A Twist of Fate (The Twisted Trilogy)

by Simpson, Christa

  "She said it looked like there was foul play because Sam was covered in blood and had bruises on her neck, but the coroner explained to her that the injuries are always magnified in a drowning. They’re saying she could have died up to 24 hours before they found her."

  "No!" That would take us back to the night of Cameron’s party.

  "What's worse is her mom still believes she was strangled and intentionally drowned. The police have already tagged it as an accidental death, but are doing an investigation to appease her."

  I grasped at my side, as a sharp pain wrenched my insides. "I think I'm going to be sick." I ran down the hall and flipped open the toilet seat. I couldn't handle thinking of Samantha’s lifeless body, bloody and bruised in her bathroom. Even if I hadn’t ever taken a liking to her, I wouldn’t ever wish that on anyone.

  Moments later Edwin joined me in the bathroom, finding me crouched over the toilet. He rubbed my aching shoulders. "It'll be okay." Then he helped me to my feet and wrapped me in a warm embrace.

  Who, out of all the people we know, is capable of murder?

  Edwin led me back to his bed. "Are you sure you’re okay?"

  I wasn't, but I knew what holding in my feelings did to me. "I’m shocked. Wouldn't she have choked and woken up before she drowned?" I tried to think logically while so many illogical thoughts tumbled through my head.

  "If she had been startled awake, she could have suffered a heart attack from a heart condition."

  "A heart attack? At her age? Not likely, unless..." My eyes grew wide with alarm from my grim discovery.

  "What? What is it?"

  "Jenny," I whispered.

  Edwin cocked his head sideways. “Really, Abby? You have to stop with that. I get that you miss her, but your mind is obviously playing tricks on you."

  "Eddie, just hear me out. There were no signs of struggle. If she had been drinking and passed out, that's believable. But what if she awoke to darkness?"

  “You mean to the red-eyed monster," Edwin answered, skeptically. “You think she was scared to death." He did not sound convinced by my theory.

  "I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's not impossible."

  "Actually, Abby, it is. Jenny's dead.” He paused, to let it sink in. “The police have listed the death as undetermined, but there’s no evidence to suggest she was murdered."

  "In other words, she drowned and that's good enough for them. Maybe that satisfies your curiosity."

  "Abby, it's a tragic accident. Let’s leave it at that. If you start telling people your two cents, they'll probably lock you up in a mental ward. You can't seriously believe your dead sister is out killing people."

  "My nightmares have become pretty intense lately. I thought it was because it's getting close to our birthday."

  "Maybe that's why your hallucinations have been more frequent, but that's all they are, Abby. Hallucinations. I was here the other night with you. Jennifer was not here. I think I would have noticed another woman in the room."

  I narrowed my eyes at Edwin, knowing exactly how crazy I sounded. "Edwin, she was here.”

  ***

  THE INVESTIGATION FOR SAMANTHA’S death came and went as fast as her funeral service. The sadness was crushing, and yet I was unable to shed so much as a tear. After the church service, everyone made their way to the cemetery to say their final goodbyes.

  Edwin parked his truck and waited for me to grasp his arm, before we followed the long line of mourners. The wet ground was soft and my spiked heels sunk into the mud, aerating the lawn with each step. A group of people had already begun to congregate around the raised casket in a u-shape. As we neared the shiny waxed box, we found the open grave surrounded in a carpet of flowers.

  I glanced up at the patchy, grey sky. It looked like the clouds were going to open up and drop a storm on us. That's exactly how my insides felt.

  The burial was terribly sad and I actually wanted to break down and cry, but I couldn’t for fear that it would only fuel Jenny's unidentified motives. After the priest said his last word, the women in Samantha's family were handed a single red rose. Taylor asked for two yellow roses and handed one to me.

  Wasting no time, I released Edwin's arm and approached the deep, dark hole. I stood at the foot of the casket and stared into that hole; the pit that would soon be home to Samantha's cold, dead body. An eerie breeze urged me to be quick, so I tossed the long stem rose from my fingers. I had aimed for the casket and it rested there for a moment, but then slid off the side and dropped into the hole.

