Light After Darkness

Death

Another scream from Lindsay jolts me back to reality. The door opens. Meredith pulls Lindsay inside. There's a long gash down her arm, soaking her jacket sleeve with blood. Lindsay glares at Meredith, tears slipping down her face as she pulls off her jacket, wincing as it slides over her wound. Her face is a patchwork of multicolored bruises. A nasty cut spans her forehead, causing a stream of blood to trickle down her face. Meredith grabs her wrist and yanks her arm forward. She slams a gun into the palm of her hand. Lindsay yanks her hand away. "Shoot her," Meredith says. Anger crosses Lindsay's face. "No," she says, "if you want to kill my best friend, do it yourself." Meredith drags me towards her by my hair and kicks me in the ribs. "Stop it!" Lindsay screams, dropping the gun. Meredith hits her again and forces the gun back into her hand. Lindsay cries out, but doesn't turn the gun on me. She thrusts it towards Meredith, who shoves it back at her. The two wrestle over the gun, and then there's a loud bang. Meredith leaps backwards, letting the gun clatter to the ground. Blood streams from a bullet wound in Lindsay's neck. She lays on the ground, her chest still. "No..." Meredith whispers. She collapses next to Lindsay's fallen figure. "No, no, no, no, no!" She grabs Lindsay's shoulders and shakes them. "Wake up!" She screams. Lindsay doesn't move. "Lindsay, wake up! Please!"

Meredith starts to sob and drops on top of Lindsay, her arms thrown around her. I watch, my throat burning with tears. Meredith strokes Lindsay's face before leaning in to kiss her. In a flash, I see myself, clinging to Lucas's body as the life faded out of him. I feel again the pain I felt as he bled, and I want to reach out and take Meredith's hand, insist that everything will get better. "You," Meredith says, her voice low, shaky and overwrought with emotion. She turns to face me, her face soaked with tears. "You. This is all your fault." I shrink away from her. She takes the gun from Lindsay's hand and turns it to me. "Wait!" I yell. Meredith's chest still heaves with sobs. "You don't have to do this. You don't have to be this way." I reach up and push the gun down. She jerks it back up. "Do you think I wanted this? Do you think I wanted my mother and sister I jail? Do you think I wanted to- to kill-" She sobs and looks at Lindsay. I try to move forward. She thrusts the gun into my head, pushing me against the wall. "Don't think you're getting away that easy. I'll kill you. I swear, I'll kill you." Her hands shake almost as much as her voice does. I squeeze my eyes shut. I hear Meredith sob and the sound of the gun falling to the ground. I open my eyes. Meredith sinks to her knees, sobbing hysterically, burying her face in her hands. I see myself, breaking down and crying after Lucas's death, and wish more than ever I could reach out to comfort the broken girl in front of me. 

It isn't fair that Lindsay is dead. She was just in love, like I was. But when you're in love, someone always ends up getting hurt. Whether it's cheating, breaking up, or- or death, someone will get hurt. It's not fair that Lindsay is dead. She died trying to protect me, and that's how I lost the love of my life. I wish people would stop trying to protect me, because they'll ultimately be the ones to get hurt. 

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This is short for a reason, I promise. Have you guys picked up on my little pattern here? I start the chapter with Evelyn's thoughts before going into the action. I didn't do it here, though. Happy new year to all the east coast folks!

-anna <3