Twisted, Amy Black [best fiction novels of all time .txt] 📗

Samuel Becker followed his friend into the house. Peter Snow recently rented the small yellow house on 42nd Street. Sam laid his backpack on the armchair that was sitting next to the door.
“Want a coke?” Pete walked into his kitchen to grab two cans of soda from the refrigerator. He tossed one to Sam before sitting down on the worn out couch.
“Thanks,” Sam sat on the floor in front of the armchair. He opened the can and took a long drink from it.
“What time did Becky say she’d meet you?” Pete swallowed some of his pop.
“I’m supposed to meet her at the Pizza Joint at four o’clock. She said she might be running late since she has swimming practice,” Sam moved to the armchair after setting his backpack on the floor. “What are you doing later?”
“Oh, studying, as usual. That’s all I do. You’d think I’d be getting straight A’s and I’m barely making it.” Pete has always had trouble in school. It wasn’t that he didn’t care; he just always had a hard time concentrating.
Sam glanced at the clock hanging on the wall above Pete. Three o’clock. He reached down into his backpack and pulled his history textbook out. He had a little bit of time to kill before having to leave. The Pizza Joint isn’t very far, he thought. He turned to the marked page and glanced through the paragraphs. He hated history. Why did he have to learn it? He heard Pete turn the television on to some game show. He couldn’t grasp what the text was. He kept thinking about Becky. They were supposed to go to the movies after pizza.
Sam closed the book and placed it back in the backpack. He decided to relax and watch television for half an hour.

Rebecca Manor hurried home and ran up the stairs. She knew no one was home. Her mother was at work and her father didn’t live there. She went into her room and threw her backpack on the bed. She walked over to the closet and started looking through her clothes. I’ve got to find something cute, she thought. She took three different shirts and laid them on her bed. She didn’t know which one to wear. Sam hasn’t seen me wear the pink blouse before, she thought as she picked it up. After stripping down to her underwear, she glanced in the mirror while sliding the blouse on over her head. Should I wear pants, or a skirt? Um, the skirt. After grabbing the skirt from her dresser drawer, she slid that on and glanced in the mirror again. She tucked the blouse in and pulled a little bit of it out over the top of the skirt. There, she thought. I look good. Glancing at the clock beside her bed, she started to panic. How can she be running late? She ditched swimming practice so she could be early. After running her brush through her hair, she put it up with a hairpin. When she was satisfied, she left the room and went downstairs. As she was walking toward the kitchen, the doorbell rang. Who can that be? Becky walked back to the door and glanced through the window. A man in a brown uniform stood there. She opened the door.
“Rebecca Manor?” He said in a low voice.
“That’s me,” she seen a package in his hand. After signing her name and taking the package, she thanked him and closed the door. How sweet, she thought. Sam bought me something. She walked to the dining table. Laying the package down, she picked the card up from the box.
FOR YOU
She smiled and opened the box. Inside laid a black decaying rose.

Sam sat at the booth farthest from the front as possible and waited for Becky. When he seen her, he waved to her. As she walked toward him, he could tell something was wrong.
“What is it?” he asked. She shook her head and smiled.
“Nothing. I missed you,” Becky sat down across from him. “What are we ordering?”
“I ordered us a drink and a large pizza with pepperoni. Just like you want it,” he smiled.
“You’re so sweet,” she glanced around. Sam could tell something was bothering her, but he wasn’t going to pressure her. She’d tell him eventually, on her own.
After a while, Becky said she had to go to the lady’s room. The waitress brought the pizza to the table after Becky left. Sam took a piece and placed it on her plate before placing one on his. He was hungry, but decided to wait until she came back. Five minutes later, she did.
“Sorry about that. Good, it’s here. I’m starving!” She took her fork and cut a piece of the pizza slice off. Then, after blowing on it, she ate it. Sam thought it was cute how she cut the pizza instead of just picking the slice up. He did just that. Letting the melted cheese stretch out from his mouth to the slice in his hand, he enjoyed the taste. He loved pizza. He took a sip of his pop and watched Becky do the same. She blushed when she noticed him looking at her. He loved it when she blushed. Sam felt like he was falling in love.

