Love Amongst Tragedy

Story Info
Two friends deal with the sudden death of a friend.
3k words
4.5
23.8k
16

Part 1 of the 2 part series

Updated 10/03/2022
Created 07/30/2012
Share this Story

Font Size

Default Font Size

Font Spacing

Default Font Spacing

Font Face

Default Font Face

Reading Theme

Default Theme (White)
You need to Log In or Sign Up to have your customization saved in your Literotica profile.
PUBLIC BETA

Note: You can change font size, font face, and turn on dark mode by clicking the "A" icon tab in the Story Info Box.

You can temporarily switch back to a Classic Literotica® experience during our ongoing public Beta testing. Please consider leaving feedback on issues you experience or suggest improvements.

Click here

Donovan Powers watched her silently from beside a cottonwood tree. He looked on as she ran her hand slowly across the engraved name on the smooth granite gravestone. It was as if Linden Sealy couldn't believe he was gone.

Neither could Donovan.

At first, only a single tear formed in her eye, spilling over to streak down her pale cheek. After only a moment, more tears followed the first. Suddenly, the sky opened up, mixing ice cold rain with her tears. She raised her face to the harsh droplets, closing her eyes. The fresh dirt beneath her began to turn to mud, but she didn't seem to notice.

Donovan crossed the short distance to where she kneeled. "You're going to drown doing that."

Her sad, empty brown eyes opened and met his. "Would that be so bad?"

He sighed, holding his hand out for her to grab. She took his hand and allowed him to pull her up. Silently, he ushered her to the car. By the time he had gotten in the driver's seat, he was soaked and cold. She had been out in it longer than he had, but she didn't seem to be affected.

Donovan cranked up the heat, and pulled out of the cemetery. They began the hour long drive back to where Linden's family lived. He didn't know where else to take her, she obviously was not in any state to go home to her place. He certainly wouldn't want to if he were her.

"Do you want me to help you inside?" He asked when they pulled up to the small ranch house her family owned. The rain was still coming down in icy sheets.

She looked at him for a second before she answered. "No, thank you."

"I'll see you later, okay?"

Linden nodded. She angled herself out of the car and walked up the path to the house.

When he was sure she was inside, he pulled away from the curb and drove home.

*****

When Donovan got home, he stripped off his wet clothes and jumped into a steaming hot shower. The warm water felt so good, it chased the coldness the rain had left behind away.

With the water cascading down his back, he stared at the bathtub floor. He couldn't wrap his mind around the fact his friend, Jett, was gone, and he never was going to walk in the door again. He was never going to give Donovan a hard time again, when he once had drunkenly said he found Linden hot.

He was so young, he was only twenty-six. He had so much in life he wanted to accomplish, but now, it was gone. Jett had died, and even though Donovan knew he had died doing something he absolutely loved, he still could not find peace with it.

A small part of him blamed himself. Maybe if he would have yelled louder, maybe if he'd have not agreed to race down the mountain, maybe his buddy would still be there.

He stayed in until the hot water turned to lukewarm water. He turned the faucet off and stepped out, grabbing a towel.

As he was about to pick up his soaked clothes, his doorbell rang. He threw them in the tub and went to the door.

"Linden?" He sounded surprised. "Did you walk all the way here?" He yanked her inside. She was soaking wet, water dripped from the ends of her short brown hair.

"I...I...-" She stuttered and shivered. "I don't know."

"You are going to get hypothermia." He grabbed her arm and steered her towards the bathroom. At the door she hesitated. He had forgotten he was wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Get in the shower and use what's left of the hot water. I'll throw your clothes in the dryer if you throw them out here in the hall."

Donovan went to his room, changed, and rummaged through his drawers until he came up with a faded grey t-shirt and similar sweats. He knew it wouldn't fit her, but it was better than nothing.

He knocked on the bathroom door and opened it. "Here is something to wear while your clothes dry. I'll set it on the counter." He shut the door behind himself.

Half an hour later, the water still was running in the bathroom. Donovan knew it had to be ice cold by then. He didn't want to intrude, but the way she had appeared on his doorstep had him slightly worried. He lightly rapped on the bathroom door.

