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

was always set at 150 degrees Fahrenheit in the sauna and Becky was cold natured, so it felt good to her. She felt she needed a chance to think things through. On Saturday, she and Sam had a good time. They fixed spaghetti together and then studied. She felt happy when she was with him. She even forgot the strange things that have been happening and enjoyed the day. Sense then, nothing has happened. Hopefully, Becky thought, the weirdo gave up.
She sat down on a bench inside the sauna and leaned against the wall. Closing her eyes, she could literally feel her body relax. She didn’t realize how much tension was built inside of her. She wished she remembered to bring a book. She was worried she’d fall asleep. She told herself to just relax. She thought about Sam. Then her thoughts drifted to the bad things happening to her. She just couldn’t understand it. Who was it? Why were they doing this?
After about thirty minutes, she got bored. Walking back to her gym locker, she noticed it was ajar. Puzzled, she opened the door all the way and smelled something bitter. Looking down, she screamed. Lying on the bottom was a severed rat’s head. She shakily picked the note up that was placed beside it. “This is your last warning!”

Waiting to talk to a police officer, Becky paced back and forth. Sam immediately brought her here when she called him that evening.
“Becky Manor,” a tall guy called her name from the desk in front of Becky and Sam. “Someone can see you now.”
She looked up as a short man waved for her to come over to his desk. She and Sam walked through the doorway and over to the officer’s desk. After sitting down, the man introduced himself as Officer Thomson. “What can I do for you today?” He was a cheerful man. Becky immediately felt comfortable. She was reminded of Santa Claus. Except, this man didn’t have a big stomach. But he did have rosy cheeks and a twinkle in his eyes.
“Well, officer, I’m being harassed. I don’t know who it is exactly, but they want to kill me-“
“Do you have anyone in mind?” he interrupted.
“Well, yes. But I can’t see her doing this. I mean, it would make sense-“ Becky stopped and took a deep breath. “OK, let me start from the beginning.” She explained what had been happening to her. She started with the rose and ended with the rat’s head. Officer Thomson interrupted a few times to ask questions so he could understand more. When she was finished, he sat silently. He looked like he was pondering over this.
“So, you don’t have actual proof that this Diane has anything to do with this?”
“Well, no. But who else could it be?” Sam said. He had been sitting quietly until now.
“Well, the thing is, without actual proof, we can’t do anything, see.”
“But, she’s threatening Becky!”
“I understand that. However, you two don’t know for sure who it is. It could be Diane, but it might not be. And I can’t arrest someone if there is no proof, see.”
“Besides, Sam, I don’t want to accuse her just yet. She’s my best friend. Until I have proof, I can’t do that to her. I just can’t,” Becky said. “I don’t want to lose her as a friend, which will happen if I accuse her.”
“But, if she is doing this to you, Becky, you’ll be putting yourself in more danger.”
“But if she isn’t doing this, I will lose a good friend. Personally, I’m willing to take the chance. She’s the only friend I have. Besides you of course. But there are many things I can do with Diane that I can’t do with you. Telling secrets and just hanging out. Going to the mall, you hate the mall,” Becky said before turning to Officer Thomson. “So, what do I do now?”
“Well, we’ve filed a report, so you are in our records now. The only other thing I can think of at this time is to be very careful who you choose to be friends with and keep a close eye on the friends you have now. Don’t put yourself in any possible danger, and look for clues to who might be doing this,” the officer offered. “I’m glad you came to us, Becky. Now we can respond quickly later if something happens. We will have already had a case file on you, see.”
“That’s it?” Sam was getting upset.
“Sam, calm down. That’s all they can do,” Becky tried to calm him down.
“But, the next time she calls you, you may not get to her in time!”
“Do you have a cell phone, Miss Manor?” The officer asked.
“No, why?”
“Get one. Even if it’s a pre pay phone. It’s good to have one with you at all times. That way, if you sense you are in danger, you can call the police before something happens and we can respond, before anything happens to you.”
“But what if it’s a false alarm?”
“Doesn’t matter. We have a case on you. It’s our obligation to protect you. Any time you sense that you are in danger, or even if you might be in danger, call us.”
“OK. I will do that. Thanks officer,” Becky stood and shook his hand.
“Good luck and stay safe, Becky,” Officer Thomson smiled.

