Page 32 of Bella and Her Beast
* * *
Greyson
She walksaround the yard talking loudly in Spanglish.
I lean against the hood of my car letting her have her space; watching her pace back and forth asking various questions, to who, I don’t know; they weren’t directed to me.
“Bella,” I call to her to see if I can get her back to this realm.
“You knew this fucked up shit, didn’t you?” she asks, when she walks to me.
“No, I had no clue. Well, I knew my family’s side, just not yours.”
“And none of this seems strange to you?”
I look at her with one eyebrow cocked. “Not to me,” I sarcastically reply.
“Of course, it doesn’t. I’m sorry, this is just a lot to take in. I mean, you’ve dealt with this your entire life. I guess I have too, but what you've experienced is on a level ten times higher than anything I can ever imagine.”
“It’s okay,” I assure her.
“I can only imagine what you’ve endured. Me, I just found out in the course of what, a day, that werewolves exist and I come from a family of witches. Hell of a way to start a vacation if you ask me.”
I pull her into my arms and hold her tight. “It is, and I get where you are coming from, but this is our fate, Bella. This is our love story. The one we will tell our kids and grandkids.”
She takes in a deep breath and sighs for a moment. Her body relaxes but only for a second. She pushes back breaking my hold. “Greyson, I just don’t know what to say right now. It's just a lot to take in and I can't even begin to wrap my mind around all of this. I know what you—what our families expect of me. But, I can't answer you. I-I need time. I'm sorry."
She climbs into her car, starts it and leaves. I see the tears streaming down her cheeks and I hurt for her. This is life changing for all involved, but for me it’s a matter of life or death.
CHAPTER TEN
ISABELLA
September 23rd. The next full moon is seven days away and I haven’t spoken to Greyson since the day we left my great-grandmother’s. He’s called, text, sent emails, but I never responded to the communication efforts. I sit here at the desk and scan in the returned items, placing them on the empty trolley beside me awaiting to be put in their correct space.
My family has called and we’ve held face-to-face meetings so questions could be answered. Zelda even had more things of history to share now that the family secret is out. But it still left me with a lot of unanswered questions.
“Bel-La,” Joy calls loudly to get my attention.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Did you need something?”
“Yeah, for you to get your head out of the clouds and come back here to earth. What is wrong with you? You’ve been moping around here for the past three damn weeks and frankly, it’s dragging the whole vibe of the building down.”
“I’m sorry, Joylynn. I have a lot on my mind.”
“Joylynn? Ooo chile, you are going through it for real if you called me by my government. What’s wrong, boo? Is it you and Greyson? Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him either. Aww, did y’all break up on the mini vacay you took?”
“It’s nothing. Just family stuff, that’s all.”
“Um, no. Family stuff is Uncle getting into it with his brother at the family reunion and finding out your cousin is actually your brother. That’s family stuff. Your look is a different story. So tell me what’s bothering my bestie?”
“Is that one of your case studies you have to work on?”
“I have a strict patient doctor confidentiality rule, so I will not divulge any more than that. Now, spill.”
I know how she may react when I tell her, but I need to decompress somehow.
“Hey, James. Would you mind covering us while we step away for a minute or ten?” I ask one of the staff members.
