I DO NOT OWN BATB!
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Here is chap 25. Hope you enjoy.
I advise you to listen to this song, while reading the chap: River flows in you.
Review? PLEASE?
As Catherine sat on her bed, she had her eyes closed and took deep breaths, letting them out slowly. After repeating this a few more times, she calmed down bit by bit. It had been 2 days since she saw Vincent last. On the day they had to catch a plane to go home, their flight was delayed cause of very bad weather. And now that the weather had cleared up, they received permission to be on that flight.
2 days she had the time to think hard about her relationship with Vincent. The invisible force that held her in Tinos was doing odd things to her heart and mind. She felt like it had purposely caused the bad weather, so she wasn't able to leave. Were those forces working to make sure that she stayed? It wouldn't surprise her, if that were the case. Cause after seeing Vincent in his 'other' form, made her a believer in things mysterious and supernatural.
This morning, she was visited by Galya.
*FLASHBACK*
Catherine was busy with combing her shiny, dark hair, when she heard a knock on the hotel room door.
"Come in." she said.
The second the door opened, Cat turned around to face the visitor.
"Good morning, miss Catherine." the older woman said and smiled.
"Good morning, Galya. Take a seat, please?" Cat said.
After she had taken a seat in a chair next to Cat, she asked.
"What brings you here, Galya?"
The smile on the older woman's face, disappeared as she heard the question.
"I am here, cause of you and Mr. Vincent, my dear." She stated, her voice sounding worried.
Catherine let out a deep breath and stopped with combing her hair, so the older woman got up and asked.
"Do you mind if I'd combed your hair for you?"
Catherine smiled and nodded."Sure, that would be nice for a change." She replied.
As the older woman combed her hair and braded it, Cat tried to relax and closed her eyes. The moment someone said Vincent's name, she would automatically panic slightly.
"There you go. You look beautiful! Like a princess… and exactly like Agathe." Galya whispered.
Catherine opened her eyes and saw her reflection in the mirror.
"Wow, thank you. My hair looks amazing!" Cat replied.
The older woman took a seat again and grabbed Catherine's hand. Cat looked her in the eyes and all of a sudden she felt a sense of calmness taking over her heart and mind.
"I brought you something." The older woman said and winked.
She grabbed a large book from her bag and placed it on Catherine's lap.
"Like I promised, weeks ago. I brought you the Book." The older woman stated.
Catherine's mouth fell open, when she opened the Book. There was a picture of Agathe in it and at the moment she looked EXACTLY like the woman in the Book with the same hairdo and necklace…
"Read the Book, my child. I had it translated especially for when 'Agathe' returned. Read, my child." She asked.
As Catherine went through the Book page by page, her mind opened completely. Every word was meaningful and every page told its own tale. As the words sank in, she began to understand the importance of the Book. And it was then, when she realized the significance of her existence…
After she had read the important pages, Catherine locked eyes with Galya.
"I… I was brought here to help Vincent break the curse… So he, his cousin and Xylia's son would be free?" she stated.
The older woman nodded, while a tear escaped her eye. She was so relieved that Catherine had finally decided to open her mind and believe!
"Yes, it was no coincidence, my child. The signs are there. You see them, right?" she asked.
Cat nodded."Yes, I do… my uncanny resemblance to Agathe and my golden jewelry. And my feelings for him…" she said and paused…"PLUS I get this feeling that some invisible force was making me stay." She said.
Galya stood up and said."My work is done, here. I shall be on my way." The older woman said with a satisfied tone in her voice.
"Wait! Galya… I know what I am supposed to do now… but, but I still am frightened of the Beast… I don't think I am strong enough to face the Beast." She said, her voice trembling.
The older woman placed her hand on Catherine's shoulder."My child, you don't have to do much. All you have to do is go and see Mr. Vincent. The rest will come naturally." She advised.
Cat shook her head."Come NATURALLY! How? The Book says that I have to fall in love with Vincent, but not just his human side but also the Beast side of him! How can I…" she asked, stumbling over her words.
"Go and see him… in time you will slowly but surely be able to accept ALL of him. Human and Beast Vincent, you WILL love them more than life itself. Its normal to be afraid of the unknown, but I can see it in your eyes that you are strong enough for this… Trust me." she advised and walked away.
"Wait! So him being part human and part Beast… it's all because of the curse?" she asked.
The older woman nodded."Yes… Every male family member of Mr Vincent, since Agathe's husband Soterios, were all part Beast. That was the family curse…" the older woman explained.
"Okay… So... I think that I have decided to stay and help him break the family curse… where is he now?" Cat asked, while trying to focus on not getting another panic attack like before.
"He is at the villa." The older woman retorted and walked out of the hotel room, leaving the Book behind.
Catherine realized too late that Galya left the Book.
"Wait! Galya!" she shouted and grabbed the Book.
She was in the hall, but saw that the older woman had disappeared in the elevator.
