by Jo Ho
Cassie shrugged her small shoulders, letting her know it was water off a duck’s back. Across the room, Tyler took in their things, specifically Cassie’s make up area.
“I can’t believe how professional this all looks.” Tyler picked up a small tube of something, waving it around. “Like, what exactly is this for?”
“Contouring,” Cassie replied, but when Tyler looked confused, she took the tube from her. Twisting the lid, she squeezed a blob of skin colored cream onto the back of her hand and dabbed it onto Tyler’s forehead, nose and cheeks, leaving white streaks in those areas.
“I don’t think it’s the right color for me,” Tyler began hesitantly but Cassie made a shushing noise. In her zone now, she quickly and adeptly smoothed out the color with a sponge, working away at Tyler’s face until her cheekbones became more prominent and her nose, slimmer, all while looking seemingly natural.
“That’s amazing! You really know what you’re doing,” Marley said in admiration. “Do me next!”
Giggling, Cassie started on Marley. She dabbed foundation over her face, then brushed her eyelids with a bronze powder that emphasized the uniqueness of Marley’s eyes. She worked over their faces with all the tricks on her table until all three were fully made up and looking fantastic.
Cassie glanced at her watch. “It’s almost seven, the party should be starting soon. We should get going.”
“Let me get changed, I’ll be right back,” Tyler said, heading to her room.
“I’ve gotta freshen up, but we can head out when Tyler gets back,” Marley said, disappearing into their adjoining bathroom.
Alone for a moment, Cassie started tidying up her makeup but her eyes strayed to Marley’s bed… and her pillow.
Shooting a quick look at the closed bathroom door, Cassie darted over to Marley’s side of the room. Slipping her hands under Marley’s pillow, her fingers scrabbled around until they found what they were looking for. She knew she had seen Marley trying to hide this very thing when she had come into the room! Picking up the medicine bottle, Cassie read Marley’s name on the label. Turning the bottle, she came to the name of the meds.
Thorazine.
Inside the bathroom, the toilet flushed followed by the sound of running water as Marley washed her hands. Hurriedly, Cassie shoved the bottle back under the pillow and ran back to her side of the room as Marley emerged.
“You ready to go?” Marley asked.
“One sec. I’ll meet you in Tyler’s room in a bit,” Cassie replied a little breathlessly, hoping that Marley would take the bait.
“Sure,” Marley said as she left the room. As soon as she was gone, Cassie took out her phone and Googled Thorazine. Hundreds of hits flooded the screen but Cassie clicked on the first, the Wikipedia entry.
Within moments, she found the answer to her question.
Eyes wide with shock, Cassie glanced across the hallway, to Tyler’s room where Marley stood, admiring Tyler in her new dress as if nothing was wrong.
Although Thorazine could be prescribed for nausea and vomiting, in this dosage it was usually used as a treatment for schizophrenia.
Cassie swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry.
Not only was Marley mentally ill, but she was hiding it from them.
Chapter 14
Heavy rain blanketed the streets, but it wasn’t enough to stop Marley and the girls from attending their first college party.
They looked good, and they were ready for fun. Even Tyler had warmed to the idea of a night free from complications or worry. Tomorrow, she would figure out what she needed to do for cash, but tonight she would enjoy student life and be with her new friends.
Darting into the bar to escape the rain, the girls were instantly swallowed up by the crowd. The music was thumping and loud enough that it made conversation difficult — which wasn’t a bad thing in Marley’s mind.
She wasn’t sure what had happened, but the walk here had been a little weird. She kept catching Cassie sneaking looks at her, but whenever she asked what was up, Cassie just replied that nothing was wrong. And Tyler? She was acting as if she was present but it seemed like her mind was someplace else.
Thinking that Cassie might still be holding a grudge for what happened earlier, Marley decided it was time to make up for it. Gesturing “drink,” she pushed her way to the bar but the busy bartender didn’t even look her way.
“You’ve got to be a lot more aggressive than that if you want her attention.”
Marley turned to see who had spoken to her and found herself standing next to a guy. He was good-looking… if you liked the smug type. He wore the jersey of BU’s football team and had the kind of physique that spoke of regular workouts. Marley was sure that many girls fell for him. There was something about the arrogant sneer of his lips, the puffed up way he stood that put her on edge.
“Oh yeah?” she replied, enough to be polite but not really trying to engage.
“Yeah. She’s harder on the girls, but has a liking for studly guys, if you know what I mean,” he said, winking at her.
Marley cringed inwardly. Did he really think this would work on her? He waved at the bartender who immediately came over, so apparently, this act did work on some.
“What can I get you?” the bartender asked, somewhat breathlessly. Marley hoped it wasn’t for this idiot’s benefit. The jock — as Marley knew he was — looked at her, eyebrow raised in question.
“Three cokes, please,” Marley answered.
“Three cokes,” he repeated loudly. Moments later the drinks were set on the counter but as Marley went to pay, the jock stopped her.
“Let me,” he said cheerfully. Marley didn’t want to accept his offer, but then again, she didn’t know how to turn him down without sounding rude. It was one of life’s big puzzles. She grabbed the drinks.
