Jack Dawson walked up the stairs and rang the doorbell. He hated what he had to do next.
"Jack, my boy!" Jacob Bukater said as he let his daughter’s boyfriend inside. He loved this guy. He was trustworthy and he really loved Rose. But his wife, Ruth, never thought much of him.
"Hey, Jacob. Is Rose around?" Jack asked nervously.
"Yeah, in the back with Julie," he said.
Jack dreaded the next few minutes. He loved Rose so much, and he couldn’t stand to leave her, but with his parents dying because of that stupid drunk driver, he couldn’t stand living here anymore.
"Jack! What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be going to California for a week," Rose said, hugging her boyfriend. God, she loved him.
Jack paused and studied everything about her, for this might be the last time he’d ever see her. He knew she was going to cry, and he couldn’t take that. He loved her so much.
"Rose, I need to talk to you," he said.
"Okay. I’ll be back in a minute, Julie," she said to her sister. Julie nodded. They walked out to a bench. Jack remembered another time they were there.
*****
Jack and Rose were outside, making out, as usual. Her parents were away for the weekend, and one thing led to another.
"You nervous?" Jack asked, once he had carried her to her bedroom.
"No. Put your hands on me, Jack..." Rose said.
*****
"What is it, Jack?" Rose’s voice brought him back to the present.
"Rose--I have to tell you something. I don’t want to do this, but I have to," Jack said.
"What? What do you have to do?" Rose asked, getting nervous. Jack sat there, tears appearing in his beautiful blue eyes. God, he hated doing this to her--to himself. Why was he doing this again? Why didn’t he stay here--here with the love of his life--and work out his problems? No. He had tried that already, and he just couldn’t do it.
"Rosie--I have to get away. It’s too much for me to stay here. I don’t want to, Rose, but I have to," Jack said.
"For how long?" Rose asked, tears falling freely from her eyes.
"I don’t know," Jack said. Both he and Rose were crying. Rose sobbed as he held her. Jack didn’t know what to say--he had never wanted to hurt her. A few minutes after their uncontrollable sobbing, they sobered.
"When are you leaving?" Rose asked. Jack sighed.
"In a few minutes," Jack said. Rose nodded. Inside, she was dying. How was she going to live without Jack?
"I love you. I’ll always love you," Rose said, again sobbing.
"I love you, too, Rose. I’ll come back--someday. I promise," said Jack. "And you know I always keep my promises." Rose smiled through her tears. They held onto each other until Jack finally broke the silence.
"I guess I’d better get going," Jack said. Rose looked up at him, studying him one last time.
"Where are you gonna go?" Rose asked. Jack looked down at her and wiped away her tears gently with his thumb.
"Wherever the road leads me, I guess," Jack said. Rose laughed slightly.
"Be careful out there, Jack," Rose said.
"I will," Jack said. They got up and slowly walked to his car. When they reached it, Jack kissed Rose like he had never kissed her before.
"I love you, Rosie. God, I hate doing this," he said.
"I love you, too, Jack." That was all Rose could say.
"I guess I’d better go. Bye, Rose. I’ll be back. I really will," Jack told Rose, trying to soothe her and himself.
"I know. I’ll miss you," Rose said. They shared one final kiss before Jack drove away. Rose just stood there, long after his car was out of sight. She went into the huge house, straight up to her room. How was she going to live without Jack?
Five Years Later
Jack drove up to the old Dawson place, his old home. He hadn’t been here in Chippewa Falls for five years. In those five years, he hadn’t dated anyone and mostly traveled alone. He had been all around the country, to almost every state in the union. He’d seen everything from the Statue of Liberty to the Grand Canyon. But after all this time, he still missed Rose, and loved her with all that he had. He planned to go home, get some rest, and show up at her house tomorrow.
Of course, he had his doubts. What if she wasn’t in love with him anymore? What if she was with someone else? What if she didn’t even live there anymore? He still loved her. She was the only person he truly loved, besides his parents. He didn’t have that much family, and didn’t have any brothers or sisters. He smiled as he walked up the steps and slid in the key. He was amazed that he had managed to keep up with it all this time and that no one had had this place torn down by now.
The house wasn’t in too terrible shape. He’d have to call the electric and water companies tomorrow. Tonight he need some sleep.
The next morning, he got the electricity turned back on, and around three o’clock, he was ready to go see Rose. He nervously drove the four minutes it took to get to her house. He got there and noticed that the mailbox still said DeWitt-Bukater on it.
He climbed up the steps, those same steps he had gone up the last time he saw her. He was nervous, but when Julie answered the door, he was relieved that it wasn’t Ruth.
"Oh, my God! Jack! Oh, my God! I though we’d never see you again!" Julie said.
"I know. It’s been forever. Is Rose still around?" Jack asked her. He waited for an answer, but she just stood and looked at him for a while, tears appearing in her eyes. She didn’t want to tell him about what had happened. Sure, it had completely shocked the microscopic town of Chippewa Falls, but it was still real.
"Julie?" Jack asked.
"Jack, we need to talk," Julie said.
"Okay," Jack said, letting her lead him into the living room.
"Jack, I really don’t want to be the one to tell you this," Julie said.
"What is it?" Jack asked fearfully. Julie sighed.
"This is really hard," she confessed.
"Just tell me!" Jack said.
"Jack…Rose…she--she committed suicide. It was three years ago. God, it was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen. We found that Dad had cancer--about a month after you left--and when he died, Rose lost it. The day after we buried him, I went up to her room and I saw this pool of red coming out of her bathroom, and...and I opened the door, and there she was. She was just lying there. I figured out she had slit her wrists. She just…she just looked so helpless. If only I’d just woken up earlier, I could have stopped her. I’m sorry, Jack. I’m sorry you had to find out like this. I’m so sorry!" Julie cried.
"She...she’s dead?" Jack asked, shocked. The only love he’d ever known was lying in a coffin somewhere, and he didn’t even know about it?
"Yes. Want me to take you to her grave?" Julie asked.
"Will you?" Jack asked.
"Come on. We’ll take my car," she said. On the way there, Jack sat in a daze. How was he to go on without his soulmate? Why had he had to leave? Why had she killed herself? Why hadn’t she just held on a little bit longer? Why, why, why?
Once there, Julie led Jack to the grave.
"I’ll wait in the car," she said, knowing that Jack wanted to talk to Rose alone.
"Thanks, Julie," Jack said. When she was gone, he knelt by the stone. He touched the words on it. 1980 - 2001, it read. She was only twenty-one. He had left her in 1999.
"Oh, Rosie. Why did you do that? Why? What am I supposed to do without you?" Jack cried, nearly hysterical. When it began getting dark, he wiped his tears away and whispered into the wind, "I love you, Rose."
That night, Jack couldn’t sleep. It was depressing outside, all rainy and dark. He got into his car and drove around. Either he wasn’t concentrating, or it was just fate for Rose and Jack to be together. He accidentally ran a red light and crashed into a semi. He was killed instantly. His only known relative, his Uncle Ben, had him buried in the plot right next to Rose.
The End.
