Beauty and the Beast

Isabelle's POV

I walked into the room, only half aware of moving. The room seemed to pull me in, and I couldn’t help myself. The colors. The textures. The smell, a mixture of paint and cloth burned my nose. They all yanked me in, and wouldn’t let go.
The paintings were everywhere. On the walls, leaning against the walls, standing up on easels, they were simply everywhere.
I walked around, taking in each painting. There was a rose garden, the roses so real looking, I felt like I could bend down and smell them. There were forests, and castles. A dark picture of wolves stalking the night caught my eye, the colors shadowy, mysterious. There was a stillness in this painting. You could almost feel the wolves stalking their prey, creeping around. You could see the night almost pulsing out of the painting.
And then there were two people. A man and a woman, a certain sadness were in those paintings. The man and woman were in a lot of the paintings, in one they’d be smiling, in the next the anger rolled of the painting in waves.
They were hauntingly beautiful, powerful, filled with dark tension and aching sense of helpless loneliness. But looking at these paintings, I could tell, without a doubt, that Ryan Tier painted these.
No one, absolutely no one who painted like this could be as bad as he makes himself out to be. It’s just not…possible.
I stood there in the middle of the room, unable to move, unwilling to leave.
I don’t know how long I stood there, drinking in every single detail, every drop of paint, when all of a sudden I was thrown forward.
I turned, and felt the blood drain out of my face. Oh, no. Fear, and a sliver of guilt hit me as the realization that he found me here, in this room he specifically told me not to go in
“Tier!” I couldn’t help the cry that flew out of my mouth as I backed away from the pure rage visibly consuming him.
“What…what are you doing in here?”
I took another step back, not knowing what else to do.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?” He yelled at me. Oh, God. Oh, God. I backed farther away from him as he walked towards me threateningly. I was beyond afraid now, I was piss-my-pants terrified now. And I was just afraid of getting yelled at, for the first time in Tier’s company, I was fearing for my safety.
“I was—I was---I’m sorry.” I was ashamed. And scared. I started to shake, unable to stop.
“I TOLD YOU THIS WAS PRIVATE!” Jesus. Oh, my God. He did. I know he did. But this…he was fast loosing control, I could see it in his eyes. I could almost taste his fury.
“SORRY!” He was shaking now, but I’m sure he wasn’t afraid. Anger. Anger was causing him to shake. “SORRY?”
“They’re beautiful.” I whispered. The words came out without thought, without any
“GET OUT! GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE NOW!!” He picked up the painting nearest him, the one of the man and woman, and hurled it at me. I screamed as I ducked the wildly flying painting.
He started throwing more and more paintings at me, screaming at me as I turned and raced out the doorway. His roars of fury and the crashing followed me as I ran. Winding my way through the house, I bumped into countless servants, each trying to stop me. But I couldn’t stop. I had to get out, I had to get away from Tier, and the anger and anguish.
I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t do this anymore. I haven’t even started tutoring him yet, but I just can’t.
“Where are you going!?” David cried as I sailed by them, grabbing my jacket from the coat rack. Lennie and Mrs. Angela tried to grab me, to stop me. But I dodged them, their calls echoing through the big hall.
“I can’t! I can’t! I’m sorry!” I tore out of the house, barely noticing how dark it was. I ran, and ran. I sprinted down the driveway, and finally into the woods.
Not even caring where I went, or how I got there. I just had to get away from Tier. From all of this.
Branches tore at my hair and my clothing. Scratching my face and my hands. I didn’t notice, and I didn’t care. I was running. Running for my life, running away from Tier and his paintings. Just running.
The dark made it hard to see where I was going I stumbled around for a bit, before I tripped over a stump. I pitched forward, and cried out as my knee slammed into a rock.
“Crap. Crap. Crap.” I sat there rocking, as if that alone would take the pain away. The terror. “On the suck-fest scale of one to ten, this day has got to be like a 200.” I was babbling, to no one, to myself. I stood up, tensing as my knee throbbed.
There was rustling in the bushes near me and I froze. Straining to hear something, anything. My heart dropped as a low growl shook the bushes.
Oh, Jesus.
A pair of yellow eyes stared out, unwavering, unblinking. I straightened slowly, and heard another growl to the right of me.
To the left.
All around me. Then they came out. About 4 or 5 wolves. And they had death in their eyes. My death, to be specific.
Oh, my God. Oh, my god. Ohmigod. I was going to die. I knew it. I felt it. And I ran like hell.
I screamed as I heard crashing behind me. I knew without a doubt they were chasing me. I frantically clawed my way out of the forest, the wolves hanging back. To play with me. To give me the hope of life.
No, hell with that. I’m going to live. I saw lights ahead, and almost wept.
Then suddenly I jerked back as a wolf had grabbed my jacket and threw me down. Rolling, not allowing the thing to jump on me, I leapt up and took off again.
Their howls and snarling got closer and closer, I could feel their hot breath.
I screamed again as a wolf jumped out at me from the side, I dodged it and it slammed into a tree.
I didn’t bother to stop and see if it got up, I just kept on running.
My legs felt like water, and I was getting more and more out of breath. But I made myself run, I made myself keep going. One foot in front of the other. Run. Run.
I burst out of the trees and onto pavement.
I heard vicious barking behind me, and then all of a sudden I was enveloped in a bright light.
Turning, I saw headlights coming at me. The guy laid his hand on his horn, but I couldn’t move. Powerless, helpless I closed my eyes as a huge mass hit me.
And then I blacked out.