SWING
Chapter Seventeen
The next day, Rose woke up a bit disoriented
and surprised when she felt the warm body next to her. Her memory rushed back,
though, when she looked up into Jack’s sleeping face. She smiled and ran a hand
through his hair. Poor Jack. His life was as easy as hers was, it seemed.
Slipping out of bed, she decided to cook him breakfast. He was sure to be
hungry when he woke up. Slipping out of bed, she headed downstairs--just as
there was a knock at the door. Rose frowned, and glanced upstairs where Jack
slept. People never dropped by so early before. Could it be his mother and her
Nazi boyfriend looking for Jack? Or perhaps it was Cal.
One thing was for sure. She couldn’t let them
find Jack. Cal would tell Jack’s mother’s boyfriend where he was, or they’d
drag him away, and most likely she’d never see him again.
"Rose, it’s us." Helga’s voice rang
out. "Open up."
Sighing with relief, she opened the door to
see Helga and Fabrizio, who looked rather beat up.
"Oh, my God, what happened?" She
ushered them into the house.
"The Youths decided to retaliate. We
were on our way here when we ran into them. Plus, they questioned us to no end
about Jack’s whereabouts." Fabrizio coughed.
"They didn’t follow you here, did
they?"
"No. We made sure we had lost them
before heading here. You should have seen Helga. She found a rock and bashed
one over the head." Fabrizio laughed. Despite his injuries, he was in a
pretty good mood.
"What happened to your face?" Jack
appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
"The Youths again. They’re on the search
for you, Jack. It’s best that you stay indoors for a while."
"Great. I guess I’m fugitive number one
now." Jack attempted laughter, laughter that didn’t reach his normally
cheerful eyes. "How are your parents, Fabri? He didn’t hurt them, did
he?"
Fabrizio stared at the ground, and said, in
barely a whisper, "He broke my father’s hand." He hadn’t wanted to
tell Jack. He didn’t want him to feel bad, but he knew that sooner or later
Jack would find out, and feel terrible anyway.
"Shit. This is getting out of control.
Now the people who help me are getting in trouble."
"Jack…don’t worry about it. My parents
were glad to help, broken hand or not." Fabrizio tried to reassure his
friend. He knew Jack would take the blame for his parents upon his own
shoulders. That was just Jack. If something bad happened, Jack would feel like
he was the cause, even if he was nowhere near the situation.
"But I do worry about it, Fabri. What
happened to your parents…it’s not right. They shouldn’t be punished for helping
me. I should never have gone there."
"Well, we’re glad you did. You were in
bad shape last night, Jack. I don’t even like to think what could have happened
if you hadn’t come to us." Fabrizio intently looked at his friend.
"My father’s broken hand was not your fault. It was the Nazi’s. Do I make
myself clear?"
Jack only stared at the ground and nodded.
But silently, he was thinking that it was much too dangerous to be around any
of his friends, Rose especially. If anything happened to her because of him, he
wouldn’t be able to live with himself. The best things to do was leave, and
probably return to his mother’s and take the punishment that would be waiting
for him.
"Why don’t we all go upstairs and listen
to some music. Maybe it’ll take our minds off everything," Rose
recommended, taking Jack’s hand once he reached her side. She was unaware of
Jack’s decision to return home. If she were aware, maybe she would have changed
his mind.
"I’m all for that." Fabrizio smiled
happily, getting to his feet, pulling Helga up along with him.
"Hey. Are you okay?" Rose noticed
how quiet Jack had gotten as they started their way upstairs.
"Fine." Jack forced a smile, but
everything was not fine. His heart beat a little faster in fear every time he
thought about going back to his mother’s house. He knew that the fear would
probably disappear if he just stayed here with Rose, but he couldn’t. He
refused to put her in any more danger then she already was.
Eight hours later, Fabrizio and Helga left,
and it was only Jack and Rose. They lay on the bed together, each caught in
their own world. Jack was thinking of when he would return home, and ways to
avoid a violent confrontation with his soon-to-be stepfather. Rose, on the
other hand, was thinking about how much she loved Jack, and wanted to show him
just how much. She just wasn’t sure how. Clearing her throat, she turned to her
boyfriend and squeezed his hand to get his attention.
"I love you, Jack." Her voice was
full of emotion and her eyes sparkled with the love she felt, something so true
and pure that not even the blackest hate could touch it.
"I love you, too, sweetie." Jack
smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.
"No…I really love you. I…I just wish
there was a better way to show it."
"Rose, you don’t have to show me how
much you love me. I see it in your eyes; hear it in your voice. The fact that
you’re letting me stay here is proof enough."
"Show me how much you love me,
Jack." Rose flirtatiously smiled, feeling bolder then she had ever felt in
her life. She really wanted to be close to Jack. As close as two people could
get, but she didn’t know how to broach the subject, so she decided to flirt,
even hint at what she wanted.
"How do you want me to do that,
Rose?" Jack asked, already having a idea of what she meant, but he didn’t
want to seem like he was jumping to conclusions. What if that wasn’t what she
wanted? He didn’t want to come on too strong or scare her.
Rose snuggled closer, until her mouth was
right next to her ear. With a certain breathlessness, she whispered, "Take
me to the stars, Jack. Take me to the stars."
Jack looked at her, his blue eyes bright with
suppressed passion, concern, and love. "Are you sure?"
Rose smiled and nodded. She leaned up and
kissed him tenderly, and then deepened in passion. She couldn’t wait to feel
his heart next to hers, beating in rhythm with one another.
"Nervous?" Jack asked, trying to
gauge her reaction.
Rose just shook her head, and kissed each of
his fingers. She looked back up into his eyes, and grasped his hand tightly.
"Put your hands on me, Jack."
Knowing full well not to disobey, Jack let
her lead his hand to her right breast, and before he knew it, she was in his
arms and they were in a world of their own, floating above the stars.
*****
After the lovemaking, Jack gazed lovingly
into Rose’s green eyes, his love for her overwhelming him. She was a part of
him now. He didn’t even know where she ended and he began.
"You’re trembling," Rose noticed,
rubbing his sweaty shoulder in concern, worried that she had hurt him somehow.
"Don’t worry," Jack smiled down at
her, his voice husky with bridled passion. "I’ll be all right."
Kissing his forehead, Rose lay his head on
her chest and held him tightly, wanting to protect him from all the violence in
the outside world. Sadly, the violence was going to disrupt their little world
again soon enough, but their first time was something they never forgot.