TRAPPED
Chapter Two

Rose lay in her bed, unable to sleep. She couldn’t believe that she had been so stupid to leave her ring on. Jack had seen it now. He knew that she was engaged. How could she have been so stupid? Jack was the one person she trusted with everything. He was the one person she truly loved. How could she have hurt him so badly? She knew now that nothing could ever happen between them.

*****

Jack was still looking out towards the past. He was staring at the ocean like he could turn back time. Take back what had happened with Rose.

Cal had proposed. But she had been so broken. She was going to be marrying him now. And Jack would have to be at the wedding and watch as the only person he loved was taken from him.

"Jack?" Rose’s voice floated behind Jack. "I couldn’t sleep. I need to tell you…"

"Shh." Rose was still ten feet from him. He took a step forward. She followed his lead. "Rose, there is no need to explain. Even if you marry Cal, we can still be friends. He won’t stop us."

"Yes, Jack, he will. You don’t understand. I don’t want to marry Cal. I don’t want to be Mrs. Caledon Hockley. I don’t even want to be Miss DeWitt-Bukater anymore. I'm sick of all of them." She took another step towards Jack. Once again, so did he.

"You are one of them, Rose. When I first met you, Rose, I knew that you were. You’re a spoiled little brat." It was killing Jack inside, saying this. But he knew that Cal would kill him if he ever found out. "You’re exactly like them. You’re all material…"

"Jack, I know what you are trying to do. It won’t work on me." She took two steps, and so did he. They were now only two feet apart. "You’re just a foolish little boy. You’re the one out of place, not me."

"Rose? I…" She took one more step. She waited to see if he followed. "Rose, I can’t. I just can’t…"

"Then why are you still here?" Jack didn’t know himself. Why was he still there? Was it because he was too cold to move? Or was it because he was madly in love with her and would like nothing more than to take that final step? He took the final step.

"See? I told you I…" Jack leaned in and kissed her. Their minds were both racing. It was almost dawn. If her mother or Cal saw them, they were both in hot water. But it was impossible to stop. When they finally broke apart, they were both at a loss for words. They stood there, staring at each other for what seamed like an eternity. Suddenly, the silence was broken by the sound of talking.

"Someone is coming, Jack. What are we going to do?"

"Stay here." Jack peered around the corner. It was Cal and his friend, Spicer Lovejoy. Lovejoy--as his friends knew him as--had known Cal forever and was like his spy. Always there when he didn’t want him to be. Just the people Jack didn’t want to see.

"Listen, Rose. I want you to leave. Go get them back to their rooms. Tell them you were out for some fresh air."

"Fresh air at three o’clock in the morning?"

"Yes. Tell him you needed to think about the engagement. Please, Rose."

"All right. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, tomorrow."

*****

"Jack, I need to talk to you. I tried last…no, that isn’t it." Rose stood in front of her mirror, trying to figure out what she was going to say to Jack. She had to tell him what she was feeling. When she had told Cal last night that they had been broken into, he instantly had the captain give them a new room. This room was even more stunning than the first one. From the burgundy walls with gold trim to the antique furniture. Everything was spotless. The worst thing was that her room was now far away from Jack’s room. His room was on the other side of the ship. She wished that she could figure this all out. She loved Jack. She knew that. But she would lose everything if she didn’t marry Cal.

"I need to talk to Jack. Now! But where is he? I haven’t seen him since last night. He didn’t show up at breakfast or lunch." A knock at the door broke her train of thought.

"Who is it?"

"Jack. Can I come in?"

"You should not be here. What if Cal was here?"

"I could have told him that his dad wanted him. Listen, Rose…"

"I listened to you last night. Now you’re going to listen to me."

"Okay…I just…"

"No! Jack, sit. I can’t see you anymore. I love Cal. What happened last night is to be forgotten, all right? If you ruin what Cal and I have, you will be sorry. Now, I think you should leave. I have work to do."

"Fine. You take care, Rose." He left the room very confused. Last night, she couldn’t take her hands off of him. Now she never wanted to see him again. The moment the door shut, Rose burst into tears. How could she do that? She loved him so much. She would just have to deal with it. She couldn’t go back. If she could, she never would have dated Cal.

Chapter Three
Stories