True Love Never Dies (Read 4,195 times)

[christianmt]

TRUE LOVE NEVER DIES
CHAPTER ONE

Just a little story I started because I have always been a fan of the Bo-Hope storyline. If you like, I will happily continue on Monday evenings. I own none of these characters, or the show. I write strictly for fun.

How had it come to this?

In the span of only twenty-four hours, Hope Brady had been reunited with the love of her life, Bo, only to lose him again to a cruel brain tumor. Her heart was broken as she stood in front of his casket, and she silently wondered how she would ever go on. How her kids would make it without their father.

As she placed a single red rose on top of the casket, the tears fell again…but they were interrupted by a gentle breeze. It felt like a kiss against her skin.

She felt something touch her hand, and her head raised. Don’t give up, came the voice only she could hear. I’m not dead, Don’t stop looking for me.

Hope’s thoughts were a whirlwind as she gazed around at all the other mourners who had started to walk out of the cemetery. Had anyone else heard that? she wondered. Or was it simply the wishes of a grieving widow who only wanted to keep the love of her life with her forever?

Her teenage daughter, Ciara, and her grown son, Shawn, approached her. “Mom, it’s time to go,” Shawn said gently as he placed an arm around her mother’s quivering shoulders. “You need to eat something.”

“I’m fine,” Hope insisted. “You kids go on to the pub. I’ll be there shortly.”

“But, Mom—“ Shawn protested.

“Please,” Hope said meaningfully. “I need to be alone for a little while first.”

Shawn sighed as he realized this was one argument with his headstrong mother he could not win. When Hope got something settled in her mind, it was practically impossible to sway it. “Come on, Ciara,” he said to his little sister. “Let’s go.”

The saddened siblings walked away as Hope stared after them. She could feel their grief. She wanted to badly to comfort them, but she felt helpless. Just as she had lost her one true love, her children had lost a loving father who adored them. This was certainly not going to be an easy loss to overcome.

If they ever were able to overcome it at all.

Hope wearily walked to the park and sat on a bench for the longest time and stared at the newly-planted tree that she and Bo had put down just a few days earlier. The tree was still helpless, hadn’t taken root yet; therefore, it would need to be nurtured until it could eventually thrive. Bo had given it to Hope as a symbol of new beginnings…but the beginning had already ended.

“Oh, Brady,” she moaned as the tears flowed again, “why did you have to leave me? Why would you give me a tree when you knew you wouldn’t be around to help me take care of it? I just don’t understand! I’m not that strong!”

“Yes, you are,” came a voice. “You’re the strongest person I know.”

Hope nearly jumped as she saw a familiar figure had come up beside her bench. “Steve,” she gasped, “what are you doing here?”

“I was worried about you,” her husband’s longtime best friend said gently, his face worn from grief and sadness.

Hope stood up. “You shouldn’t be,” she said with a calmness she didn’t feel. “I’m fine.”

“Are you?” He eyed her skeptically.

She never could pretend in front of the street-smart Steve. “No,” she admitted wearily as she ran a hand through her hair. “Steve, how am I going to make it without him? I miss him so much!”

He stepped over to envelope her in a soothing hug. “I know you do. I do, too.”

As they shared the embrace, Hope whispered, “I don’t think he’s dead.”

Steve smiled wistfully. “That’s because you’re in denial. It’s natural to feel that way.”

Hope pulled back. “I’m not in denial! I can’t explain it, but…but I just feel he needs me to find him and bring him home. Like he’s telling me to.”

Steve shook his head. “No, Hope!” he said firmly. “You know Bo’s not alive…you saw his body! He died in your arms. You have to face this!”

He watched as remnants of the determined, stubborn Hope came to life. Her brown eyes flashed as she said, “If you won’t help me, I’ll figure it out myself, but I can’t let this go. I won’t!”

Before Steve could answer, Kayla rushed into the park. Her blue eyes were filled with worry. “My mom’s sick,” she said. “They’re taking her to the hospital—she says she has to talk to you, Hope, now. About Bo! She says it’s urgent!”

[heroicmuse]

Welcome christianmt! I enjoyed this first chapter. You really have the dynamic between Hope and Steve down.

Looking forward to seeing more.

[Kpatch]

Welcome christianmt. Great start to the story. I liked how you described the characters so that even people not familiar with the show could pick it up.

I am very curious to see if Bo is somehow alive.

Looking forward to more. Mondays work for me.

[fluffysmom]

Welcome christianmt! This is a great beginning to your story. I'm looking forward to reading more.

[doolfan4life]

I love this
It's well written and I am so happy it's a bo and hope story
I hate Aiden
Very well written and in am interested to see where you go with this

[christianmt]

CHAPTER TWO

As Hope rode to the hospital with Steve and Kayla, Kayla explained what had happened to Carolyn. “Roman said they were on their way to the pub when Mom said she felt very weak and faint. I think it’s just the stress of losing Bo, but Roman took her to the hospital as a precaution.”

