CONVICTED
Chapter Seventeen
There was a loud splash and
several loud gasps.
"Jack!" I screamed
again, tears spilling out of my eyes.
I wrenched my hand free from a
police officer’s, who didn’t put up much of a struggle, and ran over to the
water.
Blood was surfacing, but I stuck
my hand in and pulled Jack up so he was eye level with me. There were two
bullet holes near his heart.
"Jack…we’ve gotten through
so much. You can’t leave me now!" I cried more than I ever had before.
"L-listen t-to m-me. T-take
c-care of th-the b-baby. M-marry…l-live h-happily," he said in a dying
whisper.
"Jack, you can’t leave me
now!" I replied, not daring to let go of his hands, for I knew he would
never resurface.
"L-live h-happily," he
whispered again, his head rolling to the side.
"No…no…Jack…no!"
"L-let g-go…"
"Jack…no…" I cried some
more, soaking the ground with my tears.
"I…I…l--" He never
finished his last sentence.
Blood dripped from the side of
his mouth and his eyes closed.
At that moment, everything was
dead silent. For my one true love and friend…Jack Dawson…was dead.
Tears continued to spill down my
cheeks, and I clutched Jack’s hands tightly. Not one sound or movement was made
by the people behind me. My sides heaved in and out and I remembered everything
that had happened in our lifetimes.
Now, he was dead, and there was
nothing else I could do. I bent forward and kissed his forehead.
"I love you, too," I
said, teary-eyed, and let go of his hands.
Jack Dawson slowly slipped
beneath the dark water, mixed with all the pain and suffering he had gone
through in his lifetime--but also the love he had experienced.
Jack Dawson was gone forever,
never to return and continue his artwork for the rest of the world.
His beautiful face slipped out of
view and I knew I would never see it again, only in the memories I had would
keep him inside me.
I didn’t get up, my fingers just
at the surface of the water. Finally, I heard footsteps approach and a police
officer gently touched my arm.
"Come on, Miss; let’s get
you back to the hospital."
"You killed him…" I
whispered.
The officer pulled out a napkin
and offered it to me. I took a pen from his pocket, scribbled a message on the
napkin, and then tore the note into shreds, letting it fall into the ocean with
Jack.
"Miss, please, let’s get you
back to the hospital."
"What about the
charges?" I questioned quietly, still not getting up.
"There were only charges
against him, not you."
"His name was Jack Dawson.
Not him," I replied coldly.
"Of course, ma’am."
I heard Cal talking with the
officers, but I didn’t care. I could see Jack’s reflection in the water. His
face was sad, but it told me to keep going on.
Still crying, I picked myself up
and hurried back to my hospital bed.
*****
A few days after Jack’s death, I
was released with my baby. Lindsey was the perfect image of her father, and I
absolutely adored her. Her eyes eventually turned green, just as I had
predicted.
I got a job working as a clerk in
one of the local stores. I always took Lindsey to work with me, and everyone
adored her precious smile and cooed at the sight of her.
One afternoon, about two weeks
after Jack’s death, a Labrador retriever appeared at our front door. He was a
sweet thing, about two years old.
I brought the dog into my home
and every time I looked at him, he reminded me of Jack. The golden wavy locks
for his fur, his green sparkling eyes.
When nights came that I had a
nightmare about Jack’s murder, Cyrus, the dog, would get up on my bed and lay
his head on my stomach. He would lick my hand, and I would fall asleep with him
at my side.
I was almost sure that Cyrus was
Jack, but that would be crazy. I knew Jack was in heaven, watching over me and
Lindsey, like our guardian angel. Everything went smoothly for awhile, but I
would still have nights where I would have to cry myself to sleep.
I missed Jack.