JACK AND ROSE: PRESENT TIME
Chapter Seventy-Two

"Where are they?" Dominique questioned as she looked up at the sky. "It's getting dark, and it's starting to rain. They should be back by now."

Fabrizio sighed. "Dom, you know Jack. He won't be back until he has Rose in his arms." Fabrizio knew his best friend. He would never give up on saving Rose. She meant everything to him. Fabrizio worried about the both of them.

"Oh my gosh," Alexia said as she pointed down the hill. "Here comes Tommy!"

They all ran to meet their friend. "Where's Jack?" Dominique asked.

Tommy collapsed onto the ground, out of breath. "Are you okay?" Alexia asked.

Tommy nodded. "Yeah. Jack...we saw Rose in Tony's truck. He jumped into the back of it..."

Dominique covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh my gosh! Does Tony know that he is back there? If he does know, Jack will be killed! We know how his brother is!" Dominique knew all too well.

"I don't think he knows..." Tommy muttered. But how long would it take to find out?

"Come on you guys," Tommy said as he pointed to the van. "Let's go find them."

~~~~~~~~~~

Jack could feel Tony get back into the car. He prayed he would remain unseen. They were in the same truck...would that even be possible? He hoped so.

He still couldn't believe how bad Rose looked. He just had one look at her with her eyes shut. It was awful. She had cuts and bruises everywhere. How could he let something this bad happen to her? Jack knew, inside, it wasn't his fault. But, it was his brother's fault.

Pretty soon, they entered a highway. The street obviously wasn't busy. Hardly any vehicles rode past them. Jack wondered where his brother must be taking Rose. Tony had always been a mysterious man. No one ever knew what his next step was...not even Tony knew sometimes.

About an hour later, Tony's truck slowed down. Jack could see a big house in front of them. It was a very poor looking house. He wondered why Tony would be stopping here. It seemed odd.

Tony got out of the car fast, and walked over to the other side. "Get the hell out of the car, now!" He yelled as he yanked Rose by the arm as she fell to the ground.

Rose, again, started to cry. Tony rolled his eyes and pulled her up to her feet. "We'll be staying here tonight," Tony said with a smile. "Just you and me."

After they were both in the house, Jack carefully climbed over the side of the truck. He carefully climbed behind the bushes and up to the house. He saw both of them in the dinning room, obviously discussing something.

Rose's eyes looked out the window for a split second, but that's all it took. Jack and Rose made eyes contact. As soon as Tony saw Rose's shocked face he turned around and looked out the window. He saw nothing.

He looked back at Rose. "What did you just do?"

Rose had to think. "I was just thinking...how I haven't taken a bath for a long time."

Tony looked at her suspisiosly. "That's what made you so shocked?"

"Yes. I usually take baths three times a day. Would it be okay if I went and took one in the creek behind the house?"

"Why can't you just take one here? There's one upstairs."

Rose thought again. "Because I don't wanna take a bath with you here..."

"I guess," Tony said, shrugging his shoulders. "We'll have plenty of time for the fun stuff tonight!" Tony paused. "But if there's anything funny going, on, I swear you'll die."

Rose just nodded, acting a little disgusted. She didn't want him to get too suspicious. She knew that Tony thought she'd never get away. Tony knew how much she loved Jack and her friends.

Rose went out the back door, and ran quickly to the other side of the bushes. She saw Jack looking right at her. They both looked straight into each other's eyes. They both ran as fast as they could into the other's arms.

They both started to cry, unable to hold back the tears. Jack kissed her fiercely, but warmly. "Look at you..." he said sadly. He took her hand, and they both began to run. "We gotta get out of here."

They both ran as fast as they could past the house, only to see Tony swing open the screen door. "Freeze!" He yelled as he held up a gun. "This isn't over!"

Jack knew not to keep running. The last thing he needed was to get shot...again. Or worse, having Rose get shot.

Tony really looked like he was completely insane. Of course, he always looked that way. But, this was worse than ever. They both knew he was about to pull the trigger. "Say goodbye young lovebirds."

They both closed their eyes and clung to each other and heard the gunshot.

Bang!

Chapter Seventy-Three
Stories