IT HAS TO BE YOU
Chapter Ten
Jack, Rose, and Cal
just stared at each other for a moment, Cal’s face set in an amused smirk, Jack
and Rose’s faces wary and angry.
Rose found her
voice first. "Why are you here, Cal?"
"For you,
Sweetpea. Isn’t it obvious?"
Rose looked more
closely at him then. The self-satisfied smirk was still on his face, but there
was something else in his voice—something she had never heard before, and
couldn’t quite identify. What was it—desperation, fear…perhaps even regret? She
didn’t know.
The moment passed,
and Rose’s eyes narrowed as she looked at him. "Leave, Cal." She
gripped Jack’s hand, determined that they would not be separated this time.
"Rose…at least
let me talk to you…alone."
"No."
"Sweetpea…I
won’t harm you. I promise. There’s an empty room just down the hall from here.
If you were to scream, everyone would hear and know that something had
happened."
Rose sat quietly
for a moment more, deciding. "All right, Cal. But this will be the last
time, and if you even come close to me, everyone will know."
He nodded. "As
you wish."
He led the way
towards the small, empty hospital room, not touching Rose or even looking back
to see if she was following. Once there, he closed the door, leaving it ajar.
"Rose…"
he began, not sure what to say. He had thought of nothing else since she had
jumped from the taxi and run away, but now that she was in front of him, he
didn’t know what to say to her. How did he bring her back to him after she had
rejected him so many times? And he wasn’t entirely blameless, he realized. He
could have refrained from hitting her, or locking her up on the Carpathia.
"Don’t,
Cal," Rose told him, staying as close to the door as she could.
"Don’t talk. Just listen. We will make a deal, since that is something you
understand. From this moment you do not exist for me, nor I for you. You shall
not see me again. And you will not attempt to find me. In return I will keep my
silence. Your actions that last night need never come to light, and you will
get to keep the honor you have so carefully purchased."
"Rose,
please…" Cal’s expression changed, a hint of the old arrogance back in his
voice. "We’ve shared too much for it to end like this."
"It’s over,
Cal, and it was long before we ever boarded the Titanic. We both know that.
Leave me alone."
She dug into her
pocket, pulling out the Heart of the Ocean and placing the cold, hard stone in
his hand. "Is this in any way unclear?" She threw his words back at
him.
Cal stared at her,
his eyes pleading. "Rose…you are very precious to me."
"Jewels are
precious." She looked pointedly at the diamond in his hand.
"Good-bye, Mr. Hockley."
Rose turned away,
opening the door and striding back down the corridor. Cal watched her go, still
clutching the jewel that he had thought was the most precious thing he had. It
was only now, too late, that he realized just how wrong he had been.