#DDDDDDIVORCE ARC

[likeastars]

found this hottie in my drafs lmao @incorrect-nevermore rlly said annabel isn't suffering enough let's give her night terrors

She wakes up screaming.

Her hands are shaking, her eyes are teary and she gasps and pants the traitorous smell of smoke filling her nostrils. “Lenore?” Annabel murmurs, she doesn’t even want to hear the question herself, because if it isn’t answered she’ll have to crumble into dust and get lost in the wind.

She tries again. “pet?” she whispers this time, a bit louder, a bit more hoping. The silence that answers her is cruel.

Then there’s a rustle, and she hopes and hopes and hopes again, and this time a disgruntled and adorably sleepy Lenore pokes up from the covers.

She nothing short of launches herself at the woman. “Darling - her voice still creaks of sleep and she falls in love all over again - why are you crying?” she asks, as she puts a gentle hand on her cheek and, oh dear, how could she ever dare to pinpoint the moment she falls in love with her pet again, when she does it every second? “it’s nothing, dear. Let’s go back to sleep, shall we?” Annabel takes a candid hand in hers and gently, too gently, kisses it.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, her love would say) Lenore has never believed her facade.

“Annabel,” why does she feel as if she missed hearing her name being sung like that? “you were crying. We talked about this, you can’t keep taking being hurt so lightly, I-“ why does being the cause of her pain feel so familiar?

“pet.” She says, as she puts a hand under her chin. “it was just a nightmare, nothing to worry your pretty little head about, alright?” “but-“ “pet.” she repeats, as she leans in (it’s easy, too easy). “everything is perfect, when I have you with me.” Their lips are breaths apart.

And closer.

And closer.

And-

Annabel Lee actually wakes up screaming this time.

No. no. no no no no no no NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NONONONONONONONONONONONONO NO.

That- that can’t be it! Surely this must be another nightmare and she fell asleep on Lenore and they’ll laugh about this in the morning but then she sees her, in the corner of the room.

Her ragged breaths become sobs.

In the dark a decaying, burning corpse looks at her, and smoke fills her nostrils. She takes a few damning, silent, thundering steps. She’s at the edge of the bed. Annabel can’t even scream because she knows nobody will come for her, because she knows she’s almost a lost cause to her father.

What remains of Lenore puts a hand on her body and Annabel simply lights up.

The flames are tearing her skin apart and melting her bones and biting and clouding and killing her every sense and she burns, she fucking burns alive.

She manages to force out, with her last senseless breath: “forgive me.”

She wakes up screaming.