JUST WHEN I NEEDED YOU
Chapter Six
Rose quickly exited the room with Jack in
tow. Taking a deep breath, she leaned up against the wall. "I can't
believe I just did that. I'm free. I'm finally free."
Jack grinned. "Yes, you are. But to be
completely free, we gotta get you packed up and moved out. Come on."
Rose nodded and led him up to her room,
feeling a bit shy about having him there. Jack noticed the faint pink shade of
her face, and laughed.
"You want me to go?" he asked,
motioning to the door.
Rose smiled, but shook her head. "No,
I'm gonna need your help. It's just...you haven't been up here since we were
kids. And after everything we've done...it feels a bit weird."
Jack nodded knowingly. "It's all right.
I understand. You got boxes?" he said, trying to place focus back on the
task at hand.
Rose nodded, and pulled a bunch of them out
of the closet. They worked together for a while, taping the boxes so they'd
stay together. Once that was done, Jack gazed around the room, amazed at how
much stuff one person could collect.
"Where do we start?"
Rose looked thoughtful. "Hmm..."
She paused. "I'll start with my clothes, since I'll need those most. Why
don't you start with the bookcase?" she stated, trying to put him in the
least intimate place.
Jack raised an eyebrow, but didn't say
anything. With a smile, they both went to work. Halfway through packing Rose's
books, Jack recognized the hollow book he had given her to hide the stuff he
gave her from Ruth.
Turning to face her, he held it up. "You
still have this?"
Rose glanced up, and when she saw what he was
holding, broke into a smile. Quickly, she took it from him, and sat on the bed.
Motioning for him to sit, she opened it. "This was all I had left of you
after you left. Mother went about trying to destroy every romantic memory I had
of you. But I hid this stuff and took it out from time to time. It made me
remember what you said that night. 'No matter how alone you feel, there is
someone out there who loves you.' You have no idea how much that helped me
through."
Jack hugged her. "What's in there?"
Rose smiled and began removing the items.
Once the book was empty, she spread them out on the bd. Jack glanced up at her
in amazement after surveying some of the items. "You kept all of this
stuff?" he asked, picking up a dried rose he had given her for Valentine's
Day.
"Like I said, it was all I had left of
you. The only connection I had. It especially made getting through each day
easier, once my mom forced me into that engagement. She never realized how much
she was hurting me, how much of my spirit she was killing. I know she hated the
fact I refused to let go of you."
Jack shook his head. "She really hated
us being together, didn't she?"
Rose nodded sadly. "Yeah. Daddy always
kept her in line about it, but after he died, she tried so hard to take you
from me even more. I think she was trying to make me die with him."
Jack hugged her, planting a kiss on the top
of her head. "Nobody is ever going to push us apart again. I love you too
much to let that happen."
Rose leaned up to kiss him. "I love
you." She paused. "We should probably get back to packing."
Jack nodded and held out his hand to help her
up.
*****
Ruth stood in the hallway, tears in her eyes.
She had just heard her daughter talking about her. Had she really been so blind
that she couldn't see how badly she was hurting Rose? Was her foolish judgment
of Jack getting in the way of her ability to see how much they both loved each
other? Ruth gasped as realization hit her. What Rose had said was true. She had
been trying to kill her own daughter's spirit by attempting to remove every
memory she had of Jack. A lone tear escaped down her face. She was so confused.
Turning away from Rose's door, she went into her bedroom to think.
*****
Rose glanced around her room. She and Jack
had been packing her stuff for the past five hours. Everything she owned was
now in the boxes Jack was loading into the back of his truck. All she had left
to do was take her bed apart. She smiled, thinking of how stupid it probably
was to take her bed. She'd probably end up sleeping with Jack every night. Too
involved in her own thoughts, Rose didn't hear Jack come in and jumped when his
arms slid around her waist from behind.
"Was that a smile I just saw?" Jack
asked, kissing her neck.
Rose grinned. "I was just thinking that
I might not need to take my bed."
Jack chuckled. "You may have a point
there, Rosie. We should take it though, just in case."
Rose turned to face him, wrapping her arms
around his neck. "I suppose you're right. Help me dismantle it, would
ya?"
Jack swept her up into a passionate kiss
before answering her. "Now I will."
Fifteen minutes later, the bed was in the
truck and they came back inside to make sure nothing was left behind. Rose took
one look around the room and sighed. As happy as she was that she was moving in
with Jack, she was going to miss her room.
"What do you wanna do abut the other
furniture?" Jack asked, breaking into her thoughts.
Rose glanced up at him. "I suppose leave
it for now. Maybe Ryan and Matt can come over and help you move it
tomorrow."
Jack nodded. "That shouldn't be a
problem. Are you ready to go, then?"
Rose smiled. "Yeah. Let's go home."
Jack took her hand as they headed down the
stairs. Just before they went out the door, Ruth's voice made them stop.
"Rose, wait a minute."
Rose turned to face her mother.
"Yes?"
Ruth closed her eyes momentarily, speaking
once she reopened them. "I know there is no way for me to stop you from
leaving, but at least let me say this."
"Fine. Go ahead," Rose said coolly.
"I know I hurt you, Rose. Trying to
marry you off to Caledon when you're so obviously in love with Mr. Dawson. I
wasn't thinking about your feelings, only the fact he could give you everything
you could ever need. I know my actions the past few years have been far from
honorable, but I do love you, Rose. I just want you to be happy. I guess I'm
trying to say I'm sorry."
Rose nodded. "Yes, he could give me
anything except the one thing I wanted and needed most--Jack. I can't forgive
you right now, Mother...maybe one day, but not right now."
Ruth sighed, but nodded. "I owe you an
apology as well, Jack. I never thought you were good enough to date Rose.
Mainly because your family didn't have as much money as us. I just refused to
acknowledge how happy you made her. I'm truly sorry. Just promise me you'll
take care of her."
Jack smiled slightly. "I will, Mrs.
DeWitt-Bukater. I will."