Hardy Boys Fan Fiction at the HDA - Lie To Me

A/N: It was pointed out to me that in the Casefiles it mentions that, because there were no actual remains to bury when Iola died, there is only a nameplate inside the Morton mausoleum instead of an actual grave site. However, seeing as my world is a little A/U I’m taking a few creative liberties.

Chapter Fifteen: Goodbye My Lover…

Saturday, June 19, 5:30am

The last of the rain dripped noiselessly from the trees, the crimson rays of the rising sun chasing the storm clouds from the night sky. The light played through the leaves and cast growing shadows across the figure that sat on the ground beneath them.

He had sat there for a couple hours, ever since the nightmares had banished any thought of sleep. Through the storm and rain, oblivious to everything else around him except for the small plaque adorning the green grass above the pile of freshly turned soil. In his hands a small velvet box was held tenderly, moving absently between his fingers.

As the first rays of sunlight touched the headstone next to where he sat, Frank’s eyes finally shifted to the name engraved on the stone. Meticulously cared for, Iola Morton’s grave sat appropriately next to where Callie Shaw had been buried.

The Morton family had insisted Mr Shaw accept the site to bury his daughter. The girls had been best friends in life, inseparable, until Iola’s death a year ago. Now, they would be inseparable for eternity.

Always loving: Always loved.

The epitaph on Iola’s headstone brought the tears rushing to the surface again. He fought furiously to blink them away but they mingled unbidden with the remains of the rain on his face. Frank’s fist clenched around the box in his hand and he squeezed his eyes shut.

Then there was a hand on his shoulder, startling him enough to make him jump slightly. He looked up, expecting his father or brother, but was surprised by the face of someone else.

“Been here long?” Bradly Shaw asked as he lowered himself to sit on the ground next to the boy.

Frank quickly wiped at the moisture on his face and pocketed the box into the folds of his drenched jacket. “I just… I couldn’t sleep.”

Mr Shaw breathed deep, following Frank’s gaze as it once again fell onto the ground in front of them. “Me neither,” the older man admitted.

The two sat in poignant silence, but it was Bradly who broke the moment with a soft chuckle. “I remember the night Callie met you. You were soaking wet and covered in mud then too, if I recall correctly.”

A small smile touched the corner of Frank’s lips as he remembered that night. “I thought she was nuts, coming out into the rain like that.”

“She didn’t always do the wise thing,” Mr Shaw continued, “especially where you were concerned. I think she fell in love with you the very first moment she saw you.”

Frank’s head lowered to his chest, a lump stealing his voice, and without conscious thought his fingers sought the box in his pocket. Before he realized it, he was holding it in his palm again. He cleared his throat and held the tiny box out for the other man. “I know I did...”

Bradly looked at the object and took it gently from Frank’s hand. He opened it slowly, smiling warmly at the slender ring that lay within. The white gold shimmered in the morning sun, the white opal stone set in the center surrounded by a dozen small diamond-like stones. On one side of the ring the Bayport High School emblem and on the other was a graduation cap and year.

With a trembling hand, the father lifted the ring from its place in the box and spied engraving on the inside. “Always and forever…”

“I was going to give it to her during the prom,” Frank’s voice cracked as he spoke. “I wasn’t going to propose to her, we weren’t ready for that. But I wanted her to know that maybe someday…”

“She knew,” Mr Shaw reverently put the ring back in the box and handed it to Frank.

Taking a shuddering breath, Frank looked to the man. “Mr Shaw, I am so sorry! If I-”

“Don’t you dare, Frank Hardy!” Mr Shaw said sternly, his voice thick with emotion. “I will not let you lessen what she did by feeling guilty.”

“But-”

He met Frank’s gaze. “No. My daughter, my beautiful little girl, gave her life protecting a friend. That is something no one is going to take away from her, not ever. Not even you.”

Frank couldn’t take the intensity in the man’s eyes any longer and turned away, his eyes downcast as his shoulders shook with silent sobs.

The father sniffled softly and brushed at the tears at the edges of his eyes. His hand rested on the teen’s shoulder again. “I don’t blame you, Frank. I wanted to – God how I wanted to hate you – but I would have been wrong. I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but it wasn’t your fault. None of it was.

“I like to think I knew my daughter, Frank, but she loved you. You were a part of her life, you knew her in a way I never would. I was her father, but you were her everything. To hate you, or blame you, would mean I would lose the chance to know that part of Callie’s life. I can’t do that, and I hope you don’t deny me that chance either.”

Wiping the tears away, Frank shook his head.

“Thank you,” Mr Shaw gave the shoulder a squeeze and got to his feet. “I’d like to start getting to know her more now, if you’re up for it. Can I buy you a coffee?”

He nodded. “I’d like that, Mr Shaw.”

The man smiled. “Bradly, please. I’ll give you a minute.” He turned and walked away from his daughter’s grave.

Frank watched him go.

Slowly, his eyes fell to the box in his hand. He opened it and looked one last time at the ring inside. He swallowed hard and lifted the ring from the velvet. Leaning forward he dug a small hole in the rain moistened soil in front of him.

Holding the ring to his lips, Frank kissed it once before placing it in the hole and covering it.

“Goodbye Callie…”

~~~~~

Did I disappoint you or let you down?
Should I be feeling guilty or let the judges frown?
'Cause I saw the end before we'd begun,
Yes I saw you were blinded and I knew I had won.
So I took what's mine by eternal right.
Took your soul out into the night.
It may be over but it won't stop there,
I am here for you if you'd only care.
You touched my heart you touched my soul.
You changed my life and all my goals.
And love is blind and that I knew when
My heart was blinded by you.
I've kissed your lips and held your hand.
Shared your dreams and shared your bed.
I know you well, I know your smell.
I've been addicted to you.

Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.

I am a dreamer and when I wake
You can't break my spirit - it's my dreams you take.
And as you move on, remember me,
Remember us and all we used to be
I've seen you cry, I've seen you smile.
I've watched you sleeping for a while.
I'd be the father of your child.
I'd spend a lifetime with you.
I know your fears and you know mine.
We've had our doubts but now we're fine,
And I love you, I swear that's true.
I cannot live without you.

Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.

And I still hold your hand in mine.
In mine when I'm asleep.
And I will bare my soul in time,
When I'm kneeling at your feet.
Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.
I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow.
I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow.

“Goodbye My Lover” Lyrics by James Blunt

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Disclaimer

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The Hardy Boys Fan Fiction authors of the Hardy Detective Agency have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.