The Beast Inside. New Version ✔

Chapter 11.

Austin continued running his fingers through Natalie's hair even though he knew she had already fallen asleep. He felt bad. He shouldn't of made her tell him what had happened, but it had been bugging the shit out of him. She deserved to have her own secrets. He hadn't once thought about anything that she was going through until the moment she blew up on him. He had pushed her too far. He had taken away her freedom. She was now as secluded as he was. That must have been difficult for a woman who seemed to have everyone wanting to talk to her. She had started to grow on him. No, he still didn't like her. But when he thought of everything, she was taking it far better than anyone else would. She didn't scream when she saw him for the monster he was. She didn't fight him when he told her she could never leave. The only thing she did was beg him not to take her flying and ask him not to make her tell the story. He did both. He realized he wasn't being fair. She had put up with his hatred attitude without a single complaint, but he wouldn't even try to put up with her cheerfulness. He had been judging her from the beginning. She knew he had and just let him. She even let him believe she wrecked his car, knowing that it would anger him. He no longer considered her weak. Yes, she was still human so she was weak physically compared to him. Mentally though, she was stronger than he was. She didn't deserve this life. With that thought, he knew what to do.

He made dinner that night again for the both of them. She was smiling again and laughing. He gritted his teeth together and even dealt with her when she started to sing. He even tried not to be so haterful, but it was just who he was. He had never been nice in his life. He studied her for what felt like the first time as she ate; really studied her. He noticed the black bags under her eyes and that now, looking closer, the smile seemed forced. Her tanned skin had a pale effect to it and her laugh almost mechanical. The worst of all though, her green eyes that had shined so bright when he first met her, had dimmed. They no longer sparkeled and danced with joy. She was suffereing and he had been the cause of it. He didn't know what the feeling that went through him was, but he hated it.

He watched satisfied as she finished all of her food, and then grabbed the glass of water. She looked up and smiled at him before her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. He stood up from his chair and quickly grabbed her before she sunk to the ground unconscious. He didn't have time to catch the glass and could only watch as it rolled out of her hnd to shatter on the ground. As he held her, he watched the glass shards scatter around the kitchen floor and the water slowly start to spread. It took him awhile before he was able to move again, but his mind was still on the glass. The fact that it had broken into all those pieces and that no matter what he tried to do, he wouldn't be able to put it back together. So he would just clean up the mess as best as he could and then throw the glass away. He hoped it wouldn't be that way for Natalie. He hoped that she would be able to put all the pieces back together and be able to move on.

He walked with her in his arms to her bedroom and grabbed the blanket off the bed. He wrapped her up tight so she wouldn't get cold. Holding her bridal style, he walked out the door and took off for the air. It took an hour and a half before he reached her actual home. He landed in the backyard, holding her to him with one arm, he took our her keys from his back pocket. When he had found them by her purse, he had made sure to hold on to them. Maybe this was why; maybe it was because he had every intention of not keeping her. Maybe he was always meant to bring her home. He silently unlocked the back door and made his way into her house.

Her home was small but nice. Unlike his, hers actually looked lived in. Comfortable. The kitchen was an older style but clean. The living room had a fireplace with a couch in front of it, and a tv hung on the wall. He paused as he walked behind the couch to her bedroom. The mirror that hung there had him wanting to growl. He wanted to smash it, hating looking the monster in the eye. The fangs that fell lightly over his lips, the eyes that were pure predatory. His eyes focused on the woman in his arms. So beautiful and pure. He had tainted that, which was just another reason to add onto the self hatred. He shook his head and quickly found her bedroom; he had to get out of here. He pulled the covers back and gently laid her down, puling the covers around her.

He watched as she turned and snuggled into the blanket. He started at her for awhile unable to leave. She had been the only companion he had. The one person he could talk to and he had been horrible to her. He felt bad but he couldn't take it back. Not only that, he couldn't change. He didn't just not like people, he hated them. Natalie loved them. He like being secluded. She hated it. He could never be nice to her. If she was to stay with him, then she would just grow to hate him, just as he did her. She would never have a life, and it was selfish of him to want to take that from her just so he could have a little company. He would never like her. He knew that. He still hated the smiling and laughing, but he hated her anger and crying more. He knew he did that to her. She had realized that this wasn't just a vacation. She was just amazing at covering it up.

He took the letter that he wrote earlier in the day out of his pocket. He opened it and reread it, trying to decide it he was going to leave it or not. He wanted to leave it, but wouldn't. She needed to wake up and think it was all a dream. She needed to forget him.

He would like to think he knew her better than that though. She would remember. He coundn't take that away from her. If he could then he would. It would be easier on both of them. She was smart though, she would return back to her life, just as he would return to his. He would find a new place to hide. He woudn't return back to the warehouse or the home they had been staying in. Just in case she returned to them, he would rid everything from those places that could link back to him.

He looked out the window and noticed the sun was starting to rise. He felt like a creep. He didn't realize he had been staring at her for hours. He walked over to the window and pulled the curtain close to where it wouldn't wake her. She needed all the sleep she could get. He took one last look at her and put a small kiss on her lips. He walked out of her room, closing the door behind him, not once looking back.

He felt a whimper escape involuntary. His beast. He went to her kitchen and quickly found a pen. He opened the letter and wrote a few more words down. He would leave it, but he would hide it. He hoped she wouldnt find it. He wasn't leaving it for her or even him, but for his beast. Maybe it was cowardly of him to put it somewhere she hopefully wouldn't find it, but so be it.

Setting her personal belongings that he found of hers on the kitchen counter, he took one last look around the house and spotted a picture frame. It was a picture of her laughing. Her golden hair was blwoing in the wind; her green eyes sparkling in the sun. A huge smile on her face. He took the picture from the table and put it in his jacket pocket. Just because he didn't want her to remember him didn't mean he didn't want to remember her.

He locked the door from the inside and then took off in the air. His beast whimpered again, having grow attached to her. That was something he, himself could never do though. He couldn't like her. The only thing he could do for her, he just did. He let her have her freedom back. He just hoped to whatever God was out there that he did the right thing in trusting that she wouldn't tell anyone about him.