by E L DuBois
Beauty vomited then, right into the pink plastic tub beside her hospital bed. She turned away from the Beast and silent tears fell from her eyes. She cried without making a sound or movement. She had trained herself to cry with even breaths, like she was sleeping, so the Beast would not see her tears. He was still amusing himself and chuckling over his accomplishments when Beauty drifted off to sleep.
Beauty was released from the hospital and the Beast expected her to go back to her daily chores like she had never been sick. There was no recovery time for Beauty. She just had to grit her teeth and bear the pain. That was her life.
The total stability of her instable life ate away at her sanity and Beauty began acting out, purposefully defying the Beast. Not telling him where she was going or answering his obsessive calls and texts. She just wanted to stay away. She wanted freedom from her life with him. It only took two weeks for Beauty to find what she had been looking for.
It was a hot summer day. Beauty wore a tank top and mini-denim skirt with flip-flops. The Beast had invited his brood of buddies over to hang out. He had one set of buddies who were brothers. One brother was notorious for being a handsome ladies’ man and made his admiration for Beauty no secret. His looks always lingered a little too long. He would find reasons to touch Beauty or compliment her. He was a false Prince Charming and Hero with no real aspirations for Beauty, and Beauty did not like how his attentions made the Beast react. To his friend, the Beast was all smiles. To Beauty, he was constantly accusing her of wanting to sleep with the False Hero as revenge. He accused Beauty of seeking out the attentions of his friend. Beauty barely even noticed or registered any of the attentions the Beast was accusing her of wanting. The Beast would complain he could have no friends because they all wanted Beauty, which she did not see.
Beauty was so tired of feeling like a caged animal that was constantly being abused, poked, and prodded. The Princess was staying with the Wicked Bitch of the West that day. She hated leaving her child with that woman, but the Beast insisted his mother get to spend time with the Princess. Usually, this meant the wicked woman would spend all her time dressing up and making the Princess pose for photos. The wicked woman fancied herself a photographer and she loved to take pictures of the children, until she deemed them too old to be cute enough anymore. Beauty had witnessed this behavior with the wicked woman’s own children, and knew it was only a matter of time until the Witch lost interest in the Princess. The Beast, his family, the constant need to please all of them, was just more punishment that Beauty did not understand or want. She wanted away from all of it. She felt so trapped and did not understand why she stayed. Her mind had been so messed with that she did not know up from down anymore.
So, on this hot summer day with the Princess away, she had found herself surrounded by the Beast and a group of his like-minded friends. She did not know if it was the heat, her total level of fed up, or a combination of everything, but she had been restless, and a rebelliousness was rearing up inside. The Beast had left her with his friends to either go buy drugs, alcohol, or both. She did not know which nor did she care anymore.
His friends were already drunk or high and being loud, boisterous idiots. Without saying a word to any of them, she grabbed her keys and slipped out, unnoticed. She should have went and gotten the Princess and ran away, but she had no place to run to. The situation with the Beast had alienated her from her family. The Queen, King, and Prince were all fed up with her “choices.” The King and Prince had disowned her, and the Queen only spoke to her about the Princess. Beauty had no friends anymore. She had no one except the Princess, the Beast, and his loathsome family.
With no place to go, she just drove. Heading down the main street of the town, she found herself sitting in front of the very bar where the Beast had met his Bar-Wench. Deciding to see the scene of the crime for herself, she went inside and sat down at the bar. She had very little cash and just ordered water, when her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID. It was the Beast’s best friend. She thought that odd. She did not even know he had her number. He acted like he hated her so Beauty never paid much attention to him. The Beast had caused Beauty to feel resentment toward his friend, because the Beast idolized the man. Ever since Beauty met the Beast, his best friend had been a thorn on Beauty’s side. He was always going on and on about the friend’s accomplishments. Beauty did not see what the big deal was. To her, the guy was very disrespectful and ungrateful for any kindness she showed him. He looked like he never took a bath, was extremely selfish, and a drug addict on top of everything. In Beauty’s opinion, he was not a good friend at all. But the Beast thought the guy crapped gold and it irked Beauty to no end.
