A/N: OutToGarden, your walk today inspired me to write a little something. I hope you like your betrayal with a side of murder. :)

Warning: cheating, implied murder, Rated T


The air was crisp, like the first bite of a perfectly ripe apple, and everything smelled of freshly fallen rain. There was a river walked along, calm, running so smoothly it almost looked like blown glass. It gurgled quietly along the way. All of the grass around it had grown in quite recently; long, dark strands sprouting from the damp soil like hair. It was the purest shade of green I had ever seen in nature and I longed to run my fingers through it to feel its gentle caress against my skin. I didn't.

There were tire tracks in the mud, carving out two exact grooves, side by side, the little pockets filled with muddy water. I followed them as though they couldn't lead me astray. Perhaps it was curiosity for what was ahead that drove me forward. If I didn't walk the trail, I'd be lost in a sea of knee-high plants, but that wouldn't have been so bad. Still, I followed it. I sort of wished I hadn't.

A range of mountains painted against the sky in the distance separated it from the ground, as though it was not pure enough to touch the beautiful grass, or perhaps afraid to taint it. Ominous dark clouds hung low, reaching but failing to kiss the earth. The sun was starting to set. It would be night soon, and then you wouldn't be able to tell that it was about to rain except for the tingling sensation crawling across your skin, hinting at lightning. I always loved the rain, but you knew that.

Cicadas sang for the spring, the frogs croaking as they often did regardless of the season. My heart beat in time with their sweet music as the wind whipped through my hair. The nearly barren trees shook their few leaves in response. I should have laid there and watched the day fade into night, listening to the sound of the world I lived in. But I didn't.

We walked like that for a while. It was different than before, but I liked it. I thought we were renewed because of it. Perhaps new was better; it usually was, like the grass returning and flowers blooming. I felt the pressure of your hand in mine, how you squeezed it every so often, and I smiled. You didn't.

I was young and in love. I thought you were too. What had happened, it was only a minor setback for us, you said. We would get over it and live forever in this beautiful world we created for ourselves. I believed you. I knew I shouldn't.

"Arthur," I said, hoping you'd look at me. You wouldn't.

The wind tousled your hair and I brought our hands to my lips to kiss the back of yours. Your eyes narrowed, squinting against the sunlight that broke through the clouds. I tried to make you happy. I couldn't.

Maybe he could make you happy then. If I wasn't good enough, someone had to be. You hadn't loved me or I wasn't what you wanted, and you found him. Although, there you were, walking by my side like nothing was wrong, so I had to have done something right. I needed you more than you wanted me, and that killed me. I wished you hadn't done it. Yet you had.

I knew we could never be the same, but I hoped. What we had would begin anew, I thought, like this place that had died in the fall and come back again in the spring. It must have been sleeping, then. What is dead can never come back. You prayed I wouldn't.

We stopped in the field and said nothing for a while. I supposed that it was nothing new. Talking to you had been difficult since I found out you cheated on me. I dropped your hand,walking a few steps ahead to put some space between us. Sometimes I wished you had something to say other than "I'm sorry" and empty promises that you would be better. You didn't.

This was the place where we had fallen in love. We spent so many days like this and I didn't understand why you brought me here after what you had done. This was supposed to be a sanctuary for our happiest memories. If you thought this would fix your infidelity, it didn't.

"Alfred," you said, knowing I wouldn't look at you. I couldn't.

I would see the same expression you wore when you confessed to me and I couldn't take it. You were quiet after that, so I heard what you pulled out of your pocket. Rain began pouring down one drop at a time, each faster than the last, and I started to cry. I knew what would happen when I turned around, so I didn't.

"I always loved you," I whispered. It made no difference if you heard me over the rain or not. You didn't.

"I didn't want it to come to this." You pressed the gun to the back of my head.

This is where you promised me forever. I wished it didn't end like this, but it did.