A Need So Beautiful (A Need So Beautiful #1)(49)
Author: Suzanne Young

Chapter 22

I close the door to apartment 715 with a quiet click and pause in the hallway. Hospice will be here within minutes, so I don’t call the cops. But it was hard to leave. I’ve never seen someone die before, but I’m glad I was here. I’m glad Warren wasn’t alone. Before I left, I went to his closet and borrowed a hoodie. I flipped up the hood of the red sweatshirt to hide my face. I tried not to look in the mirror, but eventually I couldn’t help it. And the scene wasn’t good.

My skin is gone, rubbed away. My face is golden, like my back and my arm. Like my shoulder. I no longer look human. I’m not sure what I look like.

I make my way out to the lobby just as the front door opens with the same woman from earlier, a black bag in her hand.

Careful to not be noticed, I turn toward the mailboxes and take out my phone pretending to talk. I wait until she’s in the elevator and gone before I leave. When I get outside I realize that I can’t just walk around like this. My face is gold. I don’t have a face.

There is only one person I can tell. I text Monroe: I need help. No skin. 1850 W Mission.

Within seconds I get a response. On my way. Stay out of sight.

I step back to lean against the brick wall of the building and put my hands over my face. I don’t know what to do now. I have nowhere to go. Minutes later an ambulance arrives and I move out of the EMTs’ line of vision. I’m hidden in the shadows of the alley when they roll Warren out on a gurney, a sheet over his head. I hate that they’ve covered him like that. He said he wanted to see the sunshine. It takes a considerable effort for me not to run over and yank the sheet from his body. Of all my Needs, he’s the only one who saw me. The me underneath.

There’s a quick beep of a horn and I glance up to see Monroe’s car idling at the curb. For a second, I’m even happy to see him, even though the last time we talked I think I told him off. I walk up to the car and yank open the passenger door before climbing in. Once inside, I turn to him, my head down.

“Let me see,” he says.

I’m not sure I want him to anymore. I feel like a freak. But I slowly raise my chin and his mouth falls open before it pulls it into a smile.

“My God, Charlotte,” he says. “It’s beautiful.”

I look away quickly and pull the hood around my face. “I wish you would stop saying that. It wouldn’t seem so beautiful if it was your face.”

Monroe pulls his car out into the street but doesn’t respond. We drive quietly until I look sideways at him.

“I spoke to Onika,” I say simply.

Monroe’s knuckles turn white from his grip on the steering wheel. His mouth opens like he’s going to talk, but he closes it again. He’s silent.

“Don’t you want to know what she said?” I ask, irritated that he didn’t ask. It was kind of a big deal.

Monroe clenches his teeth. “I’m sure it was a bunch of lies, whatever it was.”

“She said you were just trying to get rid of me so that you could live your life. Is it true? Am I your last Forgotten?”

“She’s trying to get you away from the last person who cares about you, Charlotte. She’s trying to turn you against me.”

I nearly punch him. “Care about me? You’ve been studying me like a science experiment with that stupid journal of yours.” I pull out the book and toss it at him. “You kept me close so that you could watch me. All so that you can be free of your curse. You never would have helped me. You’d have pushed me off the damn bridge if you could have.”

He turns to me abruptly. “Yes. You are my last Forgotten, but it doesn’t mean this is easy for me. You have no idea what I’m going through.”

“What you’re going through?” I laugh. “What about what I’m going through? What about everything I’ve lost?”

Monroe stares out the windshield, his eyes blinking quickly as if holding back tears. “I know what you’re losing, Charlotte. But you have to listen to me. Don’t believe anything that beast tells you. She’s trying to tempt you away. She’s trying to destroy you.”

“You afraid I’m going bad, Monroe? All rotten flesh and evil impulses?”

“I’m not kidding!”

“Do you think I am?” I snap, pulling back my hood. “Look at me! Look what’s happening to me!” And all at once the world crashes down on me in a heavy wave. I’ve lost everything. Lost Harlin. Lost my face. And soon, I’ll lose my life.

I’m shaking with sobs as I curl up in the passenger seat. Monroe gently touches my hair. When he speaks, his voice is soft.

“I’m sorry I didn’t do more for you,” he says. “I wish I could have prepared you better, prepared you for the loss. But I thought trying to keep you hidden was right. I thought it’d keep the Shadows away long enough for you to cross over.”

There’s a lump in my throat and I swallow it down. “Nothing could have prepared me for this,” I murmur into the fabric of the seat.

“It was never just about the Forgotten,” he says. “You know I’m going to miss you madly, don’t you? You’re the only person who tells me off on a daily basis.”

I sit up, looking at him. He’s crying, his eyes darting between me and the road. Despite our fighting, Monroe means a lot to me. He’s like family. He is family.

“You’re all I have,” he says with a quiet whisper. “And despite what you may think, I’m proud of you for being so brave, for doing these things when they’re so hard. But I always knew you were a good girl. That’s why it’s you. That’s why the light is in you.”

I close my eyes, tears streaming down, and let his words comfort me. “What will happen when I jump?”

“The light will burst out. People will feel a second of love, peace. Everyone will be touched. You will give them a reason to go on.”

“And after me?” I ask.

“There will be another Forgotten. And another. Until all the Shadows are gone.” He looks over at me.

I nod, wiping at my nose with the back of my glove. “You’ll make a sucky father someday,” I tell him. “I feel sorry for the kid that doesn’t get to burst into light to get out of your house.”

He chokes out a laugh. “Is it my sarcasm?”

“No, but I’m guessing you’ll expect a complete angel.” I grin.

“I suppose I would.”