by Ho, Jo
Tyler gaped at her, reeling. “I… I don’t know how to do that…”
“Well, figure it out,” Cassie snapped back, looking increasingly more desperate. “I can’t put Marley or any of you in that position again. I don’t want any of you to ever get hurt because of me, but I know myself. And the temptation is too strong to look like one of you. I don’t trust myself not to do that again, so please do this for me, Tyler,” she pleaded, sinking down onto the carpet in front of her.
“Help me make a potion so I can stomach being myself.”
Chapter 19
Ally brushed her teeth the way Mom had taught her.
She had been obsessed with cleanliness, something which had rubbed off onto Ally so that even at almost ten, she was way tidier than most adults. She was certainly tidier than Tyler.
Rinsing her mouth, Ally put her toothbrush into the plastic tumbler that sat on the sink when she frowned, noticing that her foster-siblings’ toothpaste cap was off and oozing the white paste. Unable to help herself, Ally closed the cap, setting the tube into her foster-sibling’s own tumbler before she headed back into her own room.
Moving towards the bed, her eyes slid over to her bag, which still sat on the carpet where she had left it after her trip to the library today. The top of the mysterious book that did not belong anywhere peeked over the edge of her bag, taunting her with its existence.
She didn’t understand where the book had come from if it didn’t belong to the library. She remembered so clearly how that man had pulled it off the bookshelf as he had recommended it to her.
None of this made any sense, but what Ally did know was that there was something about the book that made her wary of it. Maybe it was the stories inside or the way it seemed to have come out of nowhere. She was too old for monsters to scare her now, but she knew she couldn’t sleep with it there right in front of her. Grabbing the book, she slid it under the bed, shoving it right into a back corner where it had to compete with all the dust and pens that always seemed to find their way there.
With it out of sight, she climbed into bed, pulling the covers over her head.
She hoped she would finally get a good night’s sleep and not wake up feeling like something was crawling around inside her head…
Chapter 20
The sky was already dark when Eve pulled up outside Shaken & Stirred.
The alley where the staff entrance sat seemed more ominous than usual — not that Eve was going to chance it. Since the night she was attacked by those two demons, she had taken to only using the front entrance.
She walked inside the place now, letting the warm lights and soft music soothe her soul. Until this moment, she hadn’t realized just how much tension she had been carrying, and this place, with its familiar sounds and smells instantly relaxed her.
Spying her from across the room, Si shot her a big, relieved smile. She had kept him up to date on her whereabouts, though she knew him well enough to know that he wouldn’t actually relax until he could see her.
The-thing-that-happened had really brought out the protector in him.
She crossed the room to him, stepping neatly around drinking patrons until she came to the bar. His eyes scanned her from head-to-toe as if to make sure she was OK, as he followed her into the staff room.
“So, how was your day with the girls?” he asked.
“Oh, you know, uninteresting. We just hung out,” she finished, not entirely sure which parts of their day she could discuss without revealing the whole sordid story. Removing her handbag, she opened her locker to hang it up inside when the blood drained from her face.
Inside the locker hung her bloody yellow dress.
Her insides turned to ice. Terror constricted her throat so that she couldn’t speak even if she had wanted to. She knew now that this was only the beginning. He was back…
And he wanted revenge.
Eve went to slam the locker door closed, but Si was too quick for her. He grabbed hold of the door, staring into the locker. When he took in the dress, his face went slack.
“But we burnt that this morning. I watched it turn to dust,” he said, unable to believe his eyes.
Eve could feel her whole world imploding. She couldn’t hide what was happening anymore. She had to tell him what was going on. What she thought was going on.
She spoke, her voice so strained that she could barely recognized it. “I don’t know how this is possible, but somehow… he's back.”
Si tore his eyes away from the dress to look at her. “But he can’t be, Eve. You know that.” Those kind eyes of his that she loved and knew so well stared deep into her soul, firm in their own belief.
“You know he can’t be back… I killed him.”
* * *
This is the end of book five of the Twisted series! Continue the thrilling story now with BAD HABITS!
Afterword
Twisted is a television series that I have been trying to make for coming up to eight years now.
I created it soon after my television series Spirit Warriors aired.
At one point I even had one of the producers behind one of the biggest film franchises in the world attached. We were trying to get it set up in the States but for a variety of reasons, it just didn’t happen.
In all this time, and after so many other projects, I still haven’t been able to let this one go. I believe in these girls and their troubles and I believe there are others out there who want to hear their story. Outside of the supernatural shenanigans are the problems so many girls face today. I know, because each of these girls is a part of me in some way.
I wasn’t one of the popular girls at school.
I was very overweight — one of the side effects of coming from a troubled background. I was bullied from students and a staff member who took great joy in belittling me in front of the whole class on a regular basis until I learned to be terrified of attending those classes.
I was also the girl who couldn’t bear to look at herself in the mirror as she saw nothing but ugliness, which wasn’t surprising as that is what the world repeatedly told me I was.
And I was the girl who looked for validation in all the wrong places.
So this series is important to me as I know there are millions of girls out there who felt the same way I did. The ones who aren’t “perfect”. The ones who are outcasts, misfits, geeks — to them I say, know that you are unique and special. Stay true to yourself and great things can and will come.
If you’d like to help me make this into a TV series, please leave your reviews for these books and help spread the word. The more love there are for these books and the more demand there is for this show, the more likely it is to happen.
My thanks go to my wonderful proof reader and grammar guru, Janice Harris for her support and insightful work. Thank you also to the fabulous Harold Trammel whose notes aren’t only perceptive but an utter joy to read. Last but not least, thank you to Dawn C. D. Harrison and Simon Richardson who cast their critical and much-needed eyes over proceedings. I’m so grateful to you all.
And finally as always, to my love Matt who brings joy to each and every day.
- Jo
About the Author
A proud geek and video gamer, and champion of complex female protagonists, Jo brings her page-turning screenwriting style to books to weave well-crafted, suspenseful stories with twists you don't see coming.
A self-taught screenwriter, Jo’s writing life began when she created the ground-breaking, critically acclaimed CBBC action fantasy television series, "Spirit Warriors," which introduced leading actress, Jessica Henwick ("Game of Thrones," "Star Wars: The Force Awakes") to the screen. Granted the biggest budget ever given to a CBBC show at the time, it was nominated for "Best Children’s Program" at the 2011 Broadcast Awards, with Jo herself, going on to win the Women in Film & Television’s "New Talent" Award in 2010. Jo even made history by being the first East Asian person — man or woman — to have created a British television drama series.
Jo lives in London and hopes one day to travel across America in a super kitted out, Zombie-apocalypse-ready RV, with her lovely fella, Matt, and three equally lovely kitties.
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