Athena's POV

When I was little, I always thought that one day I was going to be swept off my feet by my knight in shining armor. That he would come knocking on my door and sweep me off my feet.

When I was little I even created a drawing off us riding off into the sunset, towards a beautiful castle on the horizon. Our wedding was going to be filled with cupcakes, cotton candy, and frosting. I was a naive little girl who didn't realize that things could be ripped from under your feet in a millisecond.

I always thought I was going to live happily ever after with my knight in shining armor.

I never thought that I would see the day that he dies.

My eyes were still closed, not wanting to open and see what lies before me. Leo's lifeless body surrounded by a pool of blood. Just thinking about it hurt my heart so much to the point that I felt like I was going to die.

Once I realized Teddy was going to pull the trigger, I shut my eyes. Seeing somebody I love get shot is not something I wanted to witness. It's not something anybody wanted to witness.

I already had to experience losing one person I love, I didn't want to lose another one.

Slowly, I opened my eyes to the scene before me.

Both Leo and Teddy were lying in a pool of blood before me. I ran over and without thinking knelt down next to their bodies.

"Leo? Are you okay?"

He didn't respond. Instead, his eyes looked up at the sky completely lifeless. No, no, no! This wasn't supposed to be happening.

"Wake up!" I screamed at him. "Wake up! This is isn't how it's supposed to end. Not before I get a chance to tell you the truth. I love you, and I always will. I realize that know. I'm so sorry for rejecting you just please, wake up."

"I'm begging you," I whispered.

"I need you. Ever since you came back, my life has changed. Whether its for the better or worse, that has yet to be determined, but I don't care. You came into my life like a wrecking ball, out of nowhere and you somehow managed to break down all my walls. You helped me get over the death of my brother without even trying. You made me realize that I wasn't a worthless and that I deserved to be happy just as much as the next person."

"You make me laugh over the dumbest things. You make me smile, even on my hardest days. You are the only person who can do those things without even trying. Please Leo, I'm begging you, you can't leave me."

"I need you."

"Come back," my voice was hoarse from all the crying as I whispered the last sentence. My tears were dripping down onto Leo's face, leaving trails of tears. I heard sirens in the distance and prayed that they got here early enough to save him.

My head rested against Leo's chest. Please God, if you are listening, please save Leo. I will do anything you want just please, save him. It's the only thing I will ever ask of you again.

Please.

---

I sat slouched in the hospital chair as I watched the nurse attend to Leo. It has been 5 long and agonizing days since Leo was found. He was barely hanging on when we arrived at the hospital. Luckily, the bullet didn't hit him, but he fainted from his other injuries, mainly his knee. They said that they might have to amputate it, worst case scenario.

Best case scenario, he keeps his leg but will most likely walk with a slight limp the rest of his life. Honestly, it's not the best situation, but at least he's alive. It could've been worse.

As for Teddy, well, he won't be spending the rest of his life in jail. Turns out he was serious about not being able to live without me. He ended up taking his own life. I know I shouldn't fell sorry for him considering everything he put Leo and I through, but I do.

No matter how bad of a person he was, he clearly had stuff going on in his head. He just took it out the wrong way. Everybody deserves a chance to repent for their sins, no matter hoe severe they are. I know this sounds crazy, but I don't want to hold a grudge.

I mean, the dude is dead already. Holding a grudge would do nothing at this point. It wouldn't help erase the last couple weeks and it wouldn't erase him being a stalker. I only hope that in his next life he has a good family, good friends, and a good support system to prevent anything like this from happening again.

The nurse left the room and I glanced over at Leo. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep. He's been sleeping the last couple days. Leo's been in and out of it a lot too, so I haven't gotten the chance to tell him how I feel.

A second later, the nurse came back with a doctor. They talked in hushed voices and kept motioning to his knee. "Excuse me miss, are you family?" the doctor asked. "I'm his girlfriend. His dad and sister just went out to get food. Why are you asking?"

"Well I need to tell his family something regarding his knee," the doctor stated. My eyes squinted, trying to detect any sort of emotion from him, but I couldn't. I wonder what he had to say. "I'll call them right now," I replied.

I pulled out my phone but before I could dial Mr. King's number, him and Via walked through the door with bags from Burger King.

"Mr. King, I think you need to sit down for this." The doctor suddenly took on a serious tone, indicating that this was not a joke.

I saw Via visibly gulp as they took a seat next to me.

"As you guys know, Leo's knee was badly injured in the accident. It's been left untreated for more than 2 weeks. That's very dangerous, especially with his level of injury. It seemed to be healing very slowly, but then the nurse noticed something just now."

"His knee has contracted some sort of infection. It looks to have set in almost a day ago. I will give him some antibiotics and other medicines, but if it doesn't improve by tomorrow, I'm sorry to say that we will have to amputate his leg. We don't want this infection to spread to the rest of his body and become deadly."

"I understand doctors. Just please, do whatever you can to save my baby boy," Leo's father said. The doctor closed the door and left us alone. We sat there in silence for a good 5 minutes.

Via was the first one to speak.

"Does he have to lose his leg? Isn't there other options?" she asked. "You heard the doctor. If he doesn't get better and the infection spreads, then it could become deadly. Do you really want to risk losing your brother just so he can keep his leg?" her dad said.

I shrank back in my seat. I didn't want any part of this conversation. I just wanted Leo to wake up.

They continued talking about it for a little while before Via's father was able to convince her that if they did chop his leg off, it would be for the best. After everyone calmed down, I decided I needed a break and walked to the nearest bathroom.

My reflection stopped me in my tracks. My hair was a complete mess. It looked like a tornado blew threw on my head. My eyes were all red and puffy from all the crying I've done over the last couple days, I looked like I hadn't slept in days, and my clothes were badly wrinkled.

