Beast to your Beauty

CHAPTER 2

 "I'm sorry but I can't go any faster!" Logan says trying to keep his voice in control. Hannah sat next to him in his car, crying and inconsolable. "We're almost there, sweetheart."

"I need to see my father," she sobs, looking out the window helplessly. "I don't understand how this is happening, Logan. How did he get caught in a fire?"

Logan wasn't sure what to say. He hated to see her this way. He reached over and gently squeezed her hand. When they arrived at the hospital, Hannah didn't waist a second before she was out of the car and left Logan there by himself.

Hannah ran into the building, her eyes moving all over the place trying to find any sign of where to go. She felt herself going dizzy and fought to focus her sight on her surroundings. Just as she began to feel the weight of her own body force her towards the ground Logan appeared by her side and grabbed her.

"Whoa, whoa," he says softly and hugs her. "Hannah please, take a deep breath and try to calm down."

Hannah listens, nodding as she takes several deep breaths. He cups her face in his hands once he sees she's regained some strength. "You ok now?"

"Yeah, I ... I just need to see him," she answers. Logan moves his arm around and leads her towards a nurse sitting behind a counter.

On another floor of the hospital, Erma sat in the waiting area still covered in soot, her eyes filled with worry. She could not shake the image of that burning cottage out of her mind. All that uncontrollable fire – it had been the scariest thing she'd ever seen. She remembered fearing the flames spreading to the rest of the forest; thankfully, the fire department arrived just in time and put everything under control. She saw how they disappeared into the fire and seconds later pulled an unconscious Alfred out. Erma let out a small cry upon seeing the burns on his arms and around his neck. They did not look like they were serious but it was enough to make Erma's stomach churn. She looked over at Julian, who sat in his wheelchair with a grim expression on his face. His eyes were glued on the burning cottage. Erma could swear she saw tears in his eyes before they turned towards Alfred's body and she saw the sadness in his eyes be replaced with anger. Moments later Astrid appeared in a bathrobe, her blond hair still wet. She looked horrified and she put her arm on her brother's shoulder while she covered her mouth with the other.

Erma opened her eyes when she heard Alfred's daughter appear with a young man.

"Erma?" she asked her, the look of pure fear on her face.

"Yes, you're Alfred's daughter?"

"I am," says Hannah, "How is he? Where is he? I need to see him!"

"They're tending to him right now," Erma replies. "I haven't been told anything else. The doctor said he would come back when they were finished with your father."

Hannah rubs her temples. The not knowing was driving her insane. What happens if her father died? The mere thought sent her heart beating a thousand times per second. She shook the thoughts away and tried to take deep breaths again. Logan tried his best to comfort her by hugging her but Hannah kept pacing around.

"I just don't understand how ..." she says and stops to look at Erma. "How did he get caught in a fire? He's a groundskeeper!"

Erma shook her head, "He was at the family cottage in the woods. There is no electricity there so we normally take flashlights or a lantern when we go there because it is so dark. He had a lantern with him. The fire fighters found it by some old drapes. They assume he must've accidentally dropped it and started the fire."