TIES THAT BIND | Negan Smith

Prologue

A woman, about thirty years old, reached up and wiped at the skin under her eyes, removing all the clear liquid that had accumulated there.

She reached out and grasped onto the hand directly in front of her, giving the lifeless limb one last, firm squeeze before tearing her eyes away and forcing herself to her feet.

Without allowing herself a single glance back, knowing that it would do nothing but give her reasons to stay, she opened the door and stepped out into the bustling hallway, gently closing it behind her.

Nurses and doctors alike barely spared her a second glance, no doubt long since used to the emotional people that passed through the halls of their hospital.

The woman stood there for a moment, resting her forehead against the cool wood of the door, her eyes squeezed shut as she let out a long breath of air.

"Heading home?" An all too familiar voice spoke up from behind her.

Peeling her eyes open, she turned to face the man, crossing her arms tightly over her stomach, pushing a small, weak smile onto her face, though it no doubt looked more like a grimace than anything.

His eyes swept over her, concern resting in his brown orbs as he leaned his shoulder against the closest wall, copying her stance by loosely crossing his arms over his chest.

"I have to get back to work," She spoke softly, unable to raise her voice a single octave higher, "I'll be back in a couple weeks, though."

Her childhood best friend's lips twitched upwards, "Got a lot of sick time saved up?" He asked teasingly, knowing that she almost never missed work, hating having to make up whatever she had missed.

The smile was easier this time- just by a bit- as she detached one of her arms from around her stomach and pushed a fistful of blonde curls out of her face, "Something like that."

Shane titled his head to the side, "You gonna be okay, Thea?"

Athena let out a shuttered breath, eyes turning down to her shoes, both of them already knowing the answer, even as she picked a single shoulder and let it fall heavily, "I don't know."

Lie.

Thankfully, the man didn't say anything, instead, letting the truth hang heavily between them, "He'll be okay."

Her head turned back to the door to her right, gazing at it almost longingly, thinking about her twin brother, laying in that bed, helpless and in a comatose state.

"He has to be." When Shane spoke again, his voice wavered slightly at the end, giving up whatever shield of strength he had been trying to portray for the woman's sake.

Athena smiled tightly, holding the strap of her to-go satchel tightly around her body before she took a step forward.

Shane's arms were open in seconds and he was sweeping her into a familiar, comforting embrace. They held one another close, neither of them commenting on the quiet sniffles they each let out.

When they finally pulled away, Shane smiled lightly, gently swiping his thumb across the woman's cheek to rid her of a tear that had managed to slip past her eyes once more.

"Chin up, Thea." He said playfully, "Rick will be up and about in no time. Then we can all have that rematch pool game we've been dragging out for years."

Athena laughed at that, true amusement and joy lighting up her face for the first time in weeks, since she had gotten the call about her twin brother being shot and dropped everything to come be with him and the family.