Chapter 4
The next morning, Harrison strolled into the asylum at Tabitha’s beck and call.
Rocking a crisp white coat and gold–rimmed glasses, he looked like he’d just walked off a movie set–pure charm with a side of swagger.
“Hey, you can relax,” he said, flashing a smile that could charm the pants off anyone. “I’m your doc, here to patch you up, alright?”
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In the novel, Harrison was sold as this sweet, soulful psychiatrist–think warm hugs and kind eyes. But that was all stoke and mirrors. The guy had no morals, no limits. Like the male lead, he was head–over–heels for Tabitha, the heroine.
After the original Geneva got written out of the story, he stirred up all kinds of chaos for the main couple, only to crash and burn. In the end, he ditched town vowed to stay single, and carried a torch for Tabitha ‘til his dying day.
When Tabitha learned Harrison was behind her sister’s death, she barely flinched. Three seconds later, she’d already forgiven him.
‘He only did it ‘cause he’s crazy about me,’ she told herself. ‘How could I be mad?‘
It never crossed her mind to wonder if Geneva, the poor soul who got offed, might’ve had a different take on the whole “being dead” thing.
Geneva let out a soft, bitter laugh, locking eyes with Harrison like she didn’t have a care in the world.
?
+15
In this twisted story, everyone’s sense of right and
wrong danced
to
Tabitha’s tune.
Harrison’s grin turned oily as he leaned closer, his voice starting low and creepy before it ramped up, thick with venom.
“Listen, darling, he cooed. “You’re done. This world’s got no place for you…”
Anyone who dared to rain on Tabitha’s parade? Harrison made sure they were toast.
But Geneva just stared him down, her face blank as a stone. Harrison’s smug look started to crack, confusion creeping into his eyes.
Finally, he bolted, storming out of the room.
Harrison was a big shot, a hotshot psychiatrist straight from some fancy overseas gig. When he showed up at the asylum, the other doctors were practically tripping over each other to kiss up to him.
But when he blew out of the room, he ignored their “Yo, Dr. Fox!” greetings and charged straight upstairs.
The doctors shot each other looks.
“Man, this dude’s got some serious attitude,” one muttered.
“Big brains, bigger ego,” another said, rolling their eyes.
They were about to scatter when a gut–wrenching thud rang out from outside.
They scrambled to the window and gaped. “Holy crap, it’s Dr. Fox! He just chucked himself off the roof!”
“…What the actual hell? Who does that?”
Sprawled on the concrete, pain yanked Harrison back to reality. Through bleary eyes, he spotted Geneva at the window, smirking down at him with a wicked, “gotcha” grin.
He wanted to jump up, to wipe that smug lock off her face, but his body was dead weight.
Panic clawed at his chest. She turned my own hypnosis against me?‘
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12:20 Thu, 22 May G G G
Chapter 4
Harrison was rushed to the hospital. Nobody noticed Geneva slip out of the asylum like she was never there.
Tabitha didn’t get the news until the next day. She barreled into the hospital, heart pounding like a drum.
They’d pulled Harrison through, but it cost him big–both legs amputated below the knee. Harrison was a broken man now, inside and out.
65%
Tabitha hovered over Harrison’s hospital bed, tears streaming down her face, her voice wobbling like a bad karaoke singer. “Harrison, what the hell happened? You were fine, man–why’d you try to check out like that?”
Her mind was a whirlwind. ‘Harrison’s got it that bad for me? Bad enough to yeet himself off a building?‘
Guilt gnawed at her insides. ‘What am I supposed to do? I’m all in with Stan. I can’t handle Harrison’s crush!
Harrison looked like death warmed over, his face pale as he fought to keep his inner menace on lockdown.
“It was Geneva,” he said, voice low and gritty. “She got in my head, Tabitha. Freaking hypnotized me into taking a dive off that roof.”
Tabitha’s eyes popped wide, her heart skipping a beat. ‘Geneva? Pulling some creepy mind–trick BS? No way she’s got that kind of mojo.‘
But then a flicker of doubt hit her. ‘Harrison doesn’t lie. So… is this my fault? Did I screw him up this bad?‘
“I’m so sorry, Harrison,” she choked out, guilt crushing her like a ton of bricks. “This is all on me. I never should’ve sent you to check on my sister.”
“Relax, it ain’t on you,” he shot back, but there was a dark vibe in his tone, like he was already plotting. Geneva did this, and he was gonna make her regret it–tear her apart, slow and painful.
15
wy own sister pull this crap? Yeah, I ditched my wedding, but I was backed into a corner!
Tabitha’s rage at Geneva boiled
over, hot and
bitter. ‘How could
‘I’m crazy about Stan–is that such a freaking sin?‘
Her thoughts spiraled, fists clenched tight. ‘I’ve been let it go?
a
mess, barely eating, barely sleeping, drowning in guilt. Isn’t that enough? Why won’t Geneva just
‘Why won’t she divorce Stan and stop making me the bad guy? I’m her sister, for crying out loud–how can she treat me like dirt? And now she’s gone and wrecked Harrison too.‘
Harrison only went to see Geneva because Tabitha practically begged him. And what did Geneva do? Left him in pieces, stuck in a wheelchair.
‘She just sashays out of the nuthouse like it’s nothing, not giving a damn about me,‘ Tabitha seethed. ‘I owe Harrison everything now–his legs, his whole damn life. I’ll never dig myself out of this debt.’
Her heart bled for everyone else. For Stan, trapped in a loveless marriage. For her parents, stuck raising a selfish brat like Geneva. For herself, cursed with a sister who’d rather torch everything than act human. For Harrison, broken and betrayed. Everyone got her pity–everyone except Geneva.
Jabitha was so used to Geneva soaking up all the blame, all the pain, that it felt like the way things were supposed to be.
Geneva didn’t deserve a shred of sympathy. In Tabitha’s book, everyone else was innocent, and Geneva was the villain who’d turned their lives into a dumpster fire.
‘Why doesn’t she just disappear for good?‘ she thought.
And then, like some twisted cosmic joke, Geneva did exactly that. Vanished. Poof–gone, like she’d been sucked into a black hole. Even Stan couldn’t hunt her down to shove divorce papers in her face.
Deep down, the original Geneva wasn’t even that big on revenge. All she’d ever wanted was to live loud, to blaze bright, to stop being the nobody
everyone stepped over.
Now, the new Geneva was out there, chasing that dream, grabbing whatever she needed to make it real.
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