CHANGES
Chapter Six
Over the next few months, Rose and Jack's
relationship bloomed. Their parents were elated to see that not only were their
children getting along, but also in love. It wasn't until after their four
month anniversary in January that things started going wrong.
*****
Rose lifted her tear stained face to look at
her sister. "I'm just scared of what he'll say, Becky. This corrupts all
the plans we had for after high school."
Rebecca looked at her sympathetically.
"He deserves to know. Go tell him now, before you lose your courage."
"Courage? I don't have any right now
anyway."
"Just go."
*****
Rose carefully made her way up to the front
porch of the Dawson home. There was a foot and a half of snow on the ground,
plus ice underneath and the last thing she wanted to do was slip. At first, she
knocked daintily on the door, but as the cold started seeping in, she began to
knock more fiercely.
"Shit," Rose muttered when nobody
answered. She sighed and turned to leave when she came face to face with a
girl. "Krista!" Rose exclaimed.
Krista smiled slightly. "Hi, Rose. What
are you doing here?"
Rose realized that Krista didn't know. She
had moved the previous summer, when Jack and Rose had still been at odds.
"I'm here to see Jack, actually."
Krista's face hardened. "Why would you
want to see Jack?"
"Because that's what girlfriends usually
do."
"Girlfriend? Wouldn't you be at Cal's
house, then?"
Rose smirked. She never had liked this girl.
"I see you're out of the swing of things around here. Cal and I broke up
last summer. Jack and I have been together since September."
"You and Jack? That's the biggest bunch
of bullshit I've ever heard," Krista scoffed.
"You'll have to ask him if you don't
believe me."
"Um...okay."
"Krista, get over here!" a voice
screamed.
Krista sighed. "I'll be back."
"Take your time," Rose called after
her. She sighed and sat down on the porch steps to wait for Jack. He hated the
cold weather, so wherever he was, he most likely wouldn't be gone long. She was
right.
Not more then five minutes later, Jack's BMW
pulled up in the driveway. "Hey, what are you doing out here in the
cold?" Jack asked, pulling her into his arms and kissing her.
"Waiting for you," Rose murmured
when the kiss ended.
"Ahem."
Both Jack and Rose whirled around. There
stood a very pissed Krista.
"Kris!" Jack said, obviously
surprised to see his ex-girlfriend.
"Hello, Jack. I see you've resorted to
stuck up snobs for your cheap thrills now."
"Kris..."
"Who the hell do you think you
are?" Rose yelled, "You're just jealous. I'm more of a woman then
you'll ever be."
Krista laughed. "Sure, Rose. Jack always
comes back to me. Isn't that right, Jackie?"
Jack opened his mouth to speak, but Rose beat
him to it. "Not this time, KRIS," Rose spat out her name like it was
poisonous. "He loves me."
"Ha. He loves me!" Krista shot
back.
"And that's why he made love to me and
not you then, hmm?"
Krista's eyes went wide. "He did
not."
Rose smiled. "Actually, yes he
did."
Before Jack knew what was happening, Krista
lunged at Rose, knocking her back into the snow. Rose quickly got to her feet
and returned the blow.
"Hey, hey! Quit it," Jack demanded,
pushing the two of them apart.
Krista glared at Rose, knocked Jack out of
the way and punched Rose in the face, which sent her sprawling face down onto a
patch of ice.
Jack was immediately next to her. "Rose?
Rose, please get up. Rose!"
Rose turned her head, her eyes filled with
tears which ran together with the blood that was gushing from the large gash
across her forehead. "Jack," she managed to get out. "Jack, call
an ambulance," she said, before curling up into a ball on the ice.
Jack nodded and ran into the house.
"Mom! Mom!" he yelled, running into his parents' room where she was
sleeping.
"Jack? Jack, what's wrong?" Elaine
asked, sitting up.
Jack grabbed the cordless phone off his
parents night stand and handed it to her. "Call an ambulance."
"An ambulance? Jack?"
"Rose, mom. She's hurt. There isn't any
time to explain. I have to get her inside."
Elaine nodded and started dialing.
*****
Elaine and Jack Dawson stood in the waiting
room, waiting for Joseph DeWitt-Bukater to arrive. They had been there for
fifteen minutes now and Elaine had finally gotten the story out of her son.
"Where the hell is my little girl?"
A loud voice boomed through the room.
"Joe! Over here," Elaine called.
Joseph was by them in a flash. "Have
they told you anything? Is she okay? Where the hell is she?"
Elaine shook her head. "We're not
family. That's what they kept telling us, at least."
Joseph sighed. "What the hell
happened?"
As Elaine filled him in on what had taken
place, Jack wandered away. Why the hell had Krista been at his house? Last he
heard, she was living with her mom somewhere in Chicago. Her grandmother still
lived in Knollwood, but she hated her. Jack turned back towards the waiting
room where a doctor was talking to Rose's father and his mom. As he drew closer,
he heard the doctor giving them the updates on Rose's condition. As he
approached them, he heard the doctor utter something Jack was not prepared for.
"I'm sorry, Mr. DeWitt-Bukater, your
daughter lost the baby."