Bad Habits: Twisted Book 6

by Ho, Jo

  Copyright ©2018 Jo Ho

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this story are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Jo Ho.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Afterword

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Shadows danced around the room, created by the naked bulb that hung over their heads, suspended from the ceiling. Since the time he had taken over as manager, Si had always meant to put a shade around the bulb, but with one thing or another, it was always shoved to the bottom of the To-Do List.

  Eve stared at it now, wishing she could have smashed it into a million pieces.

  Without any light, Si wouldn’t have seen the thing hanging in front of them, and maybe, just maybe, Eve would have been able to talk herself out of this. But now, her world had imploded, and the one person she was trying to protect would be drawn into the madness.

  They stood frozen in front of the locker, staring at that impossible sight. Never had a simple yellow dress struck such fear in two people. Eve hoped desperately that it would all be a figment of her imagination, but with every blink, every new breath she took, the dress seemed to become more and more real.

  Si’s soulful eyes looked uncertain even as his taxed brain tried to understand the sight.

  “Since people don’t come back from the dead, and as I’ve always adhered to the logic that the same rule extended to things including dresses that were destroyed in a fire, that only leaves me to one conclusion: someone knows what happened last summer and they are using it against us.”

  Eve found herself unable to voice what was really happening. Her tongue felt dry but worse was the chill that raced inside. She was cold, like the icy fingers of death were tracing a wicked pattern down her spine.

  Mistaking her silence for agreement, Si continued. “I don’t know what they want, but until we find out, you can’t ever be alone. You’re going to be with the girls or with me, that’s the deal we’re making right now — understand?”

  “I don’t think that’s feasible, I’m not in any of the same classes as the girls…” Eve began, immediately hating herself for how weak she sounded. A braver person would have disagreed or tried to reassure him otherwise, but right now, Eve had to admit that it wasn’t her own life she was afraid for, but his.

  After all, she wasn’t the helpless victim she had once been.

  “We’ll figure that out later. Give me a minute to brief the staff. I’ll tell them we have an emergency. Then we’ll go home.”

  He waited for Eve to nod before heading back outside, but he didn’t go far. He stood in the entrance where he had a clear line of sight to her. She turned away from the dress, unable to look at it anymore, wrapping her arms around herself. Though she couldn’t see it, she could almost feel the malicious energy coming from it.

  It was all she could do not to bolt from the room.

  * * *

  Her eyes flew open.

  Blackness greeted her, and the eerie silence that only came from the early hours of the night.

  Though Eve had just been sleeping, she knew that something was wrong.

  After they had come home, Si had kept her company the whole night. He’d cooked spaghetti, then they’d watched a Netflix comedy, though neither of them had laughed once, their minds on other, more sober matters. They talked a little about their situation, as Si tried to compile a list of all the people who might use something like this against them. The only names on that list though were the girls Eve had previously called friends before she had known any better.

  They’d each had a mint tea which was supposed to relax but Eve hadn’t noticed a discernible difference. After the tea, Eve had taken a bath and shortly after, fell asleep, exhausted from the stress and tension.

  The sleep hadn’t been restful.

  Eve knew she must have experienced a nightmare as her hair was dripping with sweat and plastered to her forehead and neck. But that wasn’t what felt wrong.

  Something covered her from the neck to her feet.

  Something that seemed to move.

  Sliding her arm out from the sheet, she clicked on the lamp on the bedside table. The lamp sparked to light, illuminating the blanket of ants that lay on top of her.

  Screaming with fright, Eve shot up as the ants quickly scampered off in different directions, disappearing in the cracks between the floorboards, and under the window. They moved so fast that they were gone in several blinks of her eyes.

  The door burst open as Si — wide-eyed with fear yet determined to protect her — charged in waving a gun around.

  “What happened?!” he demanded urgently, scanning into every corner of the room. “Is someone here?!”

  Eve got out of bed, stretching out her hands in front of her in a bid to calm him.

  “I just had a nightmare, that’s all,” she replied, unable to take her eyes off of the gun clutched in his hands. She was totally thrown. Until that eventful night in the forest, Si had always been a peaceful soul, so where had this gun come from?

  “Where did you get that gun, Si?”

  He tore his glazed eyes from the closet which he had yanked open and was currently investigating to make sure no one was hiding in there to focus on her. Reading her concern, and confident that there was no imminent danger, his shoulders relaxed some. “It’s legal, don’t worry.”

  “But, when did you get that? I had no idea we had one.”

  Si shrugged, running a hand through his hair. “I got it after last summer. I didn’t tell you because I know how you feel about them.”

  “Only because more gun owners end up harming a loved one, than a criminal,” Eve replied.

