TRAPPED
Chapter Three
That was nearly two years ago
now. He still thought about that night often. It was hard to get something like
that out of his mind. It seemed, after the incident, that he would run into her
all the time. At school, at the house, even at practice. Jack was a jock. Kind
of a funny thing to say ten times fast. But back to the story. Jack was a rugby
jock. He needed something to take him mind off his parents and his life. Even
though Jack lived with some of the richest people in town, he still felt alone.
He still felt like his whole world was coming down on him with each step he
took. This wasn’t love. Cal’s parents didn’t love him, not like his parents
had. Jack wondered whether they actually loved Cal or just put up with him
because he was the Hockley heir. The only people who had ever loved him were
his parents, and perhaps, he thought, Rose. She was always on his mind; she was
stuck there. He couldn’t help loving her. One particular time at practice
assured that.
"See you later, guys!"
Jack called to his teammates. It had been another grueling practice and most of
them were bloodied or limping. Their coach liked to work them hard. Jack,
however, was pretty good. He was bleeding from his knee, but that was about it.
Rugby was the one time Jack could be aggressive and not have to worry about
other people. It wasn’t as if he was angry all the time, but his life sucked
most of the time. He was again staying after practice, like he always did. He would
run laps or kick around a soccer ball that he had. He was running during this
particular practice, running until it hurt to breathe. It was his way to stop
thinking. All he thought about was the pain in every limb and the pain in his
lungs. It was about his third lap when he felt he wasn’t alone. He looked for
who might be watching him. When he saw who it was, he tripped over his own
feet. He gathered his composure and tried to brush the dirt off as the most
stunning redhead he had ever met came running toward him.
"Jack! Jack, are you all
right?" Rose called.
"Yeah. I am fine. You just
startled me, is all. What are you doing here?"
"Well, I remembered what the
date was…" She looked down at her feet. She couldn’t honestly have
remembered. This was his parent’s fourth anniversary. Or, that was to say, it
had been four long years since he had lost the only people who loved him. She
couldn’t have remembered…I told her once, a long time ago at that. When I first
got here. This is insane.
"How did you remember? My
aunt and uncle didn’t even remember, and Mom was her sister. How could you
have…"
"Jack, I remembered…because
I cared about you."
"Cared? You cared about me
then, but why do you come now?"
"Because…don’t you remember?
Every year on this day we would go down to the river and place flowers by the
bridge," she said in almost a whisper. This just threw his entire mind out
of whack. She wasn’t supposed to care about him like this. He was supposed to
have lost everyone he loved. Life was so confusing.
"I didn’t forget. I just
thought you wouldn’t want to this year, what with the engagement and all."
"I was engaged last year,
Jack. And I still remembered. I went with you. I sat with you while you
complained about no one loving you. No, before you say anything, I want you to
know. I do love you. I always have loved you. I wish you could have come here
one year sooner. Then I wouldn’t have dated Cal. I wouldn’t even know Cal other
than he is the cousin of the love of my life. He is one of the foulest
creatures I have ever met. All I am is a prize to him, to be held above all the
other boys in the school. I don’t want him. I never wanted him."
"Then be with me, and not
him."
"I can’t. I gave him my
word. I can’t break my word to him. I may not love him, but I need him. My
mother likes him. She likes the security of him. He makes her happy."
"Do you want to get going,
then?" Jack asked, having nothing more to say.
"Yeah. Let’s go." They
left the field that day hand-in-hand, unknowing that a certain friend of Cal’s
was skulking in the bushes.