Grief, Lust, and Consequences Ch. 01

This story probably won’t be for everyone. I personally had a difficult time with it and struggled over it for many months. Fair warning, it will be a long and slow burn compared to other works. I’ve got a lot more material for this particular story, but wanted to start with this. If there’s interest I will continue on to the second chapter. I’m pleased it’s finally finished and I hope you enjoy the finished product!

Cheers!

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Katy braced herself in the backseat of her brother’s truck as he piloted up a very bumpy mountain road in the middle of winter. The sun had dipped below the horizon and the only remaining illumination beyond the headlights of the vehicle was the eerie blue glow of the snow reflecting the last light of day. She planted one hand on the door and the other on the driver’s seat in front of her as she dared to peer out the window toward the steep embankment that lined the mountain pass. She had been on this road before and knew to expect a bumpy ride, but this time was different.

Katy, her brother Jeff, and his wife Bethany were making their way to their father’s mountain lake cabin. To call it merely a cabin might lead someone to believe that it was some rough, spartan getaway in the middle of the wilderness, but her brother and her father had spent many years building it up into a very cozy place to spend downtime. The cabin itself was a classic timber frame structure but has been renovated to include a hot tub on the back porch, a home theater room, and a more nicely appointed kitchen then what you would typically find in a family home. The family had spent several Christmas seasons in the place as well as some summer getaways. The cabin held some very fond and poignant memories for both siblings. This particular trip was very different because it would be their first visit without their father

Katy’s brother had planned this getaway as an opportunity to spend time with his sister over the winter break after the tragic passing of their father. Just four months prior, the siblings had lost their dad to a traffic accident on his way back home from dropping off Katy for her first term at university. Katy had taken it especially hard. That is not to say that the tragedy didn’t have a big impact on her brother, but Katy was much younger than her brother and the fact that the accident occurred during the trip to take her to her classes weighed heavily on her. In the following months, Jeff had made every effort to be supportive and caring of his little sister, often having her over to spend nights reminiscing and crying at his flat when she didn’t want to be in their family home alone. He also arranged frequent dinners and outings to shop or go to the cinema to try and take her mind off things. In reality, he had been Katy’s emotional rock for as long as she could remember.

Jeff was twenty-six years old to Katy’s eighteen, and had always been a protective and caring older brother. When Katy was still a young child, their mother abandoned the family to run off with her affair partner and neither of the siblings had any contact with her for years. Katy was too young to remember or understand many of the details of the ordeal but Jeff remembered it all too well. Their father, understandably, took some time to emotionally recover and Jeff stepped more into the role of co-guardian for his little sister. As she got older, his role organically transformed into something more akin to friend and confidant. As a result, the pair grew very close and tight-knit by the time Katy had grown into a young woman. She always knew she could count on her big brother to be a judgment-free sounding board, a well of honest advice, and a dependable source of help in any situation.

The pair’s father had made sure that his affairs were taken care of in the way of arrangements and insurance should something happen to him. This resulted in Katy finding herself the sole inhabitant of their family home when not at university. She was in quite a unique situation as an eighteen-year-old living in a home with no debt, but her advantage was little consolation to her in light of her loss. For this reason she often found herself staying on the sofa at her brother’s flat when the solitude in their home full of memories proved to be too much for her. She found it easier to keep composed by staying at the university dorms than at home by herself. Jeff was not unaware of what she was going through which is why he had arranged for them to spend a winter weekend together at the cabin.

Katy could hear the sound of Jeff’s truck crossing the small wooden bridge over a stream that fed into the mountain lake, though her view was obstructed by the pile of luggage. She knew this meant they were getting close to the conclusion of their two-hour drive, but she also knew there was a large bump just after the bridge and braced herself again in the cramped quarters. There would have been plenty of room in the cab had the balance of the rear bench seat not been piled full of luggage. She planted one hand on the back of the driver’s seat behind Jeff, and the other kept the tower of luggage from toppling into her lap when the truck climbed over the bump on the trail.

