WHAT DO THE STARS SAY?
Chapter Nine

It was early morning; Rose got up from her bed and got dressed. She left the apartment without saying good-bye to Ruth. Rick was at his job, so she didn’t have to deal with him.

There was a bridge in front of the apartment building. It was over a lake. The lake wouldn’t kill her, but the fall would. It was a long fall, and Rose knew it. She stepped over the railing that was there to protect people from falling. She couldn’t see clearly. Tears filled her eyes and made her vision blurry. Rose stood there for a moment, thinking.

I’m sorry, Jack. My heart isn’t strong enough. I know you told me to make each day count, but how can I do that when I don’t have you? she thought, crying. She closed her eyes and was starting to let go when she felt someone hug her from behind.

"Don’t do it! Please, don’t do it!" the man cried.

Rose heard his voice and thought she had completely lost her mind.

"It can’t be! You’re dead! Stop it! Don’t play with me like this!" she cried.

She felt him put his face against her neck, and she felt his tears falling, running down her neck.

"No, Rose. I’m not playing with you. It’s me. It’s me! Don’t do this!"

"No! I can’t believe this. It can’t be you, Jack! It can’t!"

"But it is me, Rose. If you let go, you will take my heart with you. Please, open your eyes and look at me! Look at me, and you will see that it is true!" Jack cried.

Rose turned around slowly, holding onto his arms. She slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was his blue eyes. It had started to rain, and the sky seemed to have listened to her. She hugged him and started to cry even more. She buried her face in his neck and wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back, not wanting to let her go; he also started to cry even more. They were both soaked, but they didn’t care. The rain kept falling, and they kept crying. Rose hugged him tighter, afraid of letting go. She was afraid that if she let go of him, this would all be a dream and she would wake up.

Jack pulled her over the railing, making sure she wouldn’t fall. He held her with all his might. Jack kissed her forehead and closed his eyes.

"Oh, Rose, you don’t know how much I have missed you!" he cried. "You are all I have thought about all these painful years!"

"I can’t believe it’s really you! I have prayed so much for this to be true. But I kept thinking you were dead! They told me you were dead, and I realized I was such an idiot. I blamed myself so many times. I’m so sorry for what I said that day!" she cried.

"No, Rose, don’t blame yourself. I don’t even remember what you said that day," he said, lying; of course he remembered what she had said. They were the most painful words that he had ever heard, but he wanted to forget about them.

"All I have been thinking about is finding you. I wanted to tell you that I wasn’t dead, that it was all a misunderstanding. All I wanted was to see you again! All I thought about was you. You were always on my mind!" he cried.

"Really, Jack? You thought about me?" she asked, finally letting him go and looking at him.

"Yes, Rose. Come on. It’s raining, and I don’t want you to get sick. Let me walk you to your apartment," he said, and took her hand. He started to walk towards the apartment building, but Rose stopped him.

"Wait, Jack! I don’t want go back there right now. I don’t want to see my mom right now. Why don’t we go somewhere else to get warm?" she asked.

He agreed, and took her to his new apartment. It wasn’t the best apartment ever, but it was better than the last one.

When they got there, Jack gave her a towel so she could get dry. He started some tea. Rose sat at a table and looked around. It was a small apartment, but she felt safe, knowing it belonged to Jack. A bed was in the room. There was a small television in front of it. On top of the television, there were a few pictures. She got up and walked towards them. She picked one up. It was a picture of his mom and brother. The other one was one of her and Jack making funny faces. She remembered where they had been that day. It had been at the fair. She smiled when she remembered; it had been one of the happiest days of her life.

Jack came in with two cups of tea and gave one to Rose. He had a towel around his neck, but he had not changed his wet clothes. Rose took the cup and sat at the table again. He sat on his bed. The room was silent for a moment. They just looked at each other and took sips of tea. Rose finally broke the silence.

"I remember that day," she said, pointing at the pictures. "I remember that your mom didn’t want to take a picture, because she said she wasn’t pretty, and you convinced her by telling her she was the most beautiful woman in the world. I took the picture of you with her and your brother," Rose said, smiling.

"Yeah, I remember, too. It was at the fair. I remember how we forced her to go. She didn’t want to go, because she had not been to one for years and she said she was not that age anymore. I miss her as much as I miss my brother," he said.

"I’m sorry, Jack. I’m sorry for what happened to them. Life can be cruel and unfair," she said.

"Yeah, it can be. But it also can be just, and it gives us a second chance."