"Lin, are you okay?"

No answer.

He knocked again, but still no reply was heard.

Taking a deep breath, hoping he was not going to walk in on her naked, he cracked the door open.

"Linden?"

She was not out and dressed as he had hoped. He expected a scream of 'get out' or something similar, but she was oddly quiet.

"Are you okay? You didn't answer me when I knocked." He said, looking at the sink instead of the shower. She didn't answer him. Concerned, he crossed the bathroom to stand beside the shower curtain. He repeated himself, but received no acknowledgement. Steering himself to be slapped, he yanked open the curtain.

Linden was curled up in a tiny ball on the tub floor, the freezing water pelting her.

"What the hell?" He muttered as he turned the water off. He grabbed her slippery arms and pulled her to her feet. He grabbed a towel off the rung and handed it to her, trying not to look. She didn't take it from him; she just stood there shivering, staring at the floor.

At a loss for what to do, he quickly wrapped the towel around her.

"You need to get dressed. You'll get a cold standing around my place butt naked, I should know." He tried to make her smile. His joke fell flat. "That was supposed to be funny."

Her face raised, her gaze meeting his. His heart broke for her with the sadness written in her eyes. He cursed under his breath.

"Come here." He drew her out of the bathtub and into his arms. "It's okay, Sweetheart." He soothed.

Donovan held her until her shaking subsided. He scooped up the t-shirt he had placed on the counter and as quick as he could, he dropped the towel and put it on her. She didn't flinch or even seem to notice, her lifeless gaze staring ahead at the tiles on the floor.

He ushered her to the couch and covered her up with a blanket. "I'll be right back." He grabbed his cell off the table.

At a loss, he dialed his mother's number. It rang twice before she answered.

"Hey, Sweetie, is everything okay?"

"Yes, no. Oh, I don't know Mom." He ran a hand through his short brown hair. "Linden showed up here and she's like a zombie."

"The poor thing is probably in shock. It's a lot for anyone to deal with, let alone a loved one dying in front of oneself." Her voice quivered.

"What do I do?" He had been there too, but somehow he was still functioning. He wondered why that was. It was his best friend.

"Just take care of her as best as you can. If she doesn't get better in a few days, take her to a doctor. That's all you can do right now."

*****

Donovan spent the afternoon sitting in a chair staring out the window at the dull gray sky. The rain had finally dissipated, but the sky had not turned blue again. Soon, the sky darkened and night took hold.

"You can stay here tonight." He broke the silence.

"Thanks." She replied feebly. "I'm sorry about earlier."

"It's alright."

"I just-" Her voice trailed off. She didn't know what to say to him.

"It's alright, Linden. I'm not going to tell anyone that you came here, if you don't want." He assured her.

She rose from the chair and patted his arm as she walked out of the living room and down the hall to his room.

Donovan sat in the chair for a few more hours after she had gone to bed. He couldn't sleep, but he wasn't going to say that to anyone. He flipped through his phone, when he spotted a text message that caused him to catch his breath.

'Come up to the lodge in Aspen,Buttermilk has fresh powder!'

It was the last text that Jett had sent him.

Donovan shut the display to his smartphone off. He stared at the carpet, his mind seeing more than just fibers woven together.

He saw the lodge, their favorite winter spot, with its beautiful scenic mountain views. He saw the white, crisp snow that had fallen overnight. He saw the smile on his best friend's face as he pulled into the drive.

The good memories led way to harsh and cruel memories.

They had grabbed their snowboards, hopped on the snowmobile, and the trio headed up to the top of the mountain that backed the lodge. The pine and aspen trees were thick in the area, which to them made it seem more safe from avalanches that tended to plague the Colorado back-country.

Linden was to drive the snowmobile down the mountain, since the boys felt it too dangerous for a novice snowboarder. She didn't complain about her role, she liked spending time with her boyfriend, it didn't matter how.

Donovan and Jett had tightened their bindings and donned helmets and goggles at the top.

"Race you to the bottom!" Jett shouted and grinned.

"You're on!" Donovan sped off down the slope.

