Haunting Daisy: Experiences of a Physical Therapist

By Michelle Distler Tovar

Daisy has only been a Physical Therapist for a short time. She has a great support system including coworkers, friends, and her wonderful husband. She is very active and compassionate; however, her compassion for her patients begins to interfere with her own life as they readily pass away. Daisy begins seeing and hearing things that she would have been able to disregard if everyone around her was not having the same experiences. She questions how her home and place of business can both be haunted by the same beings, and why they are her former patients. Finally, she realizes that she must combat her past in order to fix her life and her future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 27, 2011
• ISBN: 9781463418731

Michelle Distler Tovar

Michelle Distler Tovar wrote her first book to subtly save her brother's life. He read and loved the book, but her plan failed and with nothing more she could do, he was gone. Throughout this task, she realized her love for writing and continues to take stories from those she knows of their personal experiences and incorporate them into her own works.

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© 2011 by Michelle Distler Tovar. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 06/03/2011

ISBN: 9781463418755 (sc)

ISBN: 9781463418748 (dj)

ISBN: 9781463418731 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011909542

Printed in the United States of America

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Prologue

Introduction

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Epilogue

To the graduating class of 2010, Wallace State

To Michael, Allie, and my mom and dad; who continue to

believe in me

And to Adam, who inspired this side of me. I will always miss you, little brother.

My first book was about you; this one is for you.

(Adam Distler, 1985–2011)

Prologue

Sleep now Daisy said as she swallowed down a ball of nervousness that hung in her throat. She stood over this criminal who had threatened her life and that of her family. This man did the same deed to her friends the same night. The ironic part was that he was now succumbed to the same drug that he used to paralyze his victims. Not just those that he let live, but also those he threw to his pets in the basement, the ever-so-grateful alligators and the illegal kimono dragon.

When she was sure he was no longer conscious, Daisy reached into her back pocket and pulled out her long, thin purple cellular phone and sent a text message to three recipients—Paula, April, and Christina. These were her closest friends, and the four of them remained that way no matter how many times they missed each other on campus, or how often they missed Friday night dinner; or in what order they each became this sordid man’s victims. She slowly and hesitantly slid her thumb over to the center button on her phone to send her note, and simultaneously, the three contacts received her message:

He is asleep. The stuff is in the black bag in my passenger’s seat. Give it ten minutes, then come up. The door is unlocked, but his old, nasty roommate is asleep downstairs so be quiet.

The air outside was cool; a brisk breeze swept away the fallen leaves on the ground, making way for more to gather throughout the upcoming weeks. Autumn is usually a very exciting time in the south. It eliminates the humidity and harshness of the summer sun and allows more activities to persist, including barbeques, camping, rock climbing, or just sitting outside enjoying a favorite book without the sweat soaking the cover under the reader’s hands. Daisy, however, could not enjoy this blissful night. She heard the front door shut, and as she stood up from the recliner in this most awkward place, she looked down at the figure lying in his bed with fear and hatred in her eyes. The hardest part so far was pretending to be interested in him for just a short time after he had allegedly raped her and two of her friends, and attempted a fourth victim. They should have not been at the party to begin with, even if it was on campus and approved by the school directors. He drugged the four girls and, with the aid of his roommate, lured them to his home. Christina, however, never made it as far as his house. She was found the next morning lying in a stall in the campus facility bathroom. The other three were only lucky enough to escape the fate unlike so many who were now sleeping with the reptiles, only because they did not threaten to report him to the police.

The arrival of Daisy’s friends might have been enough to calm her nerves if they were present for any other reason. Paula was the first to enter the room. Is it just you? Daisy asked as she noticed the silence that trailed behind her friend.

Paula flipped her long, straight, red hair off of her leopard—printed purse strap as she answered, "We decided to take separate cars just in case something happens, since we can’t all fit into two cars with his fat ass." She nodded her head in the direction of the sleeping villain and began to dig in her purse. She pulled out the two closed syringes she had recovered from Daisy’s car and a pack of mint gum to calm her own nerves.

So do we wait for them, or what? Daisy was anxious to get the task over with to decrease the likelihood of his roommate waking up and discovering them in this malicious act. Even if he was near sixty years old, that did not mean he slept any less, especially after his daily doses of crack, whiskey, and marijuana.

Well, if you want to, go ahead, Paula said, handing the supplies to Daisy.

