TRAPPED
Chapter One

Jack Dawson sat alone in the lunchroom, engrossed in his own thoughts as usual. He was thinking about his parents, who had died two years ago. Jack, now seventeen, lived with his aunt and uncle in Florida. The upper class Florida. Jack’s uncle, better know as Nathan Hockley, was a steel tycoon. His aunt worked at a lawyer’s office. And his cousin, Caledon Hockley, despised him. Ever since Jack could remember, Cal had hated him. Jack was better at everything. Better looking, even, but Cal would never admit it. The one thing Cal always had was money. Now that Jack was living with them, Jack had access to the money, not to mention the inheritance. He didn’t get that until he was twenty-one, but still…

"Well, isn’t it Mr. Popular himself?" Tommy Ryan piped up.

"Mr. Hot Stuff," Fabrizio di Rossi joined in. Tommy and Fabri, as Jack called him, were Jack’s only close friends.

"Oh, hi."

"Well, isn’t someone Mr. Sunshine today? What is the matter with you?" Tommy asked.

"Just thinking. Cal got another new car, so he and Rose…"

"Oh! I knew it had something to do with Rose."

Rose…Cal’s longtime girlfriend. On the outside, she was another high-class snob. But to Jack, she was perfection. He knew her better than anyone else. Why, he’d even saved her life once…

*****

"Mother, do we really have to go on this cruise?" Cal whined.

"Yes! I want Jack to have a good sixteenth birthday because…" Jack walked into the room. "His parents are…well, you know what I mean," Cal’s mother hissed.

"Well, then, where are we going again?"

"An Alaskan cruise. It was a very expensive ticket, Cal." It was an expensive ticket, but everything had to be expensive with Jack’s aunt.

"But, Mother, I had planned to go to Europe with Rose."

"Invite her along," Cal’s father announced as he came into the room. "We can afford the ticket, and then you could give her the present that you made me buy for her. Bloody expensive present, at that."

"You’re right, Father. What a great idea. I’ll call her right now." Cal left the room in search of the phone.

"Thank you both for this," Jack said gratefully.

"Anytime, dear boy. Now, run along and pack. We leave for Victoria first thing in the morning."

*****

"Did your mother really have to come?" Cal asked Rose as they exited the car at Victoria Harbor. They were standing in front of an amazing ship, only rivaled by the Titanic. It was a crystal white and very luxurious. This was its last sea voyage. Afterwards, it was to be retired. The Britannic was the sister ship to the great ocean liner Titanic. Made at the same time, this ship had well-served it’s purpose.

"She insisted, Cal. And besides, she likes you. I feel sorry for…"

"You were going to say Jack, weren’t you?"

"I was. It is not up to you to decide what I do or do not say."

"We’ll continue this later." And with that, he was off to help carry the coats to the ship.

Rose knew not to push the issue. She was getting so sick of him. If it weren’t for her mother, she would have broken it off a long time ago. Her mother was the one who wanted her to keep at it. When she married Cal, she would have a good life. Her mother couldn’t provide her with one, because Rose’s father left them in debt. They were only surviving on credit. But it was almost all gone. The only problem was that Rose didn’t love Cal. She loved someone else.

*****

"Here we are, Sweetpea," Cal chimed.

"Wow. These rooms are…"

"Stunning. Made for royalty. We are royalty, Rose. I was going to save this for when we were in Europe."

"Oh, no!" thought Rose. "I know what this…"

"Rose DeWitt-Bukater, I'm in love with you. There is nothing I could not give you, nothing I would deny you, if you would not deny me. Oh, open your heart to me, Rose." Cal reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a little silver box. He got down on one knee and pulled out the biggest diamond Rose had ever seen.

"Rose, will you marry me?"

"Cal, I don’t know what to say. I'm only seventeen, and…"

"We don’t have to get married today. We will be engaged for a while, ‘til we finish school. Then I can go to college and you can stay home, be an artist or whatever it is you want to be."

"Cal, I…"

"Rose, there you are. I was just wondering if I left my purse in here," Mrs. DeWitt-Bukater said.

"No, Mother, you didn’t." Rose knew very well that her mother had not left her purse in here and had just come in to stop her from saying no.

"Oh, by the way, Cal, your father needs you in the sitting room."

"Tell him I'll be right down, Ruth, if I may call you that?"

