Beast Read Online Free PDF Page B

Leala agreed.
    As they started to walk out of the room, they both stopped in their tracks. They caught the scent of the roses. Smiles appeared on their faces as they turned around to face me. The giggling became more intense. I was still on the pile of clothes in the closet.
    “What is that smell?” asked Leala.
    “It is the roses, Leala!” I squealed.
    They turned away from me and walked toward the roses on the nightstand. Russel and Leala both sniffed, moving their faces closer to the flowers to capture more of the sweet aroma.
    “That has to be the most wonderful thing I have ever smelled in my life!” Russel exclaimed, and Leala nodded in agreement.
    “I know! They are the roses that Mother had on the dining table last night!” I said.
    “Wow! They were not like this yesterday, were they?” Leala asked.
    “Not that I can recall,” I answered. “But I do not care; they are wonderful now!”
    I finally stood up and walked over to join them by the nightstand. All three of us stood still, eyes closed, just enjoying the perfume in the air.
    “What are you three doing?” Deleena yelled.
    We jumped because Deleena had startled us. She took a step into the room, catching the fragrance. We all watched her walk over to join us around the roses.
    After gazing at the roses for some time, we all stepped away from them. Deleena, Leala, and Russel headed to the door. As I walked to my closet to finally change my clothes, I kept looking back at the roses. I could not stop thinking about them.
    I stood in front of the closet, grabbed pants and a shirt, quickly put them on, and then ran to the roses. I took one last giant whiff of the aroma before running out of my room.
    I ran down the stairs to catch up with the three of them. When I did, I grabbed on to Leala’s hand. She smiled at me, squeezing my hand. We walked outside, near the barn. While out there, I sat down and picked grass out of the ground. While I was doing this, I looked out to the forest, which made me think of my parents again.
    Not long after, it was dinnertime. The sun was about to set, making the sky full of pinks and oranges. Russel picked me up from the grass and brought me into the house.
    He carried me into the dining room and set me by the window. Again I looked out the window at the roses. They looked worse; almost all their color had disappeared.
    “Have you seen the roses outside today?” I asked Russel.
    “No. Why? Is something wrong?” he asked.
    “Come look!” I motioned him over to the window.
    Russel walked over to me. I pointed to the dingy brown roses. There were shriveled up rose petals around the flower bed.
    He looked confused when he saw them. His forehead wrinkled, and his eyes widened. Then he began to shake his head.
    “Have they been watered today?” he finally asked.
    “Yes. I watched the gardeners while we were outside. In fact, I watered them too. They looked like they needed some love,” I explained. “The roses in my room are more vibrant and full of life than these are. And they are not even in the ground!”
    “That is really strange. Leala, Deleena, get in here!” he exclaimed.
    They rushed into the dining room and over to the window. They both gasped and asked the same question that Russel had. Nothing made sense. All of us were in shock from the roses.
    After talking by the window for a while, we walked over to the table to sit down and eat dinner. As soon as I sat in my chair, my nightmare from the night before came rushing to my mind. Honestly, I had forgotten all about it after catching the beautiful fragrance of the roses. My stomach began to ache; I lost my appetite completely. Once they gave me my plate, all I could do was push my food around.
    While staring at my plate, I could feel eyes staring at me. I looked up and saw all three—Russel, Leala, and Deleena—watching me. I shrugged my shoulders, letting out a nervous laugh, and then moved my eyes back to my plate.
    “Please just eat something. You