KILL YOUR DARLINGS ✸ Saltburn

𝒙𝒙𝒗. a lunch for liars

𖤐 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑻𝑾𝑬𝑵𝑻𝒀-𝑭𝑰𝑽𝑬:
╰┈➤ a lunch for liars ༉‧₊˚.

MEREDITH COULDN'T STOP SHAKING. From head to toe, her body refused her to stop the vibratic movements.

The family had all sat in their usual seats, Meredith placed between Oliver and Elspeth. Across from Felix's empty seat.

It never looked so daunting, his chair, just sitting there unoccupied. Meredith had never seen it without a brown-haired boy smiling back at her.

Venetia couldn't stop crying and Meredith had finally been able to.

Oliver and Elspeth were eating as if they'd seen nothing traumatic today—like their son and best friend wasn't dead.

And as for Meredith, it'd been nearly an hour and a change of clothes later, and she still couldn't bare to even look at the food on her plate without threatening to throw up.

Then, Duncan strode into the room, his hands clasped behind his backs politely. He leans over with his mouth next to Sir James' ear and whispers something Meredith couldn't quite hear. Nor did she care to.

"They... keep getting lost in the maze," he straightens his posture, a look of disturbance on his face. "Sir."

And it's harder for Meredith to keep the vomit bubbling in her stomach actually in her stomach. 

"Oliver, darling, why don't you tell us about last night?" Elspeth suggests, a smile written on her face.

Meredith blocked out the entirety of their conversation, just listened to the muffled of their words and the constant pouring of wine from Venetia.

But the fact that the two—and James—can continue a conversation like this, like nothing has happened is beyond Meredith and haunting.

Duncan returns, posture stiff as can be. "Um, permission to close the curtains, Sir."

Oh.

Meredith braced herself, or tried to as the man began tugging on the curtains.

Red consumes the room and you'd think it was some joke the world was trying to pull on the family.

The thought of Felix's body being escorted on just the other side of that wall caused the emotions to swirl back to Meredith like a wave that's just taken her overboard. Leaving her to drown.

Her bottom lip began to quiver and she had to bite down on it just to prevent a sob that begging to break loose.

Venetia let's put a shaky exhale and continues to pour into her half-full wine glass.

Oliver, Elspeth and James are still continuing their conversation and Duncan is still trying to close the blood-red curtains and Venetia has now filled her entire glass to the brim, utterly unscathed to the fact at hand and focusing merely on the white table cloth now drenched in maroon liquid.

There's a squeaking of a gurney and that's it. The sound is a trigger moment for Meredith—all she can think about is Felix's lifeless body on the other side of the wall and—

Her stomach rumbles, warm vomit scorching the walls of her throat as her hands fly up to cover her mouth. Until, more comes piling up and it's too much and Meredith has to turn over, releasing onto the flooring beside her chair.