ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING
Chapter Fourteen

Jack, Tommy, Fabrizio, and Adrienne were waiting in the waiting room of the hospital where Autumn and Rose were being treated. Rose and Autumn’s parents had just left the hospital, and now the guys and Adrienne got to see them. They didn’t say a word, except for when Adrienne called the guys after she heard about the accident a few blocks away from her house. A few moments later, a nurse appeared.

"Are you four here to see Rose DeWitt-Bukater and Autumn Jolene?" the nurse asked.

Jack nodded, and choked out, "Yes." He had never been more scared in his life, except when his father had died. He had no idea what they would find out when they went to see the two girls. He loved Rose so much, and if something happened to her, he didn’t know what he would do.

The nurse replied, "All right. They are in room 104."

The four walked to the room, and they saw Rose and Autumn lying in hospital beds in the room. Autumn’s left arm was in a cast, and Rose had cuts all over her face. They looked like they were sleeping peacefully. A few moments later, a doctor came in.

"What...what happened?" Adrienne asked, her voice shaking as she looked up at the doctor. She didn’t want to lose her two best friends. Jack, Tommy, and Fabrizio were too nervous to say anything.

"Well, Miss Jolene has a broken arm, and she is sleeping. It’s best to let her sleep for awhile, because she really needs the rest. Miss DeWitt-Bukater is in a coma. I don’t want to have to tell you this...but she has about a twenty percent chance of waking up."

Jack, Tommy, Fabrizio, and Adrienne’s faces turned white. Jack looked at Rose, and then slowly said, "I...I have to go," and ran out as fast as he could. He got into his car, started crying, and drove towards a bridge. He hadn’t cried since he was ten, when his father died. The other three knew he was up to something, so they followed him before he could hurt himself. They knew how much he loved Rose.

*****

Jack pulled over in the middle of the bridge and got out. Right then, it started raining. Perfect for the end of my life, he thought, and went towards the rail. Before he climbed over, he took out his wallet and got out a picture of Rose and him in the Bahamas. He started crying again, looking at her face, and said, "Rose, I love you, and soon, we will be together again. I promise." He clutched the picture and put one leg over the railing. He looked back and put his other leg over the railing and turned around. He looked down at the water below him, and right then, Adrienne, Tommy, and Fabrizio pulled up in Adrienne’s car and came up to him.

Tommy slowly said, "Jack...don’t jump off that bridge."

"I have to. If it’s the only way I can be with Rose, then I’m jumping."

"She will probably wake up, and for some reason, if...if she doesn’t, you can’t kill yourself. Rose wouldn’t want you to do that, so why are you trying to?" Adrienne asked him, her voice shaking as tears threatened to fall down her face.

"Because...because I love her! And if it’s the only way I can be with her, than that’s what I have to do!"

"Jack...at least give her a chance to wake up. Please don’t jump. You’re my best friend, and I can’t let you do that," Fabrizio said.

Jack hesitated before agreeing. "Okay...I guess I won’t jump. At least not now."

Fabrizio, Tommy, and Adrienne breathed sighs of relief, and Jack turned around and looked at them. His face was red and his eyes were swollen from crying. He climbed over the rail and onto the sidewalk and started walking towards his car. After a few moments, he turned around and looked at his friends. They expected him to be mad, but instead he went up and hugged them. "Thank you. Thank you for not letting me do something I would regret. You’re the best friends I’ve ever had."

"No problem. Now, let’s get home."

They went home, and Jack went straight to his room when he got to his house, looked at all his pictures of Rose, and just cried. She couldn’t die. She just couldn’t. He kept crying, and saying, "God, please don’t let Rose die. Please. I love her too much. Please don’t take her away from me." He cried himself to sleep that night, holding onto a picture of her, grateful that the next day was Saturday.

*****

The next day, Adrienne went to the hospital at seven AM to pick up Autumn and take her home. When she got there, Autumn was awakening, and she sat up in her bed at the hospital. Once she realized what had happened, she asked frantically, "Where’s Rose? What happened to her?"

Adrienne replied, "She is in a coma. She has about a twenty percent chance of waking up."

Autumn started crying on her best friend’s shoulder. "No! She can’t die! You and she are my best friends! This is all my fault!"

"We all want her to wake up, Autumn. There is nothing we can do. But Jack is taking it really hard. He was about to jump off a bridge last night, but Tommy, Fabri, and I convinced him not to. Thank God."

"He tried to commit suicide? Oh, my God. I never realized how much he loved her until now."

"Yeah," Adrienne replied, looking at Rose. The cuts on her face were turning to scabs.

Rose started squirming, and she opened her eyes.

"Rose?" Autumn whispered. She and Adrienne got up and walked over to Rose’s hospital bed.

Rose looked at her friends and asked, in a hoarse voice, "Where am I? Autumn, you’re alive! Thank God!"

"You’re in the hospital. You were in a coma, and had a twenty percent chance of waking up," Autumn informed her.

"Oh, God. Where’s Jack?"

"He isn’t here yet. It’s only seven AM," Adrienne said.

"Oh," Rose whispered disappointedly.

"You have no idea how much he loves you. He thought you were going to die and he wanted to be with you, so he was about to commit suicide. He would have jumped off a bridge if Tommy, Fabrizio, and I hadn’t seen him run out of the hospital crying. He loves you that much," Adrienne told her quietly.

"Oh, God."

"I have an idea. We can surprise him tonight at Tommy’s party. If you’re up to going."

"I’m fine."

*****

That afternoon, after making sure that Jack didn’t know that she was awake, Rose, Autumn, and Adrienne went home.

*****

That night, at Tommy’s party, Autumn, Adrienne, Tommy, and Fabrizio had Jack hide in a closet, telling him they had a surprise for him. A few minutes later, they had Rose open the closet door and surprise him. She opened it a few moments later and pulled the light switch.

"Boo," she said calmly, looking at Jack.

Jack was speechless. Tears started coming down his face, and it was the only time Rose had seen him cry. He hugged her hard and kissed her passionately. "Rose! I thought you were going to die! How? When?"

Rose took his face in her hands and made him look at her. "Jack...look at me. I love you too much to ever leave you. I woke up this morning and decided to make this a surprise."

Jack was definitely surprised. "I love you, too, Rose! I haven’t cried since my dad died, and I have been crying the past two days over this."

Rose stared at him, and said, "Jack, never, ever try to kill yourself just because I’m gone. Promise me you won’t do that."

"I promise."

They kissed passionately for awhile, until their friends walked in on them making out right outside the closet.

"Anytime this year, guys."

Jack and Rose broke apart and smiled sheepishly. Then, all six of them went back to the party with their other friends.

Chapter Fifteen
Stories