Finding Beauty (Rewrite)

Chapter 3

"Why can't I just give it to the police?"

Her mother paused. She heard a deeper voice say something on the other line. "If you do that he'll kill me."

Her heart skipped a beat at the very thought. No, anything but that. She had already lost her father, she couldn't lose her mother too.

"Okay," Beth decided. She would do anything to ensure her mother's safe return. "Just tell me where the rose is."

Her mother instructed her on where to meet them and Beth found the rose tucked under her own pillow. She guessed that her mother had left it there as a surprise gift for Beth when she returned home. It made her heart sink. When was the last time her mother was able to afford to get her anything?

Beth was trying to move quickly but couldn't help but pause once she uncovered the rose. Her mother hadn't been exaggerating or tripping out because of the drugs. The rose was glowing. The petals were outlined by it, a quick touch at its petals was like sticking your finger in a socket, almost electric. And the way it's blossom bended did make it appear to be sad.

There was no time to ponder what made this rose so unique.

She placed it in a shoe box to protect it - if the Beast was making this much of a fuss over the flower it better come back in good condition.

Why was this flower so valuable to him? Belt wondered. How could it be worth my mother's life?

Unless this was all a sick game the Beast was playing for fun.

"Okay, I got it." She heard a shout from the other end of the line. Her mother sobbed.

"Alright, sweetie. See you soon?"

A tear cascaded down Beth's cheek. It was always terrible to hear her mother cry. "See you soon." It was a promise she would keep.

She caught Grayson as he hung up the phone, ending his call to the police.

"Is everything okay?" His eyes searched hers in deep concern. He was going to hate her for doing this.

"Yeah. It was nothing." She lied as she made her way towards the diary. Then, in a swift movement she snatched it from the counter and ran back into her mother's room. She locked the door behind her, almost catching him in the nose. She opened the window and climbed out and onto the fire escape, hoping he hadn't caught on to what she was doing yet.

"Beth?!" The door knob jiggled. "What's wrong?"

The late autumn breeze made her shiver making her wish she had time to change into something more than her simple checkered flannel. Grayson's shouts faded as she ran down the narrow steps, almost falling off of them several times. The height wouldn't be enough to kill her but a fall would surely mean a broken bone or two. The ladder hanging from the last fire escape wouldn't open all the way so she had to hang and let herself drop the last few feet. Her ankle twisted a little awkwardly on the landing but the sound of an upstairs windowing opening rushed her into Pedro.

She started the engine as Grayson poked his head out. "Where are you going?"

She shouted an apology and took off, knowing he deserved better. His loyalty went beyond what a friend had to do. A friend didn't have to help you search for your mom in local jails and hospitals when she disappeared. A friend didn't have to call you up every night to make sure you were fed. A friend didn't have to pull all nighters with you to help you study and win a scholarship. Later, she would beat herself up for causing him to worry like this. Later, when her mom was back home.

Her phone chimed as she drove, following the directions her mother had given her. She glanced at the screen even though she knew it was Grayson. There were several missed calls followed by a few texts. She read one.