NOBODY SAID LOVE WAS GONNA BE EASY
Chapter Eight
Rose finished getting cleaned up and dressed.
She looked up the stairs at the locked door and waited for Cal to collect her
for the wedding. A few moments later, she heard the click of the door unlocking.
As the door opened, she saw Cal standing in the doorway. Rose just stared at
him.
"Get up here now, Rose," Cal
commanded. Rose walked up the stairs and he grabbed her arm, taking her outside
to the small garden out back. The minister stood by the gate. Cal let go of
Rose for a second to talk to the minister, reminding him that he was being paid
to marry them. There were two people there, Ruth and Cal’s new valet. Then Cal
brought Rose over to them, and the ceremony began.
"Do you, Caledon Hockley, take Rose
DeWitt Bukater to be your wife?"
"I do."
"Do you, Rose DeWitt Bukater, take
Caledon Hockley to be your wedded husband, to love, honor, and obey, as long as
you live?" he asked. Cal looked at Rose, daring her to say no.
"Never!"
Cal grabbed her harshly, and whispered,
"I suggest you change your mind, Rose. You wouldn’t want to accidentally
lose your baby, now would you?" Rose just looked at him in disgust. The
minister repeated the question again.
She answered, "I do."
"I now pronounce you man and wife. You
may kiss the bride."
Cal kissed her. After that, the minister had
him sign the marriage certificate. Cal paid him and he went on his way. After
he left, Cal grabbed Rose and dragged her down into the basement, struggling
and screaming. He threw her on a small mattress that lay in the corner. Rose
knew what was going to happen next. But why? She was already pregnant. Rose
tried to get up, afraid for both herself and her unborn child. Cal pushed her
back onto the mattress and forced himself on her again and again that night.
Rose screamed and cried out for help, knowing very well that he could kill her
baby, being as rough as he was with her.
"Cal, stop! Please! You’re hurting
me…please, stop this!" Rose screamed as she tried to keep struggling, but
to no avail. She begged and pleaded with him to stop and to just leave her
alone, but Cal just kept smiling at her and telling her to calm down,
reassuring her that everything was fine now that she was completely his. After
he was done, he got dressed and left as if nothing had happened. Rose curled up
into a fetal position and cried. She knew that this wasn’t going to be the last
time he would do that to her. She cried herself into a restless sleep.
Meanwhile, in Chippewa Falls…
Robert, Christina, and Jack had to come up
with a plan to rescue Rose.
"Do you have any ideas, Jack?"
"One, but I really don’t even know where
to start."
"Well…wherever she is, it’s most likely
guarded," Robert said. Jack didn’t know where Cal’s mansion was, but he
knew it was somewhere in the rich part of Philadelphia.
"Maybe we should go to Philadelphia
first and start from there," Christina suggested. Both men sat in silence
for a few minutes.
"That may be our best bet, Jack. What do
you think? It’s your choice."
"All right. Let’s go. I’ll buy the
tickets first thing in the morning for the earliest train there. Pack your bags
tonight. That way we can leave," Jack said. The others nodded in
agreement. Robert and Christina left, saying good night to Jack. Jack shut the
door after them. He went upstairs to the bedroom he had shared with Rose and
lay on the bed, wishing Rose was with him.
The Next Morning…
Jack woke up, went to the train station, and
bought the tickets. The train left around three. He went to tell Robert and
Christina. At three, they got on the train and headed toward Philadelphia to
rescue Rose.
Back in Philadelphia…
Rose woke up and noticed that a blanket had
been placed over her. She looked around to see if Cal was in the room…he
wasn’t. She also noticed that a new set of plain clothes was on the floor for
her. She went to get up, but she sat right back down when a searing pain went
through her body. Rose knew she had to get away before Cal did this to her
again. As she tried to get up again, she heard the door unlocking. She sat back
down and saw Cal coming down the stairs.
"Good morning, sweetpea. Did you sleep
well last night?"
"No."
"I can’t imagine why you didn’t. After
all, last night was pleasurable."
"Maybe for you, but it sure as hell
wasn’t at all for me!" Rose yelled, hatred rising in her voice. Cal looked
at down at her and pulled her up off the mattress. She screamed out in pain.
Cal pushed her against the wall and continually punched her in the ribs. After
several punches, he let her fall to the ground and kicked her hard. Cal wasn’t
having this from her…especially now that they were married. Cal’s rage was
growing, and Rose’s screaming was making him even more furious with her.
"Stop this now, Rose! Get up!" Rose
just lay there. "I said, get up!" She still lay there, crying. Cal
had had enough of this, and kicked her in the stomach a few times. "Get up
now, Rose, or I’ll make sure you never have this baby!" Rose looked at
him. He was serious. She slowly tried to get up, but she couldn’t.
"Cal…I can’t…it hurts too much for me to
even try. Please just let me be," Rose pleaded between sobs.
"Then I’ll pull you up!" Cal
replied. He grabbed her neck as Rose cried out in pain, and pulled her upright,
pushed her up against the wall, and held her there. He yelled at her and told
her to shut up and stop crying. Rose wouldn’t. She was in too much pain to even
listen to him. Cal slapped her, but she still didn’t care. Finally, he just
left. He was tired of her not listening. As soon as she heard the door lock,
she curled up into a fetal position and cried even harder.