Till Death Do Us Apart

[Happy Birthday cutie pie!]

Raven smiles at her mom’s text.

[Thanks Mom! Have my flowers arrived?] she replies, staring at the half heart tattoo on the back of her hand.

The other half is in Draco’s hand, so whenever they hold hands, it makes a full heart.

Draco Aslan is her mate, and the most perfect man in this world. In this life full of darkness and sorrow, he is her light and joy, everything and the only thing that makes her happy.

They’ve known each other since they were six, even back then she knew she would be his Luna, not because she understood what “Alpha heir” meant, but because she knew he was THE prince of her life.

“Don’t even think about it.”

The sound of Claire’s voice brings her attention back to the laboratory.

Claire is one of her course mates. Class ended a while ago but Claire and her clique like to hang back and gossip. They have tea about everyone on campus and this is where they heartily share it.

They don’t mind that she hears, because to them, she doesn't even exist.

“What? I just want to say hi to her,” a boy whose name she does not know says and the ladies chuckle.

“To that pretty face? Yeah…If you’re not Professor McCall, a test tube or a conical flask, the lab worm speaks to no one.” One of them says in a sarcastic tone.

“Listen,” Claire’s voice goes octaves lower, the way it normally does when they gossip about people. “I heard she has a mental illness and if she stops studying and has fun even for a few minutes, she’ll run mad.”

“Then they should have sent her to an asylum, not a college. Maybe she’d actually talk to her fellow mad people,” another of the ladies replies and they all laugh.

Raven wipes the corner of her eyes, just realising their harsh and false words are making her eyes watery.

Mean girls are everywhere but she never learned how to deal with them. Usually, when this sort of thing happens, she would run out to cry in the bathroom and when Draco finds out, they would pay dearly.

She pretends not to hear them, packs her things, and bites her lips when she passes them without making eye contact. Her ears are burning, but they are the ones who should feel ashamed!

The moment she makes it out of the lab, tears burst out. Draco cared for her so well that she didn't have to learn all these...until college. She doesn’t live in the lab, although she usually stays till midnight, but not today, it’s her birthday.

It’s her only day off in the year, the one day she can’t be here all day.

She checks her phone again. Her mom hasn’t replied yet so she texts her.

[Send a picture of the flower when it arrives, thanks!]

On the twilight of her birthdays, roses from Draco arrive. It’s been like that ever since she understood what “romantic” was. This is the night she wants to be nowhere else, but just to enjoy it at home. This is her night.

She needs to get a certain red wine. It’s Draco’s favorite. Tonight won’t be the same without it.

She remembers the first time they tasted this wine. It was the night of her 17th birthday. She wasn't allowed to drink until she was 18, but he was already 18 a few months ago, and he bragged about how he could buy alcohol now.

She begged him to let her have a taste, and he taunted her till she was almost in tears. In the end, he gave up his "manly" whiskey and got a wine, this particular wine, so she could join, and she got drunk.

The next morning, Draco’s dad gave him a hell of a beating for getting her drunk and typical Draco got them another bottle to console himself that same night.

She parks her car in her apartment’s car park, texting her mom again. It’s already dark out, her flowers should have arrived by now.

She’s beginning to get worried.

[Not yet honey, maybe he didn’t order them this year?]

She snatches the bag containing the wine and a few other items from the passenger seat and makes her way to her room.

Her steak slips out of the bag but she doesn’t even stop to pick it up, rushing upstairs, her heart racing and her eyes becoming wet.

Draco always gets her flowers, there’s no way he wouldn’t have sent them. She doesn’t even want to think that she’s not getting them this year.

She rummages through her stuff for a card from last year, and texts them her order number.

[Your package has been delivered.]

They text back in a few minutes.

She feels a little better. Her light and joy cannot forget what today is. She knew he wouldn’t.

She mindlinks her mom this time around, maybe someone else got the package at the house and not her.

“The package has been delivered mom. Are you sure no one got it?”

From her vision, she can see her mom looking at her dad and her mom is chewing her lower lip, something she only does when she’s done something she believes is wrong.

“What happened to my flowers, mom?” Raven asks sternly, feeling a tinge of annoyance in her heart.

“Your father….he— look honey—”

“What did dad do?” Raven cuts her off sharply, her breath rising and falling.

“He trashed them,” her mom replies, dropping the link.

“How could you?!” She mindlinks her dad immediately, yelling at him.

He knows how important those flowers are to her, how much she looks forward to getting them every year.

“Why don’t you come home and do something about it?” He replies harshly, “no one has seen you in years, you choose to stay in that college miles away from us, from home, from everyone.”

“That has nothing to do with my flowers, you have no right to throw my stuff away.”

Draco’s flowers are the highlight of her day and he just ruined it. Why? Why would he do this?

“You need to forget about him, Raven.”

“He’s my fated mate,” she growls, feeling so much anger at her dad.

“He’s your fated mate. Yes, but he’s also fucking dead. Wake up!” He yells back.

His words hit her like a rocket and tears start to pour down her eyes. She grabs the bag of wine and throws it far across the room, yelling in rage before she breaks down in tears.