SWING
Chapter Fifteen
Rose and Helga sat up in Rose’s room, bored.
Rose’s mother had gone out for the evening, leaving the two girls to
themselves, with nothing to do but sigh listlessly.
"Do you think a swing joint may be
open?" Rose asked, her eyes lighting up at the idea.
"Maybe. We can stop by Fabrizio's and
ask. He should know." Helga shrugged, grabbing her jacket. "Oh, by
the way, I heard about Jack standing up for him today. What a guy."
"Yes, he is." Rose sighed happily
at the thought of Jack. He had given her so much. She didn’t know how she was
going to repay him.
"Come on, Rose. Let’s get to Fabri’s. If
we’re going to go swinging, we have to get there early." Helga grabbed her
friend’s hand and dragged her out the door.
Fabrizio’s house was only a couple of blocks
from Rose's, so it didn’t take them very long to get there. Remembering what
Fabrizio had told her about SS men standing outside Fabri’s door, Rose halfway
expected to find one. But what she did find made her heart beat all the faster.
It was Jack, badly beaten, collapsed against the door, practically unconscious.
"Oh, my God." Helga gasped.
"What happened?"
Rose knelt down and gently shook his
shoulder, making him groan in pain. "Jack. Jack, wake up. Please, wake up,
Jack." He groaned once more, but didn’t open his eyes.
"He’s been beaten pretty badly. What are
we going to do?"
"Ring Fabri’s doorbell. I’ll support
Jack so he doesn’t fall when the door opens."
It was Fabrizio’s mother that opened the door
and gasped at the sight of the two girls and the unconscious teenager.
"Oh, my! Hector! Fabri! Get in here, now! Hurry! What happened?"
"We don’t know." Helga shook her
head. "He was unconscious on the doorstep when we arrived."
"Mama, what is this all…" Fabri
stopped in mid-sentence when he saw Jack, unconscious and beaten.
"Don’t just stand there, boy! Help me
get him in." Mr. di Rossi rushed to the door, and took over the job of
supporting the unconscious boy. With Fabrizio’s help, they moved him to the
guestroom. "He should be comfortable in here." Mr. di Rossi nodded,
as Rose carried in the few belongings Jack had with him.
They sat with Jack for another half hour.
Mrs. di Rossi gently cleaned up any bruises and cuts, and whispered comforting
words of a concerned mother when the boy seemed to whimper.
"Who could have done such a thing to
such a sweet boy?" Mrs. di Rossi sighed. "And he’s German. It’s not
like he’s a Jew or a gypsy."
Rose gently held his hand and smoothed back
his hair. She was determined not to leave his side for anything. Jack needed
her now. Food and sleep could wait.
"No, Mom…why are you letting him do
this?" Jack whimpered in his sleep.
"Shh. It’s okay. You’re safe now."
Rose squeezed his hand, feeling a tear slip from her eye. "No one’s going
to hurt you here. You’re safe."
"How is he?" Fabrizio entered,
taking a seat at the opposite side of his friend.
"He’s having a nightmare." Rose
sniffed back her tears. "Oh, Fabri…why would they do this to him? He has
never hurt anyone."
"He’ll be okay, Rose. Jack’s a
survivor." Fabri comforted his friend. "He’s made of the same stuff
as his father."
"Is he awake yet?" Helga entered
with a try of milk and cookies.
Rose shook her head. "But he’s been
talking in his sleep a lot. I can’t wait until he wakes up. I just want to know
that he’s okay."
"He’s waking up," Fabrizio cried
out in relief. True enough, Jack groaned as he opened his eyes and took in his
surroundings.
"Where am I?" he asked, not aware
that he wasn’t alone.
"Fabrizio’s room," Rose explained,
causing Jack to gasp in fright. He calmed down when he saw it was only Rose.
"How did I get in here?"
"Me and da carried you in. Rose and
Helga found you unconscious against the door," Fabrizio explained.
"What happened, Jack? Why were you beaten up so badly?"
Jack was silent for a good while. He didn’t
want Rose and the others to know he was so weak. That his mother’s boyfriend
had gotten the better of him. But what else could he do? They were going to
find out the truth eventually. "My mother’s boyfriend did it. He had heard
about me breaking that Nazi’s nose and I had mouthed off."
"Oh, my God." Rose gasped.
"What did your mother say?"
"Nothing. I had called for her a number
of times, but she never came. But the beating is not what hurt me the most.
It’s the fact that she let him do it."
"And I thought Rose’s mother was a
heartless witch. I mean…how can a mother let someone beat up her son, and not
even try to stop him?" Helga shook her head.
"The same kind of mother that can sell
her daughter to the highest bidder." Rose sighed tiredly. She wrapped her
arms around Jack, and hugged him gently, not wanting to cause him any more
pain.
"And what’s worse…he sighed me up for
the youths! I mean, can he do that? Can they force people into that?"
Fabrizio shrugged. "Look at Tommy."
"Well, I’m not Tommy. I’m not going back
there! Not now, not ever!" Jack buried his face in Rose’s shoulder just as
the doorbell rang.
Helga glanced out the window and gasped.
"It’s your mother and her boyfriend."
"Shit. I can’t go back there,
Fabri." Jack got up.
"Well, I don’t see what other choice we
have. My parents can’t stand up to that Nazi." Fabrizio paced.
"But we can’t let Jack go back there.
What do you think he’s going to do to him for running away?" Rose bit her
lip in deep concentration, when a idea finally popped into her head.
"Fabri, hide Jack’s things. We’ll go out the back."
"What?" Jack asked.
"You’re coming with me. My mother’s out
of town right now, so she’d be none the wiser. Plus, your mother doesn’t know
where I live." Rose grabbed Jack’s hand.
"Rose…I don’t want to pull you into
this…"
"I already am. Now, are you coming, or
do you want to go back there, and probably get beaten worse than before?"
Jack sighed. Rose was right. He had no
choice. If he didn’t want to get injured worse then he was now, he was going to
have to let Rose take care of him, and try not to worry that she’d get in
trouble as well. "Okay. Fine," he relented.
"I’ll help." Fabrizio hid Jack’s
belongings at the very bottom of his chest, where he kept all his swing
memorabilia. "Come on, friend. We’ll go out the back. They won’t see us.
Can you walk?"
"Of course." Jack started forward,
but almost fell, until Rose caught him, almost falling herself.
"Here, lean on me." Fabrizio had
Jack lean most of his weight on him, and led the way to the back door. He
barely saw the back of his parents heads, as they talked to Mrs. Dawson and the
officer. He was a bit worried, but knew that this had to be done.
"Come on, Fabri." Helga placed a
steady hand on his shoulder.
"Yes, hurry." Rose was getting
nervous. Nodding, Fabrizio led the others into the dark night, fleeing for the
safety of Rose’s house.