WHAT DO THE STARS SAY?
Chapter Eleven

Jack ran into the hospital. He ran through the halls, where he saw Myra.

"Myra, where is she?" he asked her.

Myra had been in the emergency room, waiting to get checked on, when they had brought Rose in. She had seen her and decided to call Jack.

"I don’t know. They don’t want to tell me anything! I just know she was in a car accident. She was with Rick," she said.

A doctor stopped in front of them.

"Are you relatives of Rose DeWitt-Bukater and Rick…"

"Yes!" Myra exclaimed. "I’m Rose’s sister, and he is our cousin." She pointed at Jack.

"Well, Rick has a few broken bones, including a broken leg," the doctor said.

"Yeah. How’s Rose?" they asked at the same time.

"She is going to be all right. She has a broken hand and a broken rib. She also hit her head pretty hard, but she will wake up. Probably not tonight, though."

"Can we see her?"

"Only one of you can see her at a time," the doctor said.

"You go, Jack, and I’ll tell her mom…I mean, our mom," Myra said, smiling, and left.

Jack walked into Rose’s room. He saw her and went to her side. The room was dark; the only light was coming from the moon outside the window. He sat next to her and kissed her broken hand. She looked so beautiful, even with a few scrapes and scratches on her face. The light of the moon was on her face, and Jack thanked it for letting him see her.

*****

The next day, Rose opened her eyes. She looked around and saw Jack sleeping in a chair. She smiled, but it even hurt her to smile. He looked so adorable with the sun lighting his face. His blond hair was covering his eyes.

"Jack!" she said, trying to wake him. "Jack!" He wouldn’t wake up. She looked around and saw a box of tissues. She grabbed it with the little strength she had and threw it at him. Jack jumped up and saw her laughing and grabbing her side at the same time. "Oh, it hurts when I laugh!" she said, still laughing. He smiled at her. "What are you doing here, Jack? How did you know I was here?"

"It’s a long story; just think that a guardian angel told me," he said, smiling. He took her hand and kissed it. "Does it still hurt?" he asked.

"Not anymore," she said, smiling.

He got up and kissed her head. "Does your head hurt?" he asked.

"Not anymore," she said. He kissed again, but this time on the lips. "You know those didn’t hurt to begin with," she said. He smiled and kissed her again. He let go when somebody opened the door.

"Mr. Dawson?" Ruth asked. "I thought you had died!" she said.

"Well, I didn’t. It’s a long story. Please don’t make me explain," he said.

"Rose, how long did you know this?" she asked.

"For a while, Mom. Please don’t start screaming at him. My head hurts," Rose said.

"I have to go, Rose. I have to work. I hope you get better," he said, and kissed her cheek. "I love you," he whispered in her ear, looking at Ruth. He smiled at her and left.

*****

A few days later, Rose and Rick were released from the hospital. Rick didn’t speak one word to her. They were in his apartment when someone knocked on the door. He couldn’t get it because of his leg, so she answered it. It was a little boy wearing black sunglasses.

"Are you Rose?" he asked.

"Yes, I am Rose. Who wants to know?" she asked.

"My good friend told me to give you this note," he said, gave her a piece of paper, and left.

Rose opened the paper.

Make it count. Meet me in the park.

Love Always,
Jack

Rose looked behind her. Rick was reading a book. She slowly opened the door and walked to the park. It was a cold night, and the moon and stars were brighter than ever. When she got there, she saw him sitting on a bench. He was looking up at the sky.

"What do they say, Jack? What do the stars say?" she asked.

He turned around and smiled at her. "One day I’ll tell you," he said.

"Well, I’m here. What do you want, Jack?"

"Rose, I have been saving some money. Actually, all my money. I’m going back to Rocksprings. I’m going to fix my mom’s house and stay there. Chuck asked me to be his business partner and I accepted," he said.

"So, you’re leaving me?"

"No. I don’t want to do that. That is why I brought you here. Rose, come with me. Leave this city and all the chains that have you here. Come back with me to our little town, and I’ll be the happiest guy ever," he said.

"I…don’t know, Jack."

"Oh, come on, Rose. You know you want to leave, too. You know you want to leave this noisy city, go back to our peaceful town, and take long walks in the fields of flowers," he said, holding one of her hands and touching her face.

"I…can’t leave, Jack. What about my mom, and what about Rick? I promised him. I can’t just leave like this," she said.

"Yes, you can! Forget about them and come be free with me!" he cried.

"I can’t. I’m sorry, Jack."

He let go of her hand and her face. He looked down with a sad expression.

"So, this is it? After all these years, this is how it ends? Well, let me tell you, this ending sucks! It is the worst ending ever! So much for my happy ending. I hope you have a great life with Rick. I really do. Just know that I will always love you. And if you ever change your mind, I’ll be waiting. If you ever want to know what the stars say, I’ll be waiting to tell you. I’ll be waiting," he said, kissed her forehead, and started to walk away. Rose started to cry. She wanted to stop him, but she couldn’t. She had lost him once, and she had probably lost him again.

Her heart ached so badly. If she only had the strength to stop him…

She walked back to her apartment. She could feel the cold air hitting her face.

It made her tears cold. She walked into the apartment.

She saw Rick sleeping and went to her room.

She couldn’t go to sleep; all she thought of was Jack’s words.

Chapter Twelve
Stories