Chapter 18 After leaving the cemetery, she had then taken the liberty of leaving the parchment covered box in which was to be sent to Mr. Jack Dawson himself in the drop in door at the local Post Master's Office. Since she had already decided that she would not need all of her jewelry and money anymore, she decided that the best place to send it would be to Jack. She was well aware of the tight and devastating situation he was in with his uncle's debt and she wanted to help him out as much as possible. He could probably pawn all of her jewelry in for thousands of dollars and the over $10,000 lump sum she had had stashed away for as long as she could remember wouldn't hurt. The last person she wanted to leave it to would be her mother. Rose crinkled her nose slightly as she caught a whiff of dead fish. She looked up to see a large and looming factory to her left and a sign that read Jake's Fish Market: Brought in fresh everyday thanks to the Delaware River. Another thought ran through Rose's head as she contemplated her choices. She still wasn't quite sure where she was, but from the smell of it, she had to be pretty close to the famous Delaware River in which the sign had so proudly boasted. Continuing down the dimly lit road, she began to notice the form of moonlit water lapping gently against the posts of a fairly high and dimly lit bridge. Perhaps this is it…this is my answer. It's my only escape…my only chance at getting away from it all in one swift motion… Her thoughts were a mix of fear, excitement and confusion as she continued in a trance like fashion towards the bridge. As she neared the bridge, she noticed that it was neither a pedestrian or automobile capable bridge- it was there for the sole purpose of transporting both passenger and cargo trains across the river. She looked on curiously as she noticed the high beams that stretched up a good 20 feet in the air, attaching the opposite sides at the top. She could smell the slightly mildewed wood of the bridge as she gently and carefully stepped onto the railroad tracks. Her foot wobbled slightly with her fancy dress shoes and she finally decided on removing them before taking another step. Hooking them under her fingers, she continued to carefully step onto each wooden plank. She thought back to the time she had first been sent to boarding school in New York. These were probably the same exact tracks she had crossed on her path to a whole new life. Sighing deeply as if to free the memories that were held in her heart, Rose looked up from the tracks for the first time. There, just a few feet away from her was some sort of looming presence hidden deep in the shadows against the railing. Rose could tell the person had not noticed her yet because it seemed as if they were leaning against one of the beams, gently crying to themselves and muttering under their breath. She almost felt like turning away and leaving this poor person be, but she instinctively felt like she needed to help this person…like in some weird way, they might help her instead somehow. As Rose approached the figure, she could just barely make out that it was a man…a young man. His hair was light in color, though she couldn't quite tell what color, and it was carelessly hanging in his face. His shoulders were slumped over his lean body and he seemed to be dressed nicely- a little too nice for the standards of this part of town. The wooden plank beneath her foot creaked slightly as she took another step closer. This caught the man's attention and they both instinctively straightened their saddened bodies and stepped back. A moment of dead and eerie silence filled the air before a word was spoken. "Wh-who's there?" the man asked unsteadily, almost as if her were afraid to find out. "W-Whoever you are….I…I suggest you leave. This isn't any of your business and I…I…" he trailed off into silence as Rose continued to try and make out the almost eerily familiar voice in which he spoke with. She tried to focus on any of his physical features, but the light could just barely make out the blur in which she saw in front of her. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude…please excuse me." Giving up, Rose turned to walk back towards the entrance but was stopped by the man calling out to her. He was almost unsure of himself as he spoke, conveying to Rose his uncertainty and helplessness. "Hey…hey wait…wait just a moment!" After seeing that he held her attention, he continued. "Who…who are you?" Rose started to walk slowly back to the worried man as she watched him do the same towards her. As he stepped into the light more clearly, Rose was able to take him in more clearly. She gasped slightly and her eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at the person staring wide-eyed back at her. "R-Rose? Is…is that really you?" "Jack?" There questions were asked simultaneously as both stepped even closer to one another. There was another brief moment of silence before Jack finally spoke. "Rose…what on earth are you doing all