dead love.

10. sleep

THE CLOUDS WERE grey on the day of her funeral.

Her polished coffin was made of the same wood as the vintage piano she played. It did little to hide the smell of her mutilated flesh. They were able to salvage her torso and lower body, though anything above her shoulders had been undistinguishable. The horrific sight made the press the following day, the Price's mansion swarmed with reporters and hushed rumors.

"Amélie Price was twenty-two years of age at the time of her passing. Despite the heaviness of her death, she will be remembered as a light soul who brought hope to those who she⎯"

The minister's words were empty as the men shoveled dirt atop her corpse.

I was kneeled before a gravestone whose name I held no care of. My figure was sheilded in the identical black clothing the strangers gathered around her coffin. Tears fell down faces that had no appeal or relevance. They knew her name, nothing more.

It is until death that you are cared and remembered for, is it not? There is no mercy with death. It comes for everyone as an equal form of justice. Some find peace while others cower at the mere idea.

My fingers curled through the soil as I watched Sébastien comfort Mr. Price. His hand was placed along his shoulder, their faces slack and emotionless. There was no love in their eyes for Amélie. It was Sébastien's fault she was dead, afterall.

The thought tourmented my every move. My very being was empty, a shell without her presence. I had shot myself with the same gun, yet awoke all the same as before.

My eyes never left Mr. Price.

He did not deserve death. 

He did not deserve to be buried in the same soil as Amélie, to taunt her even after death.

Thunder crawled through the soil, rain falling mercilessly as lightning flashed in a skeletal manner.

"Oh, heavens!" A woman wailed at the sound, her voice shrill.

"We shall resume the ceremony due to the unexpected changes in the weather. The clergy shall escort you briefly⎯"

Sébastien's eyes had locked with mine, the strangers urgently pushing past each other as they found shelter.

We were alone.

Rain had soaked both of our bodies, his posture rigid despite the look of fear in his eyes. I lifted my knees from the ground, my back arching in a feral position as my bones cracked unnaturally. My muscles tensed in the same way a lion may arrange itself before pouncing on its prey.

His posture was rigid though his eyes were filled with fear.

"Lilith..." he breathed, my name a wistful sigh on his lips.

Thunder growled as the earth shook.

The clouds were grey.

Even the sky mourned her death.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

I scowled as I drove through the rain. 

Talking with Olivia did little to ease my anxiety. I had been driving in circles for the past hour, my thoughts frantic.

It had been less than a month since Camille moved into the apartment. I had kept as much distance between us as possible, though the little closeness we had made it appear useless. The feel of her breath on my skin alone made me want to ravish her.