Finding Beauty

Chapter 7

~Beauty~

Cold, that's what the basement is. And wet. There has to be at least 5 different leaks and mucky puddles cover the concrete floor. My nose is stuffy and I keep sneezing from the amount of dust down here.

I've been here for what feels like a few days. But I wouldn't know, there is no sense of time. There's only one tiny window in the corner that doesn't actually show anything because of the blurred glass. It drives me crazy.

I've been getting food from Carina but not enough of it. Every morning she leaves a plate of breakfast food near the door and dies the same for lunch and dinner. She looks sad when she does so, she knows it's wrong. I wish she would do something about it instead of following The Beast's orders like a mindless slave. But I remind myself I don't know the whole story. Who knows what's making her listen to him?

I feel sick. I think I may be coming down with something.

I curl up into a ball like I normally do. But this time, I lie on the floor and let myself slip in and out of consciousness.

Something isn't right...

My eyes open. I'm sweating, sweating so much- but it's freezing and I'm shaking. It doesn't make any sense...

I wake up again and I realize I have a fever. My vision blurs and my head feels heavy. I let myself blank out again.

My eyes open and I see Carina standing above me. I see concern in her eyes. Then I see The Beast's large frame rush in. I feel his cold hand touch my forehead, and I feel him lift me up and carry me away...

I wake up. Two figures stand over me, a cold rag on my head, muffled words."Her fever's really high. What do we do?"

"I don't know... Let's just give it time?"

"What if we don't have time? If something happens to her..." The voice sounds familiar but I can't place it. I can't think. All that's going on in my head is a throbbing pain.

"Ouch," I complain.

The voice is deep but soft."Shhh. It'll be okay. I'll make things okay. I'm sorry..."

I'm unconscious again.

I wake up. This time I don't feel cold, I feel warm. But the good kind of warm. I open my eyes and realize I'm on the couch in the living room. The fire is going and the flat screen TV is on above it.

What happened? All I remember is feeling awful. Why am I not in the basement? Did that maniac get tired of leaving me to rot?

I sit up and find that a warm blanket is covering me. I follow my legs all the way down to where my feet brush the lap of someone. That someone is wearing a hoodie that covers their face. The Beast.

~The Beast~

I watch as Belle's eyes flutter open. She sits up looking at me strangely. I can't bring myself to look her in the eyes.

"Good evening," is all I say to break the silence.

"Good evening?" Her eyes spot the window down the hallway. It's dark and shinning stars dot the sky. "How long have I been out of it?"

"About two days." Again, I don't meet her eyes, I just play with the TV remote for busy work.

"Oh," is all she has to say. The silence is filled by the TV. There's a cartoon playing. It's one I use to watch with my dad as a kid. When I wasn't like this and he actually loved me.

"Is this what you usually watch?" she asks. I finally look her in the eyes, trying to see if she's picking a fight or just teasing. I find that they're soft and non-threatening. I quickly look away. I punished those same eyes. . . and it almost resulted in her death.