The Beast is a well known murderer that plagues New York City. He is known for only killing criminals but when Belle's mother steals from him, Belle becomes one of his victims. Except, he doesn't kill her - he takes her with him. Belle has always be...
"Belle?" he gasps as my eyes travel his face. I find a busted lip and black eye. What happened to him? Is he okay? We're both at a loss for words, frozen in place, just staring at eachother, afraid if we move the image of eachother will shatter.
"You're real? You're really there?" I ask in shock. My heart beat is going so fast it feels like it can pop out of my chest.
"Yea, I'm here...and so are you." A smile slowly forms on his face but then something else overcomes it. "Where are you? Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"Wait," I whisper. I get off of my bed and scurry over to the door and lock it. Then I take the laptop into the bathroom and lock that door. I can't take a chance on Carina or Gale walking in.
Gale gave me this laptop after our little talk. He said it was an old laptop but it had access to Netflix, YouTube, and even a reading app he downloaded for me. It was actually really thoughtful of him.
Of course, the first thing I checked was access to an email or anything to contact help, nothing like that worked on it, which I figured. Then I remembered the Mirror Mirror app and logged into my account. Grayson called a moment after.
"Okay." I sit down on the bathtub rim and adjust the laptop screen. "I should be good now."
"Belle, what happened to you? Where are you? Are you okay?" he askes in a rushed tone. His eyes travel around my face as if he was searching for something wrong.
"Yes, I'm okay." I lift my arm to tuck a hair back and Grayson nearly falls over.
"Are those stitches on your arm?! If he touched you I swear-"
"I'm okay. It doesn't matter anymore," I say to sooth him. Grayson's never been one to have a temper but when he does freak out, he really freaks out. "You're the one with a black eye! What happened?"
"That's not important," Grayson dismisses. "Where are you? I'll call the police and we'll find you." I see him reach for his phone, a notebook, and pen.
"Okay, um..." I scan my head for any clues they could use to find me. But I feel pressured so my mind feels cloudy, making it extremely hard to think. "I'm in a castle, it has a pointy, black gate around it, and...and I don't know...it's near the woods..."
"We're gonna need more than that, Belle," Grayson says with a soft expression and soothing voice. He was always good at that, staying calm for me.
"Um...it's near cabins..." I grip the edge of the bathtub hard enough for it to cut my hand, urging my brain to think of something more, something useful. My eyes well up with tears. "I can't think of anything else! Dang it!"
Grayson finishes taking notes and sighs. "It's okay, just take a breath. I'll find you, I promise. Do you hear me, Belle? I promise."
I nod, feeling calmer because of the certainty in his eyes. My laptop screen gets darker and a light on it blinks red. The batteries about to die. "Shoot!"
"What? What's wrong?" Grayson questions, concern twisting his features.
"The batteries about to die!" I whimper. "We don't have much time left."
"Then hurry! Charge it!" he urges. I'm about to do so when I hear a shuffling from outside the bathroom, then I hear a sweet, high pitched humming.
My heart falls to my stomach. "I can't," I whisper. "Carina's out there. If she see's-"
"Carina? Who's that?"
"I love you, Grayson," I say as the screen starts to flash red. I place my hand on the screen where his chest would be. My breathing slows as I loose hope. This may be the last conversation I'll ever have with Grayson.
"I love you, too," Grayson says. "But- no! Belle!" he cries as the screen fades to black. I feel a tremble over take my body and I melt to the ground.
I never knew that you could miss someone so much that it physically hurt. The worst part is talking to him only shoved the knife further in the wound because it couldn't last forever. Carina distracted me from it while we were painting and that didn't last forever either. And to be honest, I don't think the information I gave him will bring me even one step closer to getting home.
I am gone. Gone forever. Belle Anderson will forever be gone to the world, dead even. An abandoned case on a table. A victim of The Beast.
I shut the laptop, hold it to my chest, and sob.
Carina knocks on the door. "Honey? What's going on in there?"
I don't answer, I just continue to cry. I'm gone, empty, broken.
Author's Note- Disney's live action version of Beauty and the Beast came out in theatres today! Who's going to see it?
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