Finding Beauty (Rewrite)

Chapter 52

~Beauty~

Numb - that was the best way she could describe it.

She sat on the roof in silence until the police came and dragged Grayson off until they could figure out what happend. She was breathing. She could feel the wind against her skin and smell the blood on the concrete. She could think straight, her thoughts weren't disjointed or hysterical, but she couldn't feel it. She couldn't feel the loss of Teigan or even the loss of Grayson.

He shouted to her as they cuffed him. "He was going to hurt you. You're traumatized and sick in the head and he was going to use that to trap you again!"

His words were not a reflection of what he truly thought but rather a plan. It was their strategy. If she vouched for him in saying that the Beast was endangering her life, he would vouch for her that Bethany's trauma was what made her try to go and rescue a criminal. It wasn't like she could refuse his offer. No matter how angry she was at him - which she wasn't - his version of the story was the only one that would hold up in court.

When she was coaxed off the roof and escorted into a police vehicle, she caught a glance at Cassandra standing in the growing crowd of people behind the yellow tape of the scene. She had shapeshifted into Detective Jacobs to distract the officers and had even planned to pose as a fake Teigan before having to flee at the sight of the real Jacobs.

Carina came up beside Cassandra. After sharing a short word, she ducked under the tape and told an officer who she was to Beth. They let her through only to let Bethany know she would meet her at the police station. Cassandra's face was the most pouted Beth had seen, but behind that pout was a layer of dread too deep for Bethany to stare at any longer. She wondered if it was for the loss of Teigan or for the guilt she would feel for not righting her wrong.

The sky darkened as the sun finished setting and the rain finally came in a light drizzle. As Beth waited in the cop car she overheard an officer speaking to Jacobs. She watched them through the rain dotted window.

"We're still searching for the body but the amount of blood is significant. Wherever he is, he's dead."

The sentence could only cause a twinge of pain in Beth. It passed, leaving her numb again.

She felt some relief when the police let her go after interviewing her. There was doubt in her mind that they wouldn't use the events of the day as enough evidence to chase after the narrative Detective Brendan had been spinning for months. It let her know that aside from her suspicious behavior on the roof, there was nothing of value that even pointed in that direction.

As she walked to the lobby of the building, feeling like she had millstones tied to her ankles, she caught Brendan having what seemed to be a meltdown from the corner of her eye.

He was pale as a sheet of paper. The bags under his eyes were huge and dark. His cell phone was pressed up against his ear and his gaze was far away. When he placed his cell down, he was gasping for air.

"My wife . . ." he said to no one in particular. "She's alive."

From the other side of the station calls came in. An officer turned his mouth agape to his coworker. "There's a whole backyard full of wanted criminals. What are the odds of that? All disoriented enough not to resist arrest!"

The words were static in the background of Beth's world. Her attention was predominantly focused on the glass doors that would set her free from the station for the rest of her life. This chapter of life was really coming to a close then. Two of the most important characters had been permanently removed from the story.

Carina met her outside. She placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, her own face twisted in grief. She had known Teigan for years. In a sense, she had taken care of him for years. Beth wished she could feel the pain with her.

"Have you heard from your mother?" she asked. "She ought to be here for you. Even if she doesn't understand what's going on she should be concerned."

"She called," Beth replied monotonously. "She's stuck on the trains."

Cassandra stepped out of the car. She had her arms wrapped around herself and her shoulders hunched. The posture made her appear small.

"I know today has been hard enough but I have some more upsetting news."

Bethany braced herself, guessing that this would be the final blow that would take her out.

"The final petal of the rose fell right when Teigan died . . ." She trailed off , glancing away. Looking Beth and Carina in the eye was becoming increasingly hard for her as the day progressed.

This didn't have an effect on Beth. If anything, in a morbid way, it made it better he was gone. If he had lived he would have been sentenced to go on in the tormented existence that the curse brought on him. She hated herself for thinking that. She wasn't thinking straight.

She analyzed the blonde's expression. "There's more . . . Isn't there?"

Tears brimmed Cassandra's eyes. Beth could tell Carina had been told this news prior by her reaction of dropping her head. Bethany really braced herself this time. This was going to be bad.

"I figured out how to break the curse. Teigan had to fall in love with someone other than himself and be loved in return."

The opposite of being selfish was truly and unselfishly loving someone else.

She held her breath.

"The curse broke a few moments just before he died . . . Because you truly fell in love with him."

Bethany felt something then. It came in a rushing wind that chilled her to her bone and suffocated her. It made her want to scream.

It was the piercing hurt of being inches, seconds from a happy ending.