Still she answered the call. “Hello?”
The deep voice responded with, “Beauty?”
“Yes?” She could hear rustling and people talking. A lot of commotion. Was that yelling?
He cleared his throat, sounding very calm. Not at all boisterous like when she had left.
“Let me bend your ear for a minute. Well, you see... the Beast, he left here and is trying to find you. And well, you have a family locator on your phone. He was real upset and well... he lost control of his truck while he was peeling out of the parking lot. He hit a cop car and pushed it five spaces into a neighbor’s car. Then, he kept going.”
Beauty did not even know what to say. She became engulfed in fear, all she could croak out was, “Umm, ok, yeah.” Before she hung up.
No sooner had Beauty stood and turned toward the door did the Beast come barreling into the bar with a look so killing her blood ran cold at the sight of him. She did not have time to say a word before he pounced on her, jerking her by the hair, and dragging her stumbling out the door. A roomful of people witnessed it all. He was dragging Beauty and screaming at her.
“Are you allowed to go out alone? Are you allowed to go to the bar? NO, YOU ARE NOT!”
As they reached the Beast’s truck, she could see the damage, but still he continued to scream. The Beast was out of his mind.
“LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO! MY HOOD WON’T STAY SHUT AND I HAD TO DRIVE THREE MILES DOWN THE ROAD WITH MY HEAD OUT THE WINDOW LIKE ACE VENTURA!”
Blood was rushing into Beauty’s head with the pain of his grip. Her words were low and frightened.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” was all she could get to come out of her mouth.
People were starting to come out of the bar and stare. The Beast did not care. He took Beauty’s cell phone from her hand and threw it against the concrete wall of the building the bar was located in. Then, he spit in her face and screamed, “GET IN THE TRUCK!”
She was trying to reason with him. To tell him they had an audience and to please stop hurting her where people could see. She tried to make him understand that she would be good. They could leave the truck since it was damaged, and she would drive them home, but the Beast was unreachable in his rage. He did not want to hear anything she had to say. Instead, he forced Beauty into the truck. He repeatedly slammed her head into the metal frame. Blood began to blur her vision and she was feeling dizzy. Like the wild Beast he was, the sight only made him more incensed. He began to strangle Beauty. She fought against his calloused hands wrapped around her tender throat, but she was no match for the Beast. Black spots began to dance before her eyes, and little star bursts flitted across her vision. All she could see was the Beast’s face as her struggles began to become weaker. She thought of the Princess and prayed the Queen would get custody. Surely, when the Beast killed her in public, with witnesses, he would go to prison. At least then, the Princess would be free.
Beauty could feel herself dying. She did not even register that the Beast had pushed her onto the hot tar blacktop of the street where his truck was parked. It felt like time slowed as the world faded away. Then suddenly, the Beast’s hands were gone, and Beauty was choking, gasping for breath. Through slitted eyes, she saw six big men fighting and trying to restrain the Beast, who was still trying to get to he
r. Weak in the knees and barely breathing, Beauty tried to stand. She needed to run. To flee. She needed to do something. But as she stood, her knees buckled, and she crumpled face first onto the pavement. She could still see the men fighting the Beast. Her eyes were locked on the free-for-all violence. There was such an awful ringing in her ears. Her head and throat ached. People were around her, kneeling next to her, speaking to her – but she could not respond. All she could do was stare at the Beast. The ringing grew more and more intense with each passing second, and it registered to Beauty that her ears were not ringing – she was hearing sirens. Unable to hold out any longer, she started to slip into darkness. Right before she did, she locked eyes with the Beast, and his menacing look of hatred was the last thing she saw before the blackness engulfed her.
