Beast by Tiffini Hunt Read Free Book Online

the hallway, the painting of Mother and Papa caught my attention. They looked so happy standing side by side on their wedding day. Mother had on a lovely white dress, and Papa had on a nice suit. Both of their faces were glowing with love. Oh, how I longed for them to come home or send word that they were all right.
    When I walked into the dining room, breakfast was already on the table; it smelled so good. I had not really eaten much over the last few days; I just had not been hungry. I walked through the doorway and sat down in my chair.
    After I finished eating—more like playing—Leala motioned for me to come over to the couch by the fireplace. I walked slowly over to her.
    The mood in the air shifted. It had not been normal to begin with, but the air became heavy on my chest as I sat down. All four of them—Jeanluc, Russel, Deleena, and Leala—were by the fireplace, waiting for me.
    Deleena put her hand on my knee and said, “There is something that we need to tell you.”
    “Is it about my parents?” I asked excitedly.
    They all looked at one another before Jeanluc answered. “Yes, it is about your parents.”
    “They sent word that they left early for the business trip and are safe and sound! Did they not?” My excitement increased.
    “Well, uh,” Leala began. “You see, um …”
    “You know that gentleman in the uniform who was at the door earlier?” Jeanluc continued.
    “Yes?” By the tone of his voice, I knew something was very wrong. My heart began to sink like a rock into my stomach.
    “Well, he was an officer. He brought us this.” Russel started walking toward me with something in his hand.
    Once he was close enough, he handed me a folded handkerchief. When I had seen it earlier, it had looked like a letter.
    I slowly unfolded it. As I pulled away the last side of the handkerchief, I realized that it was Papa’s favorite blue handkerchief. He had it with him the night of the party, I recalled. Tears began to build in my eyes, and my body began to shake.
    Between the folds of the handkerchief was something shiny. It was Mother’s brooch. The brooch was a multicolored rose that she had worn the night of the party. After staring at it for some time, I looked up. Russel and Jeanluc walked closer to where Leala, Deleena, and I were sitting.
    The second I looked back down at the rose brooch, a lump immediately formed in my throat. Something happened to them. I knew my dream felt real! I screamed in my mind as tears rolled down my hot cheeks.
    “They found your parents in the middle of the woods by their carriage, along with the carriage driver,” Leala said while rubbing my back.
    That was enough to make me burst into tears.
    “The officer said that it looked like they had been there a few days,” Russel informed me.
    In the midst of crying, I was able to scream, “My dream!”
    They all looked at one another in shock.
    “The horses were missing, were they not?” I sniffled bitterly.
    “Actually, yes, they were missing,” Jeanluc answered.
    “I told you. That was not just a dream; it really happened to them! They were killed by that creature!” I sobbed.
    Wailing, I wiggled my way off the couch and ran toward my room. My vision started to blur, and it became difficult to breathe. Never had I hurt so badly. It felt as if my heart had been ripped out of my chest.
    At the bottom of the staircase, I dropped to the floor, crying harder when reality struck me. They were gone—forever. Never would I be able to see my parents ever again! My world was being ripped out from underneath my feet. My hope was fading quickly. I honestly did not want to live without them. Because I was crying so hard, I started gagging.
    Once I had enough strength, I ran up the stairs. No matter how hard I tried to stop the tears, they just would not quit. I had to keep wiping my nose on my sleeves. While I made my way up the stairs, I kept tripping over my own feet on the steps.
    At the top of the stairs, I tried my