WHAT IF?
Chapter Seventeen
A few weeks passed. Rose toured
around fifteen states. A few weeks later, Rose came back to LA. She stayed home
all weekend with Jack, but a few days later both of them had to go back to
work.
*****
Rose went out with Taryn to eat
and talk about her days on tour.
"So, what happened? And tell
me everything. No lies."
Rose took a sip of her drink and
lifted her eyebrow. "Okay. First we went to New York, then we went to
Miami, then..."
"You little hooch. You did
it."
"Huh?" Rose took
another sip of her drink.
"I knew it. Something is
different about you. You and Jack--when, where, why?"
"Why do you need to know
about other people’s lives?" Rose choked on her drink.
"Yep. I’m good."
"At what?"
Taryn got up and began to leave.
"At what?"
Rose also got up and left.
*****
That day, Rose didn’t say a word,
not even to her mother. Garret looked at both of them.
"Okay. What’s going
on?" Ruth and Rose looked at him. "Okay. Now you’re giving me the
stare. Something happened here, and I want to find out now."
Garret was interrupted by Rose.
"Hey. You’re in the newspaper."
Garret looked at his photo, then
put the newspaper down. "If you two don’t tell me what’s going on, I’m
gonna find out for myself," Garret said in an upset voice.
"Why don’t you ask your
sister? Maybe she’ll give you an explanation."
"Mom, I..."
"Garret, she lost it."
Garret looked confused, then
looked at Rose and at how different she looked.
"What?" she asked.
"Rose..." Garret sat
back in his chair, then got up.
"Garret..."
He walked away. She looked at
Ruth, who also walked away. Rose started to cry. She got up and left.
*****
Rose got home, played the piano,
and began singing. Jack came home. He smiled at her voice. He sat next to her
and looked at her face.
"What’s wrong?"
"Nothing. Just hold
me." Rose leaned on Jack.
*****
Rose woke up the next morning,
ready to go to England for her sixteenth concert with Rachel and the gang. She
sat in the private plane listening to some songs. She didn’t talk to anyone
around her in the plane. She just listened to songs. When she arrived there,
she went to her room and prepared her voice. The next day, she went to the
auditorium and rehearsed. Rachel noticed how silent Rose was. It was like Rose
was in her own world. She didn’t look at the people around her, except for the
tour instructor.
*****
Afterwards, back at the hotel,
they heard the news that Prince William was going to attend the concert with
his girlfriend. Rose was shocked to hear that. Rachel hoped that Prince Harry
would be there. She got the news that he’d be there. Rachel cheered, and had an
idea.
"You know what? Who wants to
go clubbing?" Everyone cheered but Rose. Rachel grabbed her and took her
by the arms. They drove to the hottest club. Rose danced with Rachel.
"Baby, I’m ready to go."
They sang along with the song. "You’re strange, insane." Their
next favorite song came on, Chinese Burn. Rose, Rachel, Lisa, Piper, and
Tara danced.
"She gets what she wants
and then walks away, and she doesn’t give a fuck what you may say,"
Rose and Rachel sang. They began to dance with each other, and then with some
guys. The DJ began to play 50 Cent’s song In Da Club. "Go, go,
go, go shorty, it’s your birthday, we’re party likes it’s your birthday, you
wanna sip Bacardi like it’s birthday and we don’t give a fuck that it’s your
birthday..." Rose got low, then came back up. That night, Rose never
thought that she’d enjoy clubbing, but she did, though at the same time she
wondered what Jack was doing. She thought about him after she left the club to
go back to the hotel. Later that night, she went to bed.
*****
Back in LA, Jack also went
clubbing, with Fabrizio, Mike, Garret, and Tommy. He danced with a couple of
girls. He couldn’t stop thinking about Rose and what she was doing. Garret tapped
him on then back, then asked him to follow him to the men’s room. They left for
the bathroom. Garret pushed Jack against the wall.
"Okay. When did you sleep
with my sister?"
"Hey, what the fuck,
man?" Jack pushed him back.
"Listen, Jack, I don’t want
to hit you or maybe kill you, but I have no choice." Garret was about to
hit him, but Jack ducked. Garret hit the wall. Jack hit him, and Garret him
back.
*****
Back in London, Rose wasn’t
feeling well. She felt a sharp pain in her stomach. All of a sudden, she got up
and ran into bathroom. She realized that her nose was bleeding. She grabbed
toilet paper and began to mop up the blood.
*****
Jack and Garret fought. Jack hit
Garret in the stomach. Garret hit Jack in the same place.
*****
Rose rested in the VIP room. She
sat on the couch in pain. Her nose began to bleed again.
*****
Jack and Garret’s mouths were
filled with blood.
"Listen, I don’t want to
fight, man..." Jack said breathlessly.
"Then answer my
question!"
"Okay. Here’s your answer.
Yes, I slept with Rose, but in not that kind of way."
"Why didn’t you wait ‘til
you guys were married?"
"It was her decision. But,
hey, at least I didn’t get her pregnant in a one night stand."
"Fuck you, Jack! And I’ll
also take care of Rose when she gets back." Garret wiped the blood off his
face, then opened the door. "Man, clean yourself up." He left. Jack
glared at him as he left. He walked towards the sink and began to wash his
face.
*****
Rose wiped her nose. She got up
and went back to bed. Her stomach still hurt a little bit, but she knew the
pain would go away.
*****
The next morning, Rose woke up
feeling a little bit better. She went back to the auditorium to start the
concert. She got ready. Her fans were cheering for her, calling her name. When
the songs began, it became silent. She started singing. She grabbed her fans’
hands and continued to do her thing.
*****
Back in LA, Jack ice-packed
himself. His stomach still hurt him. Every single part of his body that hurt,
he iced. Fabrizio was watching TV and looking at Rose’s music video.
"Hey. Turn it off."
Jack told Fabrizio to turn off the TV.
Jack got up and went to the
kitchen to get more ice. Fabrizio just looked at him in shock, then grabbed a
book and began to read it.
*****
After the show, Rose met Princes
William and Harry. Rachel kissed Harry on the cheek. Lisa was actually checking
William out. Tara glared at her. That night, Rose had a great time talking to
William and Harry. Rachel flirted with Harry. Tara, Lisa, and Piper looked at
her, then left.
*****
Jack lay in bed, thinking about
his future with Rose. They were already engaged. What else should he think of?
The tabloids already had stories about them, like he cheated on her, or that
she was pregnant. Jack just couldn’t stand the pressure. He looked at the
clock. It was midnight. He got up, went over to Fabrizio’s apartment, and
stayed there for the night.
*****
Rose packed her things to get
ready to go back to LA. But a few hours before she left, she went around to look
for a new home. She searched around London until she found the perfect home.
She talked to the seller and took the 1.5 million pound house. She told the
women that she’d be back in a month. After hours had passed, she left to go
back to LA.
*****
Jack stayed at Fabrizio’s
apartment. He slept there, and he had no idea that Rose was arriving from
London.