I’m not doing it. It was hard enough to get him to sleep. You don’t even know what I went through. It’s someone else’s turn. Daisy tried to hand everything back to Paula when the other two girls walked in. Her short, brown hair dusted her slender neck and caused her to nearly uncap the needle against her skin when she went to move her hair away with the hand holding the syringe.

Did you already do it? Christina asked, hopeful she would not have to witness more than she already had.

No, but one of you has to. I already did my part. Daisy felt she was protected from the blood that would soon be on one of their hands. She did not want to execute him, but she wanted to make it so that he could never hurt anyone ever again; they all did.

Well, you can count me out! April took a few steps backward and subsequently lost her left high-heeled platform shoe on the brass threshold that separated the room from the hallway. She was shorter than the rest of her friends and managed to fake her height with high-heels on most of her shoes. Her hair was thick, but compensated for her long, slender, Italian face that most men swooned over.

Just give it to me! Paula grabbed the syringes out of Daisy’s hands and approached her victim. Geez, if we’re all just going to coward out of this, then why did we come here? She opened the tools and took his arm, then sighed and looked at Daisy. She did not speak, knowing they were both thinking the same thing. Five milliliters of drain cleaner, and then five milliliters of a mixture of anything else they could find went into his arm, but he did not budge. Paula’s eyebrows lowered as she tilted her head in curiosity. Daisy, I think he’s already dead.

No he isn’t. I don’t think I gave him much of that stuff; or not enough to kill him anyway. He was still breathing when I sent you that message. She stood over Paula and took his wrist to check his pulse, then dropped his arm and backed away from him in realization that her friend may be right.

It’s just that, he didn’t flinch or anything and he has already stopped breathing.

I didn’t notice. I mean, I don’t know. How was I supposed to know how much of that crap to give him?! Daisy was now concerned that she had already ended his life. This was one of the aspects that she feared about the entire ordeal. She did not want to know she assassinated another person. She did not want to be a killer.

Well, I guess it doesn’t matter how it happened or who did it, we just need to get him into your car, like, now. Paula stood up and collected any possible evidence, then took one of his legs to help the other three carry the body outside. He was heavy, even though all four girls were carrying their share by a different limb. His head tilted back and drug the floor as they took small steps in unison, stealthily moving past the sleeping roommate.

On the drive to the river, Daisy and April sat next to each other silently and on guard, half-expecting the lifeless man in the back seat to reach up and attack them. Every time April looked back to confirm his status, Daisy glanced at her and waited for an expression that validated everything was still alright, though it truly was not. They had acquired a fear of him after he had initially attacked them, and now that he was dead, they were still just as frightened of him.

The atmosphere at the river was cold and quiet. Every tree and each creature appeared to be watching them. Every sound seemed to be directed toward them. Even the passing water was whispering about their intentions.

Christina put her long blonde hair into a ponytail prior to crouching down to the body that now lay on the cliff overlooking a deeper part of the river. The tire swing that hung behind her was now being used as a temporary hanger for five strands of rope. One by one, she pulled the rope pieces down and tied knots around each limb and the torso of the lifeless monster. She used the knots that she had learned to tie in scuba diving class, so she was certain they would hold, even under water.

The other three girls rolled four old car tire rims and carried a cinder block that they had retrieved from underneath Paula’s house over to where Christina was preparing the corpse for a burial which was frankly more than he deserved. The loose ends of the ropes were then tied to each of these weights and the body was pushed to the very edge of the cliff.

So, uh, does anyone need to say any final words or anything? Daisy asked as they all stood over the body.

Paula gave a contradicting chuckle and used her foot to pushed one of the tire rims off of the cliff. The other girls glanced briefly at her and did the same with the rest of the objects until the body tumbled and splashed into the water. They all stayed long enough to watch the body sink out of sight and then turned and walked to their cars, but not without a middle-finger gesture toward the water and some mouthed profanity from Paula.

Again, the car rides were silent and the girls safely made it back to their dorm. Paula was the only one who lived off-campus, but the other three walked quietly to their rooms and got in bed with only a simple Good night from each.

As Daisy lay under her covers staring up at the ceiling, she could not help but wonder if the entire day had been a horrible dream.