  “I bought it so we would have protection, and after tonight, I was obviously right to do so,” Si said, a tone coming into his voice. “Nothing else is going to happen to you, not on my watch, and if that means having a gun to protect you, then you’ll just have to deal with it.”

  Eve knew she should have been reassured by his confident tone, but staring at the gun in his hands, at the cold gleam of black metal, all she felt were the goosebumps along her arms and a terrible foreboding that refused to go away.

  Chapter 2

  Exhaustion clung to Tyler like a cloud.

  Although she wanted nothing more than to collapse in bed, she forced herself to stay awake. She needed to make that potion for Cassie, that much had been made clear to her. The girl was hanging by a thread.

  An image of Marley struggling against those two slime-balls flashed into her mind, and she had to suppress a shudder. All night, she would get a random flash of the attack that would leave her feeling terrified one moment, and rageful the next. When she had finally used her magic to hurt them, she had felt power like she had never felt before.

  And truthfully, it had been quite the rush.

&n
bsp; It hit Tyler then, that kind of powerful feeling she had experienced might be in some way how Cassie felt when she wore Marley’s face and body. If she was right about that, then she could start to understand just how difficult it might be for Cassie not to give in to what was rapidly becoming her addiction.

  When Cassie had initially broached the subject, Tyler had felt mad at her for allowing her vanity to get in the way of their friendship. But she had seen the desperation in her eyes, the pitiful way she had begged for something that would make her, how had she phrased it? Be able to stomach herself.

  Still, wanting to help Cassie was one thing, being able to stay awake long enough to do it, was another thing entirely.

  Realizing that she just didn’t have the energy to troop all the way to the lab, Tyler decided that she would set up her own in her dorm room. She’d already made a potion in here before, how hard could it be to do another?

  Rising from her bed where she was currently sitting, Tyler collected the glasses and mugs she had previously used and set them up in a row onto the roundtable that divided the room. Without a roommate, Tyler had full run of the place which came in handy at moments like these.

  Half-filling the drinking utensils with water, she sat on a chair, elbows propped onto the table, pulling in her focus as she called up her magic. Picturing Cassie in her mind, Tyler tried to imagine her but as the best possible version of herself. Like she was using photoshop, Tyler smoothed away Cassie’s rough edges, tweaking her features here and there as the water in the containers began to bubble.

  She flamed out on the first few attempts, but by the fifth, things were firing. Tyler could feel her magic working until that telling puff of smoke appeared over the solution signifying that her potion was done, although she wouldn’t really know if it worked until Cassie tried it.

  Completely drained, she fell onto her bed and was asleep within seconds.

  Chapter 3

  Black coffee swirled into a paper cup as Marley poured herself a large drink from one of the many drinks stations in the Food Court. Beside her, Christian stood, head tilted to one side as he considered the options before him.

  “Is it necessary to have so many variations of what equates to the exact same thing? Can you tell me the difference between a Mocha and a Chocolate-infused beverage?”

  Marley tried not to look too conspicuous as she stared at him. “What are you, an alien — how do you not know coffee?”

  “I’m a tea drinker.”

  “That answers so many things about you,” Marley replied, earning a frown from him. “How long have you been standing there, anyway?”

  “Long enough to know that $3.99 is an extortionate amount to pay for hot water mixed with a few java beans.”

  Marley’s lips opened as she restrained a sigh. “It’s like you’re twenty-going-on-sixty.” Spotting a familiar face across the room, Marley took her drink and made her way over to a table where Eve sat, nursing a drink of her own.

  “Can you believe Christian is a tea drinker?” She said by way of greeting.

  Eve rolled her eyes, but she wasn’t able to hide her tension over last night’s shock. “Next you’ll be saying he likes pineapple on pizzas too,” Eve replied.

  A look of consternation came over Marley’s features. “Sweet and savory is a typical, well-loved combination. I don’t know why so many people have an issue with it,” she said, genuinely confused.

  Eve was saved from answering by the appearance of Tyler, looking frazzled. Her usually chic bob had kinks in the hair as if it hadn’t been brushed, and there was a small stain on the collar of her shirt. She flopped into a chair tiredly, holding her bag in her lap.

  “Trouble sleeping?” Eve asked, staring at the rings under Tyler’s eyes.

  “Oh no, I had no trouble sleeping. My problem was getting to sleep,” Tyler answered without thinking as she yawned loudly.

  “Catching up on coursework?” said Marley, sympathy turning her eyes soft. “I don’t know how you’re managing to hold down a job, study, and do all this “magic” stuff.”