the way out here? On train tracks no less…you could get hurt or something…slip and fall and…" "You know something Jack? I wouldn't have cared if I did slip and fall…it be all the more easier." Rose replied sadly as she slowly turned away from Jack, not wanting to convey to him her true intentions. Jack's forehead creased in both worry and confusion as he stepped closer to her. Her back was still to him and he took a deep breath as he looked over the edge at the looming water beneath them as he spoke. "Rose? Were you gonna…were you gonna jump off this bridge? Is that why you came here…to jump?" Jack heard a soft cry escape her lips and he almost regretted asking her. "Jack," his eyes seemed to scan her entire soul as she turned back around to look into his eyes. "I don't know what I'm thinking anymore. All I know is that I can't live the life I'm supposed to live and not want something else completely different. It's not worth living anymore…it's just too painful. Jack, I can't marry Caledon Hockley…I can't live with my mother any longer….I don't need them anymore Jack. I need you. I…I can't imagine my life without you Jack…I honestly can't. I…I love you Jack, more than anything. Without you, I'm nothing and I no longer have a reason for living." Rose looked down at her shaking hands as she meekly spoke off to the side. "I just thought that…that I…I…" But Rose was immediately silenced as she felt a warm pair of strong arms gently wrap around her shaking body. Tears streamed down Jack's face as he held Rose in his arms. She was willing to give it all up because of him…because she knew that she would never be able to have the one thing she wanted most- him. He ran his fingers over her curls, which gently fell over her shoulders and down her back. He couldn't imagine a person ever doing such a thing…but then again…then again he had been just about ready to do the same. Just ten minutes ago, he thought he were spending his last few moments alive…that he couldn't live a life without Rose. "Oh God Rose…I had no idea…no idea…" Jack gently kissed the side of Rose's head repeatedly as he let out a soft cry. Pulling back, he noticed the tears streaming down her face as well as his own. "You were willing to give up your life because of me?" Jack searched her eyes for the answers he held in his heart. His heart both leaped and fell at the same time when he saw her slowly nod yes. A nervous smile appeared across his lips as he continued to stare at her. "I feel happy, scared to death and completely confused all at the same time. But I…I have to admit the reason that I was here tonight. I was going to jump off this bridge." Jack sighed nervously as he watched Rose's face contort in confusion. Jack's voice was suddenly calm and relaxed as he spoke to Rose, his thumb grazing her cheek softly as he spoke. "Rose…I don't think I could express to you the way I feel with mere words. I…I know that I would never be able to offer you as much as I'd like to now, but it's still hasn't changed the way I feel about you Rose. I…I love you…with all my heart and I just couldn't imagine losing you so easily to some other guy I know you were never meant to be with. We were meant to be Rose…us…together, for the rest of our lives. I think you took the words right out of my mouth when you said a life without you wouldn't be a life worth living at all. Call me jealous, but I just couldn't live a decent life of doing nothing but watching you go on with your life with that Hockley fella and not me. You're the most precious thing in the world to me Rose…ever since that first night at the party when we bumped into each other. I'm hopeless Rose…I need you." Rose's heart fluttered as she smiled through her tears up at Jack. His eyes were searching hers for some sort of reaction and when he noticed her smiling, his face lit up and he almost sighed in relief. Rose brought her hand up to his cheek as she gently rubbed it, moving it up through his somewhat shaggy hair and back down the back of his neck, sending chills throughout his body. Lovingly and with great care, Rose brought her face up to his, gently kissing his lips repeatedly until they both were so caught up in the moment, the passion between them seemed to radiate throughout their bodies. Jack wrapped his arms around Rose, pulling her even tighter until it felt like they would be melted into one. Breaking away slightly, Rose smiled and giggled as she watched Jack's face fill with disappointment. He smiled again brightly as Rose continued to kiss him, this time working her way down his neck and into the uncovered part of his chest. "Rose…" Jack whispered hoarsely as he kissed the top of Rose's head lovingly. "Hmm…" "Rose...I've been thinkin'. I think we ought to… to, ugh…ugh…" At Jack's stumbling sentence, Rose looked up at him with a playful expression on her face. She looked up at him expectantly and wished she had Jack's natural ability to read people's souls. Just looking at her made his body relax and his eyes shine with happiness. He