Introduction

Daisy eventually completed her college program, earning a degree in Physical Therapy. The board exams were brutal, yet Daisy passed each milestone by taking it one day at a time. The nightmares from that horrible day when the four girls ended a life slowly faded. She has trained her guilt to yield to the belief that she did not commit a murder, but instead saved countless girls from a monster who would have robbed them of their own futures. The voices in her head tormented her with the battle between shame for the choices she made and validation for the vigilante heroism when she struck back declaring that she will never again be a victim.

She buried her past as deep as she could push it when she met, fell in love with, and married Shawn, who loved her for herself at the present and for the future. Daisy accepted a job at a nursing home next to the city hospital where she had done her internship. This suited Shawn well as he was starting his own farming business where he raised and distributed organic vegetables. To many people, the small town of Eva in Alabama would be a dead end. But Shawn and Daisy loved the easy going country lifestyle. With her grades, she could have worked in the most prestigious hospital in Atlanta or Nashville, but this was home, and this is where they wanted to raise their family.

Chapter One

Thank you so much, Mrs. Smith. You won’t regret it. Daisy put her hand out to shake that of her supervisor’s. It had been nearly four years since the horrible night, but also four years forgotten. The only thing that might briefly remind her of the dreaded incident from time to time is the fact that the place where the body sank deep into the river can be seen from her car on her way to town, and is only about eight miles from her house.

Daisy, how many times do I have to tell you? Mrs. Smith is my mother-in-law’s name. My name is Alana. She took Daisy’s hand with both of hers and shook it. She was a very strong woman who, obviously worked out at the gym and stayed fit throughout her life. She was not thin, but rather toned and sturdy. This made her all the more respected by her employees.

I know. It’s just that I have worked here for almost six months and probably seen you five times. I just don’t want to be disrespectful.

We are both therapists. I may be the one who pays you, but we are all family here. Think of me more as your non-biological half-mother twice removed, and those other four goof-balls out there as more of your sisters than co-workers.

Daisy glanced out the window into the therapy gym to find Jillian and Kristen clapping and laughing at the other two. Robin had hooked Lauren up to an electrical stimulation device that creates muscle contractions. The way she had placed them on her legs, though, initiated a walking pattern that resembled a hen trying to lay an egg while attempting to make its way to the feed on the other side of the pen.

This made Daisy smile so big that it showed all of her teeth. Before she could laugh, though, her attention was quickly diverted away from the comedy show to regard her supervisor.

I’m truly impressed by the work that you do and the reaction that our patients have to you. I even have them asking for you by name. That’s something to be proud of. You deserve every penny of this raise. Alana become aware of the clock beside her and continued, Oh, wow, I didn’t notice the time. We need to get our patients down here before they think we forgot about them. Go tell the others, please.

Daisy thanked her once again and went to the gym where her four coworkers were already putting up their toys and leaving to go and gather their groups of patients. Time to be professional, Daisy said as she smiled, and received four smiles back.

How’d it go with Alana? Robin asked as they began to walk down the Lavender hallway. Did she give you a good evaluation?

It went pretty well. Daisy answered as she continued smiling. I think she still likes me.

Well, of course she does. If we all like you, she has no reason not to. Robin turned the corner to gather her group of patients as Daisy continued straight ahead. The therapy room exited to a nurses’ station at which point five hallways branched, each belonging to a different physical therapist’s patient load and a different nursing staff. Each hall was also identified by the color of the walls. Daisy had the yellow hall, Robin had the light blue, Kristen had the green, Jillian had the pink, and Lauren had the Dark blue. The therapy gym was lavender and was the only place with a black and white checker-board pattern on the floor. All other floors in the facility looked like an elementary school cafeteria, except the upstairs formal dining room that had white floors to match its white walls and white tables.

Daisy knocked on the door to the last room on the left before entering. She spoke in a quiet, yet enthusiastic tone as she asked, Ms. Henderson? Are you ready to come work out with me? She always began her route with the patients who she was most familiar with due to their length of residency.

I’m ready, I’m ready. I can get there by myself. If you try to push me in that dang chair, I’ll run over your toes. I don’t even need that thing. I don’t know why you guys keep putting it in my room. Chairs are for sitting, not traveling. Ms. Henderson was very assertive and independent, and was also very unwilling to seek help or assistance when she really needed it. She, too, was a physical therapist once and exhibited a stubborn mannerism when it came to any offered help. Her attitude may have been due to this fact or possibly a stereotypical characteristic of the red hair that hung just below her shoulders.

"Ok,