Chapter 22

Vexation

Hello my dear readers! This is the next installment - but first, response to reviews!

LaurenRiverSister: You got that right! I don't know why, but when you wrote, "unless he dies", it made me laugh so hard. I'm an angst-and-death writer, not a murderer [but then again, ain't it the same thing? ;)]

CreativeWritingSoul: Writing tear-jerking fanfiction is my speciality, haha! Thank you for that wonderful review. Your favourite line is mine too.

princess mh: That's right, I'm sure you two will!

Guest: The face you sent reminds me of Koro Sensei's poker face in Assassination Classroom…anyway, fate works in mysterious ways. :)

XxGalaxyUnicornLovexX: Love is always appreciated! Happy that you like 'Haddie', I think they're very cute too. I have many plans for them, so worry not!

Warning - This chapter may require spare tissues. It's the saddest one yet. Sob all you want, but HATE COMMENTS ARE UNNECESSARY! THEY WILL NOT HELP THE CHAPTER!

Enjoy (and cry?)!

—

Hopper watched Grease by himself. He frowned at Danny and Sandy. He commented snidely on their bad decisions. He turned the volume up to listen to the music. He didn't really like it, but suddenly the world felt empty without Briar next to him singing at the top of her lungs. She may have been off-tune, but it amused him to no end.

Sighing, he switched off the television and sat there in the near darkness. He hadn't gone out in three days. Briar was pissed. He knew that his wife could pick the lock, as easily as he could unlock the door and go out. But he wanted desperately for Briar to break down first. She needed him. She loved him. He would wait for her to understand that.

In the living room somewhat below him, Briar was watching Grease too. She sang half-heartedly, but she missed the way Hopper would sit next to next to her and talk about the terrible examples Danny Zuko was setting. When there weren't any songs, the television seemed to quiet without her husband's annoyance next to her. She turned up the volume.

Briar could easily pick Hopper's lock and barge in whenever she liked. But she wanted to wait for him to do it. He should feel bad, not her. She would wait as long as she pleased. He would come out whenever he liked. She didn't care. But he was to be broken first, not her.

Back upstairs, Hopper had realised as he looked into his en suite (that he had stacked with food) that he had forgotten to stock up more on toilet paper. He prayed that Briar wasn't awake (it was midnight).

Stealthily, he unlocked the door and snuck out. Looking to the open-doored guest room, he wasn't surprised to see a lump that was most likely Ashlynn underneath the covers.

He tiptoed downstairs and heard the TV blasting Grease. He held his breath and peered over the banister. Briar was fast asleep on the couch. He relaxed and quietly walked down. He looked down at her, and then draped a blanket over her and left in the search of toilet paper.

—

Raven woke up to the smell of toast, sausages, frozen yorgurt, and eggs. She craned her neck to see Dexter holding a tray of breakfast foods, with a napkin and salted caremal shake and a jar of violets.

"Good morning," she muttered sleepily.

She sat up, rubbing her eyes, as Dexter sat the tray in front of her.

"Good morning, sunshine," he teased.

"You sop," she laughed, blushing madly. "What's this for?"

"Can't I be a gentleman?"

"I didn't know you had it in you," his wife joked. They laughed and chatted as she ate her breakfast.

"Two days until Paris," he reminded, grinning, when she had done.

"Oh, shush. I've tried to forget it so I could sleep well. I can't now with all the butterflies in my stomach," Raven sighed. "I suppose it doesn't do any harm to look forward to it. What else is on our bucket list?"

"Milan, windsurfing, swimming with dolphins, pearl diving - a whole lot, really. You can help me plan. I've heard of so many great places. I've pinned some more photos up," Dexter smiled.

"Really? Oh, yes, you have…I can see. Can we add that famous chocolaterie to the list? I would love to go there!"

"Chocolaterie it is," he responded, kissing her on the cheek. "You should get up. I've planned a day out for us."

"I love you," she said.

"I love you more," he replied.

"I love you most," Raven continued.

"I love you more than most," he laughed.

"No such thing," she teased. "Okay, I'll change now. Out of the room for you."

Dexter just made himself comfortable on the bed. "No…I think I'll stay here."

"Suit yourself. Stubborn mule," Raven rolled her eyes and began to undress.

—

Briar had a dream last night that there was a golden-haired angel that sprinkled thousands of soft petals down on her. But then he kept sprinkling and sprinkling and sprinkling. Soon enough, she had drowned.

—

Cupid squeezed her eyes shut, begging her tears not to spill. What she was doing - going to do - wasn't right. It wasn't. She had to stop! But why did she desperately want to then, if she knew it was wrong?