Chapter 14
A dream is a wish the heart makes...
A nightmare is the remnant of a broken soul…
CHAOS, TOTAL CHAOS. That was what Beauty was immersed in. She sat on the curb of one side of the street, surrounded by policemen, while the Beast sat handcuffed across the street directly in front of her. His rage had not ebbed. Between hateful glares and jabs at the police officers, the Beast screamed at Beauty.
“KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT, BITCH!”
“ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, BEAUTY?”
“LOOK WHAT YOU HAVE DONE, BITCH!”
“WHEN I GET OUT, YOU ARE GOING TO PAY!”
Beauty was in shock. She could barely understand the questions the police asked her. She numbly let the EMS examine her. The police took photos and had her sign a statement. She did not even read what was written for her. She was a mess of fear and shock. The police told her that the Beast would be charged with attempted murder, not just assault. It was against the rules where they lived to attempt to strangle someone. That was an automatic attempted murder charge. If the police only knew how many times the Beast had “attempted” to murder her behind closed doors, he would be facing many charges.
The sun had gone down by the time the police finally took the Beast away. The crowd had started to disburse when Beauty noticed the Wicked Bitch holding the Princess, watching everything. The police officer speaking with Beauty followed her gaze to the beautiful little girl and Wicked woman.
“Do you know them, Miss?”
Beauty was able to nod yes, and whisper, “That’s his mother and my daughter.”
The officer just shook his head and looked at Beauty with sympathy.
“What kind of person brings a child to witness this?”
The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.
“The kind that spawns Satan.”
The officer did not even bat an eye at Beauty’s statement. He just nodded and told her,
“You are clear to go, Ma’am. If I were in your place, I would go get my child and get far away from these people.”
Beauty nodded and thanked the officer as he handed her the almost undamaged cell phone an officer had retrieved from the concrete outside the bar. She approached the Wicked Woman and without a word, she took the Princess from her arms and turned to leave.
The Wicked Bitch’s words did not even make Beauty slow her stride.
“He will get out, you know, and he will not be coming to stay with me. Prepare yourself.”
Beauty just wanted to hold the Princess and go home. She felt no urge to cry or rage anymore. She just felt shame over all the witnesses. Shame that his vile mother brought the sweet, innocent Princess to witness such drama. She should not have been surprised. The Beast’s apple did not fall far from the tree.
When Beauty arrived home, the house was quiet and dark. She was so thankful for the silence. The Princess was so young, but she looked at Beauty with big, hazel eyes, and Beauty could swear she saw sadness in them. The Princess brought one tiny hand to Beauty’s bruised face and said, “Mamma hurt?”
Beauty felt the tears pricking her eyes. “No baby, Mamma not hurt. Mamma is ok. We are both ok. Everything is going to be ok.”
The sweet Princess smiled at Beauty, and she felt a warmth in her chest. It was going to be ok. The Beast was gone and would be for a long time. They were going to move on and be free from the torture. At this realization, a calm began to set into Beauty. Hope sparked inside her. She had her daughter and she could support them both. Everything was going to be ok.
It had been a hellish day, full of horrific acts, but that night, in those moments with her daughter, Beauty felt a peace she had not known in a very long time. Her life had been so unstable for so long. She never knew from one day to the next what kind of terror the day would bring, but she knew now that tomorrow would be different. Tomorrow would be a new beginning for Beauty and the Princess.
In the darkness, the only sound was her baby girl’s soft breaths as she slept.
Beauty rocked her daughter and felt relief.
Chapter 15
I knew who I was this morning...
But I have changed a few times since then
BEAUTY WAS AWAKENED from her first sound sleep in ages by her ringing cell phone. It was three o’clock in the morning. Who would be calling at this awful hour? She did not recognize the number, so she did not answer. The phone ringing ended and then immediately started up again. Afraid the sound would wake the baby, she got out of bed and moved from the room quietly. By the time Beauty was shutting the door, the phone had stopped again, and started ringing again. She finally answered with a sleepy hello.