Hope’s heart felt heavy for Carolyn Brady, the elderly lady who had just buried her youngest child after years of not knowing where he was. When Bo had returned to Salem, it was as if Carolyn had received a new lease on life. She was looking forward to making up for lost time. The stress of all the “what if’s and maybe’s” had to be weighing heavily on her mind.

At the hospital, the worried trio found Carolyn’s oldest son, Roman, pacing silently. “Roman?” Kayla demanded anxiously as she approached him. “How’s Mom?”

“They’re running some tests,” Roman explained. “All the stress of this is too much for her…I think she should move in with me. I know she’s stubborn and independent, but this time, I think she’ll have to listen to reason.”

“Good luck with that,” Kayla said with a sigh.

A half dozen cups of coffee later, the worried family finally got the news they had been waiting for: Carolyn would be ok; as Kayla had predicted, the stress Carolyn had been under had likely caused her dizzy spell and weakness. She was going to be admitted overnight for observation, but her condition didn’t appear to be overly dangerous.

“I need to speak to her,” Hope said.

“We’ll wait for you, then take you home,” Steve offered.

“No, that’s all right,” Hope insisted. “I’ll call a cab.”

“Are you sure?” Kayla asked.

“Yes. It may be a while.”

“All right.” Kayla wrapped her former sister-in-law in a close hug. “Call us if you need anything, ok? We’ll be right over.”

“Thanks. You guys are wonderful.”

Once the couple had left, Hope called Shawn and asked him to take Ciara home and wait with her until Hope got there. “I’m not going home right away,” Shawn told her. “I’ll stay in Salem just as long as you need me to. You don’t have to worry about anything. In fact, I’m sorry that I wasn’t here all this time you needed me. I really am sorry, Mom.”

“Honey, there is no need to apologize for anything,” Hope assured him. “Your dad was very proud of you, and so am I. You provide for your family, and you put them first. No one could ever ask for more from you.”

She could hear her son sigh heavily. “Thanks, Mom. Knowing you feel that way still doesn’t make me feel any less guilty, though.”
“I know,” Hope said quietly. “I have a lot of guilt myself. I actually thought he had left me, that’s why I married someone else. Why would I think that?? Bo was always completely devoted to me. There’s no way he would have just left me. He loved me too much. I was everything to him—his family was everything to him. All he thought about was us. He never gave a thought to his own needs.” She felt her eyes beginning to moisten yet again, and she added, “I need to go now, ok? Just look after Ciara for me.”

“I will.”

“Thank you. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Hope slipped her cell phone inside her purse, then went down to see Bo’s mother. Carolyn had finally been admitted to a room, and she looked exhausted. Hope lounged in the doorway for a few moments, wondering what she could possibly say. After several minutes, Carolyn finally opened her eyes and smiled briefly at Hope. “Hope…come in. I need to see you.”

Hope approached the bed, then asked, “Can I get you anything?”

“Yeah. My son,” Carolyn said wearily as she rested her head against the pillow.

Hope frowned. “I don’t mean to sound rude, but that’s really not very funny.”

Carolyn sighed. “It wasn’t meant to be funny. Hope…I don’t want you to think I’m crazy, but…”

“But what?” Hope demanded. She clasped the older woman’s hand as she softened her voice. “You can tell me. I won’t make fun of you, and I don’t think you’re crazy.”

Carolyn looked into her eyes as she confided solemnly, “I had another vision…I don’t believe Bo is dead.”

She expected to see disbelief in Hope’s eyes, but the younger woman surprised her by whispering, “I don’t believe so, either.”

A long pause passed between them before Hope asked, “What did you see?”

“He’s cold and hungry…and he’s trapped…I feel it with every fiber of my being that he needs us! You have to find him, Hope! Before it’s too late! He doesn’t have much time.”

Hope looked at her fearfully. “How much time does he have?”

“Less than twenty-four hours,” Carolyn whispered fearfully. “He’s been buried alive!”

[doolfan4life]

I really like the emotion between hope Steve and Kayla
It really captures the relationship between them
I like the usage of Roman as well

[christianmt]

Thank you...I like to focus on one family, bringing everybody together, and not keeping people isolated from each other. In tough times, family sticks together, right?

[fluffysmom]

I liked seeing Carolyn's surprise that Hope doesn't think she's crazy.

[christianmt]

Thank you...I'm going to start checking out all the other stuff here so I can go some commenting as well! This is really motivating me, so hopefully I can do the same for others.

[heroicmuse]

Oh wow! What a great cliffhanger! I really enjoyed the interactions in this chapter, especially Hope and Caroline.

[christianmt]

I love a good cliffhanger...I love to have people sitting on the edge of their seats until the very last page! Thank you so much, it's been fun to write again!

[Kpatch]

OMG, that just made me think of the time Vivian buried Carly alive. Sounds like someone made it appear as if Bo died when he didn't. I hope Hope has a good shovel.

[christianmt]

LOL, I guess we'll find out!

[christianmt]

Author’s Note: This chapter is a little farfetched, but I assure you, it will make more sense as time goes on.

