Finding Beauty

Chapter 43

~Beauty~

Seconds turned into minutes, minutes turned into hours, hours turned into days, and days turned into two months. The petal's of the rose keep falling. There are hardly any left and still, Gale remains a beast.

We spend most days in the library. We read books and have long discussions about them. We read all the classics, then moved on to the more recent books. Besides that, we talked. Our conversations seemed to flow naturally. We were talking about plenty of things like sports and music.

But we also talked about deeper things like how Gale has no idea where his father went when he left him with Carina. We talked about how he could track him down if he wanted to through the checks he sends Carina but he doesn't. He feels it's time for him to let go of his father and maybe even this whole mansion with it's haunting memories. Maybe move somewhere new and start all over.

I told him about losing my dad, about how he got hit by car while he was out buying birthday gifts for me. I recalled the cracked doll that laid on the street pavement. Gale patiently listened, giving me a comforting squeeze every so often.

I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy his company. I actually looked forward to hanging out with him. Gale's just interesting. He puts up this front but when you get to know him you find he's really thoughtful. He always has an opinion, always has a thought.

He's also funny in kind of a sarcastic sort of way that you only catch if your really listening.

However, I did find myself missing home every now and then.

I day dream about returning and about things going back to normal. But they could never go back to normal and that's because of Gale. I'm not sure if that's necessarily a bad thing since I really do like Gale. I want to go home but at the same time...I don't want to lose Gale.

In the quiet moments of our days we both realized that most of the time we were just trying to distract ourselves from the truth. The curse isn't breaking and it looks like it never will.

Today, I find myself standing in the cramped tiny room where the first rose hovers over the desk. Gale and Carina are at my sides silently observing it. Their eyes are glassy yet fierce. Like maybe if they stare hard enough they'll magically restore the rose to it's former beauty. There's only a handful of petals still attached to the bud and they look one tap away from crumbling off.

"I was really hoping the curse would be broken," Gale says breaking the silence. He stares straight ahead probably imagining what his life could be now if the curse did break.

"Me too," adds Carina with a sad smile.

"Me three," I mumble.

The atmosphere feels heavy. Like something was just lost. I guess something kind of was: Gale's second chance at making things right and having a happy ending.

What's even worse is that we don't understand why. He did the selfless act. He let Tyler Daniels live and led him to the police. Gale has changed yet he's still cursed. It isn't fair.

We were given false hope only to be disappointed all over again.

"You know," Gale starts, turning to me,"I never thought I would break the curse before I met you. You gave me hope and I thank you for that."

I raise my eyebrows at the statement.

Me?

"You helped me realize that it really wasn't my fault that my mother died," he pauses with tears starting to glisten in his eyes.

Words cannot describe how glad I am that Gale finally understands this. Now, maybe having her stay a rose won't hurt as much. He knows there's nothing he could have done to stop this. I place my hand on his shoulder and give it a light squeeze with a smile. "She would be really proud of you," I say meaning every word.