I probably hadn't showered in a couple days either, I can't remember.

I really should go home, shower, and change into a fresh pair of clothes, but something was holding me back. That something being Leo. I wanted to be here when he woke up, and with my luck, as soon as I go home he will wake up.

I need to be here for him. Even if he doesn't know I'm here. I will stay by his side until he wakes up, it's what you do for someone you love.

After splashing some cold water on my face, I went back to Leo's room.

"Hey Athena," Leo said as he waved at me.

I stood rooted to my spot. He's awake now? When did this happen? Obviously after I left. I called it. He was staring at me funny, but it's okay because I'm pretty sure I am too. Suddenly, all the emotions I have been holding back came bursting through like a dam breaking.

"Oh my gosh!" I burst into tears as I ran over to him and wrapped him in the tightest hug ever. He wrapped his arms around me, filling me with warmth. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you this earlier, but I love you Leo. I have for a while I think. It just took me a long time to realize it. I'm sorry you ended up in this situation. It's completely my fault. I understand if you don't want me. I mean I wouldn't want me-"

"Woah, woah, woah," Leo interrupted my mini-rant, "Give me a chance to say something. I love you, I have since the day I first saw you. You've always been the only girl I've loved. You make my heart complete and you make me happier than I ever thought possible. So, Athena 'AJ' Jennings, will you be my girlfriend?" he asked.

I started to sob. They were happy tears. I never thought this day would come. Everything we've been through in the past month has led up to this moment and I couldn't be happier.

Instead of giving him an answer, I grabbed him by his face and brought his lips to mine. Everything you read about in books and see in movies is completely true. Fireworks were going off in my body, my skin tingled where ever he touched, and my heart was beating a mile a minute.

I'm sure Leo could feel my tears just like I could feel his smile against my face as we kissed. I brought one of my hands to the back of his neck and the other snaked up to his hair and started playing with it. His hair is so soft. When I tugged on his hair, Leo let out a low moan.

"Excuse me, family present," somebody said. I pulled away lightning fast and turned to see Via and her father. Oops, I forgot they were still in the room. I was a little preoccupied. A blush made it's way onto my face.

Despite everything that's happened recently, I couldn't be more happier than I was at this moment.

---

1 week later:

Leo's leg did end up having to get amputated. the next morning the doctors concluded that the infection was spreading too fast and was getting too the point where amputation was the only option.

They did the surgery that same day. Leo was okay with loosing his leg. He didn't get super angry or super sad. He was just okay. Which I guess isn't a bad thing. He can't walk for a couple more weeks until he gets his prosthetic leg.

He has to be pushed around in a wheelchair, which I find highly amusing. Leo doesn't like feeling helpless, so he hates it but I love it because I get to push him around and help him. Plus, his reactions whenever I go too fast for him are always funny.

Anyways, the doctors say he's healing nicely. "Athena are you almost ready?" Via shouted at me. "Yes, I'll be out in a second," I yelled back.

One last glance in the mirror told me that I looked good enough. Exiting the bathroom in Leo's room, I saw that Leo and Via were already ready to go. Leo was even already in his wheelchair.

"Let's hurry up," Leo grumbled. "I still don't see why we have to go to this."

I shot a glare at Leo and replied, "Because even though you may not like it, we have to."

I didn't say anything else. Neither did Leo or Via until we finally arrived at the cemetery. "Do we have to?" Leo whined again. "For the thousandth time, yes we are going and there's nothing you can do about it."

We helped Leo out of the car and over to the service.

Teddy's mom saw us and began to cry more than she already was. "I'm so sorry for everything my son did to you guys. You didn't deserve any of this. I wish I could reverse time and have stopped him from doing any of this," his mom sobbed.

I rubbed her shoulder to console her. "It's okay, really. I'm not mad anymore. Holding a grudge will only hold me back. And I am sorry for your loss. No one deserves to lose a kid, even if they have done unspeakable things. My only wish is that your son will be happy in his next life." Teddy's mom started to cry even more as I talked.

"I'm sure deep down, buried underneath all that hate and venom that he had some sort of heart. It may be buried really, really deep, but I know it's there. He was kind to me in the beginning, that just doesn't go away. I am sorry for your loss."

I walked over to Via and Leo. Teddy's funeral was starting now.

There wasn't that much people that showed up. Maybe 10 at most. Word spread of what he did and some people went as far as to send his mom death threats. That poor woman didn't deserve that. She  was completely innocent.

I wanted to come to show everyone that I'm okay and that something like this won't destroy my life.

"Are you okay?" Leo asked me.

"Yes, I will be fine. What about you? You are the one who just lost their leg."

"I'll be fine. It takes a lot more than a missing leg to destroy me," Leo responded.

I smiled down at Leo as we all held hands and watched the scene before us.

I have no idea what will happen in the future, or what it holds, but whatever it is, Leo and I will brave the storm together.

-----

AH!!!!!! THE STORY IS OVER!!!!!

I really, really, REALLY hope that you guys enjoyed this story. It may not be the best or the most popular, but thank you for reading this story. It means so much to me that people actually like my story.

I'm sad to see these characters go, but don't worry they will come back. I will be writing another story and Leo, Athena, and Via will make guest appearances.

Also, I'm sorry that my updates were so off and on. For my next story, I'm going to try and write at least 75% of it before I start publishing. I hope you guys will go check that story out. When I do start publishing that story, I will post an authors note here to let you guys know.

I will, fingers crossed, try to start posting by mid-February.

Anyways, I want to say thank you again for reading this story. I started this not thinking anybody would read it, but then you guys did. It makes me happy that people actually enjoy my story. I first started this as a way to just write stories that I thought of.

Thank you so much for reading!

See you next year!

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