~The Hunter~

I turn at the green light, my heart pounding in my chest. The street seems way too long, the minutes going by way too slowly. I step on the gas a bit harder going a tad faster than the speed limit.

Belle. Belle. Belle.

Her name thumps in the back of my mind matching the rhythm of my heart beat. My hands start shaking and I feel a bead of sweat trail down my forehead.

I had just finished my day at school when the police called me. School has been kind of mellow for me these past two months. I talk to some people, do most of my assignments, get okay grades and that's all. I've chosen to keep my Belle problems to myself and pretend that things are alright. This had proven to be effective because people actually do believe I am getting better. Even my parents. Everyone has seemed to lose interest in the whole Belle thing. To them, she's just old news.

I passed a poster in the school hall the other day. It was regarding Belle and how she's been missing for 5 months now. It had her student ID photo on it. She was wearing a rose colored tank top and matching lipstick, a small smile starting to form on the corners of her mouth. Below it, written in an innocent scripted font was a bunch of nonsense. It went on about how everyone was hoping and praying for her return when really almost everyone in the school gave Belle a hard time when she was here. I had just rolled my eyes at it and kept walking down the hallway, managing to keep my shortening temper.

All I wanted to do was scream. Scream, "If you all care so much, why don't you go out and help me find her?!" I wanted to tear it down. She deserved a whole a mural not just a lousy poster made my some nerds on the school newspaper team. I wanted everyone to realize just who they were missing.

Belle.

It was when I was already outside the building and unlocking the car that I got the call. My breath caught in my throat as the leading officer on the case, Officer Browns, told me to come down to the station. He didn't elaborate and I didn't ask him to. Instead, I quickly jumped in Pedro and drove away.

It's been awhile since the police have gotten any useful news on Belle or The Beast. The last time being when they interrogated the man at the masquerade. Apparently, his name was Tyler Daniels. All he told the police was he had some "unsettled business with The Beast" and that "the girl was just part of getting back at him." Those words have floated around in my brain day and night. No matter what I couldn't connect the dots. It seems can never connect the dots.

The Beast has some magical abilities to turn people into roses, Belle was in a castle at some point, then at a masquerade ball, and somehow this witch I found from an ad online has insight on all of it.

I had gone back to the witches shop a few weeks ago hoping she could spare some more answers. When I did the shop was gone. It was closed down and looked like it was being remodeled. A for sale sign hung on the front door was covered by a "Sold" stamp. She was gone, just like that. Almost like she was never there at all. It was convenient, too convenient.

Pedro slides right into a parking spot in front of the police station. Taking a breath, I climb out and head in.

Spring is slowly approaching and because of that all I wear over my shirt is a jean jacket. My thumb and index finger fiddle with the loose threading as I find my way to the front desk.

A woman in uniform stands there while filing some papers. She doesn't seem to notice me. I stand, frozen in place for a moment.

Why did they call me in today? Do they have a new lead? Do they have news? Is it good or bad news?

I feel a wave of dizziness pass me.

There's only one way to find out. I step up, about to ask the women to see Officer Browns when a hand taps my shoulder from behind.

This startles me. I jump and quickly turn around. A familiar face greets my eyes. I gasp.

What is she doing here?

"Hello, Grayson," Mrs.Anderson says a little nonchalantly. Her hair isn't pulled back into one of her usual messy buns. It's down, combed, and straightened. Her dirty blond highlights are redone and she seems to have achieved a healthy body weight, her cheeks no longer sunken in.

"Hello, Mrs.Anderson," I manage after a few seconds of shock. I almost didn't recognize her. I guess rehab went well for her after all. Suddenly, all I can imagine is how Belle's face would light up at the sight of her mom's newly recovered health. She would be so proud. "You look good."

She nods and almost smiles. "Thank you." We stand, blankly staring at each other for a few seconds. It must be the tension from the last time I talked to her that's causing this unsettling silence.

I called her and told her how Belle's kidnapping was all her fault. I can't say I didn't mean those things and I don't want to apologize because it would be insincere. So I just stand, feeling the hatred I still have for her bubble in a pit in my stomach.

"How are you doing, Grayson? It's your senior year, isn't it? Heard back from any colleges?" Luckily, I don't have to answer any of those questions because Officer Browns rounds the corner.

"Grayson and Mrs.Anderson," he says in his emotionless tone. He shakes our hands with his firm grip and then gestures for us to follow him. "Why don't you step into my office?"

