?”

  “I don’t think so. I took one just now though, just in case,” Marley answered, keeping her eyes fixed in the direction of the restroom.

  This was a conversation she did not want the others to hear.

  “What did you see?”

  “A woman. She was dressed in old clothing, like something from the 1600s… and she was hanging from a tree in the common.” Even as she spoke the words, the horrific image flashed up again in her mind sending a chill down her spine. She shook herself mentally, to clear it away.

  “That’s new. Usually, it’s regular people you see.”

  “Well, that’s just great, the hallucinations have upgraded,” Marley said.

  “It’s probably the stress of this all. Not only are you starting a new school, but you’ll be living away from home for the first time, and now you’ll be sharing a room. It’s a lot, but Dr. Ellis and I wouldn’t have approved this if we didn’t think you could handle it.”

  Marley frowned, not expecting this from him.

  “Wait, you’re the guy who kept telling me not to move out.”

  “Because I didn’t want you to. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think you can handle it. You’ve been through so much already, this is just first day jitters. Just remember to take your pills, and I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

  Marley knew he was right, just like she knew what she saw wasn’t real but a figment of her condition. Although knowing it and feeling it were different matters entirely.

  She first started having her “episodes” a little after her mom had left. She would hear and see things in the night that had her screaming for her mom, but she never came. Lisa was long gone.

  At first, they thought she was just acting up, but it wasn’t until Paul found her hiding under her bed because the boy who lived in her closet kept pulling her blanket off her when she slept, that Paul realized his daughter needed professional help.

  Throughout her childhood, Marley had endured test after test, but they were all inconclusive. Reluctant to drug his young daughter, Paul had opted for the holistic route. They had tried aromatherapy, and meditation, while Paul prayed every night for God to help his daughter. And it seemed for a while that he had heard them as Marley’s hallucinations disappeared.

  Until one day, at school, Marley found herself crushing on a fellow student called Jeffery.

  They talked regularly, but he never seemed to want to take things further. Marley didn’t have his number or know where he lived. Their sole relationship consisted of them bumping into each other at school and talking, until finally one day, Marley confronted him, demanding to know whether he liked her or not. He admitted he did, that he felt the same way as her, so Marley told him they should make an actual date outside of school.

  On the day of the date — which would be Marley’s first date with a boy — with equal parts nerves and excitement, Marley had ended up spending four hours getting herself ready. When she turned up at the Dairy Queen, however, Jeffery never showed, and he never called to explain why. Crushed, Marley went home and stayed in her room all weekend, pretending to be sick so Paul wouldn’t bother her. When Monday came around, and Paul wouldn’t allow her to stay home from school, she eventually found Jeffery in the cafeteria and yelled at him in front of the whole school. How could he do that to her? How could he stand her up?

  Which is when Jeffery had vanished right before her eyes.

  One minute he was there, and the next, it was just her, standing in front of the rest of the school, as her classmates and teachers watched her screaming at thin air in astonishment.

  After that incident, Marley was dubbed psycho girl. The new school pariah, one by one, her friends dumped her, not wanting to be associated with her. Her reputation ruined, Marley pleaded with Paul for help. It took many sessions of therapy and tests, but eventually, a diagnosis was reached. As long as Marley took her meds, she could live a fairly normal life — at least, that is what she was told.

  Whether that was true, remained to be seen.

  “You know, instead of hiding your condition, maybe if you at least told your roommate, you could get some much-needed support,” Paul’s voice gently intruded into her thoughts.

  “Or she could ruin my life here before it’s even started by telling everyone.”

  “At some point, you’re going to have to trust someone with this Marl,” Paul said.

  “Maybe, but not yet. It’s only my first day. This is my one chance to be normal. I don’t want anyone else to know.”

  “Whatever you decide, honey.”

  From the corner of her eyes, she saw Cassie and Tyler leave the restroom. Having done the best they could, they were returning to the table. Cassie had a huge stain on the front of her dress and she held the wet fabric off of her chest, looking utterly miserable.

  “I’ve gotta go, call you later,” Marley said quickly before hanging up and rushing over to Cassie.

  “Cass, I really am sorry. It was a stupid accident.”

  Cassie looked at her, her eyes bright with humiliated tears. “Is everyone looking?”

  “What? No… no one cares. We can just go back and get you a change of clothes.” Marley started unbuttoning the shirt she wore over a tank top. “Here, you can wear this over your dress for now.”

  But Cassie shook her head. “No. It’ll only get wet too and it’s too long to get back to the dorm… I need a new outfit now,” Cassie said as she reached for her purse.

  “We passed a nice looking shop on the way here, I’ll bet they have something you’ll like inside,” Tyler offered.

  “Let’s go.” For once, Cassie’s voice sounded firm and left no room for disagreement.

>   “I can’t… my dad needs to see me about something,” Marley began, feeling terrible for dumping her friends, especially after what had just happened, but shaken by her hallucination, she didn’t want to be out here anymore.

  “That’s OK, I’ll go with Cassie,” Tyler said.

  “I’ll see you both back at the dorm.” Marley smiled at Cassie but it was barely returned. She watched as the two left before shooting one last look at the elm tree.

  She felt a small wave of relief when she saw that it was still empty.

  Chapter 11

  The library was a historical wonder with its towering stained glass windows and stone columns that had admirers coming from miles around to study in awe — but Eve wasn’t one of them.

  She sat at a desk in the corner with her back to the windows and their amazing rainbow colored views, two of her laptops running.

  Needing to regroup, she played World of Warcraft on one laptop, while she worked on her own game, a puzzler that relied on the laws of gravity and physics, on the other. Her hope was to finish it before she graduated and upload it to Steam for sale.

  Many other indie game developers had gotten their start to the industry in the same manner, and Eve was determined that it would be the same for her.

  Whenever she was coding or gaming, she was in her happy place. Alone with only her laptops and virtual friends for company, all of whom she didn’t know IRL (In Real Life), she didn’t have to deal with people and their “funny” looks or judgment. Online, she could just be.

  And she’d needed to recover after bumping into those girls.

  They were the reason why with just one look at Tyler, she had known they couldn’t be roommates: Tyler was a rich white girl, just like her ex-friends.

  Yes, she’d only had the one box with her at the time, but the rest were obviously on their way or being shipped from God knows where. She knew it in Tyler’s designer fringe and lowlights, distressed hipster clothing and the latest slimline MacBook that she saw on the bed which Eve could only dream of owning. It had only come off the line earlier in the year and could power several of her RAM busting apps in parallel, but Tyler would never know what it was capable of as Eve knew she would only use it for word processing.