Caroline could feel warm blood dripping into her eye; Mark had reopened the old scar through her eyebrow. She squeezed her eyes shut, to keep out the blood and keep in the tears.

He slapped her across the face.

"Open those pretty eyes, Caro," he said, his tongue slipping over the words. "Go on, open up. I want- to- see- you!"

She opened them and looked up, terrified. Mark dragged her up from her crumpled position on the floor by her wrist, leaving a bruised imprint of his fingers. He crushed his lips against hers, rumbling contentedly deep in his throat as his hands roamed her body.

"Mmm. I love you, Caro. I love you."

That was when he jerked her head to the side. A crack echoed through the hotel room, and Caroline fell to the floor. Her sky blue eyes stared at the ceiling, wide and scared.

* * *

It was a week later before the autopsy was finished and the police finally gave up. They did manage to find Mark, but he escaped, slippery little rat that he was. Lucy had told Caroline when the couple first got together, and now look.

Lucy started to shake all over as she stared into the silk-lined coffin that held her younger sister. Frozen forever at twenty-two, her deep brown hair was washed and combed, silky-smooth and shining. But they hadn't quite managed to erase the lines of fear that had been carved into her face for the past two years. Lucy doubted anyone could. If Caroline hadn't died when she did, well, she still would have been damaged forever.

Lucy wished they'd left her eyes open. Caroline had always had such beautiful blue eyes, eyes so big and deep you could drown in them. Her sister's dull brown ones were nothing in comparison.

Their mother had called Caroline the Sky, while Lucy was the Earth. She had set such store in eyes. The windows to the soul.

Lucy brushed her fingers across Caroline's cheek, tears burning in her eyes. Then she turned and ran from the chapel.

The sky was blue and cloudless. She looked up at it, smiling shakily.

"Love you, honey." Lucy was still trembling.

* * *
Lucy. A slurred, rough voice called her name as she opened the door to her apartment. She drew back warily, closing the door quietly behind me.

"Who's there?" Lucy yelled, expecting her dad, drunk again.

"Lucy. Lucy. Where is she, where's Caro?"

Her heart froze.

"Get out of here, Mark!" Lucy cried in a fury, fumbling for the hall light switch and falling back with a scream when she realized Mark was standing not two feet away from her.

"Get out!" It sickened her to touch him, but she pushed him violently away. He fell back against the wall and reached out a hand.

"Lucy, I want my Caro back!" He was breathing hard, eyes wild.

Lucy started to cry again, against her will, and stormed to her bedroom. Mark followed her blindly as she fumbled through her top drawer, throwing clothes onto the bed and the floor.

"Caro..." Mark moaned, making a grab for her arm.

"Get off of me!" Lucy shrieked, throwing him off. He stumbled back and fell to the floor. Her hand closed around the cold handle of a pistol. She ripped off a pair of pantyhose that was twined around the barrel and threw it across the room.

Mark didn't even register that Lucy had lowered the gun into his face and curled a finger around the trigger. He moaned again unintelligibly. Lucy's shivers had disappeared,

Bam. Bam. The shots cut through the room, spreading blood over the floor like spilled wine as Mark fell forward, two soot-ringed holds in his head

"You can't take the sky away from me," Lucy said coldly. Then she sat down among the spreading bloodstains and called the police.