Free The Beast of Beauty by Valerie Johnston Page A

have no idea who you really were or where you were from, or
how on earth this happened to you. I’d like to help, but you won’t let me.”
    “I don’t need your help!” I
yelled.
    “You need someone’s help!” He
yelled back.
    His words broke me. It was almost
exactly what he had said to me last spring.
    “You don’t understand, okay?
You’re attractive, you have money, and you have parents and friends and people
who love you. I DON’T! You can act like you want to help me, but you wouldn’t
know how if I sat here and talked for hours about everything that’s bothering
me because YOU COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND. That’s what would evade you. You can’t
wrap your mind around the pain that I’ve had to go through. You just can’t. So
don’t even act like you want to try,” I said, exhausting myself from the
intensity of my emotions.
    “Try me,” he said, “Even if I
don’t understand, I’ll do everything in my power to make it better.”
    I stared at him, unsure if he was
serious or not.
    “Okay,” I began, “I’m ugly.”
    “You aren’t ugly,” he said.
    “Let me finish!” I yelled.
    He sat quietly.
    “I’m ugly, and not just because I
look like an animal. Granted, the animal hair on my face doesn’t exactly help,
but I was ugly before that. I’m not skinny, but I’m not fat either. I’m not
ugly enough to stand out because of it, but I’m also not pretty enough for
anyone to notice. I’m obsolete. No one will take the time to get to know me
because I’m not worth it.
    I know this all sounds a bit
dramatic, but it’s how I really feel. I don’t want to wake up one day and
realize that I was ugly all along and I didn’t face the truth, so I’m facing it
now. No one’s ever going to love me; no one’s ever going to fight for me. I’m
too much for them to put up with, and I’m not enough at the same time. Do you
have any idea how that feels?” I asked, out of breath from my monologue.
     

Chapter
Nineteen: Daniel
     
    “I do,” I said. I did everything
I could to make my face look as sincere as I felt. “I felt that way a lot—like I’m
too much and not enough at the same time.”
    She sighed, “Good, because I have
felt so alone for such a long time.”
    “It seems to me that most of your
problems aren’t with being an animal,” I said, again unsure as to how I should
describe her.
    “Nope, I mean it’s not ideal, but
I make it work,” she said, smiling.
    I smiled, “So… you really think
I’m attractive?”
    She blushed, “Is that really all
that you got from that whole speech?”
    “Yep,” I said. “I bet you’re so
attracted to me because of this whole rugged-beat-up look that I’ve got going
on right now.”
    “Ha. Ha.” She said as she rolled
her eyes, “It would be more impressive if I didn’t have to carry you
everywhere.”
    We both cracked up. “By the way,”
she said, “do you want to try to stand on your feet today?”
    “Yes,” I said, “but I want to
tell you something first.”
    “Okay,” she said hesitantly.
    “You aren’t ugly right now,” I
said.
    She looked at me with those deep
green eyes, and I meant what I said.
    “You aren’t,” I continued. “And
guess what? I willing to bet that you weren’t before this beast thing either.
You aren’t too much, and you aren’t too little either. You’re just right. Does
this sound too cheesy? It’s sounding cheesy coming out of my mouth, but I mean
it.”
    “No, it doesn’t sound cheesy,”
she laughed, “and thank you.”
    “No, thank you,” I said. “Thank
you for saving me. You brought me back here and took care of me, even though
you’ve been wanting to eat me this whole time.”
    She giggled, “Not the WHOLE
time…”
    “Uh-huh,” I smiled. “But
seriously, you really have been there for me. Ugly people, they don’t do that.”
    “Ugly people can be nice!” She
argued.
    “No, they usually aren’t,” I
retaliated. “Because ugly is on the inside. Everything