Finding Beauty

Chapter 8

~Beauty~

Home? Does he expect me to just learn to be happy here? Yeah, right. Home is where my heart is and it's definitely not here. So if The Beast thinks I'm just going to sit here and watch TV like everything's fine, he's wrong. I'm going to get out of here and go to my home where my mother, Grayson, and books are.

He can change every lock, every key, and I will still find my way home. I will become free again. My life will not be put on pause because he wants to keep me locked up like a prisoner. These four walls cannot contain me. I will not stay here shut away from the world, my world. The world he took away from me.

That monster.

Taking a breath, I put all my frustration on the side. I need to think clearly in order to get out of here.

I know the front door is locked. Maybe I can try a window on the first floor?

I quietly get up from the couch and make my way down the stairs. Then, I tiptoe into the dining room. The place reminds me of the dinner and how cruel The Beast is. It further motivates me. I need to get out of here.

Behind the large dining table, now without the fancy sheet is just a scratched up wooden table, is a set of large windows with their shades pulled down and curtains pulled over. I try pulling on the windows but the moment my fingers touch the rim, I notice a little machine on the windows top. At further investigation, I find it's an alarm and all the windows have them.

"Shoot..." I mumble. Now what? Well, it seems like the only way out is through the front door. I'll have to find the key to unlock it.

Where would a murderer hide a key? Never thought I'd ever have to think about that before...

In books, it's usually either on the person or in the person's room. If The Beast has it on him I'm hopeless. Let's hope it's in his room.

I creep back up the stairs and stop at the floor where "my room" is. The Beast said I could go anywhere but upstairs. . . so it has to be upstairs!

I swallow hard. This is it. This story can either end with me getting into bigger trouble with my kidnapper or with me getting away.

As much as I rather not throw myself into such a big risk, I know I have to. The way my story ends isn't completely up to me but I'm going to do what I can to make the best of it.

One step after another, I climb the stairs. Once I see what's up them I nearly run back down.

The floor's carpet is tattered into bits and pieces but still a large part of it remains stretched across the floor. The walls have claw marks running down them that splinter the lime green paint. There are three doors and 2 of them seem to be hanging by their hinges. One stands at the edge of the hallway and it's door remains sturdy but clawed and scratched.

My stomach sinks. Maybe the key isn't up here. Maybe The Beast told me to not come here because it's a safety hazard. The whole level looks like a victim to one of his tantrums.

I try to shake off the negativity and hurry into the room with the sturdiest door. It turns out to be a bedroom, The Beast's bedroom I'm guessing.

Unlike the rest of this floor, it is seemingly neat, tidy, and dark. In order to not draw attention to the room, I decide to keep it that way. I'm about to start looking through all his drawers and shelves when something on his nightstand stops me.

The rose my mother took is hovering above the nightstand, glowing a dark red shade.

Wait. Hovering? Glowing?

It holds me in a trance. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Is this what my mother saw when she stole it from his garden? Was the garden filled with roses like these?

The rose is the only light source in the room and gives everything in proximity a red tint. I gape at it. How could it be floating?

I look all around it, determined to find how it is happening but can't find or see any logical answer.

Magic. The word floats into my head.

I reach out my hand to touch its petals when my eyes spot the shine of a key. It's right next to the rose. I take it in my pocket, praying it's the key to unlock the front door.

There's a shuffling sound coming from outside the door that makes me freeze. How could I be so reckless? The Beast is up here!

The room has a large bed in the center of the room that has enough space underneath for me to slide under. So I do. My heartbeat pounds in my chest so hard I can feel it. I squeeze my eyes shut and cover my mouth with my hands. I focus on my breathing as his black boots walk alongside the bed. If I make one wrong move, any small noise. . .

You've done it now, Belle.

I hear rustling and see his feet shuffle around the room in a hurry. "Where's the stupid key?!" His voice startles me and I jump, resulting in banging my head. Then, he stills as if he's listening for something. It's silent, except for the echo of my head hitting the bed.

"I don't have time for this!" he shouts angrily.

If he finds me now . . .

I'm definitely not waiting for that. I take advantage of him being on the other side of the bed and crawl out.

I peek up from my hiding spot and find him wearing the same outfit he was wearing when he kidnapped me, his hoodie and mask. He's violently rummaging through some drawers. "Now, I can't find the freaking spare key!"

Temper, temper.

Since the door is open, I decide to make a stealthy run for it. I don't stop until I'm all the way down stairs. I do a quick check for the maid and to check if The Beast heard me. Thankfully, the coast is clear.

I go to the front door and place the key in the lock, quietly turning it.

Click.

I nearly scream in excitement. I open the door, step outside, and let the cool air greet my skin.

~The Beast~

Once I finally find the spare key I rush out of the house, not even checking for Carina or Belle. Enough time has been wasted already. I lock the door behind me and jog over to my car, a four door sedan.

I quickly look over the mini castle, in front of me. Large, green vines cover the faded red bricks and lime green roof. All of the window’s curtains are drawn and no light seems to be coming from inside the house. The black paint of the gate that surrounds it is chipped and peeling. It's nothing but a shadow of what the place use to be.

My car sits under an enclosed bridge that connects the first half of the mansion to the second half. It looks even more forgotten than the rest of it. That's because I tried to forget it. The door to the bridge is locked and I never go near it, Carina is forbidden to. Too many terrible memories await for me inside of it, a collection of fears I refuse to face.

Fortunately, not many people live around here. It's just large forest containing small cabins that you can rent out for a while. But there isn't much security so people end up sneaking into the cabins for free. It would be the perfect place for a criminal on the run to rest. In fact, I'm counting on it. I'm planning to look around Cabin A21. It's in the most empty area. Nothing but trees and dirt around. Perfect place to find Ryan Daniels.

I drive for about 15 minutes, before I make a turn down the last road, something falls in the back of my car. With a groan, I turn to see what it is when an arm locks around my neck and holds it me against the seat, choking me.

I keep one hand on the steering wheel and use the other to scratch the arm that holds me down. My claws break their skin and they yelp in pain, releasing me. I quickly stop the car and climb out. I tear open the back door, ready to strangle the life out of someone.

Instead I find a girl holding her arm and gritting her teeth in pain. Her brown hair sticks to her face.

"Belle?"

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