MORE THAN THAT
Chapter Twenty-Six
February 9, 2004
He watched them. Every single
move they made was kept under surveillance. It disgusted him to see her kiss
another boy through the window. Then see them laughing together, enjoying their
time. Dancing in the rain, even. She was never that way with him.
What did Jack Dawson have that
Cal Hockley didn’t? For Christ’s sake, Cal was handsome, popular, and most of
all, he had money. He bought everything for Rose, and she in turn, shut him
down. So fucking what if he hit her? She deserved it. It was for her own good.
His father did it to his mother all the time. He had to put her in check.
Rose was his breath of fresh air.
She wasn’t like any other girl he met. She was different. She definitely was,
since she was so interested in Jack Dawson. Rose couldn’t be with anyone else.
Cal would have his revenge. If he couldn’t be with Rose, then no one else
could.
*****
"Why, you look very happy
today, Rose!" Christina smiled at her blushing friend, standing by her
locker. Rose was overjoyed about the events that had occurred on Saturday. It
had been such a wonderful day she wished it had never ended. Her glow was still
lighting up her face.
"Is that a bad thing?"
Rose asked.
"Not at all. This is the
happiest I’ve ever really seen you in over a year. You really like Jack, don’t
you?" Christina asked.
"Yes. It goes beyond liking.
I love him, and Saturday was the best night of my life!"
"What did you guys do after
you left my house?" Christina asked, standing against a locker as she
analyzed her manicure.
"We danced in the rain, went
to his house, and—" Rose began to say.
"Had sex!" Christina
said, a huge smile forming on her lips.
"Christina! Keep it low.
Besides, how’d you know?"
"Well, you did say you went to
his house, and it didn’t seem like you were going to stop there. Especially
with that huge smile on your face! It screams sex!" Rose giggled at her
friend’s comments. "See, and you’re not even denying it."
"I wish my first time was
with him, though." Rose sighed, shoving more books into her locker.
"Ugh. I can’t believe you
fucked that sad excuse of an ex-boyfriend."
"Me, either. It didn’t even
feel right. How could I have been so naïve?"
"Don’t sweat it, Rose. He
was, sad to say it, your first love."
"I thought he was."
Christina felt bad for her
friend. No one deserved the treatment Cal gave Rose. It was disgusting. What
was even worse was the fact that Rose had stayed around for so long. Thank God
she got out of it before she ended up dead.
"Hello, Rose." Both
girls felt chills run down their spines, recognizing the voice it belonged to.
Rose turned away from her locker and faced Cal.
"Get away, scumbag,"
Christina said. Cal rolled his eyes at her and then smiled at Rose. All she
managed to do was stand there, fright written all over her face.
"How are you today?" he
asked.
"Get the fuck away from
her!" Christina yelled.
"I wasn’t talking to you,
you dirty spic!" Cal yelled at Christina.
Christina was furious and impulse
made her slap Cal hard across his face. Rose’s mouth dropped, shocked that
Christina even touched the face of Cal Hockley.
"You’re going to pay for
that, you little bitch!" Cal yelled, and grabbed Christina by her wrist.
"Get your hands off
me!" Christina yelled back.
"Not until you say you’re
sorry!" Cal said.
"Not a chance!"
Christina laughed in his face.
"Just let her go, Cal,"
Rose said.
"Are you going to come back
to me or be with him? A whore to that gutter rat?" Cal asked her.
"I rather be his whore than
your girlfriend," she boldly stated, making Cal’s face grow red. He
couldn’t believe she’d actually choose Jack Dawson over him.
"I’m not letting her go,
then!" Cal said.
"Oh, come on, Cal! You’re
being childish!" Rose yelled at him, only causing the grip on Christina’s
wrist to get tighter.
"Ow! Get your fucking hands
off me!" Christina screamed, almost crying.
"Not until you say you’re
sorry or Rose comes back to me!" Cal said.
"She said to get your
fucking hands off her. Why don’t you listen to her?" Rose and Christina
turned their heads to see Tommy standing there.
"If it isn’t the mick coming
to saving his spic!" Cal smirked.
"Shut the fuck up, Cal, and
let her go. Learn how to treat a lady, for once!" Tommy yelled.
"Besides, it’s morning time. Isn’t it too early to start your psycho
rampage?"
