AN UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY
Chapter Thirty-Two
Jack stared at her, his blue eyes displaying
the shock that she felt. She suddenly felt wobbly on her feet. She felt the
room start to spin. He still stared at her in utter shock.
"Rose?" he said in disbelief.
A tear fell down his cheek. She was there,
standing in his sitting room. She was alive! He desperately wanted to run over
to her and embrace her, but he felt glued to the spot. He was afraid that if he
moved she would disappear.
She started to sway, dangerously close to
falling. "Jack, how? I–I let you…" She trailed off as her eyes rolled
back into her head. She collapsed, falling to the floor in a heap.
"Rose!" Jack screamed as he ran
over to her, his legs finally working. He picked her up in his strong arms and
laid her down on the couch. He looked at her in wonder. She had survived! But
how? Tears fell down his face as he touched her. He couldn’t believe that she
was here. Was this a dream? But she felt real. Her skin was warm and soft to
the touch, but her face was pale. He gently shook her, trying to get her to
wake up.
Nora, Katherine, Diane, and Jesse stood
behind him, not knowing what to do or what to say. Diane couldn’t believe what
she saw. Jack was actually crying! She had never seen him cry. Diane could feel
her heart constricting in pain. The love that radiated from his blue eyes as he
looked down at Rose was obvious.
Jack continued to shake Rose, desperately
trying to get her to wake up. He felt sick. Would she be all right?
"Oh, God! Please don’t take her away
from me again!" he cried out. He grabbed her hand tightly, willing her to
come back to him. She had to know that he needed her. "Rose, come on. Wake
up. I need you. You can’t leave me again," he cried desperately.
Tears ran down Diane’s face. Her heart
shattered into a thousand pieces at his words. She watched as he laid his head
down on Rose’s chest, whispering things that no one could understand. She had
never before seen him this emotional.
Nora put her hand on her brother’s back,
trying to comfort him. "Jack, should I get a doctor?" she asked
softly.
Before he could answer, Rose started to move.
Jack’s heart filled with hope. "Rose?
I’m here. It’s gonna be okay. We’re together now," he said. He grasped her
hand tightly, kissing it as she opened her eyes.
His face slowly came into focus. There in
front of her sat Jack. Tears fell from his blue eyes. Oh, how she had missed
those blue eyes!
"Jack? I thought you had died. You
didn’t wake up when the life boat came back for us. I–I let you go," she
said in a choked voice. Her voice was weak and shaky. Tears ran down her
cheeks.
"Shh. We’ll talk about that later. I
just want to be sure that you’re all right. How do you feel?" he asked.
She slowly sat up. She still felt a little
dizzy. "I’m still a little dizzy, and I feel so tired."
He helped her up. "Come on. You can rest
in my room." As he said the words, the realization hit him. Rose had been
sleeping in his room earlier. He had been so close to her and he hadn't even
realized it!
When he got her into his room, he laid her
down on his bed. "I’ll be right back, Rose. I’m going to go to talk with
my family for a minute. I’ll be right back. I promise."
She nodded. He left a moment later.
When Nora saw him, she felt tears come to her
eyes. He looked a mess, but behind that she saw happiness in his eyes. She got
up and hugged him. "What’s going on, Jack? Is she going to be okay?"
He sat down on the couch. "I don’t know,
Nora. I’ve never seen her look so weak. Gosh, we’ve both been through so
much," he said.
"Jack, she said that the two of you met
on Titanic. Why didn’t you tell us?"
He looked at his sister for a moment.
Katherine, Diane, and Jesse remained silent.
"I couldn’t. I thought that she had
died. It was too painful to talk about it," he explained.
Diane looked at him. She felt so bad for him.
She had seen the pain that he had gone through. But she couldn’t help but wish
that Rose had not come back into his life. I could have made you happy. You
would have forgotten about her with time. We could have been happy together, she
thought sadly. She couldn’t help but feel that she and Jack were meant to be
together.
Nora hugged Jack again. "Go back to her,
Jack. She needs you right now, and you need her."
Jack nodded. "I’ll talk to you later.
We’ll probably both explain things to you then."
They watched as he left the room.