“Thanks,” she said as she started heading back to the girls. Unfortunately, the jock followed.
“I’m Trip,” he said, shouting above the music to be heard. “Trip Rockwell.”
“Marley,” Marley replied, hoping somehow that maybe she would lose him on the way back to the girls. No such luck, however, as he followed closely behind. When she arrived back, she found Cassie standing awkwardly alone. Handing her a drink, she asked, “Where’s Tyler?”
Cassie pointed a little distance away to where Tyler stood chatting with an older guy. “I think he’s the host of this party.” Suddenly, Cassie’s eyes went wide as she looked over Marley’s shoulder, then her cheeks starting flushing bright red. It took a moment before Marley realized that the blush was Cassie’s reaction to seeing Trip. Was there something in the water? What could they all see that she couldn’t?
“Trip, this is Cassie. Cassie, Trip paid for our drinks just now.”
Cassie took hers from Marley as if she were handing her something of major value.
“Thanks…” Cassie managed to stammer back. Trip took one look at Cassie then turned his back on her, focusing on Marley again. Marley caught the move and frowned, not liking his rudeness, but Cassie seemed to take it in her stride. At least, that’s what Marley hoped. She for sure didn’t need any more reasons for Cassie to have a problem with her.
“So… cool party huh?” Cassie said, trying to engage Trip in conversation. Apparently, she hadn’t gotten the memo that he didn’t want to speak with her.
“It’s lame, but it beats being back at the dorm,” he replied still looking at Marley. Marley fidgeted on her feet, beginning to feel uncomfortable by both his interest in her and his treatment of Cassie.
“Which dorm are you in?” Cassie asked innocently.
Trip finally turned to her and looked her straight in the eyes.
“Why, thinking of stalking me?”
“No…” Cassie stammered, mortified. “I was just making conversation.”
He gave her a look as if she was something nasty stuck to the bottom of his shoe and fixed his attention back on Marley.
“Well, now that you have your refreshm
ents, do you want to dance?” he asked hopefully.
“I don’t dance,” Marley replied. “But maybe Cassie would like to?” She meant it to be kind as Cassie obviously had a bit of a thing for him but Cassie’s eyes went even wider than they already were if that was possible. She started shaking her head wildly from side to side, gesturing that she didn’t know how to dance.
She didn’t need to worry, however, as Trip’s smile froze. He stared into the crowd, fixing on something across the room. “You know what? I actually see my buddy over there that I need to say hi to. Next time maybe.”
Without waiting for a response, he left quickly leaving Cassie embarrassed and Marley fuming inwardly. She looked at Cassie, not knowing what to say. No matter how she tried to be nice to her, it just kept backfiring.
“It’s OK,” Cassie said finally, lowering her eyes to a point on the floor. “I’m used to it.”
With those four simple words, Marley suddenly understood how Cassie’s life might have been in the shadow of her parents, two physically blessed people. It hit her how cruel the world was to those who weren’t considered “good-looking.” She wanted to break the ice that had suddenly descended on the room, but she didn’t know what to say. She was finally saved by Tyler gesturing at them.
“Oh hey, Tyler’s calling us over.”
Marley lead the way through the dance crowd as Cassie followed close behind, trying not to spill her drink. As they reached Tyler, the cute guy she was talking to smiled at Marley.
“Hey, I’m Josh. Welcome to my party.”
Marley smiled back. “What’s the occasion?”
Josh grinned. “I’m free and single and ready to mingle?”
Cassie laughed loudly — a little too loudly — causing several raised eyebrows to look her way. It probably wouldn’t have drawn too much attention to her but then she snorted. Embarrassed, she slapped a hand over her mouth but the damage had been done. Someone in the surrounding group snickered.
“Who invited Miss Piggy?”
“Miss Desperate, more like,” came the answer from another faceless body in the crowd. “You see that dress?”
Looking mortified, Cassie visibly shrank in front of their eyes. Already feeling bad for her after Trip’s behavior, Marley couldn’t believe these people were attacking her friend. They didn’t even know her! She spun around, eyes blazing, ready to take on whoever had spoken but only blank faces stared back at her. She wasn’t able to locate the owner of the insults.
Tyler too had overheard the comments and was searching for the culprits herself. When she couldn’t place them, she met Marley’s eyes with a rage of her own. Josh, meanwhile, acted as if he hadn’t heard anything wrong.
“So which of you two ladies wants to be my date for the night?” He stressed the word “two,” glancing between Tyler and Marley.
Feeling like she wanted to die, Cassie started backing away from them, knowing that she wasn’t included in the invitation, but someone grabbed hold of her waist, stopping her from leaving.
“Hey, where are you going? Someone around here must be drunk enough to get with you.”
Cassie shook him off and managed to free herself from the guy — a pimply faced teenager. She didn’t know if it was her first night away from home that made her brave, or that it was the last in the long line of insults, but she suddenly knew she didn’t have to take this from him.
“Shame the same can’t be said for you,” she snapped into his face.
