~Beauty~
The Beast - or Teigan - was avoiding Beth like the plague. She couldn't say she minded. If her kidnapper wanted to pretend she wasn't even there then by all means, he could. For the next couple of days, he had his meals upstairs while she sat with Carina who filled the silence with small talk.
"I like smartphones. I don't see why all the older people complain about them so much," was an example of one thing she'd say. Or, "I bet you've never taken the time to watch the morning talk shows! New York has the best of the best when it comes to those. I was watching channel 2 and I think one of the anchor women got a boob job . . ."
Bethany was trying to warm up to the maid but it was difficult to sit and chat with her when she couldn't understand why she was working for a serial killer. She could easily turn him in or save Beth but she showed no interest in either. Asking about her reasoning behind cleaning up after and cooking for a criminal would go nowhere with Carina so Beth tried her luck with other topics. She thought that maybe if she could keep her talking long enough, Carina would let something important slip. Something Beth could use to her advantage, or at the very least something to cure her boredom.
"So . . . why does he look like that?" Bethany asked, finishing a bite of the tuna wrap she'd made for her. She was only a few bites in and was thinking about seconds.
Carina finished wiping down the counter and then scratched her forehead. "I was wondering when you would ask about that. "Thought maybe you were blind."
"No, I noticed. It's just not at the top of my list of concerns." Even if she had dedicated time to trying to solve the mystery that was Teigan's face, she doubted anything would come of it. There was no possible explanation she could think of. Possible was the key word. His face took her straight back to fantasy books where werewolves and other fantastical creatures existed. Last time she checked, Beth wasn't in a book so what was going on with his face?
"Did he have surgery to make it look that way?" Carina was laughing the second 'surgery' left her mouth.
"Sweetie, no one on earth would purposefully do that to themselves." She sat down, picking up her own tuna wrap in her wrinkled hands.
"It's not so wild of an idea. People get all kinds of facial reconstruction surgeries these days and doing crazy things is in his element. He goes after criminals."
"I don't think Teigan is crazy - if he was I'd be the first one to know. Rash and short tempered? Heck yes! An idiot? Don't tell him I said this - but yes. Crazy? No."
Beth was stunned. "You're defending him?"
"I've known him for years. You know him through whatever they say about him on the news. I would have thought that you of all people would know there's always more to the story."
"What do you mean?"
She took a sip of apple juice. "Teigan told me about your momma. He said she was more than happy to call you and get you to rush over to clean up her own mess. Then she put up no fight in leaving you alone with the aftermath of said mess." She shook her head, staring off at nothing in particular. "I have children of my own and never in a million years would I put them in that much danger. I'd sooner die . . . But I bet me talking about your momma is making you upset? Don't like me judging her, huh?"
Beth was abruptly aware of the tears brimming over her eyes. "You have some points."
"I'm not banking on you liking him but you might find it satisfying being the bigger person."
As it became increasingly established that she wouldn't be released anytime soon and that help was still far away, Beth found things to occupy her time. She wouldn't join Carina in her tv watching endeavors between her cleaning breaks but rather explored the house. She took her time strolling back and forth across each room that was open to her, attempting to memorize every detail - maybe even find a means to escape or a suitable weapon.
A butter knife was all she could manage. She snagged it and hid it in her boot when Carina had misplaced it while buttering the toast one morning. It was a lousy weapon but provided her with a shred of comfort. One of them had thought ahead and locked the sharper kitchen knives somewhere Beth couldn't find them.
The house had to have been built in recent years because not a single flaw or sign of age could be spotted. The interior was designed very modernly, the decor too was indicative of a display featured in a fancy living magazine. Carina's unending cleaning probably added to the overall appeal too. She was miserable but could appreciate that she was trapped somewhere clean and not a basement or crack house.
Despite that, this place was far from home. It was ridiculous for that monster to think for a second that she could be okay with living there. This place would never be more than a prison to her. The place where some selfish man locked her in, taking her away from her friends, her family, her whole life. Even if she returned home safely, there'd be so many repercussions. Her face would be plastered everywhere, everyone knowing her as the kidnapped girl. Going back to the small private college she attended would be difficult because her classmates would have more reason to judge her but it wasn't like she could just transfer when she had gotten a full ride there! And her mother . . . Beth could hardly stand to think about facing her mother again.
Would she face her mother again? Or would this drive her to go too hard on the drugs and . . .?
She had to focus on something else. Something more hopeful and less tragic.
The more Beth wandered the first floor, the more curious she became of what was upstairs. The Beast forbade her from going up there and she wanted to know why. Did he want privacy? Or was there something up there he was hiding? Why was he hiding it? What was he hiding?
