trucherrygirl

Forget Me Not

Written by trucherrygirl

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Romance/Angst

Author’s Note: So I got inspired by something a friend told me the other day when she had watched an elderly friend of hers pass away. She said that the room smelled like death. Those five words were the inspiration for the following story. Inspiration also came from the song “These Words (I Love You, I Love You)” by Natasha Bedingfield. ENJOY!!

* * * * * *

The room smelled like death.

Whatever that smelled like. Whatever horrific scent stained the cream colored walls of the bedroom. Whatever possessed the soul to become detached from the once breathing, living, vibrant human being.

Now only a soul was left in his wake, wandering upward towards the gates of heaven.

The room smelled like death.

Did death really have a scent? Or did the discovery of his death just make her senses tingle with ferocity? Her senses had become acutely aware.

Something didn’t smell right. Something didn’t feel right.

And she was now alone. Left alone to deal with the repercussions of his sudden, unexpected death.

She felt something move inside of her just then. A reminder that she had to keep living. She had to move on.

An innocent little nudge. A tiny kick.

Her reminder.

The reminder that would never let her forget about the night when this unborn life had been created.

Forget me not.

She would never forget…

*******

“Do you like them?” he asked, coming up from behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

“Damien, you scared me!” she exclaimed, flinching slightly in his tender embrace. “But yes, I love them. They’re beautiful.”

The bouquet of dark crimson roses sat atop the mahogany table, glowing in the bright light of the setting sun.

“I knew you would, Jenn.” He kissed her neck softly and carefully found one of her hands, enjoying the warmth of her delicate skin.

He then turned her around to face him.

“I wanted this to be special, remember?”

The memory – distant as it may have seemed – illuminated in her mind. “When we decided we wanted to be more than just friends… our first date… you gave me a rose…”

“And what did the note attached to the rose say?” he asked.

“Forget me not.”

A smile crept across Jenn’s lips.

“I could never forget you, Damien. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

She leaned forward as Damien pressed his lips against hers. He memorized the feel of his lips grazing over her succulent pink ones. Heat augmented from inside of her as she felt her lips separate and his tongue entered her mouth, exploring all that was unknown between them.

She was so mesmerized by his scent, the feeling of his thick tongue lost in the depths of her mouth, that she barely felt him lift her off the ground.

Her body danced through the air until reality reawakened her when her back hit the mattress.

Their lovemaking escalated to a crescendo when he heard a moan of pleasure escape her lips. She let his name echo in high-pitched octaves around them. As she exhaled his name in ecstasy, she inhaled the musky aroma of his sweet cologne, the scent that was uniquely him.

When dusk had turned to dawn, they lay in-between the tangled satin sheets. Damien’s fingers wove through Jenn’s intricate maze of rich chocolate brown curls while she stayed fast asleep, perfectly content, on Damien’s chest.

He sighed.

Her body had surrendered to his gentle yet protective embrace not long before.

Even a few hours ago, right before Jenn had crept into unconsciousness, she knew there was no place she’d rather be.

No one else she’d rather be with.

Forget me not…

******

Jenn brought herself out of her Damien-induced reverie. The reality of his sudden death had hit her harder than a crashing torrent of ice water.

He was not coming back. There was no way to bring him back. Nothing anyone could do.

His death had been sudden but peaceful.

He was still so young. They both were. He was too young to die. He had so much to live for, to look forward to.

Damien had been only twenty-seven while Jenn had just turned twenty-four.

He had died in his sleep.

Stroke? Maybe.

Heart attack? Maybe.

Seizure? Maybe.

Though, at this precise moment in time, his cause of death was unknown.

She had woken up beside him when he already was no more.

He had given in unwillingly.

A silent surrender.

Tears ran down Jenn’s cheeks as she felt the baby kick once more.

“Your Daddy would only want what’s best for you and I’m going to give you that,” she whispered into the uneasy darkness that settled around her, placing a hand on her stomach. “We can get through this. I love you, baby.”

She sighed.

The air around her became still.

No sound echoing though the hallways.

No sweet taste lingering on her tongue.

Nothing else to be seen.

Forget me not…

The room smelled like death.

Author’s Note: Please review! I’d love some feedback! Thanks so much for reading!

follow the sun

Thanks for opening this thread, Lara!

I'll add it to the Board Guide, and read it as soon a I have a chance

trucherrygirl

You're welcome! I hope you like it! Can't wait for some feedback!

sweet_zelda

That was really interesting Gave me chills, to be honest.

follow the sun

Wow Lara! That was really good! I love how you repeated the phrase, it really made it powerful for me. And the flashback was well done, it strengthened the emotions of what Jenn must be experiencing. You had some interesting phrases and images, like the ice water. I really enjoyed it!

Actually, I was thinking that this could be a really interesting beginning to a mystery. You left it open as to how he died. What I was thinking was, could it be that he was murdered. Not by Jenn, but murdered by someone, in some mysterious way, and now she teams up with someone to find out how.

trucherrygirl

Thanks, Lynn! I'm glad you liked it! And I love that it gave you chills cuz that means I can really move and effect my readers in a deeply personal way. That's when I know I'm doing something right!

Jenn - Thank you! I'm a huge fan of flashbacks and dream sequences and I love putting them in my writing whenever possible. That's a really interesting point you bring up. I never thought about the story being a full blown murder mystery, but especially with Jenn's baby on the way and everything tensions could rise and the person she teams up with could be someone she could eventually fall for at some point. I don't know... I had no plans of continuing it, but that's a really interesting thought! Hmm...

follow the sun

I think you should continue it now!

trucherrygirl

Awww, really? I'm really not sure cuz I have so many other ideas in my head right now. With Valentine's Day around the corner, I need to get my friend's present done!