Not expecting any retaliation, he turned red with anger and shoved her — hard. Cassie went flying through the crowd and hit the floor. The music stopped as Josh signaled the DJ and there were suddenly a million pairs of eyes staring at her. Her heart racing in her chest, Cassie slowly pushed herself up from the floor, blinded by the blinking lights that dazzled her eyes. Confused, she couldn’t understand what all the lights were. As she waited for her eyes to right themselves, she heard the snickering first.
Without the music playing, she couldn’t not hear them.
Finally, her eyes readjusted only for Cassie to realize that the lights came from the many phones that were pointed her way, as people recorded her humiliation for the world to see.
Horrified, she couldn’t stop the sob from bursting out. Once that started, the tears followed. Staggering up to her feet, Cassie ran blindly towards the exit even as the crowd laughed at her misfortune. She pushed through people openly taunting her, the only thing on her mind was to get out of this hell hole as fast as she could. She thought she heard someone calling out her name. Cassie couldn’t stop now, she had to get away.
Reaching the door, she flung it open and crashed through into the dark square outside. The neon lights of the bar flashed at her, illuminating its name Tonic, but Cassie didn’t care if she never came here again. Crying, she wanted nothing more than to be back in the safety of her dorm, but stupidly she realized she didn’t know the way.
She almost laughed at how pathetic she was.
Gulping down her sobs, she saw a light in the church across from her and made a beeline for it. At least it would be warm in there.
And empty.
She hurried across Copley Square…
Flipping up her collar to protect her neck from the sudden cold, Eve walked quickly towards home.
Si would be at work by now so she wouldn’t have to avoid going home any longer, which was just as well. Those chairs in the library weren’t the most comfortable things in the world. She was dying for a burger, maybe some fries. Since it seemed like she was going whole hog, she might as well throw in a shake. She was one of those lucky girls who could eat whatever she wanted and never gain a pound. It was something that Si had always been jealous of — he had to work out constantly to look as good as he did. But Eve, on a good day she could give Beyonce a run for her money.
Her stomach rumbled, signaling that it had been too long since she’d last eaten so she picked up the pace. Reaching a road sign, Eve froze when she read the name.
Copley Square.
Taking in her surroundings, Eve suddenly stopped, recognizing the area from a news show she’d watched earlier over breakfast.
This was where the female student had been killed.
She stared at the ground in front of the black building twisting up against the night sky. Nothing was there now. Eve still felt a shiver of fear run down her spine, thinking of the poor girl who had been murdered and left there. All that remained of the crime scene now was some yellow plastic tape.
What were her last thoughts as her neck was being snapped?
Eve wasn’t able to stop the morbid question from entering her mind.
She was jolted out of her thoughts by a desperate shout that came from across the square.
“Cassie! Come back!” someone shouted.
Eve looked ahead to see Marley and… wait, was that her would-be roommate? They were chasing after another girl, who looked distressed. The girl was sobbing as she ran into Trinity Church, the other two following close behind. They were only a few feet from her as they disappeared into the building. As Eve was heading that way herself, she reached the church doors and couldn’t stop herself from peeking inside curiously.
What she saw made her stifle a scream.
Chapter 15
Hoping that there wasn’t a service being held, Marley crashed into the church, Tyler hot on her heels. There wasn’t, but what was inside, what they saw and did next…
Would change their lives forever.
Cassie stood a few feet ahead of them, a look of utter horror on her face, her own issues immediately forgotten as she watched two guys viciously fighting in front of the altar.
One of the guys, the blond, the taller of the two pummeled the short dark haired guy with punches that had Marley wincing. The smaller guy fought back, but he wasn’t as physically strong as his attacker. As if he knew this, the blond picked up the other guy and threw him into the altar.
Candles tumbled down, flying across the floor a
s the cross which sat on top of the altar rocked unsteadily before crashing to the ground, shattering into several pieces.
Marley caught a glimpse of another figure running in behind them. There was something familiar about the big curls and the heavily made-up face. Through the shock and fear, it sank in that it was Eve from the library, but her attention was drawn back to the fight, as the blond leapt onto his victim. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out an antique-looking knife.
The edge caught the bright flame of a candle, glinting wickedly in the light. The world slowed to a crawl as all four girls realized what he intended to do with it.
“That must be the killer, the one who murdered the student the other night!” Tyler gasped.
“How do you know?” Cassie asked, fear making her breath come in short bursts.
“We don’t have time to discuss this, he’s going to kill that guy if we don’t do something about it!” Marley said urgently.
Knowing that she was right, the girls swallowed their fear rushing forward to stop him from killing another person.
“NO!” Eve yelled.
“Get off him!” Marley screamed.
Suddenly the air around them changed, humming with a strange electricity.
Marley felt her hair become light and float around her as if it were being suspended in water. She could see it was the same for the other girls: they each wore identical expressions of shock and confusion on their faces.
Unsure of what was happening, Marley forgot about the men for a moment as she felt her body resonate with an answering vibration that she could feel deep within her bones. Suddenly, a halo of light surrounded the girls, growing bigger until it engulfed the room, blinding everyone inside.
Almost like a nuclear bomb, it exploded outwards blowing away a chunk of the roof.
Stunned, everyone stopped.
The only movement came from the bits of rubble from the explosion that fell down. The rain was now pouring in through the hole in the roof.