"I saw them," the waitress told Cupid nervously, sticking her head out of the kitchen back door.

"Good. What did they order?" the pink-haired woman asked in a low voice.

"Just one salted caremal sundae," responded the waitress. She was mousy thing with very large circular glasses and a relatively long dark brown bob. "A-A-Are you sure?"

"Just do it," Cupid hissed, pushing the poison and the wad of money into the shaking girl's hands. Since Raven obviously had ordered the sundae, the poison would work. It would.

"O-O-O-Okay."

Cupid looked around, and seeing no one, walked away briskly. "What have I done?" she whispered, sinking down against a wall.

"Chariclo! Hi!" greeted a voice that could only be Xavier. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Cupid lied. "Sorry, I need some alone time."

There was some silence.

"That's okay," he responded brightly, and left, as quickly as he had appeared, as if he was just a ghost. Cupid cursed herself for pulling the poor man into this. She stood up quickly, rubbing her eyes, and walked into the cafe - the same one where Raven and Dexter were sitting, and where a salted caremal shake was being delivered to the table - to see what would happen.

Cupid sat down at a reasonably distance and spied on the pair.

Raven smiled and thanked the waitress, who looked very anxious for whatever reason.

"That looks good," Dexter grinned. "Mind if I have some?"

"Sure," Raven replied. "It's so big, I probably couldn't eat it myself."

Dex smiled gratefully and took a bite. "Wow, that's good," he mumbled through a mouthful.

"I bet it is," she responded, taking out a spoon. She dug it into the sundae and was about to take a bite when Dexter put a hand to his head and groaned loudly.

"Honey? Are you okay?" Raven asked worriedly, dropping her spoon to feel his temperature. He flinched at her hand.

"Is it a brain freeze?" she coaxed, trying to get some words out of him. Raven suddenly gasped as she saw a trickle of crimson blood drip out of his mouth. Dexter fell back, chair clattering to the ground.

"Oh my godmother!" she shouted, running to her husband and cradling his head in her arms. "Someone, please! Call the ambulance!" Her heart thudded and her mind spun. What was going on? Everything was going so beautifully…she felt bile rise up to her throat. Her chest suddenly hur and she couldn't breathe.

"Dex, are you okay? Please be okay. Please, please. I need you. I-I love you," Raven sobbed, tears flowing out of her eyes.

Dexter groaned again. "Rae…just…don't…panic…" he muttered between breaths. "You'll…you'll be…fine…without me…"

In the background, someone had dialed the ambulance.

"No! Stop saying that!" Raven cried. "We're going to be fine! You're going to be fine! Everything's gonna be okay, okay?" When Dexter didn't answer, she cupped his cheek and cried more. He was her everything. Her life, her love, her only. "I love you, Dex. I love you so much. And I forgive you for all the things you've done. Come back to me, honey…"

"I'm…fine…" he winced, struggling for breath. "I…love…I love…you more."

Raven smiled through her tears. "I love you most."

"I…I love…you…more than…than most."

Dexter reached up a hand to touch her hair, smiling. but then he froze. A look of pain crossed through his features. To Raven's horror, his hand dropped to the ground and his body went limp.

She stifled a cry. And then, like that, Raven's sanity and life and happiness and hope was all sucked out of her.

"Dexter? Dexter, answer me!" Raven wailed, tears dropping one by one onto his shirt. "What happened to our bucket list? What happened to Paris? I can't do this without you! Remember when you-you promised to go to the chocolaterie and the Caribbean Islands and everywhere else? I love you! Don't leave! Please! P-Please…"

Dexter didn't answer. Raven checked his heartbeat and then his breathing. This time she didn't hold back. She screamed and screamed and screamed until she couldn't scream any more. Her entire body was numb, yet at the same time she felt like two million daggers and spears and arrows were stabbing into her, stabbing, stabbing…and she was bleeding terribly from open wounds.

When the ambulance arrived, it was much too late.

Crying hysterically, Raven mustered up jer gentleness and stillness to take off Dexter's glasses and stared into his beautiful, beautiful blue irises. She remembered when they were full of life. Trying to calm down, she gently closed his eyelids over his gorgeous eyes. She could miss seeing them, so full of love and hope and admiration, for her. Just for her.

She kissed him gently on the lips, and remembered when he would kiss her back and hug her and tell her how amazing and marvellous she was, how lucky he felt to be with her.

Raven cried. She cried and cried and cried.

She cried in anger. She cried in anguish. She sobbed and she teared up in sorrow and grief.

She cried in pain, because under her thick, seemingly uncaring skin, her beautiful and delicate heart had broken in two.