Finding Beauty

Chapter 44

I feel a wave of dizziness pass me.

There's only one way to find out. I step up, about to ask the women to see Officer Browns when a hand taps my shoulder from behind.

This startles me. I jump and quickly turn around. A familiar face greets my eyes. I gasp.

What is she doing here?

"Hello, Grayson," Mrs.Anderson says a little nonchalantly. Her hair isn't pulled back into one of her usual messy buns. It's down, combed, and straightened. Her dirty blond highlights are redone and she seems to have achieved a healthy body weight, her cheeks no longer sunken in.

"Hello, Mrs.Anderson," I manage after a few seconds of shock. I almost didn't recognize her. I guess rehab went well for her after all. Suddenly, all I can imagine is how Belle's face would light up at the sight of her mom's newly recovered health. She would be so proud. "You look good."

She nods and almost smiles. "Thank you." We stand, blankly staring at each other for a few seconds. It must be the tension from the last time I talked to her that's causing this unsettling silence.

I called her and told her how Belle's kidnapping was all her fault. I can't say I didn't mean those things and I don't want to apologize because it would be insincere. So I just stand, feeling the hatred I still have for her bubble in a pit in my stomach.

"How are you doing, Grayson? It's your senior year, isn't it? Heard back from any colleges?" Luckily, I don't have to answer any of those questions because Officer Browns rounds the corner.

"Grayson and Mrs.Anderson," he says in his emotionless tone. He shakes our hands with his firm grip and then gestures for us to follow him. "Why don't you step into my office?"

We do as we're told and soon enough we are packed into his cluttered work space where two seats are placed across his office desk. Nothing about the place catches eye until I spot a slick file resting on the desk. The tab sticking out reads, "The Abduction Of Belle Anderson." On the file, stamped in big, blocky, red letters is the word Closed.

Just like that, I can feel my pulse quicken - I can hear it too.

What does that mean?

I take a seat to steady myself but Belle's mother doesn't.

"What is it?" she questions the officer. "Please tell me you've found something. Please tell me you've found her." Her eyes are glassy and her lips tremble. Her fingers are intertwined almost like she's pleading to God.

Brown's face contorts, his facial features twisting into a look of pure pity. His eyes fall onto his desk. "You better take a seat, ma'am."

It feels like I've been punched. Like all the air has been sucked out of me and this room and my whole universe. I grip the armrest of my chair hard, fearing that if I let go I might slip away.

Mrs.Anderson catches on and her face goes blank. She slowly sits and stares at the Officer. Just a bit of hope resides in her eyes.

Officer Browns bites his lip and studies our faces, looking unsure of how to proceed. But he does. "Early this morning, a family camping in the Moffitt Beach area reported finding a dead body buried next to the shore." My heart pauses for a moment and so does my whole world. My eyes widen.

No. Please, no.

"It was sent to a lab and identified to be Belle Anderson. I'm so sorry."

Mrs.Anderson shrieks. Her hands fly up to her mouth and her breathing becomes ragged. "No...no...no..." she sobs. Her body curls up into a ball. Each sound she makes is laced with pure devastation. Cracked, chipped, broken. "My baby...my baby. No... no... please..." She repeats this over and over. Each time is more mournful. I know why.

It's because the daughter she gave birth to, the child she raised, the child she neglected, the child she let down was gone. She would never get another chance at being a good mother. Never. Her time was up. Belle died with memory of a mom who left her in the hands of a murderer. Belle's death is a result of that mother. Mrs.Anderson knows this and it's going to eat her alive.

My body, on the other hand, seems to have a delayed reaction. I don't feel anything. I feel numb.

It's like I'm nothing. I don't even exist. Like I'm floating in space and nothing can touch me. I'm not sad, angry, happy, nothing. I can't feel.

Then, I can.

I feel something simmer inside of me. It's raging. It's violent. It's destructive. My breathing picks up, my chest rises and falls violently. I start shaking. I'm shaking so much it hurts. My head is throbbing. It feels like someone is slamming it into a wall. I can't take it but I can't make it stop.

Belle.

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My face is wet. My eyes feel swollen. My hand reaches to rub my face but it is doesn't move. I try again. Nothing. Why won't they budge?

My eyelids peel away from each other but I have to shut them again because a blinding white lights shines from right above me.

"Shh...it's okay," a soothing voice comforts. It comes from a place next to me. I turn my head and realize I'm laying in a bed. But it's not my own. It's covered in white sheets and a minty clean smell burns my nose.

My eyes find that my arms are bounded by a metal cuff attached to the bed and so are my legs. My breathing starts to go haywire again until my mother's face appears in front of mine.

"Hey, shh. It's okay. Relax, sweetie." Her eyes are filled with worry even though she tries hard to seem relaxed.

"Mom, where am I?" I ask feeling fear rise up my chest. "What's going on?"

"You're in the hospital," she says. She pets my head while I try to remember what happened before this.

I recall with a sinking feeling.

"Why am I strapped down? Help me get it off." She makes no move to help me. She just sits on her stool beside my bed. "Mom?"

"Sweetie, do you remember what happened in Officer Brown's office?" she asks patiently.

"Yes," I state. "They said Belle was dead. Is it true?" I was hoping it was a bad dream but I realize it's true just by the look on her face.

She nods and a tear runs down her already tear stained cheek. "Do you remember what happened after that?" I shake my head which causes a headache to arouse. "You had a break down but the doctors think it might have been a psychotic episode. You destroyed Officer Browns's office while yelling stuff about The Beast, witches, magical roses, and Belle."

Oh no. I blew it. No one was suppose to find out about that stuff. No one would believe me after all.

I fumble for words to try and cover it up. "Mom...I..."

"Grayson, they want you to stay here in the the psychiatric ward."

Author's Note- Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this update!

What are your thoughts? Are you confused? You're suppose to be a little confused so if you are don't worry about it.

Bye for now!