~Beauty~
My book bag is heavy on my shoulders as I pull out my keys to unlock the door. My apartment door is gray and steel, blending into the dull hallway color. On top of the tiny peephole is the faded and peeling sticker that reads the apartment number, 312.
The hallway is so narrow compared to the castle's. It feels suffocating. Back over there, especially the last few days, the air felt light. I had enough room to breath. But now it feels like I'm locked in a tiny room and all the air inside is slowly being sucked out while the walls close in. What I thought would be a cozy place to rest turned out not to be what it seemed.
I jam the key in the lock and push the door open, letting it close behind me. As soon as I get inside I drop my stuff on the couch and collapse next to it. I take a deep breath and then let it go, releasing all of the stress from the school work I had to do on top of Grayson's outburst. I don't want to think about any of it. Unfortunately, I can't stop from doing so.
Grayson has feelings for me, really strong feelings for me. How could I have not seen it? He's my best friend. We know everything about each other. Now, looking back at all our memories, it seems so obvious. Maybe I didn't see it because I didn't want to. Maybe I didn't want to confront him about it so I ignored it leaving his feelings for me to manifest until he exploded? What if this is all my fault? What if I created a monster?
"Belle? Is that you?" my mom calls as she walks in from the kitchen. She's still wearing her formal work clothes but her hair is up in a messy bun. "Ah, I thought I heard someone come in." I fake a smile and sit up. She notices something's wrong automatically, a motherly instinct she seemed to have developed while I was away, and takes a seat next to me.
"What's a matter?"
"It's Grayson," I confess. I don't want to beat around the bush. I just want someone to talk to. I want a friend that isn't hiding away in a mansion in the woods or mad at me for not being in love with them. "At the cafe, he said he was in love with me and asked me to prom. I said I didn't feel the same way and he flipped out. He's so upset. It's all my fault."
"Sweetie-" she starts but I barely hear her over my own ramblings.
"In the back of my mind I knew how he felt," I realize. "I should have told him sooner. . ."
"Sweetie," my mother says again. This time is louder and her eyes shine with pity. "This isn't your fault at all. There are somethings that happened while you were gone that you don't know about."
I gulp. That statement sounds really unsettling. "What happened?" I ask not knowing if I want the answer. I've had enough shocking events to last a lifetime.
"Grayson has had multiple...'flip outs' while you were gone. A few months ago, at rehab, he called me and said a bunch of terrible things. He got into various fights at school and had a psychotic episode just a few days before you returned." I close my eyes, trying to process her words. It sounds like she's speaking about an entirely different person. I wouldn't believe her if what happened today never occurred. "Belle, this didn't happen overnight."
I bite my lip, feeling nauseous. My best friend has been spiraling into a world of darkness for a long while now. He transformed into someone else completely, someone unrecognizable. Is Grayson, the boy I know, anywhere in there at all? The thought of losing him to is too much to handle.
There had to have been something I could've done differently to have stopped this.
"Maybe if I had told him I didn't feel the same way before I was taken. Then he would have been fine. He would have gotten over me and-"
My mother shakes her head, a sad smile on her lips. "You did not force him down this path. He chose it. Life gives people problems but it's the person's decision what to do with them. He decided to get angry, to not seek help, to let his emotions guide him. None of that is your or anyone else's fault."
I shrug. I'm not sure if I'm totally convinced. I'm part of the problem that drove him down that path. "I guess so."
"Look at it like this, when your father died part of me died. I was hurting, I still hurt sometimes, and because of that I turned to drugs." My mom looks a little uncomfortable about this topic but she continues. "Is it your father's fault I became an addict?"
"No," I answer instantly. "It's not his fault he died. He didn't force you to do drugs."
"Exactly and you didn't force Grayson to develop so much anger."
I nod, realizing that my mom is right. The worse part is that there is nothing I can do to help him either. It's truly all up to him.
I feel tears start to brim in my eyes and a lump form in my throat. Even though I'm not in love with him, I do love him. I hope he finds his way back to the man he use to be.
"You're right," I say with a sniffle. "I guess all I can do is give him space now."
"That a girl," she says before dismissing herself to make some phone calls for work.
