Beauty & Her Beast

Chapter 18: Official Guardian

I shake my head as I say, “Of course, he’d do that. Damn it! I missed my one chance to see him! Ugh, oh well. I’m sure I’ll get to see him sometime before I regain my memories. Hopefully.”

I look down at my hands resting in my lap. Elijah wraps his arm around me, pulling me closer to him.

“You know, I’m sure you can convince him before that day. Just give him time. Anyway, for now, let’s forget about him. This is suppose to be about you," he exclaims happily.

We pull up to the courthouse, then Elijah gets out of the vehicle as Damien opens the door for us. Damien holds out his hand and I take it as I exit the limo.

“Thank you," I say softly.

Damien nods, then closes the door as I catch up to Elijah.

“You can hold onto my arm if you’d like. You know I won’t bite," Elijah says playfully.

I giggle softly, then Oliver pokes my side and exclaims, “But I might!”

I scream as I hold onto Elijah’s arm tighter. I sigh as I calm down and shake my head.

“Not funny, Oli! Goodness," I exclaim angrily.

As the boys bust up laughing, I begin to laugh as well.

"Okay, I'll admit, that was a pretty good comeback. Just don’t scare me again," I say softly.

Oliver chuckles softly as he then nods. Damien kind of looks annoyed now, especially since Oliver has changed towards me. Interesting. It's almost as if Damien's jealous.

We walk into the courthouse only to approach the front desk. The woman directs us to the elevator, then tells us to take it up to the fifth floor. Once we get into the elevator, I cower in the corner. Right as we begin to move, I slide down to the floor.

Elijah looks down at me and asks concerningly, “What’s wrong, Missy?”

I shake my head as I look down.

“Nothing. I just don’t like elevators," I state simply.

Elijah nods, then kneels down beside me as says reassuringly, “It’ll be a quick ride, don’t worry.”

I nod as he touches my knee. I had my knees pulled close to me as he continues to kneel beside me to comfort me. As the elevator comes to a stop, Elijah stands up, then puts out his hand. I grab his hand once the elevator stops, then he pulls me up.

“See, that wasn’t so bad, right," he questions softly.

I shrug as I suggest, “Yeah, you’re right. Could have been worse. Though, can I take the stairs going down? I can go on my own and meet you guys down there.”

He nods as he then says, “Yes, that’s fine, but you’re taking Damien with you.”

I nod as I smile softly. We walk up to the receptionist's desk, then as we wait, Elijah tells me to go sit down between the boys. I walk over to the waiting area and sit in between Damien and Oliver.

“Hey, Damien," I say to catch his attention.

He looks over at me and asks, “Yeah?”

I look at him, then at his hair as I ask, “How long did it take to grow out your hair?”

Damien sighs as he thinks about it for a moment.

“Well, probably a good five years or so. I’m thinking about getting a trim or cutting it off to donate it," he replies.

I smile softly as I nod.

“Well, if you’re considering a trim, I’ll trim it for you if you’d like. I used to cut my mom’s hair before she passed, then I ended up cutting my neighbor's hair as well. She was getting old and lost a lot of money, due to gambling. Anyway, she had asked me and insisted she'd pay, but I never took her payment. I told her it was fun and I enjoyed cutting hair. So, if you want a trim, I can do that for you," I insist.