Perhaps his murder intrusments or a cooler filled with his victims. Beth shivered at the endless spine-chilling possibilities.
All she could do for those few days was think. Her brain would throb in her skull, it's rhythm synching up to the beating of her heart. With each thump came a different question. Almost three days had gone by since she was snatched up from her whole life. The anniversary had left her with one pulsing question.
He really isn't going to kill me?
~The Beast~
Teigan was neck deep into apartment listings when the witch visited him again.
He wasn't having much luck when it came to finding anything new in the city. Nothing was as convenient as his last place and he was well aware making the purchase would be a whole process in its own. The tedious process made him prone to fits of throwing things across his room every few minutes. The notion that Bethany could have to continue to roam his house like an irritable ghost for at least a few more weeks made it worse.
He had just launched a pen at his peeling blue wallpaper when the witch materialized. Her fingers formed in time to catch the writing utensil between her thumb and index finger. Her locks were like a golden ocean cascading down to her waist and her petique nose was stuck upwards, emerald eyes looking down at him.
"You continue to disappoint me."
He shot out of his seat. "Get out of my room!"
The witch had ruined his life and she had the audacity to burst into his bedroom like she owned the place? He was itching to yank her out by the skirt of her medieval style gown.
"There's a girl here," she said, pacing the length of the room with her arms behind her back. "She is being held against her will."
"It was an accident! I'm going to let her go as soon as -"
"- you are sure you will be safe," she finished. "You are only worried about yourself. Nevermind the people you ruin in the process."
"Ruin? She's fed and I haven't laid a hand -"
The witch roamed dangerously close to his bedside table and bent to smell the rose. A delicate finger traced it's petals, lingering on them as light as a feather. He balled his fist.
When she spoke, her voice was so soft, he had to lean in to hear. "I can make things so much worse for you. Let her go."
"You're bluffing! If you could add or change things about my condition you would have done so a long time ago. Whatever powers you possess has rules. You can't touch me and that's why you keep coming to lecture me!" It was a theory he had since her last visit. The rigidness of her body confirmed it.
"Do you truly want to be a beast?"
He sat back into his seat and turned his attention to his work. He clicked his mouse and sent his bid for a studio apartment.
"Well, I already look like one."
Another day passed. Teigan had only left his room for food and when he caught glimpses of Beth wandering the house, she met his eyes with a simmering hatred. He'd give her the same expression, sometimes adding a snarl. He wanted to go out for a run but didn't want to run the risk of her using it as an opportunity to escape or to flaunt his freedom.
The walls of his room felt like they were going to close in on him and he had run out of things to do. He decided he was going to the living area to watch TV. He would sit there and watch even if Beth was outside of her room. Even if she felt uncomfortable. Even if she shot lasers at the back of his head.
She was sitting in his favorite section of the coach, remote in hand. She had her arms crossed with her legs tucked under her like she was trying to take up as little space as possible. For the first time he'd seen her she didn't look angry, just bored.
He settled on the modern wingback chair to be safe and tried to focus on the images displayed on the screen. This was a hard task because Beth was channel surfing, only giving each channel a second to entertain her.
He tried to sound calm. "Are you looking for something in particular?"
She jumped, not having noticed his presence. "Um . . . no."
"Then choose something already."
"Fine." She let the next channel's show play on. It was a family show starring a single mother and her daughter. They cracked cheesy jokes as they ate at a diner, pausing for the laugh track to play. He could hardly bring himself to care about the teen girl's boy drama. How could having two nice boys wanting to take you out be a problem? Just pick one!
He groaned.
"What? Do you want to pick the channel then?" Beth was back to glaring at him.
He shrugged. "No, it's just . . . these kinds of shows get on my nerves."
"Why? It's a feel-good show. Everyone likes feel-good shows. They make you feel good!"
"I don't see how they could make anyone feel good. All of the characters have a perfect life. They eat pizza and burgers everyday, live in beautiful houses, and their problems -which are hardly problems- are solved within forty minutes! It makes everyone's life look like crap in comparison." Teigan didn't realize he felt so passionately about TV shows. He also didn't understand why he was sharing these opinions with her.
"I think you're thinking about it too much." Bethany shifted, unfolding her arms and moving her legs out from under her. "They are meant to be unrealistic and happy to give their viewers an escape from reality. If people wanted to see people live their real life, they'd start building glass houses."
The family show was cut by a breaking news report. A newswoman was sitting at her desk with a collection of papers in her hand. "Police are on the lookout for Ryan Daniels for setting yet another building on fire, this time a housing complex for senior citizens. Sources say the building was completely destroyed. Three people were injured and one pronounced dead. Daniels was last seen headed upstate. If you have any information, please call 1-800- Stop Crimes. I'm Veronica Rachel on New York 5."