  I leaned forward to see where it had landed and found Jenny's lifeless body lying in its place. I covered my mouth and let out an anguished shriek. The other bystanders assumed I was grieving Samantha's death, and I was clearly upset about that too, but I was more worried that Jenny had something to do with it.

  Without a single blink, I stared at Jenny's pristine body. Then I glanced over my shoulder to check if anyone else could see what I was seeing. No one seemed to notice. I turned back to the hole and all of a sudden Jenny opened her eyes. They were glowing red with resentment and I could sense an unhealthy rage seething within her.

  "No!" I screamed.

  Everyone stared as Edwin came to my side. He held me tight in his arms and kissed my hair. Taylor joined us too, reaching out for a hug.

  "It's okay. We're all going to be okay," she said to me, between sobs. She gently rubbed my back and it seemed to soothe me.

  I let them all believe I was grieving and in a way I was. I was heartbroken and traumatized that my twin sister was being so unforgiving and committing deplorable crimes for my attention.

  Taylor looked into my dry, bloodshot eyes. "There's a social gathering over at Sydney's Place after this. Are you two coming?"

  "We'll be there," I whispered, listlessly.

  Edwin led me away, while the casket was lowered. All the women cried. All but me. I stared back with a steel gaze, unable to feel anymore.

  Later, at Sydney's Place, we joined our friends. Edwin took a seat next to Maddie, who had sandwiched Hunter in between herself and Aliah. Even with a sleeping baby in her arms, Maddie managed to pull out a dramatic display of grief. I wondered how long she had practiced that one in front of the mirror this morning.

  Maddie handed her baby over to Edwin, as emotions spilled from her. Hunter rubbed her back and eventually fell to her act. He handed Darien to Aliah, and consoled Maddie, who now had her face buried in her hands. The second Hunter caved, Maddie threw herself into his arms and cried on his shoulder. Aliah didn’t believe it either, but it looked like she had already given up trying.

  I looked away from their troubles, hoping for a change of scenery. Off in the distance I saw Cameron sitting with some of Samantha’s extended family. Not the change I was looking for. At first I thought maybe he'd rather grieve alone, but I soon realized that he was actually observing us inconspicuously from afar. He was watching me.

  Subtle or not, he couldn't fool me and I wasn't even sure that he was trying to. He delivered me pointed glances of affection, while attempting to maintain a blank expression on his face, but his adorably wrinkled forehead shared his despair with anyone willing to figure him out. It pained me to be on the receiving end of all that disappointment.

  In desperate need of some fresh air, I excused myself from the table and headed for the door. A few stray eyes watched me leave, but no one followed. As I left the dining room, I noticed Owen in the corner of the lobby by himself.

  "Owen?" I said, walking up behind him. "Everything alright over here?"

  He cleared his throat, but refused to look at me. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me." He had clearly been crying and was embarrassed by it.

  I rested my hand on his back. "You two were close. It's okay to be upset."

  "This is messed up," he admitted, his eyes reaching mine. They were red and filled deeply with sadness, thickening the air between us, until it became difficult to breathe.

  Upset for my own reasons, I pulled him
into my arms and smoothed my hand up and down his back. He squeezed me with all he had, as he broke out in tears.

  "She was so alive, Abby. I barely got the chance to know her, and now I never will." Owen released me from his arms and smeared away the tears. "I must look like a total chump. You aren't even crying and you’ve known her way longer than I have."

  I pressed my lips together in a firm line. "I think I must have emptied my reserves."

  "I was starting to wonder if you were even human," Owen said teasing, but it hit me on a guttural level and I nearly toppled over from the pain stabbing at my insides.

  The room started to spin around me and I felt like I was about to fall into a bottomless pit. Tears were on the verge of spilling and, at the sight of Cameron appearing in the small lobby, they did, twisting my insides and dropping me into another man’s arms.

  Owen held on tight, bearing all my weight, my toes barely touching the floor. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Shit."

  Cameron rushed to our side and reached for me. “Come here,” he ordered, and I couldn’t deny him that.

