Finding Beauty (Rewrite)

Chapter 34

~Beauty~

Teigan was one of the most quiet people Beth had ever known but somehow the house was significantly more quiet without him.

It had been a couple of days with him in the city and his absence made her whole experience at the house feel like an episode of The Twilight Zone. The house wasn't a prison without the Beast. Without him, it was just a beautiful house with a friendly maid. Beth could close her eyes and pretend she had earned the house through years of hard work or she had inherited it from a long, lost rich relative. She was the queen of the castle.

Somehow, the daydream was not as satisfying as she hoped it would. The bliss of it all wore out the first day. She loved speaking with Carina but it was different from speaking to someone around her age. She kind of missed Teigan.

It was a thought that made her cringe at herself and question her sanity. On the outside looking in, it was an insane thought. When people started missing their captors, it was called an illness. Yet, knowing what she knew, it wasn't the most radical thing. He hadn't taken her to hurt her but to save his own behind from the cops. It was a life insurance policy gone wrong and he was working to free her as soon as possible. He was kind to her, generous even, though they bumped heads at the start.

Besides all that, he was good company. He let her speak without interrupting or judging and though he was awkward he made her feel like he cared about what she talked about. He was gentle too. Never had she thought that a crime fighting vigilante could be so gentle. She remembered how lightly he held her when they danced at the masquerade and how he held her after the night went sour. He was the tranquility in the midst of her suffering.

She missed her daily mission of getting him to roll his eyes at her. It was becoming increasingly difficult as their days together went on. Either she was falling off her game or his tolerance for her was growing.

He did call her every night.

Sometime around nine in the evening, probably when his day of crime fighting was just kicking off, the house phone ran. The first time it did, she stared at it from her place on the couch. It was sitting on the fireplace mantel, shaking the whole thing with its high pitched tone. The only time she had ever seen it ring was when Tyler Daniels called the house. She didn't like the idea that someone was calling the phone Teigan said no one ever called. Carina was already tucked in and sound asleep so she couldn't let it go on ringing. Beth had gotten up and placed it to her ear, not saying a word.

"Hello?"

She felt the tension release from her body as she recognized his voice.

"Hey, Spiderman. What have you been up to?"

From then on, they'd talk for a couple minutes about what he was doing to try and save someone in the city. Then she would tell him about one of the books she was reading or about something that happened between her and Carina. It wasn't the same as seeing him in person but it would do for the meantime. Having him call to check on her inexplicably filled her with delight.

It was sunset and Beth was sitting on her usual spot on the couch. Though her mind was trained on the mystery thriller she was reading, she couldn't help but notice something moving around in her peripheral. She glanced up and into the backyard.

There stood a deer.

The fence was high, almost too high for a human to climb. She couldn't think of how a deer could have gotten in. The white tail stared at her through the window glass as still as a statute. After admiring its beauty, she rose from her seat to investigate.

She threw a jacket over her t-shirt and leggings, zipping up as she stepped outside. There was snow on the ground that was half melted. Her sneakers would have to do for quick exploration.