Finding Beauty

Chapter 40

I wish I could text her but my phone fell out of my pocket and through an opening in the vents ages ago.

I groan as my head hits the top of the vent again. I slam my fist down in frustration. It makes a hollow noise.

Wait, what?

I start crawling faster, feeling even more motivated. As I predicted, around the corner of the vent tunnel is another opening. I grit my teeth and release all my worry in a punch that forces the cover to give away and swing open.

I fall a few feet to the ground and roll to break the fall. Luckily, the vent opening is in a private area next to a stairwell and elevator. No one witnessed my little jail break.

There's a crunch sound under my shoe and I look to find a phone underneath. I pick it up and find that it's mines.

How did it get here?

The screen is opened to a message from a blocked number.

If you ever want to see Belle again go down the stairwell and don't stop until you're at the basement.

I feel my heartbeat against my chest like a caged animal.

Tyler must have Belle. This is all my fault! I shouldn't have let her come. Now Tyler has me wrapped around his finger. None of this is even her fault! I 'killed' his brother- not her!

I take a shaky breath and try to think clearly. I have to think clearly for her. With my phone in hand, I walk into the empty elevator and press the button for the basement. Tyler is expecting me to come from the stairs so the elevator is my best bet at surprising him and maybe gaining the upper hand.

I squeeze my hand into fist as I watch the dial of the elevator move, only it doesn't move. I press the basement button again but nothing.

My phone vibrates in my hand. It's another text from the blocked number.

I said stairwell. Now she dies.

It feels like the world is frozen for a moment. Like someone hit pause. I don't feel anything but pure shock and horror.

I killed Belle. Not Tyler. I killed her by not following his directions. By leaving her alone. By letting her tag along. By kidnapping her in the first place. I killed her like I killed all those criminals. Like my mother.

How could I have ever thought that I was capable of anything good? How could I have thought I would just come to this party, bring Tyler to jail, and then break the curse? All that hope was just stupidity.

I feel a horrible feeling incircle my heart. It feels like barbed wire is squeezing it and I can't breathe.

I ruined everything. I am a beast. I destroy everything I touch. Now the only beautiful thing in my life is going to die. My most beautiful rose.

I wish the four walls of the elevator would just come down on me. I deserve it.

Just as my life begins crumbling down, so does the elevator. It creaks loudly as a warning sound and then drops. It falls down faster than I ever thought possible. My stomach flutters in response and I have to hold on to the railing to keep from flying towards the ceiling.

I scream, making my lungs ache and sting. But I'm not screaming for me, I'm screaming for Belle.

The wonderful girl I murdered.

~Beauty~

Light shines on my face making it feel warm. I don't open my eyes though. I just lay here. I probably have a few minutes before I need to get ready for school anyways.

Hopefully this is a good morning. Hopefully my mom is still sleeping and not causing trouble in the house or anywhere else. Maybe she won't be high. Maybe this will be the day she decides to quit and get help. It's not likely but a girl can hope.

If she is being a handful I'll just go over to Grayson's for breakfast. I have to pick him up and drive him to school in Pedro anyways. We can talk about the last episode of The Walking Dead over a muffin like we usually do. He'll cheer me up like he always does.

Wait. No.

I'm no longer at home. I was kidnapped by The Beast. That life was taken away from me a while ago.

In that case, I must be lying in the room Carina redecorated for me. The book with the beautiful quote painted onto it rest above me and the fresh smell of the forest leaks from the window. I'll probably sleep in today since I feel so tired. Then I'll go to the library with Gale and read books with him like we've been doing lately. Whenever I read a book -though he tries hard to hide it- he picks up the same book right after. I think he does it on purpose. I think he likes talking about books with me. Or just talking to me I'm general. Either way I don't mind. I like talking to him too.

Then, I'll get Carina to watch Mean Girls with me. She said she's never seen it before and I just know she'll love it. She's a fan of cliche drama's. Besides, after binge watching the whole Pretty Little Liars series together I realized how fun it is to watch things with her. She always screams at the characters like they can actually hear her and take her advice.

Wait. That already happened. I did that a week ago.

Where am I now?

Bang!

I jolt up and into a sitting position. My hands feel the hard floor beneath me while my ears ring. My eyes adjust to the light and I realize it's a cheap lamp hanging above me.

I don't recognize this place.

That's when I see him. Tyler Daniels. It all falls back into place and I remember where I am and what's going on. He holds his gun up at the ceiling with smile. His mask rest atop his head and he looks back at me.

"Morning, sunshine."

Author's Note- Thanks for reading! Did you enjoy this chapter? Vote and comment! :)