  Feeling dizzy, I lifted my head from Owen’s shoulder and found Cameron waiting for me with open arms. My first sob escaped my mouth as I crashed into his chest. "Oh, Cameron," I cried, gripping onto him like my life depended on it.

  Owen stood there, stunned, as Cameron pet my hair and dropped a kiss on my head.

  “It's okay. I'm here now," he whispered, wrapping me in his warm, familiar arms.

  Even more tears fell, my confusion overpowering my heart, now beating out of my chest like an African drum. Broken breaths cut off my air supply, as I lifted my head from his chest, overcome with my mistakes.

  "I don't want to hurt you," I choked, pulling out of his arms, refusing to make eye contact. "I have to go." I ran off, bursting out the exit, knees still weak, cheeks still wet.

  Cameron stared blankly at the door, then looked to Owen for some guidance. Owen only shook his head side to side, knowing exactly what Cameron was thinking.

  "I have to," Cameron explained, then dashed outside after me.

  ***

  SADNESS HUNG OVER THE office for weeks, and Miller couldn’t bring himself to hire a new secretary. We all threw ourselves into work, hoping to make the unnerving vacancy go away. Nothing made the vacancy go away.

  After five long weeks, it was time to get back to some sense of normalcy. I met Aliah at the Westmount Fit Club, ready to burn off the extra calories I had put on over the past few months.

  "You and Hunter, you’re good?" I asked Aliah, as I huffed and puffed on the elliptical trainer.

  "I just needed time to lick my wounds," Aliah admitted, not putting in half the effort I was.

  "Things are back to normal then?"

  “Normal,” she stated, reflecting on that single word. Aliah stopped what she was doing and turned to face me. "Honestly, I don't think our relationship will ever be normal again. Hunter’s changed. He used to be all about me and making me happy. Now it's always Darien this or Melody Rae that. And don't even get me started on Maddie. I know the twins are adorable and he wants to spend time with them, but he's being distant. It's like he's there with me, but he's not actually there, you know?"

  I nodded my head, as I forced my legs through the burn.

  "Whenever it’s just the two of us, it feels like he’d rather be there with Maddie and the babies. It kills me to watch him sitting there like that. If he's over us, I wish he'd just say so."

  "Have you talked to Maddie lately?" I asked, carefully.

  "Not because I want to, but Hunter insists. She's permanently elated. It makes me sick. Whenever Hunter's around she acts like he's hers to control and he waits on her hand and foot. It truly sucks, because I know I should leave him so he can go be happy, but that would mean that Maddie’s won."

  “You shouldn’t stick with him out of pure jealousy.” I stopped treading for a minute, to catch my breath and take a drink from my water bottle. As the room fell silent, I noticed Hunter approaching behind Aliah.

  “You know what. You're right," Aliah stated.

  I shook my head no and lifted a finger to stop her. "Wait…"

  "I'm going to tell him what he's doing is ridiculous. It's Maddie or me. He can't have both."

  My face turned ghostly white and my eyes said it all. Aliah didn't have to turn around to know that Hunter was standing there. She spun around, eager to finish him off.

  "So that's it?" Hunter asked. "You're giving me an ultimatum? After all we've been through." He narrowed his tired eyes, and it was anger festering beneath them.

  Aliah’s expression mirrored his. "It shouldn't be that hard of a decision. If you can't just say you choose me, then it's over."

  "You're jealous of Maddie?" Hunter stated, incredulously.

  "You're not making me feel jealous. You're making me wonder what I ever saw in you in the first place.”

  Hunter waved her off as he turned to leave, then whirled back around to face her. "You're going to forget about me and move on, just like that?"

  "It'll be easy," Aliah argued, her voice as sharp as a knife. “I don't have to forget you, because I already lost you months ago.”

  ***

  AFTER A QUIET DRIVE into Toronto, I was in high spirits. The night grew darker as we entered the Bar and Grill where some of our friends agreed to meet to celebrate the long weekend in May. Edwin tightened his grip around my waist, just as I realized that this was our first night out since Cameron's party; the night Samantha died.

