The Veil of Glass

The Grim News

Liora awoke with a jolt, her body drenched in cold sweat. Her breath hitched in her throat, and for a moment, she couldn't remember where she was or what had happened. Then, like a crashing wave, the events of the night before washed over her in a flood of unbearable clarity.

Clarissa.

She had found Liora in her room, screaming accusations, holding Azazel's stolen shirt, her eyes filled with betrayal and disbelief. Liora had tried to explain, to make Clarissa understand, but everything spiraled out of control. And now, Clarissa was gone.

"Why... why did everything come crashing down?" Liora whispered, her voice cracking as she buried her face in her hands. Her body shook with sobs, the weight of her mistakes pressing down on her like an unforgiving weight. All the lies, all the manipulations, had finally caught up with her. And now... Clarissa...

She lifted her head and looked around her room, the familiar surroundings now a disarray of chaos. The photographs of Azazel that had once adorned her walls were torn, ripped to shreds in a blind panic during the night. There were drops of dried blood on the floor from where Clarissa had hit her head. The sight of it made Liora's stomach turn.

Her legs ached, still sore from the push that had sent her crashing to the ground. She winced as she stood up, her body protesting with every movement, but she couldn't stay still. She had to clean everything up. She had to get rid of the evidence, of anything that might remind her of what happened. Anything that connected her to Azazel.

With trembling hands, she began tearing down the remaining photos of Azazel, her heart shattering a little more with each one. She gathered the scattered mementos—his stolen pens—and stuffed them into a box. She scrubbed at the dried blood on the floor, scrubbing until her hands ached, until the stain was gone and the floor was clean again.

But no amount of cleaning could erase what had happened. The stain wasn't just on the floor—it was inside her, on her soul. 

And she couldn't wash that away.

When everything was finally put away, her room looking as if none of it had ever existed, she collapsed into the corner, knees pulled up to her chest, her body wracked with sobs. She had lost everything. Clarissa would tell everyone. Azazel would hate her. Her mind conjured up images of his face—how his lips would curl in disgust, his eyes hard and cold when he realized what she had done, how far she had gone in her obsession with him.

She wrapped her arms around herself, rocking back and forth. All I needed was Azazel. She had thought that if she could have him, everything would be okay. He was her salvation, the one thing that made sense in a world that had fallen apart.

Now, she had lost even that.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden knock on the front door.

Her heart stopped.

Liora quickly wiped at her tears, her mind spinning. Clarissa... 

Had she gone to the police? 

Had she reported her? 

Was this it? 

Was she going to jail?

She stood up slowly, her legs shaking as she made her way to the door. When she opened it, two police officers stood in front of her, their faces unreadable. Their eyes swept over her from head to toe, assessing.

"Are you Miss Liora Ashford?" one of them asked, his voice steady and authoritative.

Liora swallowed hard, her throat dry. "Yes..." she whispered, barely able to get the word out.