CLASS OF 2000
Chapter Fourteen
Ryan drove through
the streets of Santa Monica, thinking. He was still furious over the way things
had turned out, and Emily’s contempt made it worse than before. He and Rose had
had something, or at least he thought they had. Maybe he had been wrong, but it
didn’t change the way he felt. He had liked Rose for years, and it angered him
that she had so quickly turned to Jack.
But Emily was
right, he realized as he drove past the pier and headed into the city. Rose had
fallen for Jack almost immediately. He had seen it even when she and Jack had
first met, and he had quickly encouraged her to be his girlfriend, to keep her
from taking an interest in Jack.
It hadn’t worked,
of course. No matter how much he wished otherwise, he and Rose had never been
meant to be together. Rose had never flirted with Jack while they were
together, and Jack had respected their relationship and kept his distance from
Rose. But after Ryan and Rose had broken up when Rose had gone to be a pop
singer, it had only been a matter of time. Jack had soon left to take up the
same career, and it wasn’t surprising that when they found themselves working
together, they soon became more than friends.
Jack and Rose were
meant to be together. He didn’t like it, but he had to accept it. If he wanted
to remain friends with the Dawsons, he had to learn to deal with the fact that
Rose would never be his, and he valued his friendship with both of them too
much to destroy it over a flirtation that was hopeless.
As he stopped at a
red light, Ryan knew that he had to make amends as soon as possible, before the
rift between them became even larger. His mind made up, he reached for his cell
phone, sitting on the seat beside him.
Keeping one eye on
the light, Ryan started to punch in Jack and Rose’s number. When the light
turned green, he pulled into the intersection, his concentration still on the
phone.
He never saw the
other driver coming toward him. A middle-aged businessman, shouting impatiently
into his own cell phone, had run the red light. The two cars collided with a
screech of tires and the crash of metal against metal, tearing the bumper from
the businessman’s car and buckling in the hood, and caving in the side of
Ryan’s car.
*****
Rose hurried from
where she and Jack had been practicing their latest duet to answer the phone. A
breathless Emily was on the other end. For a moment, Rose couldn’t make out
what she was saying.
"Rose! Oh, my
God! You and Jack have to get down here right now. Ryan’s been in a car
accident!"
"Oh, no! Where
are you?"
"We’re at the
hospital. Cole and Shanleigh and I are already there. It happened just a few
blocks from the restaurant where we were hanging out, and Shanleigh saw it on
her way home."
"Is Ryan
okay?"
"The doctor
says he’s in stable condition, but he’s got a concussion and a broken arm.
Someone ran a red light and hit his car broadside. He’s going to be okay,
though. That Geo Prizm of his might be old, but it’s sturdy. It’ll be as good
as new once it gets fixed. The other driver is okay, too, even though his car
is in a lot worse shape."
"This is
terrible! We’ll be right there."
Rose got off the
phone with Emily and went to get Jack.
"What’s going
on?" he asked, when he saw her concerned expression.
"Ryan’s been
in a car accident. Someone ran a red light and hit his car."
"Is he
okay?"
"He should
be."
"It serves him
right, then."
"What?!"
Rose couldn’t believe what she was hearing. "What do you mean, it serves
him right?"
"After the way
he’s been chasing you, trying to break up our marriage, he deserves to get in
some trouble."
"I can’t
believe you’re saying this. Ryan is your best friend!"
"Not anymore.
Not after the way he pursued you."
"Jack Dawson,
sometimes you can be the most mean, insensitive person I know! Your old friend
gets into a car accident, and you can’t even be bothered to see him." She
glared at him. "He is still my friend, in spite of his attempt to win me
back, and I’m going to go see him. You can stay here by yourself if you
want." Rose grabbed her car keys from the hook beside the front door.
"I’ll see you later."
"Rose,
wait!"
"Wait for
what?"
"I’m coming
with you."
"Oh, nice of
you to change your mind. What, are you afraid he’ll win me back?"
Jack gave her an
annoyed look, following her to the car in silence.
*****
They arrived at the
hospital about twenty minutes later. Cole was waiting for them in the lobby, so
that he could show them which room Ryan was in. He wouldn’t be there for
long--he had come through the accident well enough to be sent home in the
evening--but for the time being the doctor was keeping an eye on him, and his
friends were visiting him in the hospital.
Jack and Rose
followed Cole to the elevator, still not speaking. When they reached Ryan’s
floor and left the elevator, Jack suddenly turned to Rose.
"Why are you
so concerned about Ryan, anyway?"
Rose scowled at
him. "He’s my friend. He used to be your best friend. Of course I’m going
to be concerned when a friend gets hurt."
"I just think
it’s kind of strange that you’re so concerned about someone who you wanted a
restraining order against yesterday."
"As long as he
doesn’t try to get back together with me, we can still be friends." Rose
looked at Jack. "I think you’re jealous. Ryan and I are just friends, but
you can’t seem to accept that. Maybe, with the way you’re acting, I’d be better
off taking Ryan up on his offer, because you’re acting like a real jerk."
Jack stared at her
furiously. "Maybe you should. Maybe you’d be happier with him." He
turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Rose standing in front of the
elevator.
*****
Rose followed Cole
to Ryan’s room. Jack had walked off in the right direction and had already been
invited in by Emily and Shanleigh. He stood at the end of Ryan’s bed, not
looking at him, or at Rose.