"You think you’re smart,
don’t you?" Cal asked.
"I don’t think, I know, so
why don’t you take your hands off her before you get my foot up your ass?"
Tommy asked.
"I’m not scared of
you."
"All right. Don’t say I
didn’t warn you!" Tommy said, and grabbed Cal by his collar, pushing him
to the ground. "Are you okay, Christina?" All she managed to do was
nod her head as she rubbed her wrist, shocked that Tommy had come to her
rescue.
"I’m sorry, Chris. I should
have stuck up for you more!" Rose apologized.
"Don’t sweat it. You did
what you could!" Christina said.
Tommy just looked at Christina,
but was distracted by Cal, who got up from the floor and pushed Tommy to the
ground. Tommy turned over to face him, and before Cal could get in a punch,
Tommy kicked him where it hurt the most. Cal grabbed onto his crotch, falling
to the ground. Tommy proceeded to kick Cal’s ribcage.
A crowd was drawn to the scene,
Christina and Rose looking on. Rose, however, was smiling. So glad that Cal was
getting what he deserved as Tommy grabbed Cal by the neck, punching his face.
Finally, a teacher came and
pulled Tommy away from Cal.
"To the dean’s office!"
the teacher yelled at Tommy. He walked past Rose and Christina, the teacher
holding a tight grip on his arm.
"I can’t believe he just did
that," Christina said.
"I can." Rose smiled at
her friend. Rose knew this was all the proof needed to show Christina that
Tommy really was very much in love with her.
"I can’t believe we missed
that!" Fabrizio said.
*****
Jack, Rose, Christina, Hannah,
and Fabrizio were seated in a booth at the Vegas Diner after school. It felt a
little weird for Fabrizio and Hannah to see Rose sitting there and Tommy not
being with them, but she made Jack happy. They also came to find Rose wasn’t
the stuck up, snobby, rich bitch they thought she was. Rose was the person
Christina always knew her to be back in the pre-Cal days.
"I wish I could’ve been
there. Cal had no right to put his hands on Chris and shouldn’t come anywhere
near you!" Jack yelled, furious.
"Don’t worry, Jack. We’re
both fine. Thanks to Tommy," Rose mentioned.
"Yeah, and now he is
suspended until Thursday," Hannah informed them.
"Will he still be allowed to
go to the prom?" Christina asked.
"Yeah. It’s not like he was
planning on going anyway since…well…you know," Fabrizio said, censoring
himself.
"You can say it, Fabri.
Since I dumped him like a moron, he plans on not going, which sucks because he
rented his tux along time ago."
"Why are you so hard on
yourself about this?" Hannah asked. "You can’t put all of the blame
on yourself. You guys would probably be back together if he hadn’t been talking
to Maria."
"Thanks, Hannah, but I
shouldn’t have dumped him in the first place. Can we stop talking about this,
though? Why don’t we talk about how unfair it is that Cal is in no
trouble?"
"Because his dad probably
paid the school off to not suspend him. Catholic schools are so fucking greedy
for money!" Rose said, rolling her eyes.
"Nothing is ever fair. At
least Cal can’t come to the prom. If only I could guard you from him in
school," Jack said.
"Okay, how about we don’t
talk about Cal at all. Just focus on Friday!" Rose said, starting to get
uncomfortable feelings about the prom. It had been a while since those feelings
had come. They had stopped when she started hanging out with Jack and
Christina. Not even the nightmares occurred. But now her bad vibes were
returning, and she could only wonder why.
*****
Cal threw a glass across his
study. He ignored it, knowing the housekeeper would clean it up. His main
concern was Rose and how Tommy Ryan hit him. He’d get Tommy back later. Rose
and Jack were his first targets. He’d give her one more chance to return to
him. After that, it was going to be up in flames.
With Lovejoy at his side, Cal
would have a greater chance at getting the job done. Little did Jack and Rose
know that he had connections at the Brooklyn Marriott, so he’d be able to get
in. He had to be there. He couldn’t miss the big night.
After he was done with them, he’d
get to Tommy and Christina. There was no way he was going to forget a bunch of
nobodies laying a finger on him. Although they wouldn’t suffer as much as Jack
and Rose, it’d be his revenge. Rose just had to be smart about the decision she
was going to make.