smiled and picked up Rose's hand before continuing. "Rose…I wanna get married. However possible, I think the only thing left for us to do is to get married. What do you think?" Rose's face lit up and she began to cover him with kisses, mumbling "yes" against his skin over and over. Rose pulled back to take in his face and spoke with a calmness and happiness that made Jack smile. "Jack, there is nothing that I would want more than to be able to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you Jack…more than you'll ever know." Jack was just barely able to manage "I love you too" out before their lips met once again in a more urgent and passionate kiss than either had ever experience before. It looked as if life were actually giving them a second chance…that things were actually going to work out after all. But their thoughts of each other were instantly broken as a shaking feeling fell over the bridge. The two broke away, causing Jack to look down at Rose and pull back a little. Looking down the tracks not too far away from them, was a cargo train rumbling towards the bridge in which they so intimately stood. The train's light was visible as it began to get closer and closer to them, making their entire world fill with horror. "Shit…" Jack muttered under his breath as he grabbed Rose's hand and started to pull her back down the tracks. "Oh Shit!" His urgency was quite clear as the train's blaring whistle shot through the air like a set of firing rifles. "Come on Rose! We've gotta get out of here!" Jack and Rose continued to run back down the tracks as fast as they could possible make it without tripping in one of the openings between the wooden planks. Jack looked back briefly to see the train nearing the bridge and he felt the wait of his body lurch forward without him. Looking down at his leg, he noticed that his foot gotten caught in one of the openings. Letting go of Rose's hand, he began to tug at the shoe, but it was so tightly nudged in between the planks, that any hopes of prying it out were vanished immediately. Jack looked down the bridge to see the train nearing him closer and closer with each passing second. The train whistle sounded again even louder this time, making Jack's heart completely stop. His ears were filled with the horrific sounds of the train clicking away over the tracks one by one and Rose's horrified screams as she ran back to him. "Jack! No! Jack, get out of there! Hurry Jack…" "No! Rose, get back there! Get off the bridge! Get off the bridge!" Jack screamed as loudly as he possibly could manage. He watched in horror as Rose continued to run to him. Looking back down to his other side at the approaching train, he began to tug at his leg once more, cursing under his breath. "Son of a bitch…oh shit…oh shit…" He began to shout nervously as he frantically attempted to untie the laces which held his foot captive. "Oh shit…come on!" Finally, as if on cue when Rose reached his side and he could feel the heat of the engine before him, the lace loosened and he pulled his foot out thankfully. Taking one last glance at the train, now only mere feet from them, Jack instinctively grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her over the side down towards the water of the Delaware, just as the train plummeted by. Jack hit the water still holding Rose's hand, but the impact was so great that they were torn apart. Jack immediately searched the water for her, but the water felt completely empty. He surfaced roughly, gasping for air as he frantically looked around at the water around him. There was no Rose. He looked back up at the bridge and back down at the water. Taking a deep breath, Jack pushed himself beneath the surface in an attempt to search underwater for her. He reached out with his hands, thrusting them into the water until he felt a hand. He grabbed it, pulling it up with him. Up came Rose, coughing and gagging on the water. Jack sighed in relief and continued to pull her towards shore. "It's alright Rose…we're alright. It's gonna be ok now…just hang in there." Jack's soothing words were of little help to Rose who was struggling to stay afloat. Her heavy jacket was pulling her body down and was proving to make it quite difficult to maneuver in. But Jack made sure that she would be all right as he continued to pull her towards safety. It wasn't long before they reached shallow water in which they could stand in. Jack began to walk up the beach, supporting Rose all the while. Relief spread throughout her chilled body as she felt the cold, wet sand under her bare feet. They all but crawled out of the water, tired and confused by the whole ordeal. Both collapsed onto the ground, just sitting there and staring out over the calm river in which almost cost them their lives. The shock was still too great that they both were unable to form the proper words they so desperately wanted to say. This would most definetely be a night neither of them would forget. Chapter 19 | Story Index | Post Your Review | Email Author | Home |