I spend the next few minutes watching tv. A movie plays on the Disney channel, I had landed on it while channel surfing. I'm half asleep so I only catch pieces of it here and there. What I register is it's an animated movie with a talking teapot, candelabra, and clock. It ends with a couple dancing in a ballroom while a chorus sings about a beauty and a beast.
I'm about to switch it off when I hear a faint knock on the door. It's so quiet I almost don't hear it. The person knocks again and I manage to drag myself away from the comfy couch and towards the door.
I open it without checking the peephole, which is an unwise decision since this is New York.
The figure is familiar. I know this person. But they aren't suppose to be here. I rub my eyes to make sure I'm not seeing things. I must be dreaming. It couldn't be.
"Carina?"
She nods her head. She's wearing blue pants and a cardigan she knitted herself. Her hair is up in her signature messy bun and on her face rest a shy smile. "Hello, Belle."
I'm so surprised that I'm not sure what to do at first. Then I hug her. A quick, warm, heartfelt hug. "What are you doing here? How are you? How's Gale?"
"I have some news. Can I come in?" she asks.
"Of course." She takes a seat on a comforter across from the couch. Her posture is so perfect it reflects royalty and as she talks I feel compelled to listen. I hang on to every syllable. Something is different about her. Very different.
"To answer your question, I'll be okay. Gale misses you dearly but physically he is okay. Sadly, not for long. That's why I had to come here today." I realize what's off. It's her eyes. They've always been a light shade of green but now they are emerald and almost shine.
"Do you remember the rose Gale showed you? The one that represents his old self and the time he has left to break the curse?" Her words come out quickly, with a sense of urgency.
"Yes, I do." Though I had forgot about it for a while. A lot of time has past since I've last seen it. Has it's last petal fell? Will Gale remain a beast forever?
Carina takes a deep breath and gulps. Her eyebrows sinking towards her eyes like an anchor in the ocean. "Not only is the last petal about to fall but Gale is being hunted."
My brain goes into overdrive. "Hunted? By who?"
"You know him. His name is Grayson."
I almost ask what she means but I already do. It makes perfect sense after what happened a few hours ago and what my mom told me.
My hands start to shake. "There's no way Grayson will be able to get to Gale. He doesn't know his location."
"That may be true but he's already devised a plan. One that will make Gale come to him."
My stomach drops to the floor. Grayson is that passionate about this? Is he insane? It's only been a few hours.
"But he can't do that much damage. Gale is practically indestructible because of the curse and Grayson would never try to kill someone. Maybe he'll call the cops but he won't-"
"You are wrong once again," Carina states. I can't help but notice her vocabulary and way of speaking has changed. "Grayson's heart has darkened like a paper tapped with ink. Anger has seeped into his heart. He has the intent to kill."
I shake my head. I don't want to believe it.
"Furthermore, the last petal is about to drop meaning the spell will be permanent. But only part of it. Gale will remain a beast forever but his powers will disappear. He'll be as fragile as a human. Death will become a possibility."
My head is spinning. "What? The enchantress didn't say that in the vision. How do you know that?"
All of these things are happening all at once and I can't seem to make sense of it all.
Carina sighs. She looks like she regrets what she has to say. "I should know. I'm the one that cast the curse."
It feels like my world is a glass window. The recent events have been creating chips and cracks but this, this is a bullet that sends the glass shattering into bits and pieces on the floor. They fall in perfect scattered pieces, surrounding the single blood red rose that started it all.
I stare blankly at her.
"I'm sorry," she says, putting her hand on my knee. "I'm so sorry I lied to you. Just because I'm an enchantress doesn't mean I don't make mistakes. In fact, I've completely screwed things up. But now I really need your help to make things right. If Grayson kills Gale not only will Gale die but a part of Grayson will to. A part of him that may never come back."
It's all too much. I can't take it all in. But I have to. I have to get it together to save the people I love.
I'm about to agree and tell Carina- or whoever she is- that I'm going to help. My mother rushes into the room, interrupting.
"Belle!" Her face in contorted in a mixture of fear and sadness. "It's Grayson. He's ran away from home."
I look at Carina. This is only confirming what I've heard.
My mother continues while playing with her fingers. Her words make me want to wilt. "And he's taken his father's gun."
Author's Note- I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! Remember to vote and comment!