  The dining area had a few stragglers taking their time with dessert. Others lounged on the stark black furniture, which stood out against the warm, brown bricks that adorned the walls. Edwin led me past the pool tables to the narrow staircase that led to the second floor.

  After passing through another lounge area, we cut through the dance floor, heading straight for the rooftop patio. The weather was seasonably warm, with summer being just around the corner, which was a nice change after the long, wet spring. A waitress instantly greeted us, as we exited the open patio doors, and Edwin gave her our order.

  "I guess we're the first ones here," Edwin voiced first.

  Dance music flowed freely through the open patio doors and the occasional gust of cool air, drawn from the dance floor, doused the otherwise stifling heat radiating from the brick building. The lights glowed softly beneath the bamboo gazebo and dimly lit the space that was quickly coming into darkness.

  I was starting to feel surprisingly relaxed when I took a seat next to Edwin. Unfortunately, that feeling wouldn’t last long.

  "Here comes Maddie and Hunter." Edwin stood from his chair and greeted them. "Hey, brother. Good to see you."

  I stood too to give Maddie a hug. "Wow Maddie, you look great!"

  "You really think I look okay? I feel so huge; my boobs especially.” She started giggling. “They feel like they're going to explode."

  "Who has the babies?" I asked, surprised that she left them in someone else’s hands.

  Hunter piped up. "Maddie's parents insisted that they be the first ones to take them."

  Maddie turned to face Hunter, as though she had to defend them. "This is our first night out since we had them, you realize. I had to know that the twins were in capable hands."

  Hunter rolled his eyes playfully. "Yeah, I know. You haven't stopped talking about that all the way here."

  Maddie poked him in the chest. "I can't help it. Maybe it was too soon. I'm already having separation anxiety."

  Hunter looped his arm around her waist and bumped her against his hip, so there would be no more jabbing fingers. "It's only for a few hours. I promise to have you back to them safely," he said, with a smirk.

  "You guys aren't spending the night?" Edwin asked.

  Maddie acted all flabbergasted by Edwin’s insinuation. "Are you kidding? We aren't together like that. Why would we get a room?” Maddie eyed up Hunter. “Besides, I'm not ready to be away from my babies for that long. I
miss them already."

  "Well, at least we have one thing in common," Hunter said.

  They smiled at each other and I couldn't help but notice the flame flickering vibrantly between them.

  As the night went on, more friends filed onto the spacious patio, hovering around our table and a nearby lounge area. As I sipped from my drink, my eyes were drawn to a group of people lingering near the patio doors. Suddenly, I choked on my beverage, and a shot of electricity spiked through my body, my heart thrumming against my chest.

  Cameron and Wesley escaped from the crowd and strolled up to the bar together. Since when did they become buddies? Cameron looked as sophisticated as always, his expensive jeans slung from his narrow hips, to make all the ladies swoon; myself included.

  I gulped back the lump forming in my throat, but the dryness didn't subside. I downed my drink and, before Edwin could see why I was darting, I kissed him on the lips and delivered a reassuring smile. "I'll be back in a bit," I said, before scurrying for the nearest exit.

  With the most casual of glances, I noticed that Cameron and Wesley were too concerned with themselves to notice me zipping through the crowd. Relief washed over me, once I realized I had managed to sneak away undetected. Finding a clearing, I blasted through the crowd and gasped for air when I finally reached the open space on the other side of the small dance floor.

  Just seeing Cameron was hardly an event, but I was terribly short of breath. My chest heaved as though I had just run a marathon and a bead of sweat started to form on my brow. I tried to ignore it, but my body wouldn't lie: I was still tuned into Cameron and everything that he was about.

  I observed the other patrons, staring at anything that might steal my attention away from the thoughts I was hiding from. I wasn’t expecting to find Maddie working the floor. But she was, and it looked like her newfound chest was getting her the attention she had been looking for.

  Turning my eyes away, so I didn’t disturb Maddie's little game, I located Hunter nearby. He was methodically drinking his beer from the bottle, stalking Maddie from the bar. I made my way over to him, hoping we could help each other lighten up.