In The Wake Of A Tragedy

[SkyBlueFeeling]

Story Title: In The Wake Of A Tragedy

Type of story: long fic/ short fic

Main Characters: Mattie, Tony and Kit + others.

BTTB rating: T

Genre: Drama

Does story include spoilers: No

Any warnings: V/D

Summary: How the residents of Summer Bay deal with the death of a loved one - Beth Hunter. Focuses mainly on her family, especially Matilda, Tony and Kit.

In the Wake of a Tragedy

In the wake of a tragedy

A young soul cries

In the wake of a tragedy

A community dies

Matilda Hunter sat patiently on the living room couch, gently moving her finger around in a circular motion on the pale material. She could hear her own jagged breath reverberate in her ears. The sound was so strong it sounded inhuman, almost animal like. She felt she had just competed in the most challenging race of her life. In a way, she had. But this race was anything from over. In fact, it was merely just beginning.

Tony Holden sat isolated at the diner right by the seaside. It was one of the most popular locations for the residents of small-town Summer Bay; therefore making him wonder why on earth he chose this place to gather his thoughts. He looked into his large white mug, which was now home to stale cold coffee. In it, he could see a tiny shimmer of his own reflection; his swollen eyes, his blotchy cheeks, his downhearted smile, which constantly had to act as a façade to how he was really feeling. Was there really any point in him even pretending to try to be all right? He didn’t think so, but that didn’t stop him doing it. He despised the sympathy, therefore realising that if he put up a false image, people would be reluctant to treat him any differently.

Kit Hunter sat in her bedroom, her newly born son, Archie, lying peacefully asleep in her arms. She looked at his eyelids, closed ever so gently, and wondered if he was dreaming. His diminutive hands were aimlessly placed on his tiny blue jacket, now and again moving an inch or so. Kit felt her insides warm with affection every time he took a breath. She couldn’t help that tiny trickle of tears that came to her eyes, as she felt the love for her son overpower her emotions, the way her own mother’s did when she had just been born.

Most of the other Summer Bay residents had gathered round at Sally Fletcher’s house. Everybody in the area looked up to Sally; she had lived in Summer Bay for most of her life, and was well respected by almost everybody. When a tragedy happened, she was the person that everybody turned to.

“I just can’t believe it,” Dr. Rachel Armstrong announced, aghast at the news that the entire town had just been informed of.

“Me neither,” Kim Hyde, Rachel’s husband, replied. “I mean, it was Beth. She…,” he stopped, not sure of what he was trying to say.

That summed up the entire situation, really. None of the residents were sure of what to do or say. What can be said or done, when a loved member of the community is cruelly killed in circumstances that nobody was expecting?

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Hi everybody. This is my first fanfiction posted here at BTTB. I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know what you guys think.

[Liska]

Loved that first chapter! Great writing! Keep it coming!

[Traceve]

Beautifuly written. Please update soonish, I cant wait to see how this plays out.

[SkyBlueFeeling]

Thanks so much!

I'll update tomorrow after school.

[heidikri]

Brilliant written, It was sad, but very good.

[lou18]

Really well written, well done!

[SkyBlueFeeling]

(Just as a warning before I post this, there is one swear word used in this chapter. It's ****'ed out though. )

Chapter One

Cassie Turner knocked on the mahogany wooden door of the Hunter/Holden residence. Matilda, knocked out of her thoughts by the loud noise, jumped a little and looked around at the lifeless living room, as if she expected somebody else to answer. Three more fast-paced knocks came, but Matilda decided to ignore them.

Cassie, becoming slightly frustrated, tried the handle of the door, surprise enveloping her when it actually opened. Matilda whipped round, her long golden blonde hair following her, to face the person who dared interrupt her thoughts.

“Mattie,” Cassie said, emptiness seeping through her as she realised she had no idea what she was supposed to say to her best friend.

“Oh, hi Cas,” Matilda replied, “What are you doing here?”

Cassie sighed, “I came to see you. How are you? Okay that’s a stupid question, but, well, I had to come.”

Matilda breathed out deeply, “No you didn’t. Really, I’d prefer to just be left alone for now.”

Cassie walked over and sat beside her friend, taking one of the red pillows behind her and placing it on her own knee.

“Mattie, if there is one thing I learned from Flynn’s death, it’s that it’s not a good idea to be alone at a time like this.” Cassie hoped in vain that her best friend would let her in. Even if it was just for a second, she just wanted her to know that she didn’t have to face this alone, that Cassie knew exactly how she felt.

“I don’t care,” Matilda replied, nonchalantly. “Look, Cassie, I know you’re here because you care. But, but I can’t be around anybody right now. Not you, not Ric, not even Kit or Tony.” She paused for a moment and then continued, “And I’d really appreciate it if you could respect my wishes.” With that, Matilda got up off the couch, roughly scraped her long hair behind her ears, and walked away to her bedroom. Cassie, not knowing what to do, just placed the pillow back on the couch and walked out the front door.

Tony was sitting in the exact same position that he had been for the last fifty minutes. He was blissfully unaware of the constant eyes watching over him, as if he was a monkey at the zoo, expected to do a trick. Unwanted thoughts invaded his mind, yet he didn’t try to force them out. In a way they comforted him, as they were all about his beloved Beth, who he had been forcefully departed from far too soon. Although, these thoughts were not of the happy couple he had been a part of, instead they were of the image he had witnessed only a few hours earlier at the now infamous crash scene. An arm. An arm was the only part of Beth he had seen as her body was wheeled away. An arm was the last memory he had of her. Oh how ****ing romantic, he thought, angrily.

Colleen Smart had been standing behind the counter of the diner anxiously watching Tony for a full ten minutes at least. It took all the strength she could muster just to not go over and offer him a free muffin. Irene Roberts, a fellow worker at the diner, had previously warned her of doing so, saying that it’s best if everybody left Tony alone. Although she, herself, had wondered why he had chosen to come here if he really did want to be alone. Maybe some company wouldn’t be so bad? She got her answer when Cassie came through the doors and immediately headed over to Tony.

“Hey, Tony,” Cassie said warily, not sure if talking to him right now was such a good idea.

Tony didn’t answer. He was intensely focused on his thumbnail, it seemed, but really his thoughts were just so entrancing that he seemed to block all other sounds around him out.

“Tony,” Cassie repeated, more firmly this time. He blinked, and looked up in her direction.

“Oh, Cassie, sorry. I didn’t hear you.”

“It’s okay,” Cassie smiled, “I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

“Uh, all right,” he replied, hastily, looking down at his watch. “Oh gosh, it’s five-thirty already, sorry, I better go.” And with that Tony got up and quickly rushed past all the staring eyes, out of the diner. Cassie was once again left alone.

[heidikri]

Great chapter, Cassie trys so hard to help them.

[SkyBlueFeeling]

Thank you.

[Traceve]

Aww, its good to see Cassie caring so much, bless her.

Hope there is more soon.