“I don’t remember this drive being so brutal when dad was taking us!” she said, half in jest toward her older brother.

She had meant it as a joke, but as soon as the words left her mouth she realised how it could have come across to her brother who was also grieving. Before Jeff could respond, she reached her hand over the seat and placed it on his shoulder to reassure him that she meant nothing by it. Jeff patted his hand over hers and leaned his head against it momentarily before returning his focus on the road ahead.

The siblings were no strangers to physical affection in the form of hugs and even the occasional cuddling. After all, their upbringing had forced them to be closer than the average brother and sister. Katy did, however, spy Bethany shooting a less than sympathetic look toward her husband when he leaned his head against Katy’s hand. She had noticed similar looks when she had spent nights at their flat and leaned against her brother for comfort. Katy scoffed at the notion that Bethany should feel any certain way about their touching, especially considering the ordeal that she and her brother had just been through. In the tumultuous months since her father’s passing, Katy had found herself becoming increasingly annoyed at her sister-in-law’s cross looks.

Shortly after crossing the frozen stream, they had finally arrived at their destination. Katy slipped her mittens over her hands before extricating herself from the back seat and tumbling out into the winter landscape. Jeff had exited before her and was taking in the scenery. There was an allure to the scene of the cabin at the edge of the woods leading up the lake in the winter time that could not be matched, especially as the last of the sunlight dimmed to a glow over the peaks just above them. Katy could tell by the way Jeff had stopped and silently stared toward the lake that he was awash with memories of being there with her father. She walked up behind him, slipped her arm around his waist and hugged him from the side.

“It will be okay,” she said softly, her breath turning to steam in the dry, frigid air.

Jeff leaned his tall frame against her and returned her embrace. “I should be the one telling you that” he said somberly before cracking a grin at his little sister. His gaze returned from far off visions of the past and met hers as she looked up at him. “I’m glad we’re here though.”

The emotional moment between the two was interrupted by the shrill call of Bethany back at the truck.

“It’s freezing! Let’s get the luggage inside and make a fire!”

Jeff released Katy and trudged back toward the truck through the snow as Katy rolled her eyes toward the lake before following him.

Katy’s annoyance with her sister-in-law only increased as she watched her brother, laden with Bethany’s luggage, walk through the snow while Bethany herself carried only a purse and immediately entered the cabin and disappeared into the living room leaving him to handle their combined packed belongings.

“Let me help you…” Katy started reaching for a couple of the bags slung over her brother’s back. “She’s obviously got no intention of helping,” she added with a low sneer.

Jeff looked down at Katy with a thankful look but muttered out a response of, “Play nice, now.”

To say that Katy had always held a level of disdain for Bethany would be an overstatement, but in her honest thoughts, she believed her brother could have done much better. When Jeff and Bethany started dating, the two girls got along just fine. Katy was not yet a teenager at the time and looked at Bethany like the big sister she never had. The first time Katy could remember feeling any less than friendly feelings from her sister-in-law was at her brother’s wedding when she, as a bubbly teen girl, dragged her older brother onto the dance floor during the reception. That was the first of the leering looks she would spot from Bethany, but after the passing of the siblings’ father they were becoming more frequent as Katy and Jeff spent more time together.

Katy helped her brother haul in the rest of the luggage and set it in the house and tried to hide her disgusted look when she found Bethany seated on the sofa going through her phone while the siblings carried everything in from the outdoors.

“You want to start the fire, hun?” Bethany said without raising her eyes.

Jeff dropped the bags at the entryway and kicked off the snow from his boots on the mat before looking up and catching Katy’s gaze. Katy could almost make out the exasperation that he was trying to hide behind his eyes.

Katy shot an annoyed glare at him before mocking Bethany out of her earshot, “Yeah hun, can you please start the fire??”