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."
*****
