5: Sorrows of Death

"Some nights are made for torture, or reflection, or the savoring of loneliness"- Poppy Z. Brite.

Rose's POV:

My body shook as silent cries of agony escaped me.

Mr. Victor just stood there, frozen, thunderstruck, angry.

His eyes were glued to Madeline's pale, lifeless face.

His eyes were red, which made his turquoise irises stand out more, making him look hauntingly devastated.

He let out a roar and shoved me away from her. My back hit the cold floor with a loud thud as a searing pain shot through from my spine.

I quickly composed myself as I witnessed him taking her body in his hands and cradling her like a child.

And then he looked back at me.

His eyes were a whirlwind of rage, fury, pain. He looked like a monster.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" He bellowed.

Me?

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" He cried out as tears began to stream down his face. He was wailing like a child as he begged to her to wake up.

"Maddy-" He gasped, his voice heavy with raw emotions and tears, "M-Maddy, wake up, ma moitie-"

I just sat there and cried as the heart wrenching scene unfolded in front of me.

Pain.

I could feel his pain.

A knot formed in my throat as fresh tears made their ways in my eyes.

"Maddy!" He gasped, "Please don't leave me-

how am I to live without you? Madeline-" He hugged her tightly to his chest as soft sobs escaped him. His teeth were clenched, his body shook with his cries.

He had just lost his other half.

He lost his soulmate.

He buried his head in her hair that was now matted with dried bloods as he caressed her temples softly. He placed a small kiss on her forehead and kissed away the frown it held.

My past began to bubble inside me as I took in the horror through my stony eyes.

Blood.... so much blood.....

She was just standing in front of me, so happy and full of life and....

He looked so lost, so broken, so devastated, like his light in a dreary path had extinguished and now he had to walk all alone without the guidance of it.

Her inanimate eyes were still open, her green orbs that once held so much shine like a lush forest, were now a deep shade of blue.

"Do you remember me, Rose?"

Those were her last words.

She asked me if I could remember her.

Who was she?

I didn't even know her first name.

Madeline, it's Madeline.

"Madeline-" A whisper of a broken voice was carried throughout delicately by the autumn wind as I stared at the shattered man in front of me, cradling the body of his dead fiancée.

Dead.

The word made a bile rise up my throat.

Dead.

Diminished.

Gone.

She was gone forever.

She wasn't coming back.

The mere thought of it made my heart sore.

Blood.... death....

The air reeked of death as the smell of gore lingered. The constant hollow of my chest increased until it swallowed me completely, turning me into an stone and making me blank.

It might haunt me forever.

If I was feeling like this just from witnessing a death, then what did he feel like?

Right now, Marienne was as transparent as a piece of glass. Broken glass. His shaking form reminded me of a tortured child, hurting and wanting to break free from his cage.

He looked disheveled, frantic.

Consolation is the last thing he needed right now.

I watched as he slowly raised his head from her hair and locked his eyes with mine. His eyes were red and his face was smeared in her blood, making it disturbingly crimson.

He just watched me, and I, him.

He looked away from me after a moment as he concentrated on her. His stare was examining as his eyes took in her features like a thirsty man craving for water.

His eyes took her in, memorizing each and every curve, every flaws and freckles of her face. His gaze caressed her softly like a warm breeze- he forehead, her nose, her lifeless eyes, her lips- he drank her in.

A small yet sad smile made it's way to his lips as renewed tears streamed down his face.

"Call the police..." It was a plea in the form of a hum. His voice was heavy and dreary, but I still heard it.

Jumping up to my feet, I almost ran to the land phone that was kept on the table adown the staircase. Picking up the receiver with shaky hands, I dialed the emergency number.

"What's your emerge-"

"M-Murder...." My voice shook as I mumbled in the receiver, "There was a murder...."

I felt Marienne stiffen.

"Okay mam, calm down and tell us your address," The operator spoke in a smooth voice.

