Finding Beauty

Chapter 26

~The Hunter~

I've only been inside for about 5 minutes and I was somehow dragged onto the dance floor and surrounded by a bunch of friends. They were all excited to see that I showed up and introduced me to almost everyone else at the party as,"That guy who was going to fight a murderer."

But after a few more minutes my head is spinning and all the bodies pressed together has made me feel sick. I shove my way through the crowd and find a couch in a corner, away from the main party and sit.

I haven't been to a party for a while. Belle never got invited to any and I would feel bad if I went to one without her. And now she's gone and I'm at one...It just doesn't feel right.

"Hey," a voice says. I look up to find a girl with red hair, a black lacy tank top, and long boots standing in front of me. She's the girl that always sits behind me. The one I heard likes me. Kira, I think. She looks really pretty tonight.

"Hey," I reply with half a smile. She sits next to me and leans back onto the couch.

"Is everything alright?" Her voice has a hint of an accent I think she once said was British. I shrug and lean back, staring at the ceiling.

"I don't know..."

"Been there before." She turns her head to the other side of the room and then back at me. "Looks like you've got an admirer over there."

Kira nods in the vague direction of three girls I don't think I've seen before staring at me. They see I noticed and blush and giggle at each other.

"You've been getting a lot of those lately. Ever since the whole heroic quest to find your friend," she says her tone suggesting boredom.

"Yea. It feels good in a sense but then...it doesn't. It's weird," I say giving up on trying to explain. She nods even though it doesn't seem like she understands. "I shouldn't have came here."

"Me either," she admits with a sigh. "This isn't really my scene. It's more like me to stay home and read a book, you know?" After a moment she shakes her head and her cheeks redden. "I probably sound like such a nerd. I shouldn't have said that."

"No, it's fine." It reminds me of Belle. Even if she was invited to parties I doubt she would go to any of them. She'd probably say something like that too.

I mentally sigh, wishing my mind would stop wandering back to Belle and connecting everything to her. Yes, I do want her to be back home but she isn't and I can't do anything about it. I was so stupid and naive to think that me, some teenage boy, could just go out and miraculously find her. It's been weeks and the police haven't found anything, not even a clue.

She's probably dead.

The word floats around in the air for a bit. My mind and heart are frozen at the thought. Then, I feel it's impact like an ice cold sword stabbing into my chest.

Dead?

"You need to prepare yourself for the chance that they may never find her or when they do they will find her dead." The therapist's words replay in my head.

Dead?

The beautiful, sweet girl in my life just gone? My best friend, my soulmate, my everything. How did she die? Was she brutally murdered? Scared? Did she call my name? What were her last thoughts? Did she feel alone? Did she suffer a lot?

No. I don't want her to be gone. I love her.

Kira's face appears in front of mine. "Hey, are you okay? You don't look so well..."

I need to prepare myself. I need to forget. If I don't this will tear me apart. It'll kill me. I don't want to feel this pain. I've always loved Belle. Maybe it's time to love someone else.

My lips crash onto Kira's lips.

She instantly pulls away, her eyebrows drawn together in frustration. "What the heck was that?!"

Her anger makes me angry. "What do you mean? I thought you had a crush on me? Isn't that why you always try to sit next to me? You should be happy!"

Her jaw drops. "Okay. You know what? Coming over here and checking on you was clearly a mistake. You're crazy!" She quickly walks away and disappears in the crowd. Her red hair swirling like a tornado behind her.

"Dang it!" I furiously run my fingers through my hair. What was I thinking?

Johnny walks over looking back at Kira. "What's wrong with her? Doesn't she like you?"

I shake my head. "If she did she doesn't anymore."

"Look, man," he says all calm like, "you didn't do anything wrong. She led you on! What were you suppose to do? Let a pretty girl go? Nah, bro!" He playfully punches my shoulder and I don't even try to laugh along.

"I think I'm gonna go," I state brushing off my jeans and standing up. My stomach hurts and my head is pounding. I'm seconds away from letting out all the contents of my stomach.

"Aw, man. You sure? The party just started!" he complains. I walk past him nodding my head.

"I'm sure."

I practically jog out of the house and into Pedro. I let the windows down and sit for a while with my head resting on the steering wheel.

If I could go back in time I would do anything to stop Belle from being kidnapped. Anything. I would give anything for me to drive to her house and for to just be there with her fierce brown eyes and warm smile. To hear her kind and encouraging words and comfort her when a character in one of her books died.

So without really thinking about it, I find myself taking the old road over to her apartment building. The street signs and buildings seeming like small shadows melting into the background. I just keep my eyes on the patch of light in front of the car, trying not to think, trying to force the pain away.

Author's Note- I hope you loved this chapter! Leave a vote and comment! :)