Finding Beauty

Chapter 16

~The Hunter~

I stare at the bloody bandages on the hospital tray and shiver. They have the air conditioner blasting at it's highest speed but that's not why.

I hear the click of my mom's heel's approaching the door. Closing my eyes, I prepare for the massive amount of lecturing I'm going to hear.

Her tear filled eyes travel my beaten and bruised body peeking through my dirty and ripped clothes. Her expressionless face starts to crack like a broken vase until she brings her hand to her mouth. Her shoulders shake while holding in a sob.

"Mom, I'm okay," I comfort but even my voice betray's me. It comes out sounding like a strangled groan.

She slowly walks over and when she speaks, her own voice is a small whisper. "How could you do this to me? To yourself? You almost died."

It's a bit of an exaggeration but I don't argue. My worst injury is the fractured rib, which is pretty bad. The rest are like scrapes in comparison. But to a mom, the black eye and busted lip are painful to see.

"I heard a noise and thought it was Belle. I'm sorry." I shrug and end up wincing. The guys took their bats and hockey sticks and beat me until the cops came. Of course, I got a few swings in there too but they definitely hurt me more than I hurt them. A group of armed men against one person... that's called cowardice.

"You promised me you would call the police and you didn't. Now, don't you even think about leaving the house," she hisses, her sadness turning into anger.

"What? What about school?"

"When you're recovered I will drive you and pick you up from school. I can't trust you anymore. This whole Belle thing is getting out of hand and it stops right here," she says pointing her finger for emphasis.

Officer Browns knocks on the open hospital door. "Sorry to interrupt. How are you feeling, Grayson?"

"Fantastic," I mutter sarcastically.

He chuckles. "I can imagine." Then his expression hardens as he turns to my mother. "Mrs.Bolton, may I speak to you in private?"

"Of course. We will continue this later," she tells me with a pointed look. They make their way outside my door and stop a few feet away.

What could Officer Browns be telling her? Hopefully not feeding her mind with idea's of total house arrest... Or maybe he's found something on Belle! My curiosity gets the best of me and I limp over to the half shut door, willing my ear to pick up on the words they were saying.

"...serious danger. He could easily do something like this again and locking him up isn't going to completely resolve the issue," I hear Officer Browns state. His voice is edged with something like persuasion.

"So what do you suggest I do?" my mother asks, hugging herself. She looks desperate to find a solution to fix me.

"You have to get him some help for his mental state." I feel a chill run down my spine. What is he gonna do? Lock me up in an asylum for trying to find my best friend? I'm not going crazy.

"Mental state? I mean, I know he's grieving over Belle and to deal with it he's trying to find her. Do you think he needs someone to talk to or-?"

I get a better look around the door and see Officer Browns place his hand down, stopping her mid sentence. His expression, dull and hard.

"Not only does he need help to deal with his grieving but...He said he heard a female scream come from the mansion when there were only males," he points out.

"What are you saying?"

"And he also has some weird notion he'll find her in a castle which corresponds to children books with knights in shinning armor saving princesses in distress."

"Are you trying to say you think he's going crazy?!" my mom shrieks angrily.

"No, no. I'm just saying that situations like these can change people. Sometimes, for the worst," he says in a calm tone.

"I appreciate you trying to help but my son is not crazy!" With that, my mom starts stomp back over to my room.

I fling myself onto the hospital bed and presume a casual sitting position, staring at my hands. I hear her walk back in and stand there. I feel her gaze on me so I look up.

"What was that about?" I ask while crossing and uncrossing my fingers hoping she doesn't know I was ease dropping.

She sighs heavily and rubs her eyes. "Nothing."

I nod and an awkward silence fills the air. Then, ringing. It's my laptop that was placed on the desk next to the hospital bed. My mother brought it so that I could video chat with my father about this whole situation. When he found out about me getting beat up he arranged a time to call. He's all the way in Chicago for a business trip so seeing him in person isn't a real option.

I don't really want to talk to him. My mom's already mad at me, I don't need him to be too. But when I open my laptop I realize it was only an alarm reminding me to call video chat with him.

"Give your father a call. I'll be outside," my mother leaves without another word and I can't help feeling guilty. She's never that dry with her words and expressions.

I find the blue icon with the hand held mirror picture on the screen and click on it. The app is called Mirror Mirror. I guess because it acts like a magic mirror. All you have to do it press the microphone icon, say the person you want to calls name, and in no time their face will pop up on screen, if they choose to answer of course.

I only have a few contacts listed including my mother, father, and Belle. I never used the app much because I wasn't a big fan of it. I only ever used it to talk to my dad who's always away. Even then the conversations were short and lacked meaning.

My dad would ask, "How's school?"

And I'd answer, "Good."

That was all really. Nothing big ever changed in my life, there were only little things. The little things that matter only to someone who is close to you. Sadly, that person wasn't my dad.

Pressing the mic, I say "Dad."

Then the screen turns gray and a swirling arrow pops up on the screen. A few moments later, I am staring straight at my dad.

"Grayson," my name comes out as a gasp. As his hazel eyes take in my black eye and busted lip, his own face grows red. "How did this happen?"

"I was looking for Belle and-"

"Belle?" he questions. He doesn't know about Belle. Mom never told him?

"Uh...Yea. She was kidnapped...by The Beast," I state. My stomach churns while saying it. I hate saying it aloud. It makes it feel more real.

"The Beast?" His face pales and wrinkles while he runs his hand through his gray hair. "How? Why...?" He seems to realize the pain on my face and takes a breath to collect himself. "I'm so sorry, Grayson. I know how much she means to you."

I don't say anything else because I can't. I just can't. The hollowness feels like it's choking me.

"In that case, I won't lecture you about how stupid you were from putting yourself into danger." My dad shuffles in his desk chair and anxiously tugs on a loose thread on his sweater. "I may not be around all the time but...I remember Belle. If you want to find her, go find her."

His words lift a heavy burden off my shoulders. Someone supports me and believes in me.

"Thank you, dad." I say with a smile.

"Your welcome, son."

Author's Note- Remember to vote and comment!

The song above reminds me of Grayson and what he's feeling that's why I linked it.