JACK AND ROSE: PRESENT TIME
Chapter
Sixty-Three
"Jack doesn't
suspect a thing," Alexia said to her friend as she hung up some more
decorations.
Dominique smiled.
Even though she was totally bummed because Rose wasn't going to be there, she
was excited about Jack's party. Know one knew what the party was for - it was
just something to cheer Jack up.
Just then, Tommy
and Fabrizio came through Dominique's front door. "Hey girls... how are
the plans going?" Tommy asked.
"Fine, but I'm
still clueless on what this party is for," Alexia said.
"Duh,"
Fabrizio said. "It's for Jack."
"It's just
something to make the poor boy feel better," Tommy said.
Alexia nodded. She
had never seen Jack so down. She hoped this would make him feel better,
although it probably wouldn't.
Rose smiled as she
saw everyone's car in Dominique's driveway. She knew they would all be there.
She knew Jack wasn't because she could already see everyone through the window.
Jack wasn't with them.
The last couple of
days were pure hell for Rose. Coming back with Caledon Hockley wasn't the best
trip ever. But, he did remain nice. Rose asked Cal why he did it for her and he
said, "Because you're my friend."
Rose didn't need to
worry about that right now. All she had to worry about was what was her next
step. She could only figure that out with Jack's help.
She had left a note
for her aunt to read. It told her aunt that she was okay and she just had to
leave. Molly knew how much she loved Jack from watching videos with Rose. Rose
begged her not to tell her mother she had left. Rose prayed Molly would keep
her mouth shut.
Rose took a deep
breathe before attempting to knock on the door. What were her friends going to
say? There was only one way to find out...
"I'll get
it," Fabrizio said as he went to the front door. Dominique had one of
those big, wooden front doors with no window. Fabrizio opened it...
"Hey,
Rose," Fabrizio said without thinking. Then, realization sunk in.
"Rose?!"
Rose smiled and
hugged him. "Oh my gosh.." Fabrizio said. "What are you doing here?"
He asked with a smile.
She was about to
answer when the rest of the crew came in. "Rose?" They all asked in
disbelief.
Rose smiled.
"Gosh, I've missed you guys," she said softly.
They all started
screaming and had a group hug. Nobody knew what Rose was doing there, but they
were happy to see her.
"Rose..what
are you doing here?" Dominique asked with a big grin.
"I ran
away."
"From
Paris?" Tommy asked with a laugh. "I always knew our Rose was crazy,
but never this crazy!" Rose just kept smiling.
"Does Jack
know you're back?" Alexia asked.
"No..."
"He's going
nuts without you, Rose," Fabrizio said.
Rose smiled.
"Is he doing okay?"
"He'll be
doing much better when he sees you," Tommy said.
"What are all
of the decorations for?" Rose asked.
"Oh,"
Alexia said. "We're having a party. It was gonna be something to cheer
Jack up.."
"You guys
really care about him," Rose said.
"How about we
wait until tonight to show him that you're here," Dominique said. "We
can surprise him."
"That's a
great idea," Rose said. "I can't wait to see him."
The group talked
until the party would start. Rose told them that she didn't know what she was
going to do about her mom and John. All she knew was that she and Jack had to
be together. They told her they knew that's how Jack felt, too.
Finally, it was
time for Jack to come over. Jack was really dreading it. Sure, he loved his
friends. But, he just felt like staying home and thinking about Rose. That's
what he did every night.
Jack pulled up into
the driveway and turned off his car. He was going to try to have fun tonight.
He wanted to have a good time, but he knew it would be impossible without Rose.
Jack knocked on the
door and Alexia answered it. "Hey Jack."
"Hey
Alex," he said.
They both walked
into the living room where everyone was sitting around. Rose was hidden in the
kitchen. "We're gonna play hide and go seek!" Fabrizio told his
friend.
"You guys, I
really don't feel like..." but Dominique didn't let Jack finish.
"Oh, come on
Jack," Dominique said. "I promise it will cheer you up."
They didn't give
Jack a chance to protest. "Alexia's it."
Alexia smiled and
turned off the light. "We'll play in the dark. It's more fun that
way."
Jack sighed as he
looked around the dark room. He wondered why his friends were so bored that
they would play such a childish game. But, Jack decided to just go along with
it.
Jack didn't know
where the others had ran off too, but he had no idea where he would hide. Then,
Tommy grabbed this shoulder.
"Jack, go hide
in the kitchen closet. She won't find you there."
Jack just slowly
felt his way to the kitchen. He was now glad he knew Dominique's house well
enough to find where he was going.
He carefully opened
the kitchen closet door and creped inside. Once he got settled he just stood
there and listened. It didn't seem like anything was going on. He wondered if
his friends were playing some kind of joke, but he knew they wouldn't when he was
in so much pain.
Then, he heard the
closet door open. Alexia had found him. "Okay," Jack said. "You
got me."
Rose leaned over
and kissed the boy she had wanted to kiss for weeks. Before Jack had a chance
to say anything, Rose turned on the lights.
"No,"
Rose said with a smile. "You got me."