MORE THAN THAT
Chapter Twenty
Monday, December 15, 2003
The nightmares continued. Every
night it was the same thing. Rose tried to fend them off, but couldn't. She even
tried not sleeping, to no avail. The best she tried to do was avoid thinking
about it. That meant spending even more time with Cal.
Sometimes she wished she had
never told Jack to leave her alone. It was hard to deal with seeing him there
and not looking at her once. However, it was what she thought was for the best.
She thought just because Cal decreased his abuse, things would get better.
That's the way it seemed to her, but still she was so blind.
In her head, this was what she
thought. Her heart was somewhere else, though. She knew where it belonged, but
tried her best not to acknowledge it. That ship had sailed, and she wasn't
going to try and get it back.
Next year she would be done with
high school, and then she would never have to see Jack again. She would never
have to see him pass by and capture his scent. She would never have to see his
luscious blond locks. Never have to look into his beautiful blue eyes. Never
have to see his handsome young face. It ached her.
He was the reason why she woke up
in the mornings. He was the reason why she didn't jump off the bridge that
night. Jack was Rose's savior. It was crazy, because she was with Cal. She
didn't want to break up with Cal for fear of what he might do to her.
She walked through the school halls
on her free period. Her head was hung low as she walked down the stairs. The
minute she felt someone’s presence, she looked up and saw Jack. He didn't look
at her, though. Rose sighed and continued up the stairs.
When she got to the cafeteria,
all her supposed friends were sitting at their usual table. She sat down next
to Cal, of course. He kissed the side of her head. All Rose could do was smile
at him with absolutely no feeling.
"Listen up. Prom night is in
two months. We have to start planning for afterwards!" Jennifer said. Rose
was too tired to give a damn what they did. She could hear Jennifer speaking,
but didn't listen. Her words went through one ear and out the other. Soon she
daydreamed about Jack.
*****
Jack always noticed when Rose
looked at him. He would look back at her when she turned away. It was very hard
for him not to take a peek. She was too beautiful to resist. He wished he could
save her from Cal. He wished he had never met her at all sometimes.
Maybe he wouldn't have been
feeling the way he had for the past three months. From the moment he saw her,
he was hooked. Rose was a very rare beauty. She was one of a kind. It pained
him to see her with an asshole like Cal.
Cal wasn't human. He was a
monster who did not deserve Rose. He didn't deserve anyone, from the way he
treated them. He treated Rose like dirt, like she was the scum of the earth.
Jack would never treat Rose like that. He truly knew her worth. Why didn't she
know it? She was so much better than Cal. She was the one who was really on a
pedestal, not Cal. Cal was the one beneath her in reality.
If only there was a way to make
her see that. Jack no longer cared if he got Rose, just as long as she wasn't
hurt anymore by Cal.
"I'll be sixteen on Friday.
Finally, sixteen!" Christina was overjoyed as she sat at the cafeteria
table with Hannah and Jack. He looked at her and smirked. He knew that behind
her smile she was hurting. Christina and Tommy were still broken up. Jack
couldn't believe it was over something so stupid.
It was hard on the group, as
well. Christina wouldn't come outside to hang out with them if Tommy was there,
or vice versa. Sometimes, they didn't even bother to hang out at all.
Hannah and Fabrizio would just
stick to themselves, which left Jack all alone. He could tell how devastated
they were without each other in their voices. Whenever Jack mentioned to Tommy
that he was hanging out with Christina, Tommy would just say "oh". If
he told Christina he was hanging out with Tommy, she'd pretend she was okay
with it.
It was obvious they weren't. They
missed each other like crazy. Jack, Fabrizio, and Hannah wished they would just
talk to each other. However, being that they were both stubborn, they wouldn't
admit to missing one another. Some days Christina would stare at him, the
others, Tommy would do the same. Jack guessed that's what they called tough
love.
"Too bad I have to go to
dinner with my parents, or else we could all hang out! You guys, Fabrizio, and
myself," Christina said.
"And Tommy," Hannah
mentioned.
"Hannah, please!"
Christina said, giving her friend a dirty look.
"What? You know you would
want him there!" Hannah told her, knowing she was right.
"We broke up over a month
ago! We have both moved on," Christina lied.
"You miss him. You know you do.
None of you have moved on!" Hannah shouted to her. "Jack, tell
her."
"Do you think it is true,
Jack? You agree with Hannah?"
Jack didn't know what to say. He
agreed with Hannah, but he was afraid of what Christina might do if he told her
that.
"I'm going up to the art
room. See you girls later!" Jack said. He grabbed his book bag and art
stuff, getting out of that sticky spot as quickly as possible.
He laughed as he heard his
friends bickering with each other. Christina was in pure denial, just as Rose was.
Rose. Her name was in his head all the time. Jack walked up the stairs and felt
electricity as he passed by her. He didn't look at Rose, though. He couldn't.
He felt her eyes lock onto him, heard her sigh, then walked away. After that,
Jack turned his head, taking a glimpse of her. He smiled and continued up the
stairs.