the end of love

[Anita Lancaster]

“Thanks for covering the rest of my shift, Mags, I owe you one.” The blonde haired witch smiled at her and waved her off. “Yeah, yeah, just go!” Anita hugged her friend before gathering her things and leaving St. Mungo’s. It was the day of their fifth anniversary and, of course, she had to work at the hospital. Fortunately for her, Maggie agreed to take the rest of her shift so she could go home and surprise her husband. Dressed to the nines, her heels clicked against the pavement as she wandered down the streets of London, stopping briefly at a florist to pick up some flowers. It wasn’t long before she found a dark alley to Apparate out of, landing gracefully just outside their home outside of Castle Combe. Anticipation bubbled under her skin as she walked up the porch steps, pulling out her wand to unlock the front door.

“Ian?” she called out, but couldn’t hear his response. There were muffled noises coming from upstairs and something that sounded suspiciously like a bed rocking. A lump immediately formed in her throat, excitement turning suddenly into trepidation as she slowly made her way up the stairs. The lights were off in the hallway, Anita igniting her wand so she could see. She didn’t bother saying his name again, knowing exactly what was happening the closer she got to the bedroom. A knot formed in the pit of her stomach and she felt like she was going to be sick. The muffled sounds became clearer as she wrapped her hand around the door knob, turning it and opening the door to find a sight that would haunt her for months. The flowers fell from her hand. “Get. Out.” Her voice was even, but dangerously low. The light of her wand was quivering slightly as her body shook with fury. It lit her up like a fire and she could feel her anger manifesting on her face. “Get the FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!” The woman, witch, whatever she was, scrambled to her feet and quickly dressed, Anita using every ounce of strength to refrain from hexing her, before she scurried out of the room, leaving just Ian and Anita there. “Ani-” he started, but she hit him with a powerful Silencing Charm. “I want you out of my life in five minutes or, Merlin help me, I will tear you to shreds.” Her body was positively vibrating at this point, her lips white from how tightly they were pursed, her eyes glowing with rage. “OUT!” Her heart was breaking at the sight of him climbing out of bed, covering himself with the sheet. Tears welled in her eyes, but she held them back until he was packed and out of the house.

Once his figure disappeared from the doorway, Anita fell to her knees, her wand clattering to the floor. The tears escaped their bounds and poured down her face, sobs starting to rack her body as she laid down on the ground, curled up in the fetal position as she let it all out. For hours she laid there… nothing left but an empty shell of who Anita Lancaster used to be. Five years wasted… all of her love, wasted. Eventually, there were no more tears to shed and she just laid there, flowers quickly dying around her as her heart shriveled into nothing.