"Hey, Jack.
Hey, Rose." Ryan looked from one to the other, wondering what was
bothering them. They seemed upset about something, and he didn’t think it was
him.
"Hey,
Ryan," Rose told him, ignoring Jack.
"Rose,
Jack...I wanted to apologize for what I did, for chasing Rose and trying to get
her back. I was wrong to try and break up your marriage. I was about to call
you and apologize when the accident happened, but I never got a chance to
finish dialing your number."
"Ryan, I
understand. I forgive you--as long as you don’t do it again," Rose told
him, giving him a forgiving look.
Jack was more
skeptical of Ryan’s change of heart. He didn’t quite believe him, but knew
better than to say so. Rose would be furious if he spoke up. Instead, he just
eyed both of them suspiciously.
Ryan could see that
Jack didn’t quite believe him, but decided against taking the time to argue
with him. Instead, he turned to Emily.
"Okay, I gotta
say it...Emily, I’m sorry I dumped you to pursue Rose. I shouldn’t have done
that. Not only is she married, but you trusted me."
"I knew you’d
admit that sooner or later," Emily told him, raising an eyebrow.
"You’re forgiven." Before he could respond, she threw her arms around
him, kissing him in front of everyone.
Ryan didn’t
protest. He just put his arms around her and kissed her back.
*****
Jack and Rose were
still silent as they made their way home. Finally, when they arrived at home,
Rose spoke up.
"Jack,
whatever made you think that I would want Ryan instead of you?"
Jack shrugged, but
didn’t answer her.
Rose sighed.
"Jack, Ryan and I are friends. We’ve never really been anything else. Even
when we were going out, we were never really more than friends. I knew it, and
I think he did, too."
When he still
didn’t answer, she went on.
"Jack...it’s
you that I love. I’ve never loved anyone else, and I never will. There’s no one
like you in the world. You’re my husband, my soulmate, and the father of my
babies." She took his hand, putting it on her swollen midsection to make
her point.
Finally, Jack
responded. Sighing, he told her, "You’re right. I was jealous. Ryan was my
best friend, and he was the one who introduced us. I liked you right away, but
you were going out with him. When you two broke up and you left to be a star, I
thought I would never see you again. But much to my surprise, I became a star,
too, and we started working together. And then we got married. Things seemed
perfect--until Ryan showed up again. I wasn’t sure that you wouldn’t want to go
back to him, especially as persistent as he was, and when you showed so much
concern when he was in the car accident, I kind of assumed the worst--that you
really did want to get back together with him."
Rose shook her
head. "Jack, I never considered getting back together with him. What I
said at the hospital, about taking him up on his offer, was just the anger
talking. I was mad at you, and wanted to get back at you for being such a
jerk."
"I guess I was
a jerk, wasn’t I?"
"Yes, but I
love you anyway. You have nothing to worry about. I would have been just as
concerned had it been Cole or Emily or Shanleigh who had gotten hurt." She
turned to him, leaning forward and kissing him. "I love you, Jack."
"Rose, I’m
sorry. I let my temper and jealously get the better of me. I don’t really think
that you’re going to go off with Ryan--or anyone else." He pulled her into
his arms. "I love you, Rose."
Rose hugged him
back, and they kissed for a long time before going into the house.
*****
That evening, when
he knew Ryan would be home, Jack finally gave him a call. Neither of them had
behaved very well that afternoon when they were arguing over Rose.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Ryan.
It’s Jack."
"Hey."
There was an
uncomfortable silence. Finally, Jack spoke.
"How are you
doing?"
"I’m okay.
That car I drive is sturdy. I didn’t get hurt too bad."
"That’s
good." Jack paused. "Ryan, were you serious when you apologized for
chasing Rose?"
"Yeah. I won’t
bother her anymore. I guess I was just mad that you, my best friend, married my
ex-girlfriend. I kind of acted like a jerk."
"Rose said the
same thing about me, that I was a jerk for thinking she’d want you instead of
me."
"You thought
that? She made it clear that she wasn’t interested in me. She told me off good,
and threatened me with a restraining order if I bothered her again."
"Yeah, she
told me that, but I still thought that she might want to get back together with
you. She was so concerned when she heard that you’d been in a car
accident..."
"Rose is like
that. I’ve known her for years, and she’s always concerned when a friend is in
trouble. It doesn’t mean she’s falling in love with them."
"Well, I
understand that now. But are you sure you do? Are you sure you won’t follow her
anymore?"
"I absolutely
guarantee, Jack, that I won’t pursue her anymore. I’m back together with Emily.
She’s over here with me now. I don’t want to pursue Rose, and besides, Emily
would break my other arm if I did."
Jack laughed, then
sobered. "So, does this mean we can be friends again?"
There was a silence
as Ryan thought it over. Jack could hear Emily nagging him in the background,
her words indistinct. Finally, Ryan spoke to him again.
"Okay. Friends
again. Just so long as we never chase each other’s girls."
"Don’t worry
about that. I only want Rose."
"Well, Emily’s
not too shabby herself. Quit looking at me like that." Jack could hear Ryan
and Emily arguing in the background. "All right, she’s not shabby at all.
She’s beautiful. Now, are you satisfied?" Ryan and Emily conversed quietly
for a few minutes again. "Okay, I’m happy, Emily’s happy, everyone’s
happy. Friends?"
Jack laughed.
"Friends."