The boys led chase to one another as they weaved between trees and carved their way down the mountain.

Jett had taken the lead, only twenty feet ahead of Donovan. For some reason, Jett had looked back behind him to see how far ahead of Donovan he was.

Donovan yelled at him to turn around, but it was too late. He hadn't heard him in time.

Jett slammed head-first into the trunk of a large Blue Spruce pine tree, hard enough his helmet split in two. He groaned a sickening groan and collapsed back onto the snow-covered ground like a ragdoll.

"Jett!" Donovan ground his board to a stop, unsnapping the bindings to free his feet. He ran to his friend. "Oh my God, Jett answer me!"

Linden had been right behind Donovan, and saw Jett hit the tree. She jumped off the snowmobile. "Jett!" She screamed.

"Call 911!" Donovan yelled at her as he unsnapped the board from Jett's feet.

She tried to grab for Jett.

"Don't touch him, call the hospital!" He ordered, grabbing her arms forcefully to keep her from moving him. With the way he had hit the tree, moving him could only hurt him more.

"I don't have my phone!" She screamed

hysterically, tears falling down her cherry wind-blown face.

"Go down to the lodge, my phone is on the counter. Hurry!"

Linden didn't have to be told a third time, she ran back to the snowmobile that was still running and zoomed off down the mountain.

Jett's chest was barely moving up and down, but it was moving so Donovan felt some hope that he would be okay.

"Jett, can you hear me?"

No response.

"Everything will be okay, Lin's going to go get help." He assured himself more than his friend. He reached out and squeezed his friend's gloved hand with his own.

Even though it was a bright sunny day there was a chill in the air. Donovan stripped off his coat and lay it gently over his friend as an added layer of warmth.

The rescue crew came blazing out of nowhere on snowmobiles ten minutes later. They had with them a bright yellow stretcher sled pulled behind the snowmobile, and red emergency bags strapped in it.

Donovan stepped back to allow them to work on Jett. He looked on as they gently took off the shattered helmet, and placed a neck brace and oxygen on him. Despite hitting the tree, he had no open wounds to show for it. He simply was unconscious. Or so Donovan thought.

The emergency crew quickly, but carefully, lifted his lifeless frame and placed him on the stretcher sled.

"Is he going to be okay? Please tell me he's going to be okay!" A hysterical Linden appeared beside Donovan.

She grabbed his arm and had he not been wearing a sweater, she would have drawn blood. "Tell me!"

"Lin, they have to take him to the hospital to know that." Donovan told her.

She released her death grip and attacked an unsuspecting EMT. "Is he okay?" She cried.

"Ma'am, I need you to stay back. We need room to work." The man told her gruffly, brushing off her hand.

"Please tell me!" She shrieked.

"Back up."

She sucker punched the man, and had it not been under the circumstances it was, Donovan would have laughed.

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"Linden, come here." Donovan called.

She ignored him, plowing her way through the group of EMT's that surrounded Jett. Several of the men on the team yelled at her to step back, yet she ignored them.

Donovan walked to her and grabbed her from behind. She began kicking and screaming for him to let her go. He kept hold of her, dragging her fighting away from the group.

"You bastard! Let me go!" She screamed and punched at his arms. "Put me down!"

"Stop fighting me." Donovan struggled to keep his bear hug on her tight. She was smaller than he was, and it seemed she had more wiggle room.

"Let me go, please." She wailed, and stopped struggling.

He didn't trust her to stay put. He left his arms wrapped around her torso as she sobbed.

She turned and buried her face in his chest, her sobs wracking her small frame.

"I'm scared." She looked up at him with fear written in her eyes.

"Me too." He confessed.

The rescue team finished strapping Jett in carefully, and left down the hill in a hurry. The whole thing seemed to drag on forever, yet maybe was only five minutes in reality.

As Donovan half-carried Linden to the snowmobile, he told her over and over that it would be okay, that Jett was alright.

He had been wrong. So very wrong.

*****

Donovan blinked away the tears that threatened to fall. He ran a hand through his hair, and took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" Linden startled him.

He paused before he answered. "I was just thinking."

