Finding Beauty

Chapter 21

~The Hunter~

The old car door makes a rickety clink when it closes behind me, blocking out the cold air. I sigh and grasp the steering wheel, running my thumb over it like it's an animal I can pet. I don't start the car right away, instead I take a few moments to myself.

I haven't been in Pedro, Belle's car, since the day I drove her back to the apartment, the same day she was kidnapped. It was in the police's possession for a while so that they could search for prints. They didn't find anything so they gave it back to Ms.Anderson. When she left for rehab she lent it to me knowing that it was close to my heart because it was close to Belle's.

The car is ancient. I'm surprised it's still working but I'm grateful it is. Without it, Belle wouldn't have much to remeber her dad by. She use to have boxes filled with pictures and stuff of his that she kept in her closet until one day she came home to them all gone. Turns out her mother threw them all out in a fit of grief. She said she didn't want them in the house at all, that she could feel his presence and it was too painful. Ms.Anderson immediately regretted it but by then it was too late.

Sliding the key into the ignition, I put the car in drive, and step on the gas. It feels good to get out of the house after all the time I've spent resting to recover from the beating I took. But not that good because I'm heading to my first appointment with Dr. Richards, the therapist.

I really don't know what to expect and the whole thing stresses me out. I never thought that I would be the kind of person to have to see someone about my feelings and mental state. It's kind of like a switch of rolls actually. I've always been the therapist Belle but now she's gone and apparently I've gone crazy.

The video chat we shared gave me hope. Belle is still alive, she looked fine other than the stitches along her arm. Those make me wonder. The Beast is known to kill. How else can one explain all those missing criminals? So if Belle was hurt who gave her stitches? And why? The Beast wouldn't, would he? He's the one who kidnapped her in the first place.

No, I didn't report the video chat I had with Belle to the police. It was no use. I had no evidence it happened, the site is down, and no new information was gained from it except that she's alive. I don't need another reason to give the police so they can lock me up in an asylum.

To distract myself from all the stressful thoughts I'm having, I turn the radio to a random station and hope they are playing something good.

The familiar tune fills the car and I smile. It brings back a pleasant memory. About 2 years ago, during Belle and I's sophomore year, Belle had to stay after school to work on a project for band class. She had to play this song on the piano for a grade and she needed all the practice she could get.

"Hey, my little pianist!" I said as I cruised into the empty classroom. School had finished about an hour prior but it was open to students and teachers who still had work to attend to.

"Grayson? What are you doing here? I thought you had an important football practice today," Belle pointed out while organizing her piano sheets.

"I did but it's raining so-" I nudged Belle to the side of the bench to make some room for me, "-I'm here instead." I shrugged and she laughed a bit. "So can I hear what you got so far?"

Belle snorted. "I've got nothing! I can't play without singing the tune and I'm not a very good singer...I don't want to give everyone another reason to hate me, not that I'd care, but still." She sighed and a loose strand of her brown hair fell into her eyes.

I hated to see her sad so I said,"You know, I'm not exactly Justin Bieber but I'll sing for you if it helps."

"Really? Thank you so much!" Belle cheered and then pulled me in for a side hug. "Okay, the song is Keep Your Head Up by Andy Grammer. You know the lyrics right?"

I gulped and nodded. "Yep..."

"Alright here we go." Belle started playing the song, her fingers moved above the keys like little dancers. Then she counted me in,"And a one, two, three, here you go!"

"I've been waiting on the sunset, bills on my mind set, I can't deny their getting high," I sang, almost bursting out into laughter a couple of times. I could tell Belle was holding in a few laughs too."Higher than my income, income bread crumbs. I've been trying to survive."

I continued to sing and soon Belle joined in and the singing turned to dancing. Next thing we knew, we weren't even next to the piano, we were just dancing and singing around the room like a pair of weirdos.

"Am I gonna turn out fine? Oh, turn out fine," Belle sings while twirling around the stage. "Fine, oh, you'll turn out fine."

Then she turns to me quickly and shouts along with me,"But you gotta keep your head up! Oh! And you can let your hair down! Eh!" Belle released her hair from her pony tail and whipped it back and forth. Meanwhile, I tried on a pink wig found in the drama closet and used that as hair.

"Only rainbows after rain. The sun will always come again. And it's all circle- circling around again. It comes around-"

We were so into our silly musical performance that we didn't even notice the music teacher, Mr.Murphy walking back into the room. He came in with a cup of coffee in one hand while searching for a folder. His jaw dropped slightly but his eyes held pure amusement.

"I don't know what's going on here but I'm just gonna walk out and pretend I didn't see any of it," he said. Then, slowly backed out of the room.

Belle and I turned to eachother after that and then broke out into song once again. This time, I pulled her into a waltz. I span her around and pulled her close while singing,"I know it's hard, know it's hard, to remeber sometimes. But you gotta keep your head up! Oh! And you can let your hair down! Eh!"

The loud honk of a horn yanks me back into reality. It's a red light and I'm driving right past it. In front of me is another car. I slam my foot on the brakes only to stop a few inches away.

I sigh in relief.

"Watch where you're going!" The guy in the other car hollers.

Even though it almost caused me to get into an accident, I think the little day dream had its purpose. I can't go into depression because Belle is gone. I have every right to be, but I can't. It's not what she would want and it won't do any of us good. 

I'll keep my head up for you, Belle.

Author's Note- Hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you did press that little star button and vote!

Question- What do you guys think about Grayson?

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