The voice on the other end of the phone made her stomach drop.
“Come bail me out.”
Beauty could not even form words. She just stayed silent as her sleep-addled mind grasped at thoughts. How was this possible? How was he calling her? Didn’t people have to accept collect calls from jail or something like that? The movies and TV shows always showed scenes where people had to accept collect calls. Isn’t that how it really worked?
The impatient voice on the other end brought Beauty’s brain crashing back to reality.
“I SAID COME BAIL ME OUT!”
Oh no, did he say bail? There was no way he got bail. He tried to kill her. Is the justice system that flawed?
Beauty acted out of fear. She hung up and immediately shut off the cell phone. Her brain racing with a million different terrifying thoughts. He will not get out! He cannot get out! None of his family will bail him out! Right? I mean, they have had to do that too many times before and he still owes them money.
A sick feeling began to rest like a lead weight in the pit of Beauty’s stomach. No, she thought with resolve. No, none of them will bail him out. I have nothing to be worried about. Beauty kept reassuring herself. Unable to sleep, she did menial tasks around the house until it was time to get ready for work. She had to do a stellar cover-up job with her make-up that morning. There was bruising around her left temple and significant bruising around her neck. The cuts and scrapes to her body were covered with a long-sleeved shirt and pants. She opted for a turtleneck even though it was going to be another hot summer day, but she could get away with it since it was always cold at work. If anyone asked about her eye, she would laugh it off and say she was such a klutz and walked into an open kitchen cabinet while half asleep. She felt confident in her stories and hoped no one would ask.
She stuck with her morning routine and got the Princess ready for the day. She dropped the Princess off with the babysitter and headed to work, all the while doing her best not to think about the Beast or the fact that he had gotten bail. She listened to chipper music at high volumes and sang along at the top of her lungs, but unwelcomed thoughts would still seep in. She tried to rationalize that no one would help him. His friends were no real friends at all. His family valued money more than they valued each other and none of them really cared enough to help him. He would sit and rot in jail where he belonged. She and the Princess could be free to live a happy life without him. It was the start of a new chapter. Still, she could feel a niggling sense of fear. It was a tingling in her spine tha
t would not go away. As she went through her day and robotically did her job, she smiled and pretended all was well. She never turned her cell phone back on.
She was just getting finished up for the day and telling all her co-workers goodbye as they headed out the back door of the building, when a sight made her blood run cold and stopped her in her tracks. She wanted to run back inside. She wanted to scream and vomit all at the same time. Instead, she just stood there motionless, watching the Beast leaning up against her car.
He wore the same clothes from the day before, with a large blood-crusted cut along his forehead on his hair line. Dried blood coated his blonde hair. There was bruising along his cheekbones and dark shadows below his cold, blue eyes. His clothes were a dirty mess of blood dirt, and God only knew what else. She could see the knuckles of both his hands were split in several places, with cuts and bruising.
Beauty was terrified and very embarrassed. She did not want any of her co-workers to notice him. He looked like a dirty lunatic that had escaped from the local psychiatric hospital. How had she ever thought this Beast was attractive? In that moment, there was none of the charm he imitated so well.
Her feet felt rooted to their spot on the concrete. They eyed each other. She could tell the Beast was taking her measure and preparing to chase her if she tried to run. She did not want a scene outside of her work. She needed her job.
Finally, with a slow exhalation of breath, Beauty took slow, tired steps toward the Beast and her car. The short distance across the parking lot felt like she was being escorted down the corridor of death row on her way to her execution. When she was finally within touching distance of the Beast, he crossed his arms over his chest and stared Beauty right in the eyes. She was so tired. She did not have the strength to do this. She did not want to fight anymore. Every time she began to feel hope, he would find a way to destroy it. That is what the Beast was. He was a destroyer of anything good.