Becky let Sam open the car door for her. She wasn’t going to worry about the package she received. It was just a dumb joke. She focused on the fact that she was with Sam. They were going to a movie. It was some comedy that Sam said he wanted her to see. It didn’t matter to her what it was, she just wanted to be with him.
When they got to the theater, Sam bought both tickets and they walked to the popcorn counter.
“Are you still hungry?”
“Oh no. I am thirsty though,” Becky said. Sam bought two cups of Coca-Cola and led her to the seats. They chose a couple of seats towards the back and sat down. He put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a little kiss. She leaned over on him and the lights went out. The big screen lit up with pictures from a commercial. They sat there cuddling, and watched the movie.
After the movie ended, they waited until everyone left the room, and then they stood and walked out. Becky excused herself and went to the restroom. There was a short line, so she waited. That was a cute movie, she thought. I’m glad he brought me to it. She glanced in the big mirror and smiled at herself. She felt happy. Finally, she went to the next available stall. When she was done, she noticed she was alone in the restroom. She walked over to the sink and gasped. That wasn’t there before. Written on the mirror, she read “STAY AWAY FROM HIM!”

Sam hugged Becky while standing outside the theater. She just told him what she seen in the restroom. She explained why she was nervous at the Pizza Joint earlier too. He couldn’t figure out who could be doing this. He told her so.


“I’m getting scared, Sam. First, the dead rose, and now this? I thought it was some sick joke when I saw the rose. But for someone to go through all the trouble of following me to the movies and writing that on the mirror, what else will they do?” Becky wrapped her arms around Sam. “I didn’t recognize any of the girls that went in there ahead of me. Did you see anyone you knew walk out before I came out?”
“No. I don’t understand who it is,” he turned and, with his arm around her, walked toward his car.
“Do you think it could be an ex-girlfriend?”
“I don’t know. I intend to find out. Don’t worry Becky. We’ll get to the bottom of this,” he promised her. She smiled and laid her head on his shoulder. They reached his car and he opened the door as she sat down. After walking around the car, he glanced around, but didn’t see anyone he recognized.
They didn’t talk about the incidents anymore. He figured Becky didn’t want to keep thinking about it, so he changed the subject of their conversation. They talked about school and planned a study date for the following night.

Becky began feeling anxious when she got out of Sam’s car. He said he’d watch her while she walked to her small compact. The parking lot at the Pizza Joint was empty, and the echoing of her footsteps created an eerie moment. She hurried to her car and unlocked her door. After getting in and re-locking the door, she waved back to Sam. She slid the key into the ignition and started the car. Sam honked and turned his car around, then drove away. She put the car into gear and drove out of the parking lot. Putting a compact disc into the CD player, she turned the volume up. Passing the downtown mall, she turned onto Candle Boulevard.
When she was getting ready to turn onto 12th Street, she noticed the car behind her had been following her since she left the parking lot. Telling herself to calm down, she turned right at the next street, the car behind her did too. She drove a little further, and then turned left. So did the car behind her. She started to panic. She drove straight, but steadily sped up. Periodically, she glanced behind her. Once, the car was gone and she calmed down. Two minutes later, it was back. She knew it was the same car because the headlights had a blue tint to them. She turned onto her street and watched the car behind her turn. She decided not to stop at her house. She continued to drive on. She planned to pull into the police station parking lot a few blocks ahead. Suddenly, the person turned their bright headlights on. They hurt Becky’s eyes, so she moved her rearview mirror a little. When she sped up, the car behind her slowed down. Her heart pounding, she told herself to breath. She moved the rear view mirror back to its original position and saw that the car had made a complete stop. Becky drove a few blocks more to the parking lot of the police station. Waiting for ten minutes, she glanced around for a few moments. Not seeing anyone, she put her car into drive again, and after looking around once more, drove away. She couldn’t figure it out. Why was this happening?

After pulling into her driveway a little while later, she still felt shaken up. Unlocking the front door, Becky headed for the kitchen. After setting her purse on the dining room table, she opened the refrigerator and got a bottle of water. Taking a long drink, she walked back to the stairs and climbed to the top. Going into her room, she flipped the light on. She walked over to the window and glanced out. Not seeing anyone, she decided to call Diane. She and Diane have been friends for five years and shared everything with each other. But after letting it ring five times, she hung up.
There was a knock at her door.
“Yes?”
“It’s me, can I come in?”
“Of course,” Becky lay down on the bed as her mom walked in.
“So, how did it go?” Her mom