“I better tell mom. I hate to worry her, but she needs to know,” Becky said as she opened the door to her house. She could hear her mom in the kitchen. Becky told Sam to wait in the living room and walked to the kitchen. “Hey mom, can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure honey. How’s you day been?” Her mom was in the middle of fixing a pitcher of lemonade. She set the pitcher into the refrigerator and walked over to the kitchen table where Becky sat. “What’s up?” Becky, once again, went through the details. She also explained the police station and about getting a cell phone. After she was done, her mother was crying. “Oh, my baby girl! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I didn’t want to worry you mom. You have so much going on as it is. Plus, I figured it would blow over.”
“Oh, dear. At least you told me now. We will definitely get you a cell phone. First thing tomorrow. When you get home from school, I will leave work early and come home.”
“Oh no, mom. I don’t want you to risk losing your job!”
“Nonsense, Becky. You come first,” her mom hugged her. She stopped crying, but her cheeks were still wet. “Now, go get yourself a wet rag and wipe those tears away.” Becky smiled and did as she was told. After making sure her daughter was out of sight, she stood up and walked into the living room. “Not this again!”
“Hi Ms. Manor,” Sam greeted Becky’s mother.
“Hi, Sam. Uh, I have a question. Have you been with Becky during any of these situations?”
“Well, no. Becky told me everything that’s happened. But I haven’t witnessed it. Why? Do you think she’d lie about something like this?”
“No, no. Of course not. At least not knowingly.”
“What do you mean?” Sam glanced toward the hallway to make sure Becky wasn’t coming.
“Something like this happened before.”
“Oh no! What happened?”
“Two years ago, Becky complained about a man looking through her bedroom window. She said it had been happening a while. Two days later, our family dog was found dead, with its eyes gouged out. Becky found him in the bushes outside the house we lived in at the time. The cops got involved and it was a long ordeal. Well, one day I heard Becky talking on the phone. I walked in the room and she had her back to me. She sounded scared. Before I could say anything, she hung up and walked out of the room through the patio doors on the other side of the room. I walked toward the phone intending to dial *69. That’s when I noticed something weird,” She paused to glance back. Content that Becky was still in the bathroom, she continued. “The phone didn’t have a cord attached to it. It wasn’t even plugged in. She was talking to herself,” she felt tears begin to form in her eyes.
“So, does that mean—“
“That’s right. There was no mystery man. We took her to a Psychiatrist. After a few tests, she was diagnosed with a form of disassociated Identity Disorder. You might know it as Multiple Personality Disorder. Two of its characteristics include hallucinations and alterations in personalities. During these alterations, she’s a different person altogether. After her original personality reappears, she has no memory of her actions as the other person. Evidently, during these alterations, she was doing things that she normally wouldn’t do. She killed the family pet and didn’t remember. She thought she kept seeing this man. She was on medication. But now I fear that the medicine isn’t working anymore.”
“You think she’s doing these things to herself,” Sam was shocked. He never knew this. He never suspected Becky to have a mental illness.
“I fear it is happening again-“ Before she could finish, a scream broke through the house. Same ran toward the bathroom with Becky’s mother following him. Pounding the door, Sam hollered Becky’s name, but she didn’t respond.
“Oh no! Becky! Can you hear me?!” Ms. Manor screamed. “Sam, call 911!” Sam took off down the hall and picked the phone up. After a few minutes, he returned.
“The police are on their way.” He started to knock on the bathroom door again. “Becky!” He started to cry. “Are you ok? Becky?!” Her mother left and returned holding a hammer.
“Here Sam. See if you can smash the door in!” She stepped back as Sam took the hammer and threw it against the door. It made a crack. He threw it again. Bit by bit, the crack grew into a hole. He glanced through it and seen Becky. She was sitting on the floor. Blood was splattered around her. “Becky!” He kept hitting the door and finally, the hole was big enough to put his arm through it. He opened it and dropped onto the floor beside Becky. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but she stared straight at nothing in particular, her eyes glazed over. She was holding her hand and it was bleeding. Bringing her head to his chest, he wrapped his arms around her and rocked her back and forth. He looked around the small bathroom and saw the mirror glass. It had been broken and Sam could see a few drops of blood that must have splattered from Becky’s hand. Then, a few minutes later, Sam heard sirens outside. He silently prayed. He placed his hand on her head and stroked her hair. “Things will be OK, baby. Just you wait and see.”