Trepidation || j. g ||

| f a i t h f u l l y |

ATHENA COULD CLEARLY recall the color of Jake Abbey's eyes as if he were directly in front of her. She could tell you how his skin felt at three a.m on a rainy morning and she could pick his cologne out of any line of men. She thought about him, more often than she should. Athena longed for her husband, for only a second of his features would suffice in such a time like this. She missed him. She missed her husband.

It seemed as though her prayers were answered as the loud clicking of her cell door reverberated off the cement walls, causing to her rise to her feet from her seated position on the ground.

"It's time."

//

Athena was seated across from her husband Jake in a very guarded yet large room. They sat in front of one another, a pane of metal that is a table separating them. Jake's eyes were glossy as he stared at his wife, the woman of his dreams, the love of his entire life. The orange jumpsuits they wore was distasteful to the eye, their skin a sickly pale. It was a tragedy, really.

"Athena..." Jake whispered, allowing himself to cry in front of her.

Athena blinked slowly, her face showing no emotion as she simply stared at Jake. She wanted to remember the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled, the way his brows would knit together when he tried to concentrate and understand something-she wanted to remember him in all the good she experienced with him. She wanted to immortalize that part of him. Of them.

"Don't cry." She suddenly said, moving her wrists a bit which only caused the metal chain to clank against the linoleum floor.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I did this to you." He cried, shaking his head as Athena merely tilted hers.

"Don't be sorry. It's not your fault."

"I coerced you, I-you heard what they were saying-"

"-you didn't do anything to me. I love you. I always have and I always will. I made decisions on my own. They aren't your burdens to bare. Listen to me," Athena began, leaving into the table a bit to get closer to Jake.

"Don't put all this on your shoulders, baby. It's mine to carry, too."

Jake tried to hold back his tears but they kept falling. It was all those times he held it back, all the times he kept pushing forward. His emotions were built upon too much-it was all bubbling over.

"I don't deserve you. I never will." Jake whispered and Athena shook her head.

"We were meant to be. This was fate, Jake. In all its glory." It was her turn to cry, as Athena looked down at her cuffed wrists with a ghost of a smile.

"I lived, Jake. You...you made me feel so..." Athena stopped then, choking back a sob filled laugh as she shook her head.

"You made me feel like I was weightless. You are my life. There's no me without you."

Jake gave a blinding smile, his wife returning his favor with a heavy heart.

"I love you so much." He said deeply, their eyes seeming to dance.

"I love you more."

//

Athena and Jake were beginning their final walk down the corridors of the jail, their hands intertwined as they kept their sights forward. An occasional squeeze from Jake reminded Athena that the end hadn't come yet...but it was steady approaching.

It was an oddity, a miraculous decision on behalf of Judge Bender and The Jury. The two were sentenced to death by lethal injection, but under one circumstance. The two didn't care for anything else except one another-if that weren't obvious at this point. So there they were, walking side by side to their fate.

They approached the doors to the room, Athena suddenly becoming engulfed with every emotion all at once. Her body swayed slightly, going backwards as the guards held her up and pushed her back on her feet. Jake closed his eyes tightly, pain flashing across his face as his lips quivered. There was no more time for crying.

It felt like forever, time was just ticking by so very slowly. It was like Jake and Athena were laying upright besides one another on those tables for centuries. They stared at one another, words meaningless as they continued to squeeze each other's hand. A silent "I'm still here" that only they could understand.

The sound of voices erupted in the space, the sound muffled to the couples ears as Jake gave one last smirk to his dotting wife. He immediately began to think about his first time seeing her in the halls of Ike High, her oversized sweater swimming on her tiny frame as she helped him pick up the mess of books and papers that had fell between them. Then to her face when they first locked eyes in Augustine's years ago, her frazzled curls matching her state as she shakily removed her note pad from her apron and asked him his order. Her wild eyes when he had first kissed her-their first time. Her loud laughter that would fill the otherwise empty cabin in the woods, sweet kisses that he craved. How she looked on their wedding day. It all rushed back in quick succession, as Jake felt himself slipping away. It hurt, the liquid burning as it coursed through every inch of his body. He shook from it.

Athena squeezed his hand tightly, the liquid, too, causing her to gape in pain. She didn't let it show too much, though. She looked up at Jake, tears slipping from her brown eyes as she suddenly closed them. She began to think about her life with him. He treated her with respect and love she had never known. Jake loved her and she loved him with every fiber in their being. There was no telling them otherwise. Athena pondered how their life could've been if they weren't here right now-a thought that hurt her too much to continue. She thought about the cabin-home-and thought about her being curled up next to her husband Jake on their couch in the living room. She couldn't hear the static beeping anymore as it was now replaced with Jake's soothing voice, singing her the song he dedicated to her all those years ago. His warmth comforting as she gripped at his flannel t-shirt, the window outside covered in frost and snow. They were safe from the cold, from the dangers of winter. She could smell his cologne, her lips curling into a sweet smile as she exhaled...

After a few moments, Athena and Jake Abbey lay lifeless before being transferred to their respectful gurneys. For a little while now, all but one of the witnesses have left the room. Detective Reagan sat with his eyes casted on the couples bodies, remembering how they held onto each other even as they slipped into death. The man gave a heavy sigh, hitting the back of the seat in front of him softly, before standing and making his exit for good.