Page 21 of Falling for the Beast

“Hurt people?” he finished for her, pulling back his hand and turning away so she wouldn’t see the scowl on his face. “Yes. I do. At least, I did. I couldn’t control myself. I was full of rage and used to getting whatever I wanted. I ended up hurting a lot of people.”

She ran a finger along the rail, across the peeling red paint. “You healed them, though, right?”

He wished he were as altruistic as she thought. His actions had been appalling, but he had to tell her. She had to see him for what he was. “No. I didn’t care who I hurt. Not until the night I took a life.”

He started back across the bridge, back the way they had come, and Aribelle hurried to catch up. “How did it happen?”

His footsteps came faster now as if he could outrun his past. Leave behind everything he’d done. Become a new person. But he couldn’t. “I was out drinking. Seems like I did that a lot. As I left the bar, I heard a woman scream. I turned to see a man pulling her across the parking lot toward his car. My rage took over. I freed the woman and…” He couldn’t finish. He couldn’t tell Aribelle that he’d transformed into a beast and unleashed his animalistic fury on the man.

“He died,” she said for him, her strides long to match his.

“Yes. And once I realized what I’d done, I tried to heal him. Tried to take it back. But it was too late.”

“You might have saved that woman’s life.”

He glowered at her. “Or they could have been horsing around. I was drunk, Belle. I wasn’t in control.”

“So, ever since then, you’ve made it your personal mission to take everyone’s hurt upon yourself. Punishing yourself for what you did.”

Her words angered him, but he couldn’t deny it. He didn’t say anything. There wasn’t anything to say.

She grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop and look at her. “Thaddeus, you are not the same person you were. Why do you keep doing this to yourself?”

“Because this is who I am. Don’t you see? I can’t live a normal life. I can’t be a boyfriend. A husband. A father. I must forever be this.” He jerked away from her, frustrated that he had to say it out loud. “A monster.”

They walked in silence for a while, winding their way back to his home. His prison. As they stepped into the clearing, Aribelle pointed toward the garden wall. “What’s back there?”

He was glad for the change of subject. “My mother’s garden.”

“Can I see it?”

“Sure.” He led her to the gate, covered in vines, and slid the metal closure open. She gasped as they entered. The garden was horribly overgrown in some areas, and completely dead in others. A path led them through the trees and bushes. A stone fountain sat in the middle, a child forever pouring her pitcher, now empty.

“This must have been beautiful at one time.”

He nodded. “It was my mother’s sanctuary. Father hired a gardener to keep up with it after she died, but it hasn’t had attention in years.”

“She liked to garden?”

“Father said she would spend hours out here.” He pointed to the rose bushes, the flowers dried and wilted. “The roses were her favorites.”

She pointed to a bush. “Look.”

A single red rose clung to the top, the one spot of color in the lifeless garden. He walked to it and picked it, then handed it to her. “You might as well enjoy it while it lasts.”

She fingered the delicate flower. As she twisted the stem, a thorn pricked her finger and she jerked away. A drop of blood formed on her fingertip.

Thaddeus took her finger, slowly wiping away the blood and healing the puncture. She stared down at his finger, watching the tiny wound open up. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know,” he said.

Her gaze lifted to his. “What can you do to break the old woman’s curse?”

He let out a mirthless laugh. “This isn’t a fairy tale. There is no breaking the curse.” He turned his back on her. “And that’s why you must leave.”

“Wait, what?”

He opened the gate and let himself out. Didn’t she see? He was not boyfriend material. It would never work. “You have to leave,” he repeated, controlling his voice. Making sure he didn’t yell at her but keeping it firm.

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