She nodded sadly, knowing exactly what he had been thinking about.

She crossed the room to where he sat, leaned over him and hugged him. It was a simple gesture, but to Donovan it was what he needed so badly.

"I miss him." He choked out.

"Me too."

He wrapped his arms around her, silently letting the tears he had held in for so long fall. He cried for his friend, a vibrant young man, who was taken so early in life. He cried for the loss of a pal, one that had been there through thick and thin with him. He cried until he couldn't cry anymore.

After he had calmed down, he began to realize just how awkward their position was. Linden was hunched over him, still hugging him as best as she could from above.

He didn't say a word; he stood up and took her hand. He pulled her to his room and pulled down the covers and crawled in bed. He didn't pressure her to join him, but she did.

They curled up next to each other, holding each other until the exhaustion combined with the small comfort of having one another caused them to drift off to sleep.

*****

Donovan was the first to wake up. He crawled out of Linden's arms, and quietly slipped out of the bedroom.

He found his phone and dialed Jett's parent's house.

"Hello?" A quiet male voice answered. Jett's father.

"Hey Mr. Landon, it's Donovan."

"Donny, how are you?" He smiled on the other end of the phone.

"I'm alright. How are you guys holding up?" He asked.

"Martha is still having a rough time." Mr. Landon sighed. "It's a rough time for us all."

Donovan could still hear in his mind Jett's mother screaming the moment the doctors told her that her son, her only child, would never wake up.

"I just wanted to call and say if you need anything, to call me." Donovan told him.

"You are a good man, Donny. Jett loved you like a brother." His voice trembled. "But, I will hold you to that, okay?"

"Yes, Sir."

They exchanged goodbyes and hung up.

*****

"You are so sweet." Linden scared him yet again.

"Geez, you keep scaring me and one of these times you'll give me a heart attack." Donovan rolled his eyes.

"Well, you are." She walked over and hugged him.

He sighed and hugged her back, enjoying the comfort it gave him.

After a few minutes, Linden pulled back and looked up at him. Her brown eyes gazed at his. She reached up and brought her hands to his face. She drew him down slightly and gently brushed her lips across his.

Donovan responded to her, his tongue snaking out to trace her bottom lip. Her warm mouth opened, allowing him to kiss her fully. He brought his hand to her cheek, gently cupping it as their lips mingled. He ran his free hand back into her hair, smoothing it away from her face.

Suddenly, his eyes went wide with shock and realization of what he had done. He shoved her away as if she had The Plague. He nearly ran out the door, slamming it against the wall hard enough it closed behind him.

Scared and unsure of himself, he jumped in the car and sped off.

To be continued...

A special thanks to CuddlyAl, DivineShadow218, and Tashia for being my "second set of eyes"!

Please rate this story
The author would appreciate your feedback.
  • COMMENTS
Anonymous
Our Comments Policy is available in the Lit FAQ
Post as:
Anonymous
9 Comments
Rugrat60Rugrat60over 10 years ago
Well Done

I liked your story as it builds up the characters so they read as if real. Allows one to get more into the story and the story flows nicely.

Rugrat60

AnonymousAnonymousover 11 years ago
GREAT!

You are my favorite author. I absolutely love you. Your max and megan story got me! I need more of M&M! This is really good too. :)

AnonymousAnonymousover 11 years ago
keep going

can't wait to see what happens next. do they or not?

Formbdy2k2011Formbdy2k2011over 11 years ago
Keep it up

Great story. Great character development. Can't wait for the rest of the story.

catman71catman71over 11 years ago
great start

enough info to keep interest, the obvious grief and self recrimination , and also the uncomfortable possibilities that are life

Show More
Share this Story

READ MORE OF THIS SERIES

Similar Stories

Walking Wet Dream An ordinary girl falls for an extraordinary soldier.in Romance
Charity Begins Next Door Life isn't fair. So when you fight back, fight dirty.in Romance
Aiding and Abetting The good guys don't always finish last.in Romance
Irish Eyes His love was betrayed, what next.in Romance
Hero's Reward One brave deed holds the key to unlocking a scarred heart.in Romance
More Stories