Stella Starlet

Paradiso

Enzo spent hours assuring me that it was all a dream. 

I finally believed him. 

He left me to take a shower and I sat under the hot water, trying to make sense of everything. Carlisle wasn't real. None of it was real. 

After getting out and getting changed, I sat down at the table while Enzo was making breakfast. This was all so familiar. 

I stood there, motionless and stoic as he set down a plate in front of me. 

"Oh wait, come here. You got something on your cheek," I said to Enzo as I wiped it off. 

I looked at his skin and saw that where I had wiped, it was bruised. 

Confusion washed over me as I realized I had wiped off a patch of makeup that was covering a bruise on his face. 

A bruise he had when he showed up at my 'dream' wedding. 

The same wedding where he killed everyone in front of me. 

He had taken advantage of my schizophrenia to tell me that it was all a dream. That I was in a coma. That none of it was real. 

But now I knew. 

"Something wrong?" He asked, anxiety palpable in his eyes.

"No, I'm just a little tired. I guess comas really drain your energy." I forced a laugh. 

He smiled, satisfied with my answer. 

"I'm going to get some water. Would you like a glass?" I asked as I stood up. 

He grinned sweetly. "Yes please, sweetheart."

I went to the kitchen and made myself a glass of water. I opened the drawer and took out a bottle of painkillers. I smiled to myself. 

I uncapped it and opened my mouth, swallowing every single one. I laughed to myself. 

I quietly drew a chef's knife from the block and stalked towards where Enzo was sitting, unsuspecting. 

As quickly as I could, I held it against his throat. 

"I knew you would figure it out at some point. But I was hoping that I would've killed you before that." 

I laughed bitterly. 

"You take everything from me, in front of my eyes."

I dug the blade deeper into the flesh of his neck, drawing blood. 

"I'm taking you straight to hell with me," I said through gritted teeth.

In one quick motion, I dragged the knife across his throat, pressing it as hard as I could. 

Blood sprayed from the wound all over the table and gushed down his shirt. 

Enzo managed to laugh once more. "I still won. I took your husband, your family, everything."

I started to feel the beginning effects of an overdose, my vision becoming slightly hazy and the room starting to spin. 

I took two bottles of tequila from the counter and began pouring it all around the room, starting from the table where Enzo sat motionlessly, then on the furniture, on the bookshelf and to the living room. I sparked a lighter and threw it onto the alcohol. The flames began to spread rapidly, tracing the room in its destructive inferno. 

I laid down on the couch and took a cigarette out of the box that laid on the ottoman. 

I began to really feel the effects of the pills. 

As flames began to ignite around the sofa, I used it to light up the cigarette. I could barely hold it in my hand at that point. 

I took a long drag of it as flamed began to lick the upholstery. 

My eyes began to quiver shut and I gave into the blackness. I let myself go, falling into a pit of dark matter and the unknown. 

-

I gasped for air as my eyes snapped open. I was laying in the orchard at Carlisle's family estate. 

The sun was out and the breeze blew the leaves back and forth. 

"Stella? Stella?" I heard a voice calling out for me. 

"Carlisle?" I yelled back. 

I heard footsteps approaching quickly and saw the love of my life running towards me. 

Tears gathered in my eyes as he grabbed me in a tight embrace. 

He was here. With me. 

At last. 

-

Firemen's Point of View

We pulled two bodies out of the fire. They weren't alive when we got there. 

The home was a pile of black soot and ash, completely deteriorated. 

My heart sunk as I saw one of the victims. She was burned but you could see that she was a young girl. 

I said a quick prayer but I knew that she was in a better place now. 

______________

The end.