Beauty and The Beasley

Chapter 26

Beasley refused to speak to Bree on their way back. He simply bounded up the steps leading to his cave with Bree watching from below.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" She called after him but he continued climbing until he disappeared into the cave.

"Oh well. . . ." Bree started then recalled with a jolt that she had promised to spend time with her mother.

"Holy cheese and crackers!" She yelped and rushed up the stairs to talk to Beasley.

She needed him to transport her to the Pendulum at least as walking back to the farmhouse would take hours and it would be late afternoon before she got back. She had noticed how the location of his cave moved closer or farther away from the edge of the forest. The first day she'd found it, it had taken twice as long as the next time she did.

"Beasley? I need you to. . ." Bree stopped dead in her tracks when she walked in on Beasley rolled up in his hay covered snow bed, snoring like a high maintenance generator. The sound was quite frightening and far from peaceful. He sounded like he was having a brawl with his oxygen.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Bree whispered with an exasperated sigh.

She sluggishly walked out of the cave and began her long journey home. By the time she got back, it was past five o'clock.

"Oh no!" Bree sighed as she pushed open the door. Melinda was in the living room, hunched over Bree's sketch book.

"Hi, mom!" She greeted calmly, silently praying Melinda wasn't hurt that she had bailed on their planned hangout.

Melinda looked up and a welcoming smile spread across her face. "I had no idea you could make sketches."

"Uh, i had no idea either." Bree replied shutting the door behind her. She went to sit on the couch next to her mother's wheelchair.

"What do you mean you had no idea? These are great, you should improve on this." Melinda praised wiggling the sketch book with the sketch of Flounder glistening yellow on the page.

"There's just two drawings mom." Bree stated with a sigh. Once her mother went into her mom-mode, there was no coming out of it. Melinda would rain praises on her sketches till they got soggy.

"Two absolutely amazing drawings. You've always been a super fan of The Little Mermaid but i thought you loved the other one better, what was it called?" Melinda said tapping the book as she tried to recall.

"Beauty and The Beast." Bree said.

"That's the one. You didn't make any sketches from that?" Melinda asked flipping through the sketchbook.

"Look, mom, i'm sorry we didn't get to spend time together today." Bree apologized. She knew her mother was hurt and was only trying to hide it.

"It's alright, butterscotch. I know Norman got you upset and that's why you left. I just hope you're okay now." Melinda comforted rubbing Bree's arm gently.

"Yeah, i'm okay."

"Don't let him get to you. If it's over between you two, then it's over. He has to understand that and accept it and move on."

"That's exactly what i've been trying to tell him." Bree sighed.

"We had a little talk when you left. I don't think he'll be bothering you so much anymore." Melinda said.

Bree raised an eyebrow. "what'd you talk about?"

"Nothing unusual. I just spoke to him in a language he'd understand better." Melinda said, innocently picking at the glitter on the pages.