CHAPTER THREE

“Buried alive?” Hope gasped in horror. “That can’t be true…I mean, I held him in my arms forever, and there was no life in him. This doesn’t make any sense at all!”

“You think I don’t know that?” Carolyn replied in frustration. “But look where you are; how many things have happened over the years that didn’t make sense? Bo has had more life and death situations than anyone, and somehow, I can’t see him just closing his eyes and dying. If I believe he’s alive and he needs our help—then it must be so.”

Hope closed her eyes, then reopened them as her mind tried desperately to process this information…Bo was buried alive?? If so, how had it happened? Then an agonizing reality sank it…

“I’ve got to get to the cemetery!” she shouted.

“You can’t do it alone,” Carolyn pointed out, but Hope had already run out the door.


A long silence had filled the car as Kayla and Steve left the hospital and headed for home. Neither one knew exactly what to say to comfort the other, for they had both lost someone they cared for deeply: Kayla had lost her little brother and Steve, his absolute best friend in the world. Bo was the person who had brought them together in the first place. It seemed he would always be there. He was like a rock, an icon of sorts.

Finally, Kayla asked a question that seemed so simple, but yet, it wasn’t. “What are we going to do?”

He looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, how are we going to get through this?” Kayla asked. “It’s like a piece of my heart has been ripped out from inside of me. I don’t see how things are ever going to be the same again.”

Steve reached out and used his free hand, the one that wasn’t on the steering wheel, to grab hers. “They won’t, Baby,” he said gently. “We both know that. We can’t just give up; we have kids and lives. And Bo wouldn’t want us to stop living because he’s no longer here. He would want—“ His voice broke off as a sob tore from his throat. “He would want us to love others as he did. He was always doing something for someone else. That’s the way I want to be.”

“But you already are,” Kayla said gently, touched by the sight of his tears. He was a good man with a tender heart. It was easy to see why he and Bo had been such great friends. Both could be the kindest and most gentle men in the world—until someone messed with their families, then neither would hesitate to do what had to be done. No matter the outcome. “Bo was blessed to have you in his life—and so am I.”

She saw the pride in his eyes as he gently kissed her hand. ‘You’re really something, you know that?”

Before Kayla could answer, Steve’s cell phone interrupted her. He grabbed the phone, then said simply, “Yeah?”

He looked at Kayla with concerned eyes, and Kayla instinctively grabbed his arm; she didn’t like that look. She had seen it far too many times.

“Hope?” he demanded. “What’s wrong? Calm down, I can’t understand you…you want us to meet you where??”

Kayla grew more and more puzzled as the call went on. Finally, Steve threw the phone down in frustration, then said anxiously, “Hope wants us to meet her at the cemetery, but she wouldn’t tell me why.”

The concerned duo had no choice but to rush to the cemetery. When they got there, they found a troubling scene: Hope frantically using a shovel to unearth Bo’s freshly-planted grave. Steve raced to her and pulled her into his arms as she shouted, “Hope, what in god’s name are you doing? Have you completely lost your mind?”

“Let me go!” she screamed at him. “I have to dig this up, and you have to help me!” She struggled in his arms as he struggled to keep her close, fearful she would someone harm herself. She certainly wasn’t acting rationally.

“You wanna tell me what’s going on?” he demanded. “I can’t help you if you don’t.”

“Bo’s alive,” Hope snapped. Kayla’s hand instantly flew to her mouth in shock.

“Oh, geez,” Steve groaned. “Hope, we’ve been over this—“

“Carolyn saw it, too,” Hope insisted. “She said Bo was buried alive and we have less than 24 hours to find him. You know her visions have never been wrong. If you don’t help me find him—“

Slowly, Steve released her. “That’s your best friend,” Hope went on, her chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath. “If there’s even a chance he’s alive, you’d want to find him. You know it.”

Steve still wasn’t sure Hope was all there emotionally; nevertheless, he had to try and help her. She was right; he had never known Carolyn’s visions to be wrong before. “I brought an extra shovel,” Hope went on. “Are you going to help me or not? If not…just stay out of my way.”

Without another word, Steve grabbed the shovel began digging up the grave while Kayla kept watch to make sure no one interrupted them. She could picture the headlines in the newspaper: GRIEVING WOMAN GETS ARRESTED FOR DIGGING UP HER LATE FINANCEE’S GRAVE. With all the things Bo and Hope had done together over the years, it wasn’t really that hard to believe. Bo had lived to get Hope out of trouble.

For the next hour, the two exhausted people dug up the grave while Kayla held flashlights over them so they could see what they were doing. Finally, they reached the top of the casket. Hope held her breath as Steve demanded, “Are you sure this is what you want to do?”

“Yes…open it,” Hope insisted.

She squeezed her eyes as Steve slowly opened the box. Two seconds later, she heard him gasp, “It can’t be…it just can’t be.”

Fearfully, Hope reopened her eyes and shock filled them what she saw what Steve saw.

The casket was empty. Bo was not there.