"Yes. Maybe you’re right," she said, and looked at him. It was silent again. She looked at him and thought that he looked different. He looked manlier. He had some facial hair and longer hair than before. Since his black, button-front shirt was tight to his body because it was soaked, she realized that he wasn’t the same skinny Jack. She smiled at him.

"What?" he asked.

"You just look very different. The Army did do you some good. You aren’t scrawny little Jack anymore," she said, laughing.

He laughed with her. "I got that a lot when I got back to Rocksprings."

"You went back?"

"Yeah. I went to see my mom, but they told me she had died. Then I was going to look for you, but they told me you had moved to a big city. I really had no idea you had come here, I swear, until I saw you yesterday," he said.

She looked down and realized he knew she was engaged to Rick. She could tell by the look in his eyes.

"Rose, are you really going to marry Rick?" he asked.

"I…it was something I decided without thinking," she said.

"So, you don’t want to marry him?"

"I really don’t know."

"How can you not know?"

"I just don’t!" she shouted.

"Rose, do you love him?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Why can’t you just answer the question?" he asked, shouting back.

"Why are you being so rude? I don’t have to answer you!" she said, and got up to leave.

"Wait, Rose. I’m sorry. I…I don’t want us to fight. I just found you, and I don’t want to lose you," he said, getting close to her.

She stopped and leaned on the door. He came closer.

"I don’t want to fight, either, Jack. But I have to leave. It’s getting late," she said, getting nervous as he got closer.

"It’s only four o’clock in the afternoon," he said, looking at the clock.

"I know, but I didn’t tell my mom where I was going, as you might imagine," she said.

"Don’t leave. Please," he begged, and his eyes said the same. "I have missed you so much. Just stay a little longer and make this moment last a bit more. Please!"

She looked into his eyes. They were beautiful. He got close to her face; she could feel his warm breath. He got so close that she could feel his wet shirt touching her. He wasn’t scared anymore. He wanted her, and he always had. He put his hand on her waist and brought her closer. Rose didn’t fight back or push him away. She let him do whatever he wanted.

He leaned closer to her lips and kissed her, pushing her against the door. She kissed him back and wrapped her arms around him. It was the most magical moment of her life. They kissed with passion, Rose grabbing his hair as they kissed. He put his hand on her face as his lips soothed hers. He pulled her up and started to kiss her neck. She loved the way it felt. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he kissed her neck. He went lower with his kisses, then came up again and kissed her lips. She started to unbutton his shirt, feeling his muscles. Her body was begging for his. Jack pulled her away from the door and took her to his bed. He finished taking off his shirt and started to kiss her even more passionately. He took her shirt off, unbuckled his belt, and unzipped his pants.

He kissed her neck and face. His kisses made her feel like in heaven. She gave herself to him, body and soul. Never had she thought of this happening. But he had dreamed of this all his life. They made love as the night came and the rain fell. They became one, and there was no turning back. They had waited years to see each other again, and all their locked feelings were brought out that night.

Hours later, they had stopped. She fell asleep in his arms, hearing his heartbeat; she lay her head on his chest as she slept. He couldn’t sleep. He was afraid of closing his eyes and losing her. If he fell asleep, he was afraid of missing her or losing her in his dreams. He wanted to make this moment last forever. He smiled as he started to run his fingers through her hair. He could feel her breath on his chest and her breasts against his belly. He stared at the ceiling as he thought of how long he had waited for this moment. He pulled her closer to his face and kissed her forehead. She felt it and opened her eyes. She got off of him and lay close to him. She closed her eyes again. Jack turned to look at her. He kissed her and pulled the covers over her. After admiring her face for a moment, he got up and sat at the edge of the bed. He started to put his clothes back on.

After he got dressed, he walked to his window. He sat and looked at Rose; she looked so beautiful as she slept. He looked at the time; it was now 9:30 PM. He looked out his window and looked at the stars. Jack still loved to look at the stars. That had not changed about him.

She finally woke up. He saw her wake up and got close to her. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Rose, do you love me?" he whispered in her ear.

"I…don’t know," she said.

"We make love, and you still don’t know if you love me? You give me your body and soul and you can’t tell me if you love me?" he asked angrily, and walked back to the window. He looked at the stars with angry eyes. Rose felt bad. She didn’t want to hurt him, but she was afraid. She sat up and kept looking at him, but he wouldn’t look at her.

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

He looked into her eyes, and for a moment, he didn’t say anything.

"One day, I’ll tell you," he finally said.

Rose’s eyes started to fill with tears.

Chapter Ten
Stories