She Lies Twisted Read Online Free Page A

neighbors, trampled by the wheels of the stretcher that was covered with Boyd's body bag. I swallowed and closed my eyes, letting the cool breeze cut me like a knife. Cut me, kill me, take me away. I opened my eyes. There were things I had to do first.
    I pushed the last bit of strength that I had left into my legs and took that first painful step towards the front door.
    His shirt is wet.
    I bit my lip and forced myself forward.
    Darker than black.
    I was almost there, just a few more steps.
    Drenched with his blood.
    I hadn't even raised my fist to knock when the door to the trailer next door burst open and The Orangutang stepped out. He hunched on the rickety metal steps that looked as if they might pop their stripped screws at any moment and send him tumbling to the cigarette strewn dirt. We stared at each other for a moment before he spat at the ground and growled at me.
    “ What the fuck do you want?” he snapped. My usual retorts died on my tongue, buried with Boyd along with my happiness. I turned towards him and removed my hood like a person might remove their hat out of respect. It wasn't for him, it was for Boyd.
    “ I just wanted – ”
    “ You just wanted?” he snarled, stepping down from the trailer and stalking towards me, shirtless and covered in red curls from bulbous belly to flabby chest. “This – ” He stabbed a finger at me. “Is all – ” Poked me in the chest. “Your – ” Stepped on my toes. “Fault.” I didn't want to cry in front of this person. This monster. This man who called himself Boyd's father. I couldn't help it. They came pouring out. A monsoon in India couldn't have drowned my spirit any faster than my tears.
    “ Please.” I was begging, pleading. My knees began to shake. “I just want to know where he is.”
    “ My son is dead because of you and look at this,” he said, gesturing at the trailer behind me. “This shit is fucked. How am I supposed to live here now? The damn carpet is covered in blood!” I blinked wet eyes back at him. “You wanna know where he is? Well, fuck you!” The Orangutan shoved me forward with both hands, knocking me to my back in the grass and stalked back to the trailer, pushing his girlfriend and neighbor, Prissy, out of the way. She waited for him to go inside and slam the door before walking over to me. Her brown eyes flicked back and forth in fear and she nibbled her bottom lip until it bled. She didn't try and help me up.
    “ He's at the funeral home across the street from the Lutheran Church in Solma,” she said. Her eyes grew wider as Danny's screaming cut through the shredded screens on the windows and bounced around the quiet trailer park. “We're supposed to pick up his ashes tomorrow, I guess.” She shuffled her feet and stepped back so that I could stand. I didn't bother to brush the debris off of my clothes, but I did put my hood back on. I felt naked without it. Exposed.
    “ I want them,” I told her quietly. Her too-pretty-for-the-park face twitched in obvious anxiety. Prissy was a nice person. Too nice for Danny. Boyd had always said he'd felt lucky to have Priscilla next door. He'd said that since his real mom hadn't wanted him, the universe had sent him someone that did. Prissy always baked him a cupcake on Fridays with white frosting and a red B. She'd always given me one, too. Tears swelled again. I fisted my hands in my sweatshirt.
    “ Okay,” she said simply. “I … ” Her eyes looked at everything but me. “We're kind of short on rent this month what with having to pay for … to pay for Boyd's … ” She began to cry. Her tiny shoulders shook and little squeals escaped her thin lips. I nodded.
    “ Tomorrow, same time?” I asked. Her blonde curls bounced as she nodded, face buried in her hands.
    The last thing I needed to see was more sadness, so I turned away and left her there to cry.
    I walked back towards the school but ended up veering down a side street and sitting under the Morona County