Twisted Read Online Free PDF Page B

it’s pretty much an everyday occur-
    rence—the waitress at Nobu, the bartender at McCarthy’s Bar
    and Grill, several random patrons at Starbucks. Drew is polite but brisk, paying them no more attention than an old classmate from
    high school whose name you can’t quite remember.
    So it doesn’t normally bother me.
    But like I said, this isn’t a normal week. Fatigue has made me
    short-tempered. Overly sensitive. Pissed off.
    And he’s still fucking talking to her.
    She puts her hand on his arm, and my inner cavewoman
    pounds her chest like King Kong in drag. There’s an empty glass
    in front of me. Remember Marcia Brady and the football? Think I
    could reach them from here?
    have you ever noticed that serial killers and mass murderers
    are almost always male? That’s because men like to spread agony
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    around. Females, however, turn our pain inward. Keep it to our-
    selves. Let it fester.
    Yes, I took Psych 101 in college.
    But the point is, instead of going over there and ripping out
    Blondie’s hair extensions like I want to, I stand up.
    “I’m going home.”
    Delores blinks. “What? Why?” Then she sees my face. “What
    the hell did that moron do now?”
    Some advice—when you’re angry with your significant other,
    try not to tell your friends. Because after you’ve forgiven him?
    They’ll never forget.
    I recommend complaining to his family, instead. They’ve
    already seen all his negative, selfish, immature traits in full swing—
    so it’s not like you’re letting the cat out of the bag.
    I shake my head, “Nothing. I’m just . . . tired.”
    She doesn’t buy it. And her gaze locks on to where I’m still
    looking. Legs throws her head back and laughs. her teeth are
    pearly white and perfect. Apparently the bulimia hasn’t rotted the enamel away.
    Yet.
    Delores turns to her husband. “Matthew, go collect your
    friend. Before I go over, because then you’ll need a mop to collect him.”
    I raise my chin stubbornly, “No, Matthew—don’t. Drew is
    obviously happy right where he is. Why drag him away?”
    Immature? Possibly.
    Do I care? Nope.
    Matthew looks back and forth between us. Then he rushes off
    in Drew’s direction.
    Dee Dee has him so well trained. She puts the Dog Whisperer
    to shame.
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    E m m a c h a s E
    I hug her good-bye. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
    And then I head for the door without looking back.
    I’ve never lived by myself.
    At eighteen, I went from my parents’ house to a dorm room.
    Sophomore year, Billy joined Delores and me in Pennsylvania,
    and we leased a huge dilapidated house off campus with four
    other students. The roof leaked and the heat sucked, but the rent
    was right.
    After Delores left for New York, while I was still at Wharton,
    Billy and I got a place of our own. Then we moved to the city
    too—and you know the rest.
    Why am I telling you this?
    Because I’m not as independent as I come off. I’m one of those women. The kind who turns on every light in the house when she’s
    home by herself. The kind who sleeps over at a friend’s when her
    boyfriend’s out of town.
    I’ve never been alone. Never not had a boyfriend. It’s one of the
    reasons Billy and I lasted so long—because I preferred an expired
    relationship to none at all.
    When I get back to the apartment, I head to the bedroom and
    change into a tank top and cherry-colored pajama pants. As I finish washing the makeup off my face, I hear the front door open and
    close.
    “Kate?”
    I don’t answer.
    his footsteps come down the hall, and a moment later Drew
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    fills the bathroom doorway. “hey. Why’d you leave? I came back
    with the drinks and Delores starts chucking ice cubes at my head,
    calling me a shit heel.”
    I don’t make eye contact. And my voice is stiff. Dismissive. “I
    was tired.”
    Why don’t I just tell