"O-Okay- Please note down- 62nd street-"

My eyes kept going back on Marienne, who kept his gaze glued to Madeline. I kept down the receiver after informing the operator the address and examined them with a heavy heart.

He was caressing her face gently, as if she was a piece of glass and would break down if he applied the slightest bit of pressure. His eyes were full of pain, love and adoration, love for her. Silent tears were still streaming down his face.

His adam apple bobbed as he gulped. He traced her lips, her nose and then her inanimate eyes. He closed them with delicacy and placed soft kisses on both of her leads, his body trembling like a dry leaf on winter.

He then placed a kiss on her nose, her bloodied cheeks and then the corner of her mouth. He lavished her with kisses and looked at her like she was the last woman on the earth.

I felt ashamed as I took in account of my emotions.

I felt horrible for feeling jealous of her.

"Please be happy in afterlife," He murmured in her ear as he placed another kiss there. His tears mingled with her dried blood as his breath fanned her face, " I will love you forever."

With that said, he sealed the deal by taking her chapped lips into a firm kiss. He kissed her, savoring her taste for the last time. Maddy was no longer alive, but in his arms, she looked very much alive. As if he gave her life.

Tears streamed down my face as I cried, yet, I felt nothing. No pain, no sadness- only the raging entropy of nothingness.

Marienne let go of her lips and peppered her pale face with small kisses.

Then I heard something that was probably meant for only her, but I still heard it.

"Wait for me..."

My eyes took them blankly as tears streamed down my eyes, her earrings still clutched tightly in my palm.

A while later, the police sirens were heard in distance, indicating that the cops were here. A couple of them barged in and Marienne was escorted away from Madeline- from the dead body, 'Crime scene' tapes were plastered to restrain the area where the gruesome event took place.

I was soon being enquired and investigated.

"So, you are saying that you came here to give back her earrings?" I nodded like marionette, handing him back the earring as I saw her body being escorted out of the premises, covered in a white cloth that was drenched in her blood.

My ears rung as the sight of her lifeless body flashed in my head.

"How did it happen?" The officer asked as he jutted down something in his notepad.

"W-Well- I-" I gulped, "I was just sitting here-" My voice tremored, "And she was just standing here- a-apologizing and-"

My eyes suddenly locked with Marienne, who was sitting on the sofa. His eyes swirled with emotions.

Rage.

Ferociousness.

Something raw and barbaric.

He looked like that he didn't believe me.

I gulped fearfully.

His eyes held so much cruelty, so much vehemence that it was killing me alive.

I started breathing harshly.

He looked fearful.

And something else shone in his eyes as well.

"You may go now," the police officer grumbled, interrupting our enquiry session.

I nodded and stood up. My legs felt weak and light, but I had to get out of here. I had to go or else he might do something to me.

It seemed like I was in a monster's den and I had to escape from his suffocating aura.

He eyes were still on me as I began to walk out.

I casted my eyes downward as I passed his sitting form.

Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed mine, making my heart jump in my throat. A chill ran down my spine as his touch burned me.

"I know you did it." His voice was cold and emotionless and it made me tremble in fear.

"I didn't," I whispered.

He only looked up at me and smirked cruelly. He truly resembled an insane man.

My eyes widened. With shaky hand, I freed my other hand and ran.

Run.

I ran through the beautiful, now disturbingly dead road, through the highway.

I stopped when my lungs burned and my legs couldn't take it anymore.

I sat myself on a nearby bench as my mind drifted back to his gaze.

His gaze.

It was so intense, like they were telling me something, they held a promise.

But promise of what?

Destruction.

A small voice in the back of my mind hummed.

Fresh tears escaped me as I started crying.

Vengeance.

That's what his looks held.

Hunger for revenge.

I gulped as the severity of the situation dawned on me.

The man seemed insane and I had to stay away from him.

Or else he might destroy me.

And this time, I will be shattered completely.