Teigan knew he had to go. He had been after Ryan Daniels for weeks and this may have been the perfect opportunity to catch him. He didn't want Bethany to know what he was doing though. For a reason he hadn't worked out yet, he didn't want her to look at him with the disgust she usually did. Their recent interaction was momentarily free of that spite and he wanted to preserve it.
"I'm going to bed. Goodnight." He abruptly got up and rushed up the stairs and into his room. He opened his dresser's draw and pulled out his signature mask. As he changed into a new set of clothes, he gazed at his only remaining rose, the one Bethany's mother had tried to take.
He had to get this done.
It's for the greater good, he told himself over and over again. He couldn't shake Bethany's cold stares from his mind. The memory of them was making it hard for him to feel noble about what he was about to do.
He did his best to shrug the feeling away.
Ryan Daniels would be the next rose in his new garden.
~The Hunter~
The police were going after the Beast today. They had called Grayson to inform him that they had a lead. At first, his parents questioned why the police were reaching out to him specifically but he was quick to remind them what Beth's mother was like. It was likely he was the only one who was waiting for Beth to come home.
He ran to the station as fast as his legs could take him, skipping his last class. His professor would have to understand that his best friend's life was at stake here. Until she was returned home, Beth was his number one priority.
The detectives had tracked the phone of an arsonist named Ryan Daniels. This sounded unrelated at first but the head detective on the case, Detective Brendan explained that they had reason to believe the Beast was after him. Therefore, there was a good chance that wherever Ryan Daniels was, the Beast wasn't too far. They had his location and were preparing to leave. He had been waiting in the station for a few minutes, pacing the area anxiously. Beth''s mom was just walking in.
"Where is he? Where did he take her?" she demanded immediately. He could tell she had gotten just as much sleep as he did. Her hair was in a knotted ponytail and the bags under her eyes made it look like she had been punched.
"Ryan Daniels has been located in upstate New York. He is on the move, going pretty fast. We assume the Beast isn't too far behind." Detective Bredan stood up and adjusted his tie. He was a tall man in his late fifties with a full head of gray hair and wrinkles that only looked right when he scowled - which was often.
"Do you think he has Beth with him?" she asked. Grayson hoped he did, that would make things way easier.
"Possibly but there's no way to be sure. We're going to go now, we need you guys to stay here and wait for us to get back." He probably dealt with many cases like this one. Hopefully he understood why Grayson would follow behind his police cars in a few minutes.
"Of course." She nodded and took a seat, hands folded neatly in her lap. "Please hurry." The two were left alone together. The rest of the station was busy and loud but the tension between them was louder.
"How have you been holding up, Mrs. Rodriguez?" It had been a few days since Beth was taken. The days had gone by slowly like time was mocking him about her absence. His voice was rough and tight as he said the words. He had to find a way around the new resentment he felt towards her, for Beth.
"I've been thinking a lot . . . about the choices I've made in my life." She cleared her throat, her head between her shoulders. "I messed up with Bethany and I'm going to make sure I fix things."
"I don't mean any disrespect but it's not the first time those words have come out of your mouth." Mrs. Rodriguiz had tried to change multiple times. Little things would wake her up like when she missed Beth's scholarship award ceremony. She'd promise to change and get clean but a week later the cravings would overpower the guilt. It was like she was building Beth up and breaking her all over again.
He watched her carefully but she just stared at her hands, refusing to make eye contact. "I know and those words aren't ever coming out of my mouth again because this time I mean it. When my baby comes home," her voice cracked and tears split from her eyes,"she's gonna have a mom again."
"I really hope so."
After a moment, he stood up, ready for action. "But in order for that to happen, she needs to come home. And to ensure that we are going to follow those police cars."
"Hold on..." She grabbed his arm and walked them over to the empty part of the station so no one would hear. "We?''
"Yep, you have a car and I don't." He started towards the parking lot and heard her follow behind him.
"Who said I was going to let you use my car?" she challenged.
"You're gonna drive us because you love Beth just as much as I do and want to be there when they find her." He glanced back to see her staring at him with narrow eyes.
"I'm beginning to think that what you have for her is just a petty crush."
The comment felt like a punch in his gut.
"Mrs. Rodriguez, with all due respect. I was there for Beth when you weren't - which means all the time. She didn't grow up with any parents but she grew up with a friend. When you were too high to make sure she ate, I did. When you were too high to make sure she came home from school, I did. I have every right to say I love her. Do you?" He bit his lip waiting for her response. What he said was the truth but he worried he might have taken it too far.
After a long moment, she sighed. "Don't just stand there. Get in the car."