The story of Belle

Chapter 5: Billie's Perspective

The air was thick with tension as I pulled the car deeper into the clearing, away from prying eyes and the chaos that now ruled my life. My hands gripped the steering wheel, knuckles white as I wrestled with the reality of what I had done. I couldn't afford to think about it too much; I had to act, and I had to act fast.

Shawn was already on his way. He always knew how to keep a cool head when everything around us was crumbling. "We'll figure this out, Billie," he had said when I first called him. But I could hear the hesitation in his voice, the way it trembled slightly as he acknowledged the gravity of my mistake. "Just hide her," he instructed, and I replayed his words like a broken record. They were a lifeline, but they also felt like shackles binding me to this nightmare.

I opened the back door and carefully pulled the blanket off Isabelle's face, checking for signs of life. Her chest barely rose and fell, and dread swirled in my stomach. I shook her gently, whispering her name, but the silence around us was unyielding. The forest seemed to hold its breath, waiting, watching.

A rustle in the trees pulled my attention. My heart raced as I saw Shawn emerge, his face a mask of determination, but the shadows of fear lurked in his eyes. "What's going on?" he asked, glancing back at the car.

"Isabelle... Belle. She's not waking up," I replied, my voice trembling with urgency and panic. "What if she doesn't? What do we do then?"

Shawn's jaw tightened. "We have to hide her. No one can find out what happened here." His eyes darted around, as if the trees were eavesdropping on our conversation. "We need to act fast. Did anyone see you?"

"I don't think so," I replied, but doubt gnawed at me. "I was careful. No one should be around here." The uncertainty lingered like a dark cloud overhead.

Shawn nodded, moving closer to the car. "Help me with her. We'll take her deeper into the woods." He opened the trunk, revealing a couple of shovels and some old tarps—tools I hoped would never see the light of day. Together, we lifted Belle's lifeless form, treating her like fragile glass, afraid that any sudden movement would shatter the delicate illusion of control I was clinging to.

"We'll dig a hole, bury her deep enough that no one can find her," Shawn said, his voice steady as we trudged into the underbrush. My heart pounded in my ears, drowning out the sounds of the forest. "What if she wakes up?" The thought slipped out before I could rein it in, born from desperation, the flickering hope that my actions weren't irreversible.

Shawn paused, looking back at me. "Then we figure it out, but right now, you need to focus. We can't let anyone connect the dots." He was right, of course. Panic had a way of blurring my judgment, making me second-guess every decision.

As we reached a clearing, I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. It was an irrational fear, perhaps, but the trees seemed to loom closer, as if they could bear witness to our transgressions. "This looks good," Shawn said, surveying the area. "Start digging here."

I grabbed the shovel, my hands trembling as I plunged it into the earth. Each scoop felt heavier than the last, like I was digging my own grave alongside hers. The dirt flew up, a testament to my frantic efforts to bury the truth. "We'll make it quick," Shawn urged, urgency creeping into his tone.

As the hole deepened, so did my dread. I could almost hear the distant echoes of sirens, feel the cold grip of law enforcement tightening around my throat. The guilt surged back, a reminder of how far I had fallen. I was no longer just Billie, the boy who loved Belle; I was a monster, capable of the unthinkable.

"Stop for a moment," Shawn said, breaking into my thoughts. I looked up, wiping the sweat from my brow, and saw the calculating look in his eyes. "What if Angel comes looking for her?"

The name sent a chill down my spine. Angel was relentless, a hound sniffing out secrets. "We can't let her know. She'd never let it go. If she finds out..." My voice trailed off, the implications too dire to voice aloud.

Shawn nodded, his expression grim. "Then we need to keep this under wraps. We stick to the story we agreed on, and no one else can know. If anyone asks, she ran away. We saw her go."

"Right," I muttered, though the words felt hollow. The weight of the lie loomed over me, a shroud of deceit I couldn't escape.

As I continued to dig, I caught a glimpse of Belle, so still and lifeless. The realization struck me like a blow—if I buried her here, it would be the end of everything we had. I was sealing her fate alongside my own. Shawn's voice broke through the haze of despair. "Focus, Billie. We're almost there. We can't let this ruin us."

I gritted my teeth, shoveling dirt faster, desperate to escape the impending doom that hung over us like a dark cloud. We were in this together, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was dragging him down into the abyss.

Finally, the hole was deep enough. We exchanged a silent glance, and in that moment, I knew we were both thinking the same thing: this was our last chance. If we buried her here, it would be a secret we'd carry forever. I felt the darkness creeping closer, and I couldn't tell where it ended and I began.

With a deep breath, we gently placed Belle's body into the ground. "I'm sorry," I whispered, tears streaming down my cheeks as I started to cover her with dirt, each handful feeling like an eternity. I had lost her once; now, I was losing her again, burying the pieces of a life that could have been.

As the final dirt fell into place, a sense of finality washed over me. I had hidden my sins beneath the surface, but I could never hide from myself. In that moment, I felt the monster inside me grow, and I knew there would be no turning back.

The clearing was eerily quiet, the kind of silence that made the air feel suffocating. I glanced over my shoulder, half-expecting someone to emerge from the trees, a specter of my guilt haunting me. I needed to move quickly, to act before the weight of my decisions caught up with me, suffocating me in its embrace.

"Billie, listen," Shawn said, pulling me from my thoughts. "We need to act normal. If Angel comes asking questions, we can't let them know anything. Just remember what we talked about."

I nodded, though my mind was racing. "What if they find her?"

"They won't. We're safe here for now. Just stay close, and don't panic," he said, his voice steady, a lifeline in my sea of chaos.

As we moved back outside, I felt that familiar dread creeping in. The weight of what we'd done was a constant reminder, gnawing at my insides like a relentless beast. With each passing moment, I knew I was becoming more entwined in this darkness—a spiral I couldn't escape. I had to protect our secret, no matter the cost.

And as I stood there, watching the shadows stretch across the ground, I realized I was no longer just trying to save Isabelle; I was fighting for my very soul