FROM NOW UNTIL ETERNITY
Chapter Fifteen
It was the night of the dreaded
dinner date. Rose stood in front of the mirror, staring at her figure. No
physical sign of the baby yet. To everyone else, Rose DeWitt-Bukater was the
virginal girl next door, ready for a night of glamour and fun, but inside, she
was a bundle of nerves. Closing her eyes, she wished she was spending the
evening with Jack instead of with Cal and his Titanic-sized ego.
The shrill ring of the phone
disturbed the somber silence of the room. Quickly, she answered, hoping that it
was Cal canceling the date. "Hello?"
"Rose." Jack’s voice
came to her, calming her jumbled nerves.
"Jack. Save me from this
nightmare, please."
"If only I could. I only
called to give you some extra support. I love you, Rose. I’ll be here if you
need me for anything."
"Rose!" Ruth called.
"Cal’s here!"
"I have to go. The date from
hell is here." Rose sighed miserably.
"Call me later. Let me know
how everything went." Jack smiled.
"Sure. Bye, Jack."
"Have fun, sweetie." He
hung up, leaving Rose to go to her date.
*****
Three hours later, the dinner
party was over. But instead of taking Rose home, Cal drove to a nearby Motel 8.
"Cal." Rose frowned.
She didn’t like the look of this. "This isn’t my apartment building."
"I know that, Sweetpea. I
have a room here, just in case I’m too tired to drive home. I just thought
you’d like to come in and take a look." Cal smiled, his greedy eyes
roaming her body, probably undressing her with his eyes.
"Well…I don’t. So, if you
please, start the car."
A wicked smile on his face, Cal
grabbed her and pulled her close to his body, his eyes moving down her back.
"Well, then, how about we go at it right here?"
"No." Rose tried to
struggle out of his grasp, to no avail. His grip was too tight. "Let me
go!"
"I know you, Rose. No means
yes!" His lips descended on hers as his hands tugged at her dress. It was
obvious that Cal wasn’t taking no for an answer. Rose was about to panic when
she remembered the gift Leanne had given her a year ago. The gift she had kept
in her purse, yet never used.
"Argh!" Cal screamed,
and let go of Rose to rub at his eyes when she used the pepper spray that she
had hidden in her purse. Using the opportunity, she ran to the nearest tram
station and boarded the tram that had just pulled up.
She watched the scenery pass, her
arms wrapped tightly around her waist. She shivered as she thought of what had
almost happened. It was lucky that she had remembered the pepper spray and that
a tram had pulled up just as she reached the stop. But where on earth was she
going to go? Chicago was a big and dangerous city. A city that she didn’t know
her way around too well, thanks to her previously sheltered life. By the looks
of the scenery, she was on her way to the south side.
"Last stop!" The
announcement was loud and clear as the tram slowed to a stop.
As she disembarked, she sighed in
a mixture of unease and relief. Indeed, she was on the south side. But luckily,
Jack’s place was nearby as well. Keeping a tight hold on the pepper spray, Rose
started for Jack’s house. At first, she thought she was going to make it
incident free. But then she heard the footfalls of someone behind her.
Tightening her hold on her pepper spray, she walked a bit faster. So did her
pursuer. Struggling hard not to panic, she continued on her way. She’d be at
Jack’s soon. In fact, his house was just a few yards away. Still hearing the
footsteps pursuing her, Rose broke into a run, and to her horror, so did the
footsteps behind her. Rose flew through the gate and rang the bell just as two
burly men followed her through the gate.
"Rose?" a surprised
voice asked as the door opened. Not realizing who had answered the door, Rose
fell into the safety of the person’s arms.
"They were chasing me."
Rose pointed, clinging to her rescuer. Looking over the person’s shoulder, she
saw Chloe and a worried Jack. It must be Carter who had answered the door.
"Carter?" Chloe asked,
approaching the door.
"We were just playing with
her." One of the men stumbled over his words, obviously lying. Their plans
for the redhead were much more sinister.
"Yeah," snorted the
man’s companion.
"Shut up, both of you. Get
out of here now, before I call the police," Carter threatened.
Nodding, the men walked back
through the gate, disappearing down the street.
"They’re gone. You’re safe
now." Carter brought the shivering girl into the house.
"Rose." Jack took
Carter’s place as soon as she was inside. "What happened? Are you okay?
Where’s Cal?"
"I’m fine. Just a bit shaken
up. It’s been an extremely long night." Rose swallowed, clinging to Jack’s
shirt.
"I’ll make some
coffee." Chloe disappeared into the kitchen, taking Carter with her.
"What happened, Rose? Why
are you here instead of with Cal?"
Rose nervously bit her lip. She
didn’t really want to tell Jack what Cal had tried to do. He would get mad and
go after Cal and maybe even get hurt. She didn’t want that to happen. Not for
anything. But what else could she say? Jack wanted the truth, and that was all
she had to give.
"Rose, tell me. I promise I
won’t get mad…and if I do, I promise not to do anything crazy. Now tell me…why
are you here and not with Cal?"
She took a deep breath before
answering. "Cal…he…he tried to force himself on me. But I had pepper spray
and got away."
"Oh, my…I’m going to kill
him." Jack held her close, wanting to protect her from what had almost
happened. "We should call the police."
"He’s too rich. He’ll just
buy his way out of the charges. Besides, I just want to forget that tonight
ever happened."
"Okay. We’ll do what you
wish. But I better get you home. Just let me get my jacket and car keys."
He reluctantly released her.
*****
When Rose arrived home, she found
Ruth waiting for her, tapping her foot angrily against the carpeted floor.
"Where have you been? We’ve
been worried sick about you! Poor Caledon is beside himself!"
Rose rolled her eyes. "I’m
sure he is."
"He said you hopped out of
the car and ran off , refusing to heed his calls to return…"
"Oh, good grief, Mother!
Will you listen to my side here? He tried to rape me!"
"Rape you?" Ruth’s gaze
was cold and full of disbelief. "Rose…how dare you accuse that dear boy of
such a thing?"
That dear boy? Caledon Hockley
was anything but dear. Where did her mother come up with this? "Mother,
it’s the truth. Instead of taking me home, he took me to this motel, and when I
refused to go inside with him, he tried to force himself on me!"
"Now, why would Caledon, who
can have any girl he wants, try to force himself on an ungrateful girl like
you?"
"I don’t know, Mother. But
obviously you believe him more then you’ll believe anything I say. So I’m going
to bed. Tomorrow is another school day. Oh, and there will be no more dates
with Caledon Hockley, Mother. For one, I already have a boyfriend, and two, I
can’t stand Cal. Good night." Rose disappeared into her room, locking the
door behind her. She was ready to just forget what had happened that night and
go to sleep.