We do as we're told and soon enough we are packed into his cluttered work space where two seats are placed across his office desk. Nothing about the place catches eye until I spot a slick file resting on the desk. The tab sticking out reads, "The Abduction Of Belle Anderson." On the file, stamped in big, blocky, red letters is the word Closed.

Just like that, I can feel my pulse quicken - I can hear it too.

What does that mean?

I take a seat to steady myself but Belle's mother doesn't.

"What is it?" she questions the officer. "Please tell me you've found something. Please tell me you've found her." Her eyes are glassy and her lips tremble. Her fingers are intertwined almost like she's pleading to God.

Brown's face contorts, his facial features twisting into a look of pure pity. His eyes fall onto his desk. "You better take a seat, ma'am."

It feels like I've been punched. Like all the air has been sucked out of me and this room and my whole universe. I grip the armrest of my chair hard, fearing that if I let go I might slip away.

Mrs.Anderson catches on and her face goes blank. She slowly sits and stares at the Officer. Just a bit of hope resides in her eyes.

Officer Browns bites his lip and studies our faces, looking unsure of how to proceed. But he does. "Early this morning, a family camping in the Moffitt Beach area reported finding a dead body buried next to the shore." My heart pauses for a moment and so does my whole world. My eyes widen.

No. Please, no.

"It was sent to a lab and identified to be Belle Anderson. I'm so sorry."

Mrs.Anderson shrieks. Her hands fly up to her mouth and her breathing becomes ragged. "No...no...no..." she sobs. Her body curls up into a ball. Each sound she makes is laced with pure devastation. Cracked, chipped, broken. "My baby...my baby. No... no... please..." She repeats this over and over. Each time is more mournful. I know why.

It's because the daughter she gave birth to, the child she raised, the child she neglected, the child she let down was gone. She would never get another chance at being a good mother. Never. Her time was up. Belle died with memory of a mom who left her in the hands of a murderer. Belle's death is a result of that mother. Mrs.Anderson knows this and it's going to eat her alive.

My body, on the other hand, seems to have a delayed reaction. I don't feel anything. I feel numb.

It's like I'm nothing. I don't even exist. Like I'm floating in space and nothing can touch me. I'm not sad, angry, happy, nothing. I can't feel.

Then, I can.

I feel something simmer inside of me. It's raging. It's violent. It's destructive. My breathing picks up, my chest rises and falls violently. I start shaking. I'm shaking so much it hurts. My head is throbbing. It feels like someone is slamming it into a wall. I can't take it but I can't make it stop.

Belle.

---------------------------

My face is wet. My eyes feel swollen. My hand reaches to rub my face but it is doesn't move. I try again. Nothing. Why won't they budge?

My eyelids peel away from each other but I have to shut them again because a blinding white lights shines from right above me.

"Shh...it's okay," a soothing voice comforts. It comes from a place next to me. I turn my head and realize I'm laying in a bed. But it's not my own. It's covered in white sheets and a minty clean smell burns my nose.

My eyes find that my arms are bounded by a metal cuff attached to the bed and so are my legs. My breathing starts to go haywire again until my mother's face appears in front of mine.

"Hey, shh. It's okay. Relax, sweetie." Her eyes are filled with worry even though she tries hard to seem relaxed.

"Mom, where am I?" I ask feeling fear rise up my chest. "What's going on?"

"You're in the hospital," she says. She pets my head while I try to remember what happened before this.

I recall with a sinking feeling.

"Why am I strapped down? Help me get it off." She makes no move to help me. She just sits on her stool beside my bed. "Mom?"

"Sweetie, do you remember what happened in Officer Brown's office?" she asks patiently.

"Yes," I state. "They said Belle was dead. Is it true?" I was hoping it was a bad dream but I realize it's true just by the look on her face.

She nods and a tear runs down her already tear stained cheek. "Do you remember what happened after that?" I shake my head which causes a headache to arouse. "You had a break down but the doctors think it might have been a psychotic episode. You destroyed Officer Browns's office while yelling stuff about The Beast, witches, magical roses, and Belle."

Oh no. I blew it. No one was suppose to find out about that stuff. No one would believe me after all.

I fumble for words to try and cover it up. "Mom...I..."

"Grayson, they want you to stay here in the the psychiatric ward."

Author's Note- Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this update!

What are your thoughts? Are you confused? You're suppose to be a little confused so if you are don't worry about it.

Bye for now!