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Veronica stared at the grave in front of her.
Five golden words stared back.
Here Lies Heather Christina Chandler.
Leave it up to Heather to make her gravestone the most pampered one in the whole cemetery.
Veronica never thought it would end this way. She thought that Chandler would be the one to ditch Sherwood the first chance she got, but now she can’t. She's stuck in Sherwood, Ohio for all of eternity. And it was all Veronica’s fault.
The brunette clutched the flowers that she held in her hand. They were roses, Heather’s favorite. She felt the thorns piercing through her skin.
Veronica deserved this.
She was the one who trusted that trench-coat wearing psycho.
She was the one that gave Heather that mug, not bothering to check if it was the right one.
SHE was the sole reason that Heather was dead.
Blood ran down her hands. The thorns sank deeper and deeper. Veronica winced at the pain but made no effort to stop it. She could hear her blood fall onto the grass through the faint whistling of the wind.
“Hey Heather,” No response. Veronica expected that. She knew she wasn’t going to get anything, just much needed comfort. “I– Look, I know it’s been a while but between college and… college , I haven’t had the time to visit you.” More blood trickled down her hands. “Don’t look at me like that. C’mon! I’m sure your ghost has been watching over me. Oh, God. I sound crazy. I– um, I just came to apologize to you. I know everything happened a year ago but it feels like it’s all my fault that you’re dead… I should’ve double checked that mug, made sure it was the right one. But my stupid head didn’t. I trusted J.D. and that was the worst mistake of my life.”
Veronica pressed the thorns deeper into her hands. The pain felt… weirdly satisfying. It felt like she was finally getting the torture she deserved.
“It feels almost as bad as not telling you how I felt.” Veronica somberly smiled. “I love you Heather, I did back then and I do now.”
The brunette felt tears running down her cheeks. How peculiar. Veronica was never one to cry. Maybe occasionally, but she had never shed a single tear after murdering three people. She was messed up.
“You loved Hessa?” A small voice came from behind her. Veronica quickly wiped her tears and snapped her head around. There stood a furious looking McNamara and Heather’s younger sister, clutching onto the taller girl.
Well, shit.
“You killed my best friend?” Mac let go of Heather's sister's hand and started to walk towards Veronica. “You're the reason my best friend won’t be able to live past the age of sixteen!?”
“L-look, Mac. I’m sorry! I loved her, I didn’t mean to kill her!” Veronica pleaded.
“Oh, cry me a fucking river, Ronnie! Don’t try and play the victim here! You killed Heather! You took the life away from an innocent girl who had her whole life ahead of her! Even if you didn’t mean to kill her, which I am so not buying, you should’ve double checked the stupid mug or whatever! You killed one of the only people I cared about.”
Heather McNamara threw a punch at Veronica’s shoulder. Old Veronica would’ve punched back, double the force. Now all Veronica did was stand there, sinking the thorns in deeper.
“You! You! You! You! You’re a fucking murderer.” The blonde viciously spat, punching Veronica’s shoulders as tears fell from her eyes. The blonde threw one last weak punch at her before dropping to her knees and letting out a weak sob. The shorter girl stood over her. She didn’t know what to do.
“Heather. I didn’t mean to kill Heather,” Veronica assured. “I was a dumb teenager. I still am. I trusted J.D. and that was my mistake. I’ve loved Heather since kindergarten. I would never, not in a million years hurt her voluntarily!”
Mac rose to her feet, clearly still mad. “But you still did! You killed her and made everyone believe it was a suicide! And don’t go on about that “I loved her.” bullshit! She loved you too, more than she has ever loved anyone!”
That grabbed Veronica’s attention.
“Wait. She– she loved me? As in, romantic love?”
“Yes!”
“So you’re telling me we could’ve been together?” It was a selfish thought but Veronica needed confirmation. Even if Mac was mad at her she didn’t care. Veronica needed this. She felt the thorns dig deeper into her hand.
“Of course you could’ve been together! Heather loved you from the start! That’s the whole entire reason she let you into our clique. She was just scared of her feelings! This is Sherwood, Ohio for fuck’s sake! People see a dyke and go reaching for the guns. A– All her stupid cockiness, she just didn’t know how to act around you. Apparently J.D. caught on… you of all people should know he likes to get jealous.”
Veronica’s thoughts were going a million miles a minute. She couldn’t focus, she couldn’t breathe. Nothing was making sense. Veronica clutched the roses harder, her knuckles turning white as she dropped to her knees.
“I hope you’re happy with yourself, Veronica Sawyer.” McNamara spat her name out with such bitterness. She turned around and looked at Heather’s younger sister, who was confused as to what was going on. “C’mon Maggie, we’re leaving.” The taller girl held Maggie’s arm and dragged her out of the cemetery.
As the two disappeared out of sight. Veronica sat there. She felt a wave of emotions passing over her.
Pain. Regret.
For the last time, she sank the thorns in deeper. They disappeared into her hand.
She was truly alone.
Forever.