Till Death Do Us Apart

Liza mourned the death of her wife Meridith. She didn’t deserve to go out like this. Not only had she been killed by a man, she was also murdered by one of their best friends and family members.

There wasn't much anyone could do at the moment so they all stayed at the house, not wanting to be alone just yet.

She tried talking to them, asking them questions and trying to understand what happened. But nothing was going through her head. It wasn't like there were any answers for her anyway. Meridiths murderer left her in a ditch and the police couldn't find the fucker anywhere and it's just...it's fucked up.

After three weeks of mourning Liza realized it was time to move on and start moving forward with her life. It wasn't going to magically change just because her wife died in front of her eyes but maybe now that she's started moving forward it would help.

The funeral was held a week after her death so as far as everyone else knew the murderer was still alive somewhere, hiding somewhere no doubt.

They had an open casket and as soon as they laid her down inside, she looked like a beautiful angel. There wasn't anything wrong with her features anymore, she looked flawless and perfect in death. Her face was cleanly painted and the dress she wore looked beautiful against her dark skin. She even looked peaceful.

As the priest talked about how much his sister meant to him, he spoke in a very soft voice, full of emotion. It made everyone tear up and listen, no one wanted to miss a single word from the funeral service.

When the priest finished speaking, he turned towards the crowd and gave a nod. Then the priest grabbed his bible and got down on both knees, looking at Meridith. He opened his Bible and took his place next to his sister.

"Dear Jesus," he said, "we thank you for your presence here today. Thank you for taking our dear sister to your arms and keeping her safe until we finally meet again in heaven." He closed his bible and put his hand over Meridith's hands. "Thank you Jesus for giving us a second chance."

With those words, he lifted Meridith's hand and placed it on her stomach, kissing her knuckles softly before lowering her back into her grave.

After the ceremony ended, people gathered around. Everyone hugged each other or went over to talk to people close to them.

Everyone except Liza, who sat on the steps of the church and cried into the palms of her hands. She kept saying Meridith's name over and over again like if she did this enough times, she'd forget about her.

She felt someone sit next to her and she immediately recognized her friend James. She looked up at him, drying her tears with her sleeves and sniffled.

"Hey," he said quietly. His face was full of concern. He always looked concerned when he saw her cry. She wished he wouldn't look at her that way, it made her feel weak and exposed.

James reached a hand towards her shoulder but stopped when he remembered how he treated her the day before. He let it hover over her shoulder awkwardly for a few seconds before letting it drop.

He looked down at her lap where her skirt had ridden up revealing her thighs. Her pale, thin legs lay flat under the skirt. He averted his gaze when he noticed her leg and looked back at her face instead. He studied the tear stains and snotty nose that covered her face. When he was sure it was okay for him to touch her without causing her pain, he slowly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. She leaned into his chest and buried her face into his shirt.

James gently rubbed her back comfortingly, his hand resting on her spine. After a moment he heard her sobbing softly in his chest and he sighed heavily, trying to hold in his own emotions. He was still confused by the events that led up to last night before. Liza and James were very drunk mourning Meredith’s death that they may have slept together to comfort each other. It was a poor decision and both regretted it in the morning.

For months they avoided each other like the plague since then. No contact. No talking. They eventually talked it out and started dating. James thought Liza was actually a lesbian for a long time but found out she was actually bisexual. He really needed to get to know his friend better but what better way to get to know her than date her right?

They spent almost every waking minute apart from work though so it was kind of hard to get to know her like he wanted. James worked for the city council which meant he rarely had free time. He tried making plans with Liza whenever he saw her but things always devolved into fighting because Liza was tired. It was never about anything good; it was about fighting with each other over the smallest thing.

This particular fight was bigger than usual because James was late. The weather report had predicted rain for the following week and so he overslept. This was unacceptable and he told himself he would pay for that later. He was going to get Liza to forgive him somehow and it was going to cost him something, some money if necessary but that didn't matter. What mattered was he found her at home when he finally woke up.

They made eye contact for barely a few seconds before they both averted their gaze. James apologized but he didn’t mean it. He just wanted Liza to forget she ever fought with him because he had no intentions on fighting again anytime soon. If she really wanted an apology then she should ask for one.

Then suddenly the doorbell rang throughout the house. James looked at Liza apologetically while she groaned loudly in response to the interruption of their silence. It was bloody 3 am in the morning? He thought. He got up from bed and and went to check the doorbell cam. There was no one there… odd… even with video on the ring notifications nothing showed up on video. The doorbell rang again and again. For a moment he thought the doorbell was malfunctioning. Liza called to James asking what is going on in a shaky voice. James decided he was going to disable the doorbell for the night. They had cameras everywhere so they don’t need it persay. It really was for deliveries. He opened the door and there was Meredith, pale as a ghost glaring at him with glowing red eyes. “I see you moved on my wife pretty quickly you fucking prick…” she snarled. James was taken aback but before he could close the door Meredith grabbed his throat and broke his neck. Next thing he say was darkness.

Liza thought she was losing it. Was that Meredith? Can’t be she was murdered? Liza decided to check downstairs to see what had kept James cause there is no way that was Meredith. What she saw looked like a scene from a horror film. Blood was everywhere and body parts were scattered. She was about to scream when a hand was placed over her mouth. “Calm down love. He no longer is needed cause I’m here now.” Meredith whispered in her ear. Liza froze and slowly turned her head. It was Meredith but with malice in her eyes. “Let me give you a gift and we can be off to wherever you want to go. I know how much you loved London the last time we went.” A sharp pain suddenly was felt on her neck.Liza blacked out into the darkness. For when she awakes she will be thralled to Meredith till death do them apart.