AFTER TITANIC
Chapter Six
It was a beautiful day in Chippewa Falls
when he broke the news to her that he was leaving and didn't know when he would
be back. They had met in their usual meeting place, right by Lake Wissota. She
looked so beautiful as the sun shone down on her golden blond hair and her
green eyes sparkled with happiness at being with him...something both of them
knew her mother wouldn't approve of.
"Hi, Jack," she had greeted,
hugging him closely. "I've missed you."
"I missed you, too," he said. He
wished he was there under different circumstances, but with his parents dead,
and her parents hating him, it was best that he left Chippewa Falls now, before
her life was as screwed up as his now was.
"What's wrong? Something else other
than your parents dying is bothering you." She pulled away, staring into
his eyes with concern. "Go ahead. Tell me."
Taking a deep breath, he replied,
"I'm leaving Chippewa Falls for a while and I don't know when I'll be
back." There. He said it. It was time for the consequences.
"Leaving? Why?"
"There's no reason for me to stay,
really, except for you, and your parents hate me. In fact, rumor has it that
they already have a suitor in mind for you, and it isn't me."
"Jack, I don't care about what they
have in mind. It's you I want. No one but you," the girl cried. "You
can't just leave me to their mercy like this. Please, don't go."
"Eliza...I don't have much of a
choice. I refuse to live off the charity of this town any longer. I just came
to say good-bye. Then, I'm leaving." Jack sighed, trying not to be touched
by the sight of her tears. He hated it when she cried, especially when he was
the cause.
"Jack, isn't there anything I can say
to make you stay?" Eliza asked, tears streaming down her face.
"No, there isn't...but you could come
with me. Come on, Eliza. Come with me. That way you won't be under your
parents' control anymore. You won't have to marry who they want you to
marry." Jack pleaded with her. He had never felt this way about a girl
before. She was the first girl he had ever loved. He wanted to be with her
forever.
"Oh, Jack." She sobbed. "I
can't leave my home. I love it here so much. I'm afraid to find out what's out
there."
"Eliza..."
"I love you, Jack. If you must go,
then you must go. But I do hope you'll return for me someday. I'll be waiting
for you."
"Eliza..."
"Good-bye, Jack." She gave him
one last kiss before turning around and darting off into the distance. That was
the last time he ever saw her.
"Don't bother coming back, Dawson.
She's mine," a hard voice hissed from behind. It was Lee Conway, the son
of the richest man in Chippewa Falls, and Jack's biggest rival. He was behind a
tree, listening to everything. If Eliza had agreed to leave with Dawson, he
would have jumped out and dragged her away.
"Leave me alone, Conway," Jack
growled, ready for a fight.
"Her parents want her to marry me,
and she will. So if you do come back for her, it'll be too late. She'll already
be Mrs. Conway. I'll make sure of that. But just in case, I'll make sure you don't
return for her. No one will be the wiser."
"What are you talking about?"
Jack turned around, just to be pushed into the freezing lake. When Jack
resurfaced, he was no longer in Chippewa Falls; he was in the middle of the
North Atlantic along with other thrashing people screaming for survival.
"How did I get here?" Jack
wondered to himself. Well, if he was here, he had to find Rose, and fast.
"Rose!" he called. "Rose!"
He bumped into the female form floating
face down. It looked like Rose, but it couldn't be. She survived. She had to.
Jack turned the body around to see Eliza's eyes staring up accusingly at him.
*****
Jack woke up screaming. Rose bolted awake,
concerned why Jack, who she had never heard scream before, was screaming in
such horror.
"Jack?" Rose placed her hands on
his sweaty face, trying to bring him back to the present. "Jack! What's
wrong?"
"The water...it's so cold..." Jack
breathed, trying to get Eliza's dead eyes out of his head.
"It's okay now, Jack. It's over, and
we're safe. We're no longer in that cold water. It's okay." Rose hugged
her husband tightly, surprised that he was having such nightmares about
Titanic, but she wasn't. She could still hear the dying screams of all those
people in her head. She even dreamed that Jack never woke up, and she had to go
on with life without him. "It's okay, Jack. You're safe and warm. It's all
over now."
"Oh, Rose...I love you." Jack
hugged her tightly, and then began kissing her passionately. The kiss never
stopped. They end up making the most passionate love since they'd been
together.