*END OF FLASHBACK*
Catherine had been putting it off to go and see Vincent the whole day now. But she finally decided to just do it. She boldly got up from her bed and walked out of her hotel room. She was wearing a dark blue tank top and black skinny jeans with matching sandals.
"At the villa? Why was he staying at the villa?" she muttered.
As she walked out of the elevator and into the lobby, her eyes fell on JT. She walked over and greeted him.
"Hey, JT!" She said, enthusiastically.
He turned around and smiled."Catherine! Hey." He replied.
"JT, do you know what Vincent is doing at the villa? The carpenters, are they done with fixing what the fire and water had done?" she asked concerned.
JT sighed and shook his head."No, but he insisted on going back home." JT said.
Cat frowned." But why? What happened?" she asked.
JT let out a deep breath and looked away." Two days ago, on the day that you told him that you were gonna leave, the carpenter asked what he was going to do with the stuff in a particular room of the villa. The clothes and toys were all wet and damaged…" JT said, his voice trembling heavily.
"JT, which room is it?" she asked.
He looked up, his eyes all teary."His s…" he tried to say.
"Demetrios' room? Vincent's son who had passed away?" she asked, while her eyes welled up.
He nodded." That day, Vincent immediately sped home and went berserk! When he saw that the clothes and other stuff in Demetrios' room was destroyed by water, he lost it and caused more damage to it! He broke down the door and the bed and the closet and broke the mirror into pieces.
He was bleeding out, but didn't even feel the pain. He has deep cuts in his hands and feet. He is not himself at the moment, Catherine. He is inconsolable. You do know what happened to his son, right?" JT said, his voice shaky.
Catherine nodded and led him to sit near the pool.
"Calinico and I have tried EVERYTHING. We cannot get him out of his dip. He is sleeping on Demetrios' broken bed and hasn't eaten properly. He only drinks beer all day long and hasn't gone to work. The butler and I are at the end of our rope. He is acting this way, cause he was desperately holding onto his son, by the stuff in the room; the clothes and toys. But now that the water has destroyed it all, Vincent feels that he has NOTHING left of him… its heartbreaking to see him, Cat. He refuses to get out of the house! And… he has fired the carpenter!" JT explained.
Catherine's eyes watered, after hearing all of it."It must have been horrible to have lost his son. I can't imagine what it must've felt like for him. I need to go and see him. Will you drop me off at the villa?" she asked, her eyes pleading.
JT nodded, so they walked to his car.
()
As Catherine knocked on the bedroom door, her heart hammered against her rib cage. She wasn't sure in what state she was gonna find Vincent… and wasn't sure if he was in the mood to see her at all. He didn't say a thing, so she opened the door and walked in.
"Vincent?" she said, as her eyes tried to adjust to the darkness.
The light was out and the curtains were blocking the sunlight. As she walked closer to the bed, she saw Vincent. He was lying on the bed, a toy on his chest. 'POOH Bear!'
"Vincent." she whispered, but he was in a deep slumber.
As she stood next to the bed, she lightly grabbed his upper arm to try to wake him up. Apparently she wasn't gentle enough, because he woke up startled and swiftly grabbed and pinned her onto the bed. Catherine yelped loudly and when he realized it was her, he looked her in the eyes and said.
"What are you doing here, Catherine?"
Catherine closed her eyes, as she tried to form coherent sentences. The feel of his warm body pressed onto her and his hot breath, made her kinda dizzy. He was still holding her hands above her head and looked her deep in the eyes. Even though he was drunk and she was a little scared, she was so attracted to him at the moment…
"I… JT dropped me off…I…" she stuttered.
"What do you want? I don't need your pity, Catherine." He growled.
As Vincent shifted a bit, Catherine's breath hitched in her throat. He was making her feel all excited, her knees had turned into jelly. She knew that she had to do something and fast, cause she was losing her self control… She was afraid of the Beast and yet she wanted to pull his warm lips onto hers.
As she finally had gained some self control, she whimpered and said.
"L… Let go of me." Her voice was all squeaky and shaky.
Vincent had his eyes locked on her and closed his eyes as he inhaled her scent.
"Are you sure? Do you really want me to let you go, Catherine?" he asked, his voice deeper than usual.
Vincent saw how her body was reacting to his own; he knew that she liked the way he was pinning her down.
"Yea… yes, I am sure that I want you to let go of me…" she stammered, her heart beating wildly.
She was lying through her teeth and he knew it, but yet he let go of her. He was drunk and didn't want to do anything he'd regret, as soon as he was sober.
Vincent got up from the bed and walked towards the window. He moved the curtains aside and without looking at her, he asked.
"What do you want, Catherine? Haven't you hurt me enough?"
Cat got up and walked towards him."Vincent… I uhummm… who's room is this?" she asked, as she stood behind him.
Vincent shut his eyes close and while a tear escaped his eye, he said." Catherine, I need you to leave immediately… go home… now!"
Oh boy! What?!
She has decided to help him break the curse and he tells her to go home?! WTH?
Do u want chap 26? Then Please leave me reviews?
Ruby.
:)