Beau - Chapter Eight
#4 of Beau
© All characters and storylines involving said characters belong to me: Eben Black.
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I woke to the sound of the alarm ringing out. I grimaced and buried my face against the mound of pillows. I reached over and slammed a hand down on the bedside table. When had I set that alarm? I slowly opened my eyes and found the basement of my mom's house around me. I blinked and stopped dead for a moment, then sat up and with a rush of dizziness ended up back on the back, breathing hard and wondering how I'd gotten here. I sat up and spilled over the edge of the bed. I was nude and my pale blue fur and black stripes looked ragged, almost like I'd showered and then spilled into bed still damp and not properly dried. I padded to the wardrobe and pulled on a pair of denim three-quarter-lengths. It was cold. I slipped into a shirt and rolled the sleeves back over my elbows.
I closed the wardrobe and then hunted around for something. There, in a bundle on the floor near the washing basket was a pair of pyjama bottoms. Blood spattered like they'd been in the dream. What in God's name was going on? I'd had two dreams now, both featuring that tall Siberian Tiger. Who was he? His name was Zackariah. But that was all I knew about him. I could feel nausea build as I padded to the bottoms and looked through them. I found my mobile and hurried for the charger that was plugged in by the bed. I plugged it in and watched the phone begin to charge. I switched on the mobile and watched as two text messages popped up on screen. They were both from Lian. The first said: Tried calling you, but your phone's been turned off. Hope your alright. I'll try and call in an hour. And then the second text said: When you get this message come to the town hospital! Something bad has happened! Come as soon as you get this text!
I snatched my keys from the bedside table, clambered the staircase and was running through the corridor to the front door in seconds. I slipped into some hiking boots near the front door and stepped out into the silent storm that was raging. I slipped into the Jeep, turned on the engine, revved it and pulled out of the car park. I texted Lian on the way. I should have focused on the road ahead, but I needed to let him know I was coming. I texted: I'm on my way. Meet me outside in ten minutes!
True to my word I swerved into the first space I could find. I locked up, and sprinted across the thick snow into Accident and Emergency. Lian was there, panicked and looking torn between fear and anger.
"Lian? Lian, what's happened?" I demanded as I neared him and reached out. I grabbed his arm as I looked at him.
Tears spilled down his face as he sobbed, "Its mom. She's dead, Beau, she's fucking dead!"
I staggered back and stared at him. Was this some cruel joke? Thoughts of my nightmares vanished in a wash of fear and despair. "D-Dead?"
"It was that dickhead of a Father we share. He turned up drunk last night and started ranting about wanting his home back. He forced his way in, and mom phoned me. When I made it back she was sobbing her heart out. He passed out after that on the couch, and then in the middle of the night he went upstairs and burst into her room. He tried to force himself on her and when she tried to run, he shoved her, and she fell down the stairs. When I found her, she was gone and he was running out!" He growled and added, "I watched him. I watched him run out the back and leap the fence, Beau. He killed her and fucking left her!"
"That b-bastard!"
"I need to find him, Beau. I need to find him and kill him!" Lian snarled.
"Lian? Lian, calm down. Right now we need you here. We'll deal with dad later on," I replied.
"But Beau, Beau he killed his wife!"
"He's not well, Lian. We'll find him when we're done here. Where's Nathan and Dakota?" I asked.
"Nathan is headed over. He had his phone turned off while he was at the firm all night. Dakota is in there with her," Lian explained.
I nodded and let him lead me inside.
They'd done their best for her, but the doctors had rested her in a hospital bed now, the sheets drawn up to her neck, while the drapes had been pulled around the bed. The ward had hardly anyone else on it. Dakota was sat next to the bed, her hands wrapped around one of my mother's while she lay there, motionless. She looked asleep, almost. I stepped closer and touched my paws to the railings alongside the bed. Tears burned at the back of my eyes. I felt the same anger that had seared through Lian. It was like some furious inferno growing and growing inside me, burning and warming me from the depths of my soul. I trembled in the shoulders and the railings shook while I gripped them. My knuckles mottled under the fur as I stared down at my mom's lifeless body.
I took a deep breath and felt the first spill of red hot tears. I turned and pushed aside the drapes as I stepped out. I needed some air. She was dead. There was nothing I could do here. Lian and Dakota stepped out from the drapes and looked at me.
"I need to get away from here for a while." I frowned as I spoke. I wouldn't stop crying. There was no sobbing, no heart breaking collapse. Just tears running down my face.
"Where will you go?" Dakota asked with a cautious expression.
"I don't know. There's a lot of things I need to figure out," I replied.
"Don't you dare go looking for your dad!" Dakota demanded.
"I won't."
"Liar. The both of you, I can see it in your eyes. You want to find him, don't you!" Dakota growled.
"I won't. Dakota, I won't. He's not worth the time or effort!" I replied.
"Then where are you going?"
"I'll go and see Damian...oh God Damian?" I stammered. I plunged my hand into my pocket and remembered I'd left the mobile at home on charge.
"Damian? From Whiplash?" Lian replied looking confused.
"Yeah, I stayed with him last night."
"You stayed with him?" Dakota repeated.
"Not like that! I slept on the couch," I lied. "He put me up since my phone died and I couldn't figure out when you'd handled dad. So Damien offered me his couch."
"Then you came home and got my messages?" Lian asked.
I nodded. "It was dark and I was half asleep when I staggered home. I never checked to see if anyone was in." I lied a second time, realising I'd woken up at home in bed, with no idea how I'd gotten there. I needed a shower.
Lian nodded and said, "I'll stay here and see what the doctors have to say about her body."
Dakota's hand found his and she added, "I'll stay with you, baby."
The two smiled, sadness spilled through their eyes, as they held one another.
I choked on the sadness that burned inside me. I needed to get out of here. I said goodbye and left without looking back.
Part of me was screaming for me to find dad. No. Not dad anymore. Nathaniel. I wanted to find Nathaniel and demand to know why he'd done what he'd done. He'd killed his wife! My Mother! But for that one moment, I wanted to be held again, I wanted to be held by someone who would hold me and not question me. Damian would do that. I needed to get back in touch with him. From his point of view I'd abandoned him in the middle of the night. I'd figure out what the dreams meant later on. For now I needed closeness and someone who'd lie to me and tell me everything would be alright.
Fresh tears burned behind my eyes as I stepped out into the snow storm again. The Jeep's keys bundled in my hand, I squeezed them and a deep growl escaped me. There was so much hatred, so much loathing burning inside of me. I stepped through the snow, the cold thrilling through me like a set of blades, while I headed for the Jeep. Damian. I needed Damian. Was it bad that I'd know him a whole two days and was depending on him already? It was a fast moving relationship, and with anyone else I'd have not wanted to burden them with my problems, but Damian would listen and hold me. That's all I wanted. That and the warmth of his arms around me.