"Certainly, Cal." She left, feeling satisfied.

"We will finish this later, sweetpea." Cal slipped the ring onto Rose’s finger, kissed her on the cheek, and followed Ruth out of the room.

What am I going to do now? the little voice in Rose’s head kept saying over and over. With not a second thought, Rose picked up a vase and threw it against the wall. Rose saw her life flash before her eyes. That was it. Rose had had it. She picked up everything that touched her hand and threw it. She kept throwing things until she caught herself in the mirror.

What have I done? I can’t do this anymore! It caught her off guard, the way that she looked. Her hair had fallen out of the updo that she had spent an hour getting done. Her dress, one that she had gotten in Paris, one that cost her father fifteen hundred dollars, was torn and ripped. Her face was the worst. It looked somehow lost, torn, and broken. She was stuck with no way to get out. She punched the mirror. As it shattered, Rose thought that this mirror was like her life, shattered into a million pieces. Rose didn’t realize it now, but she had cut her hand.

Run, Rose…run. Run as far from him, from them, as you can, and she did. Towards the stern. Just keep running. Don’t stop…don’t… Whack! No more ship! No more ship!

She was running so fast that she didn’t notice Jack having a night smoke. Rose peered over the railing, carefully put her foot up, and in one quick motion, before she or Jack realized it, she was hanging off the back of the ship. Hanging high in the air above freezing cold waters.

"Long way down," Jack said, breaking the silence.

"Ah!" Rose jumped so much she almost let go. She turned her head enough to see that it was Jack. Then she realized that she was still wearing the ring. If Jack saw the ring, she would be crushed.

"Don’t come any closer, Jack."

"Rose, what are you doing?"

"Jack, stay where you are, or I'll…" The ring wouldn’t come off unless she used both hands. It was too tight. Typical Cal to buy something too small. "I'll jump."

"Don’t be stupid, Rose. Come on." Rose kept fiddling with her ring. "Fine. If you’re going to jump, then so am I."

"Don’t be foolish, Jack. You’ll be killed."

"I'm a good swimmer."

"The fall alone will kill you." Rose turned her head so she could see that Jack was standing there in his T-shirt and pants, his shoes and jacket lying beside him on the deck.

"Cal would never even consider jumping. Cal would call for help or let me jump, then throw something in for me."

"It would hurt. I'm not saying it wouldn’t. But to tell you the truth, I'm more worried about that water being so cold."

"How cold?"

"Freezing. Maybe a few degrees above. I grew up in Wisconsin; they have some of the coldest winters around. This one time, me and my dad…" Memories of Jack’s father came back to him. It was still hard to talk about him. Jack missed him so much. "We went ice fishing and I fell in, and let me tell you, water that cold, like right down there--it hits you like a thousand knives stabbing you all over your body. You can’t breathe, you can’t think, at least not about anything but the pain. That is why I'm not looking forward to jumping in after you. I guess I'm hoping you’ll come back over and get me off the hook here."

"You’re crazy."

"That is what everyone says, but I'm not the one hanging off the back of a ship. Now, come on. Give me your hand."

Rose knew she couldn’t do that. One hand had the ring and the other, she realized, was covered in blood and in excruciating pain.

"Come on." Jack reached for her left hand. She couldn’t let him see the ring. She snatched her hand away a little too fast and lost her balance. She reached her left hand in hopes of catching the railing, but she missed. Her other hand was still holding onto the railing, but for how long?

"Give me your hand." If she reached for Jack, he’d see the ring. If she didn’t, they’d both die.

"Give me your hand, Rose, or I'm jumping!" She looked up at him and their eyes locked. Everything was in slow motion. She couldn’t let Jack die. She reached with all her strength. But her other hand gave out. Jack grabbed the other one just in time, but she almost pulled him down with her.

"Come on, Rose. I’ve got you. Pull yourself up." He pulled with all his might. "Come on, Rose. Almost there." With one final pull, they both fell onto the deck. Both of them were shaking. Maybe he hadn’t seen the ring. Maybe. She looked over at him, just as he did the same. He started to lean in. What she wouldn’t give for him to kiss her.

"What time is it? Will Cal come looking for me? He might be right now!" She sprang up. "I have to go, Jack. Thanks for pulling me back."

"Wait! Rose, you forgot your ring."

Chapter Two
Stories