  Tyler sat up in her chair in an attempt to wake herself up. She had almost blurted out that she had been up all night working on Cassie’s potion. Somehow, she knew this bit of news wouldn’t have gone down well, that it was best left hidden. Thinking about Cassie, Tyler looked around the area, wondering where she was when she caught sight of Si, a few tables away, eating a muffin while reading something on a laptop.

  “That’s your brother, isn’t it? What’s he doing here?” she asked Eve. As if he had heard her, Si looked up from the laptop. Seeing her, he waved and shot her a smile. Tyler was struck by how nice he was. The guy was always friendly, always in a good mood.

  It was hard to believe that he and Eve were related.

  Eve chewed on a painted black lip as she tried to come up with a believable explanation. “He’s meeting a friend who studies here,” she said in what she hoped was a nonchalant fashion. Maybe they would drop the conversation, move on to something else.

  “This early in the morning? That’s keen,” Marley commented, now focusing on her brother too. This was not going to plan. Eve needed a distraction… just as she was beginning to lose hope, she finally saw her opportunity.

  “Hey, look, it’s Cassie,” she said enthusiastically, and completely unlike her normal self. Hearing the welcome, Cassie approached cautiously, looking around her as if she was expecting some kind of prank.

  “Ah, yeah. Hi,” she said, then turned to look at Tyler a second longer than was comfortable. Marley thought she saw something pass between them, but the moment was fleeting and was gone in a second. Taking a seat opposite Tyler, Rhett, their RA appeared, holding a bunch of flyers in his hands.

  “Oh good, I’m glad I caught you girls,” he smiled, flashing that cute smile of his.

  A chorus of lukewarm hi’s greeted him back, not because they didn’t like him — they all thought he was a cool guy — but because there was business that needed to be attended to, which they couldn’t get at with him being there.

  “I thought you might be interested in this event that’s happening next week.” He handed passed them all a flyer, ending lastly with Marley.

  “What’s about?” Marley asked, glancing down at the information in her hand.

  “We have this amazing TED speaker coming who’s an expert on self-empowerment. I thought you might really get something out of it,” Rhett said, looking directly at Marley.

  Confusion swept over her. Why would Rhett think she would need help in that department? While it was true that she had some things to work through — then again, who didn’t? — being empowered wasn’t one of them. The question still ran through her mind when she suddenly realized that he was under the impression that it was her and not Cassie who had been so desperate as to hang out with those low lives. Cassie must have come to the same conclusion at that moment as she suddenly flushed bright red, dropping her eyes to the floor.

  “Thanks,” Marley said through gritted teeth. “I might go check it out, I’m sure Cassie would like to go too, right?”

  Barely peeping at her, Cassie nodded. Eve read the unspoken communication between them and the reason for it, though Tyler seemed a bit oblivious, clearly needing something to pick her up this morning.

  “Great, so I’ll probably see the two of you there?” Rhett asked. From the corner of her eye, Marley saw Christian cross his arms, frowning at the other guy.

  “Possibly,” Marley answered as Cassie mumbled a response. Apparently happy with her answer, Rhett headed to the next table to continue his recruitment drive. As soon as he was out of eyeline, however, Eve snatched the flyer from Marley’s hands.

  “I think we’ve got more empowerment than we can handle right now,” she said. Crunching the flyer into a ball, she tossed it into a nearby trashcan.

  Still glaring at Rhett, Christian said, “I hate that guy.”

  Marley blinked, surprised. “How can you hate Rhett when he’s so ni
ce?”

  “Exactly!” Christian replied, not bothering to explain himself.

  Realizing that she wasn’t going to get anything more out of him, Marley focused on her drink. Despite the noise of the food hall, silence fell on the group, as each of the girls focused on their own pressing concerns.

  Christian finally noticed the strange tension. He stared at four solemn faces, taking in Eve’s nervous energy, Tyler’s tiredness, and Cassie who seemed to be fidgeting more than usual. Only Marley seemed normal, the thought of which made him snort out loud.

  “Jesus. Look at you. What has happened to you all?”

  Marley repeated his question, but the others only looked more shame-faced until Christian couldn’t hold himself back any further.

  “You’re all feeling down-hearted because of the seals aren’t you?”

  Again, Marley repeated him. When she was done, the others looked at her surprised. While the broken seal was a problem that they felt ashamed by, there were so many other things going wrong in their lives, that it was hard to function. Not knowing any of their inner turmoil, however, Christian continued his pep talk.

  “OK. Breaking the last seal isn’t good, but learn from it. There are still three more seals that we might find before Michael. All is not lost until you’re dead and apparently, not even then. Look at me for proof of that. The four of you just have to focus and continue on. Success isn’t about whether you fail or not, but about picking yourself up when you do.”

  He stopped, waiting for Marley to pass on his words. Instead, Marley looked at him, one brow raised.