KILL YOUR DARLINGS ✸ Saltburn

𝒙𝒗𝒊𝒊. a promise i've broken

𖤐 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑻𝑾𝑬𝑵𝑻𝒀-𝑺𝑬𝑽𝑬𝑵:
╰┈➤ a promise i've broken ༉‧₊˚.

MEREDITH HAD GROWN UNBEARABLE (and rightfully so). She spent almost all her nights restless and each morning of hers enclosed in a world of darkness. She'd try spending nights in her own bed sometimes, even. But nothing seemed to work. 

Felix was gone and all Meredith was left to do was spiral on ways in which how this could have possibly happened. And with each explanation, the answer was always Oliver. 

That was the problem. 

Meredith no longer went down those stairs for breakfast in the mornings, and not only because she didn't have an appetite but also because the sight of Oliver Quick made her physically recoil. 

Oliver, however, was taking her place as the Catton Family's new prized possession; clearly. 

The Archibald girl would often hear him laughing from down the stairs with Felix's parents. It'd barely been two weeks and yet, they've each seemed to move on. 

Farleigh is gone and Venetia finds Meredith in Felix's room on most days, staring out the window and at that damn maze. 

Today, Meredith was trembling in one of Felix's white button-down blouses with wet hair soaking her back. 

Venetia was drunk as one can be--mascara of her own staining her cheeks, both old and new. "Oliver is still pretending."

The brunette hummed, her gaze still narrowed forward; at the red painted wall. 

"So are mom and dad. It's disgusting." 

Meredith's grip on the fabric tightened as she felt a surge of bitterness rise within her. The betrayal stung, a sharp pain that refused to dull with time. Oliver, the interloper, had seamlessly slipped into the void Felix had left behind, like a shadow obscuring the light. It was almost too much to bear.

Venetia's slurred words echoed in the room, mingling with the tension that hung thick in the air. The weight of her sister's words settled heavily on Meredith's shoulders, adding to the burden she was already carrying. She knew she couldn't stay in Felix's room forever, drowning in memories and sorrow.

With a deep breath, Meredith pushed herself up from the windowsill, the fabric of Felix's shirt falling loosely around her frame. She turned to face Venetia, her expression a mixture of defiance and despair.

"I can't pretend." Meredith said, finally. The back of her soft, cold hand found the tip of her nose and wiped gently. "And I can't stay here."

"What?" Venetia almost laughed.

"I can't..." Meredith's voice trailed off, the weight of her words hanging heavy in the air.

The room felt suffocating, the memories too painful to bear any longer. As she stood before Venetia, a sense of determination settled in her chest.

"I have to leave," Meredith said, her voice steady despite the roiling emotions churning inside her. "Everything is a reminder of him and it's too much. I—"

Venetia's eyes widened in surprise, her drunken haze momentarily clearing as she processed the girl's words. There was a flicker of understanding in her gaze, a silent acknowledgment of the pain Meredith had been carrying.

Without a word, Venetia stumbled forward and enveloped Meredith in a tight embrace, the scent of whiskey and regret clinging to her like a second skin. Meredith clung to her sister, seeking solace in the familiar touch despite the circumstances that had driven them apart.

"Then go." Venetia says, no longer slurring her speech and looking at her sister-like figure with pure sincerity in her eyes.

Meredith fought back a sob and pulled the blonde tight to her, holding onto what seemed to be the only thing she had left.

Venetia stepped back, her hands on Meredith's shoulders as she looked into her eyes with a mixture of sorrow and acceptance. "I'll help you pack."