Convict

33.

He nodded sitting down on his bed, he patted the space beside him. I sat and rest my head on his shoulders, his arm around my waist as we sat there not knowing what to sat to one another.

"I had a visit from my parents last night" He sighed

I looked up at him, his face was the saddest I had ever seen "And? How was it?"

"They said their goodbyes" He closed his eyes as more tears rolled down his face "It was bitter-sweet I guess"

I nodded, he told me how they had apologised to him, for every mistreatment they had shown, for every cold visit and for not seeing him more. They wished they had more time with him, more time to say goodbye to their son. Oliver had forgiven them and I think it meant that he could rest easy knowing that all ill feelings between one another were gone.

They were losing their son today, they would sit and watch as the lethal dose was injected into his bloodstream. Watch as the life she had given her son was taken away by a stranger, as her son was helpless against what was being done to him. His wrists and ankles bound to the bed.

I wished I had done more, I wish I had tried and fought harder for him. He only had two chances to appeal the court's decision. I was supposed to get him out of here on his last try, but instead I was locked in the back of the van, my wrists bound as I tried to fight my way out so desperately. I had failed him just as bad as the system had failed him.

Oliver continued to tell me about his parent's visit, they had brought a montage of pictures from his childhood, they laughed, they cried and they healed the wounds that had been opened in their stupid feud.

I wanted time to slow down, I wanted the forces at be to just stop the world for one perfect moment. Death was creeping up on us quicker than we could run away from it, I could almost feel his cold touch pull Oliver away from me as the seconds ticked past.

"Chloe?" He asked, we were laid together now, I looked up at him but his eyes were closed "Chloe I'm so scared!"

My heart felt like it wanted to burst out of my chest to him as he said this, I didn't know what to say to make this better. I didn't know what to say to bring any kind of comfort to him. Instead I pulled him closer and held him tightly "I know...But I'm here, I'm right here and I won't leave you"

"You will" I could hear him trying to keep his broken cry at bay "You will be forced to leave me at that door, I will be left without my only light. I will be without you"

"I'll always be here Oliver" I found myself chocking on my own sobs again "I will never leave you, I promised you all those months ago that I would be with you until the very end. I'm not one to break a promise"

"I'm scared it's going to hurt" He broke down completely now "I don't want it to hurt. I want to close my eyes and dream of you and be content"

I swallowed my tears back down, trying and trying to be strong for him. He was scared, he was vulnerable and he was going to be so alone in that room. "Oliver, it won't hurt"

"D'you know what they do the night before you're executed?" I felt his hand tighten around me as he spoke, still not looking at me "They come in here and they explain the process of your death. They tell you exactly how you're going to die, what each of the three doses do to you. The night before you're due to die they tell you exactly how they're going to do it" He sniffed "Like they get some sick pleasure out of telling you exactly what your death is going to look like"

I closed my eyes tight, I couldn't imagine what he was feeling right now. Knowing that he had only hours, hours until he became nothing to everyone...Everyone but me. He would mean everything to me for the rest of my life, he would be my everything until the moment my heart stopped beating.