Thank you guys for the reviews!
After such a long wait, here is the last chapter! It's kinda short, but you'll find that the feels are just as bad...

(I hope you have tissues)~

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Part Three

"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live."

Norman Cousins

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The days after that seemed to fly by but every minute went by at a snail's pace.

At one point during my wait for the end, an officer asked me if I wanted death by lethal injection or electrocution. I guess South Carolina wanted to be "humane" and give prisoners a choice.

What to choose? The pain I deserved or the out I was weak enough to consider?

I don't remember answering but I must have, because one week later, I was moved to the Broad River Correctional Institution to die by poison.

I supposed that it was good that my brain wouldn't be cooked, even as I hated myself for wanting to die easily.

It was kind of ironic, I mused, that my death would be more painless than my life.

By the time an officer bound me to the gurney where I would die, I was shaking so much that he had to ask me to hold still. It was clear that the officer just wanted to get the ordeal over with and get me out of his sight. He reminded me of Father.

I became aware of a wetness on my cheeks and realized that I was crying.

Too shaky to care and beginning to hyperventilate, I tried not to focus on the heart monitors and needles I was being hooked up to. I began scanning my surroundings as if there was a way to escape, red eyes darting around.

From my place on the gurney, I could see that I had been placed behind some sort of curtain. I turned to see the saline solution being pumped into my veins, but a movement caught my eye and I flinched.

The curtain was being raised to reveal me to the small audience gathered in an adjacent room to watch my death.

It hurt to see how apathetic and calm everyone looked. The thought that no one cared about me surfaced in my mind, but I countered it.

Of course no one cares about you. You're a heartless murderer.

I deserved this, right? I killed my own father.

How could I want someone to care about me when I wasn't even sure if I thought I should live?

I took a shaky breath as I realized I was lying to myself. I was sure about what my fate should be.

I knew that I should die. It was a good thing that others believed that too, so I would be stopped before I hurt anyone else.

The faces of Francis and Antonio swam in front of me. Their expressions were that of utter betrayal.

Dimly I realized that my tears had picked up pace.

I went back to scanning the crowd, and a blond teenager made me pause.

His face was serious.

He looked slightly younger than me.

Did I recognize him?

He didn't go to my school…

"Sir, we're going to give you an anesthetic now. You will lose consciousness before we administer pancuronium bromide and then finally potassium chloride."

I didn't listen to the officer speaking, too busy on staring at the boy.

Oh no.

No.

NoNoNoNoNoNoNo

I recognized him.

My breathing picked up pace. Black spots danced in front of my vision. I blinked rapidly and shuddered.

But could it be?

Ludwig.

My heart stopped, and I had to choke back vomit. Tears blurred my vision as panic took over. I felt confused and terrified and devastated.

My little brother. My little brother, who I hadn't seen in years. My little brother, about to watch me die.

"Ludwig!" I cried hoarsely. My voice was scratchy and abused, but I was too focused on the boy I used to keep safe. I remembered hugging him tightly in the dark closet, the yells of our parents surrounding us. I wondered if he could even remember that. I wondered if he knew he was the only reason I hadn't completely given up hope. "Ludwig!"

My brother jerked, a frightened look entering his eyes. God, I had missed him so much.

"I'm so sorry, Luddy!" I cried, the anesthetic entering my bloodstream and making me begin to lose consciousness.

Right before my vision went dark, his expression morphed.

Ludwig glared at me.

His eyes were filled with such malice that the last vestiges of light in my heart were swallowed by darkness. I wished I could explain the whole thing to him, to apologize again, but I knew nothing could make it better.

My eyes had become heavy.

The whole mess was my fault, I knew. It made sense that Ludwig hated me. I was such a monster.

But what I didn't know about was Ludwig's pure sadness lurking right under his helpless anger. I didn't know he was fighting back tears. I didn't know he missed me as much as I missed him.

I didn't know he loved me.

I didn't know, and the hate in his eyes tore me apart.

All I could manage was a whispered, "I'm sorry."

I died with the words still on my lips.

I supposed that Ludwig was relieved I was dead.

I sure was.
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The End

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…If you enjoy reading fics with horrible Germany whump like this one, make sure to check out my story Insanity that centers around World War ii…