She Lies Twisted by C.M. Stunich Read Free Book Online

out from behind the tree. He was even sadder in the perfect daylight than he'd been in the dusky evening. His head was stitched to his neck with the same black thread that I'd pulled from my skin the night before. I adjusted my sleeves. It hadn't grown back. Some part of me had said that it would. I stabbed at the holes with my nails.
    “ Even bother what?” I asked as he knelt down in the grass next to me. People were starting to stare, not that I really cared, but how did he ever make it around town like that? Maybe the frosty lips and the navy eyes would work on Halloween but as it stood, even I thought they were a bit creepy. The boy folded his legs beneath him like he expected to sit a long time. I stood up.
    “ Where are you going?” He asked. I have no fucking clue , I thought, since I'm probably suspended. I sat back down. He made a daisy chain while we sat in silence together. When he was finished, he handed it to me. I waved him away.
    “ Aren't you going to tell me what that thing was last night or are you really gonna make me ask?” The boy put the chain around his own wrist and secured it. I shuddered. The happy daisies emphasized the pale translucence of his skin and made the black cross hatches of his own stitches even more macabre.
    “ I meant, why do you even bother going to school anymore?” I pursed my lips. So he knew who I was. That explained the getup and the stitches. It was all a set up. Of course it was. It had to be. It was just my luck.
    “ So you know about Boyd, huh? Is that why you followed me to the beach? To harass me? To watch me cry?” I could feel my blood pounding in my ears. The boy blinked. I stood up again. “You could've killed me, pushing me off of that cliff and the stitches...” I paused. The more I broke down last night's events in my head, the less sense they made. I decided to keep my rant going anyway. I did best riding my anger hot. If I let it cool down, it was likely that I would never act and the boy and his friends, whoever the fuck they were, would get away with it. “You better be prepared to fucking explain yourself. You stuck a needle in my goddamn skin,” I huffed, pointing a finger at myself. “And that costume, that sand guy, was that shit from the props department?” The boy opened his mouth but I stopped him with another torrent of harsh words. “You know what, you know fucking what,” I breathed. “I don't care. I don't fucking care.” Tears were falling again and it was all that I could do not to break down. “I just lost the best friend that I'll ever have. He was everything to me,” I shrieked through clenched teeth. “They all were and now they're all fucking dead. ” I dropped my hands to my sides. “You don't need to go out of your way to fuck with me, okay? I'm already screwed up enough as it is.” The guy had yet to speak, to defend himself, but at least he hadn't laughed. I think if he had I might've hit him harder than I'd hit Jarrod.
    “ I lost someone, too,” was all that he said and then he was back to picking daisies again. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stir up any raw feelings, I just thought you knew.”
    “ Thought I knew what?” I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest. I was starting to feel stupid now. The boy placed his newest creation atop his messy head of gray-brown hair.
    “ There are two cops coming down the walkway behind you.” I cast a disinterested glance over my right shoulder. Sure enough it was Margaret Cedar's older brother and the school cop. I threw my hood up to cover my hair.
    “ Thanks,” I said as I stepped around the base of the tree and out of their line of sight. The boy stood up and followed me.
    “ My name is James,” he said, holding out a hand. I ignored him and kept walking. “You see that?” He asked as he pointed his finger across the park. I glanced up and then froze.
    It was the black bird lady from the beach.
    I ducked my head and began to walk faster.
    “ That's enough,”