SWING
Chapter Eighteen
Rose yawned and stretched luxuriously as the
sunlight filtering through the curtain shone on her face. She sighed and
reached out for the warm body that was supposed to be next to hers, just to
find that side of the bed empty. Frowning, she woke up to find the room empty,
and not only that disturbed her…the house felt empty as well. Jack’s warm
presence was missing. She pushed down the misgivings that rose in her mind. Did
he decide he didn’t love her after all? Did he decide she wasn’t pretty enough?
That they were moving too fast? Or was she just a girl for him to have hot,
passionate sex with?
Rose shook her head at the last thought. Jack
wasn’t like that. He would never use a woman like that. He was too kind and
lovable. Maybe she was just jumping to conclusions. Maybe he had gone
downstairs to make some breakfast. Slipping into a lavender dress she had
hidden in the closet, a color she loved, but her mother detested, she headed
downstairs, just to find it empty.
Rose frowned. Where could he have gone? Why
did he leave? Well, he had to be somewhere and Rose wasn’t going to rest until
she found him. Grabbing her purse, Rose left the house, in search of the man
she loved.
*****
Jack sighed, just staring at the closed door.
He wondered what had possessed him to come back here. Wasn’t one beating
enough? Plus, they wanted him to join the Youths. What was worth giving up all
he believed in? What was worth becoming like Tommy? Rose. Rose was worth it.
After last night, he knew beyond a doubt that he loved her with everything he
was. She was his silver lining.
Swallowing down his fear, Jack opened the
door and stepped in, to find his mother and her fiancé deep in conversation.
They both turned at the sound of Jack closing the door.
"Jack!" Gretel exclaimed, throwing
her arms around her son. "Where have you been? We’ve been looking
everywhere for you!"
"Do you know what trouble you've
caused?" Hansel glared at his fiancé’s son, clenching his fists in anger.
This type of disobedience was not going to be allowed in his house, and he was
going to make sure Jack understood that. One way or another. "Go to your
room, and stay there until I come in."
"Hansel, please…" Gretel touched
her lover’s arm, but Hansel shook off her hand and grabbed Jack’s arm roughly
when it looked like the young man wasn’t moving fast enough.
"I said get in there!" Hansel
dragged Jack to his room and slammed the door shut after shoving Jack inside.
"Hansel…what are you going to do?" Gretel
wrung her hands nervously. She didn’t like watching her son get hurt, but she
knew that if Jack was ever going to thrive in today’s society, there was no
other choice.
"Don’t worry about it, Gretel. Just stay
out here while I take care of everything. He will learn not to run away
again." Hansel squeezed her shoulder before entering Jack’s room.
*****
Rose had looked everywhere for her missing
boyfriend. From the swing hall they hung out at to the bridge where she had
tried to jump. She had even stopped at the di Rossi’s, but no one had seen Jack
all day. Where could he be? Where could he have disappeared off to, and why?
"You’ll find him, Rose. Don’t
worry." Fabrizio hugged his friend as Rose became visibly upset by Jack’s
disappearance. "He probably needed time alone. He may be feeling
responsible for everything, and when Jack feels responsible for wrongs done, he
tries to fix things…or at least prevent the wrong from happening again."
That was when the light bulb came on inside
Rose’s head. Jack had felt responsible for Fabri’s problems with the Nazis. He
had said that Rose could get in trouble for helping him. Wanting to protect his
friends, Jack must have gone back to his mother’s apartment. And if that was
the case…
"Fabri, I have to go. I think I know
where Jack is." Rose hugged her friend and started for the door.
"Where?" Fabri frowned. He wondered
if he should accompany Rose or not. Jack would never forgive him if Fabrizio
allowed Rose to go into danger by herself.
"I’ll call you when it’s safe."
Rose waved as she ran out the door, disappearing down the alley that led to
Jack’s apartment.
The first thing she heard when she reached
the apartment was yelling. Loud, angry yelling. Rose knocked on the door, her
hand shaking, and fear foremost in her mind. But it wasn’t fear for herself. It
was fear for Jack. She had to get in there before he was hurt any worse then he
already was.
It was Jack’s mother that opened the door.
Her blue eyes, so much like Jack’s, were watery and vacant.
"May I help you?"
"I’m looking for Jack." Rose
swallowed, praying that the woman would let her in. She had to help Jack. She
had to get him out of there somehow.
"He’s busy right now. Listen, it’s best
that you don’t come around anymore. You’re one of the kids that’s from the
swing hall, aren’t you?"
"No," Rose lied. She had met him at
a swing hall, but she wasn’t allowed to go, really, and denying that she was
ever there was a quicker way to get to Jack.
"Still…it’s not a good idea for Jack to
associate with you anymore. Good day." Gretel tried to close the door, but
Rose, her temper and determination flaring up, stopped the door from closing by
putting her foot against it.
"I need to see Jack. Now."
Another yell, and this time, a loud thump.
Desperate, Rose pushed past Jack’s mother and ran for the only closed door in
the house, the room where all the noise was coming from.
Rose opened the door to see Hansel with what
looked like a steel blade clenched in his hand, advancing on Jack, who was
pressed up against the opposite wall, his eyes wide in fear.
"This will teach you to obey,"
Hansel growled, getting closer and closer to the teen, who couldn’t keep his
eyes off his attacker. Scanning the room, Rose looked for a weapon to use. She
looked at the table she was standing next to and noticed the glass vase that
contained red roses, as red as her hair. She grabbed the vase before Mrs.
Dawson could stop her, and brought it down on hard on Hansel’s head, shattering
the vase. Water and roses were everywhere, and Jack’s trance was broken while
Hansel stumbled around, yelling in pain, and Gretel tried to tend to him. Rose
snorted. It was too bad that Mrs. Dawson didn’t have the same compassion
towards her own son.
"Look what you did!" The older
woman glared at Rose.
"Rose?" Jack looked at her, as if
noticing her for the first time.
Rose reached past Hansel and grabbed Jack’s
hand.
"Let’s get out of here." Rose
pulled his hand. Jack didn’t think twice. Both Jack and Rose ran out of that
apartment and disappeared down an alleyway, wanting to get to safety as soon as
possible.