Playing with fire

Closure

"You really think going to work is a good idea after the trial?" He asked, bracing himself for an argument as she noticeably stiffened beside him.

"What's the alternative?" She asked and he shrugged,

"Accept the time off you've been granted; we spend the evenings here or walking or at the beach?"

"And then? When it's over?"

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her forehead, "then we throw ourselves into house hunting, because this place is not big enough for all your clothes,"

She laughed, "if you want me to go back home, I can..."

He shook his head, "I don't, I just want this over with so we can move forward with our lives together."

She nodded, "will you come with me, tomorrow I mean?"

He turned to face her, his free hand resting gently on her cheek, "sweetheart of course I will,"

She kissed him softly, "sometimes I'm not sure what goes through your head," he smiled as he toyed with a piece of her hair, "I meant it when I said I'm here for you," he brushed her cheek with his thumb, "I'll be here for you for as long as you need me to be,"

She ran her fingertips across his bare chest, tracing the scars from where her now ex husband had attacked him.

"These next few days are going to be tough," he told her, "we both know that..."

She nodded, "I never want to feel like that again," she admitted, "and reliving it, is going to take me back there..."

He nodded, taking her hands and squeezing them, "you're the strongest person I know," he told her, "you've got through worse... You can do this."

She barely slept that night and when her alarm went off, she silenced it quickly and showered and dried her hair before Jacob had stirred. He smiled as he watched her putting on her make up and got up, placing his hands on her shoulders and kissing her hair softly, 

"I'll never get bored of waking up to you," he smiled. She couldn't help but smile back at him and squeeze his hand, 

"Hurry up and get ready, looking at you like that makes me want to crawl back in bed with you,"

They stood hand in hand outside the court room. She had been silent the whole way there and he hadn't known what to say. He placed his hand on her cheek, "I'll be there the whole time,"

She nodded, "I'm scared,"

"I know," he told her, 

She exhaled forcefully, "let get this over with."