Beastly

Garden of Exile

⏭▶⏮

She sat quietly on the couch, her jacket closed in, hood up and no lights in the house been turned on for the last three hours she had been sitting in the living room.

Lauren had been staring off the floor for what feels like forever. Not as much as a movement been made. Her mind moving too fast she couldn't even keep up herself.

Maybe it was because she was still too shock about everything that has happened for the night and the horribly disturbing creature she was turned into, or maybe she just have no idea how to go on in her life knowing she would look like this the rest of her life.

What will everyone say about it? Her face? The single thought turns the air so cold around her and it also makes her wanna throw up in disgust.

What will her dad say about this? A sob erupted from her chest, making her gasp and curl on the couch as she tries to take away all the negative thoughts that will most likely come true as soon as her father found out what his daughter looks like now.

Just as the tears stopped flowing from her eyes, Lauren heard the door opened, followed by the distinct steps that she can only recognize as Mike's as he emerged to the darkened living room.

"Dad." She spoke quietly, her voice shaking from all the crying she had been doing all these hours.

Mike stopped on his way in, surprised. "Jesus... Lauren, you scared me."

"Don't turn on the light." Lauren pleaded.

"Why?"

"Please, Dad."

"What is going on?" Her father asked, approaching the couch and she turned away to hide her face.

"Why do you love me?" She asked, her voice heavy and shaking, hoping her dad will see right through the ugly and won't love her any less.

"What kind of question is that?" Mike asked, taken aback by how strange his daughter was suddenly acting.

"Just answer it."

"Because you're my daughter, my princess, Lauren."

"But do you believe in magic?" She pressed on, facing down and away from the man.

"Magic?" Mike snorted in disdain, and heard him walked towards the corner-- "What the hell are you..."

-- where the light switch is on.

Lauren jumped over the couch in hopes to stop him but failed to do so when she slammed on the full body mirror against the wall and breaking it, just as the room lighted up and she was now face-to-face with her father.

Mike stepped back, eyes widen in horror as he take in all the scars and tattooes that Malik had inflicted on her face. "Lauren?"

She could see it, right there on his face, the disbelief, the terror, and the this-is-not-how-my-beautiful daughter-like look he was giving at her.

⏮▶⏭

"Her vision and hearing are the way they are." The doctor explained to them.

Mike was dismayed. "That's all you've got?"

The old doctor fixed his glasses at her and before looking back to his clipboard quickly, as if scared. "And of course, her insides are just as normal as...um, as they were before, but the skin won't change no matter what we do."

Lauren pulled the scarf higher to her face, looking away from both men as they discussed.

Her father, on the other hand, looked desperate. "Now, what about skin grafts? Or face transplant? I mean, look at her." Mike gestured at her face. "Look at her. She doesn't want to live life looking like this. Come on! We'd risk anything. My daughter shouldn't look like this."