AN UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY
Chapter Thirteen
Rose could feel the fear rising in her
throat. They were on their way to tell her mother and Cal about the iceberg.
They had just overheard the captain speaking to some of his officers. Their
words weren’t encouraging. It sounded bad.
Rose held onto Jack’s hand tightly as they
approached her suite. Mr. Lovejoy was waiting outside for them. "We’ve
been waiting for you, Miss," he said, before walking next to Jack. Jack
didn’t even feel him put the diamond in his pocket.
When they entered the sitting room, Rose
noticed her mother pacing around the room. Something is really wrong with
the ship, she thought fearfully.
"Something has happened," Rose
started to explain.
Cal stepped forward. "Yes. Indeed it
has. I've lost two things precious to me tonight. Now that one is back, I have
a good idea where to find the other," Cal said, as he eyed Rose and Jack.
"Search him," he commanded.
The same men that had almost arrested Jack
that night when he had saved her now approached him. "Give me your coat,
son," one of them said.
Jack couldn’t believe what was happening. He
watched, a shocked expression on his face, as they took the Heart of the Ocean
out of his pocket. "This is horseshit!" he cried. He looked at Rose
desperately. He knew she wouldn’t believe that he would do something like that
to her, not after everything they had been through. She looked at him, hurt and
confusion in her eyes. "I didn’t do it, Rose. Don’t you believe it,"
he told her.
"This isn't even your coat, is it, son?
Property of AL Ryerson. This was reported stolen earlier today." Rose
looked at him, too confused to even think. "I only borrowed it. I was going
to return it," Jack said, referring to the coat.
Cal laughed. "Oh, an honest thief, we
have an honest thief here," he said, a smirk on his face.
"He couldn’t have. I was with him the
whole time. This is absurd!" Rose said in disbelief.
"It’s easy enough for a professional.
Maybe he took it while you were putting your clothes back on, dear." Cal
whispered this last part, but Jack still heard it.
It dawned on him then. "Oh, real slick,
Cal. That guy Lovejoy put it in my pocket, Rose," he said in an urgent
whisper. "You know I didn’t do it, Rose. You know it!" But she didn’t
say anything. She didn’t know what to do or say. They dragged Jack out of the
room. "You know me, Rose!" he yelled one last time. She felt her
entire world crumble to ground.
After everyone left the room, Cal and Rose
were alone. He stared at her in disgust before striking her hard in the face.
She didn’t say anything; her mind was too jumbled. A steward knocked on the
door before entering, interrupting them. He instructed them to put their
lifebelts on and go up to the boat deck. Cal wasn’t happy about the
interruption, but he followed the orders nevertheless.
Rose thought of Jack and his kind and caring
eyes…they were honest eyes. She forgot her thoughts as she spotted Mr. Andrews
by the grand staircase. He looked shocked and in a state of disbelief. She went
over to him. "Mr. Andrews, I saw the iceberg, and I see it in your eyes.
Please tell me the truth."
He looked at her for a moment before saying
anything. "The ship will…sink. All of this will be at the bottom of the
Atlantic," he told her in a hushed voice. Cal looked at him in disbelief.
Mr. Andrews looked at Rose seriously. "You remember what I told you about
the lifeboats?" She nodded, understanding weighing down on her shoulders.
"Tell who you must. I don’t want to be the cause of a panic." She
watched as he left, a feeling of dread growing in the pit of her stomach.
A few moments later, she was on the boat
deck. She couldn’t even remember walking up the stairs. "Will the lifeboats
be seated according to class? Oh, I hope it won’t be too crowded," her
mother said lightly.
Rose stared at her mother in shock. "Oh,
shut up, Mother! Don’t you understand? There aren’t enough lifeboats for
everyone, and the water is freezing. Half the people on board are going to
die." Her mother stared at her for a moment before getting into a lifeboat
with Molly. They urged her to get in with them. She stared at Cal, amazed at
his unconcerned expression.
"You know, it’s a shame I didn’t keep
that drawing. It’ll be worth a lot more by morning."
At that moment, an emergency rocket was fired
overhead. It was like a light going off in Rose’s mind, finally clearing it of
the fog. How could I have doubted Jack for a moment? She looked at Cal
in disgust. "You unimaginable bastard." He ignored her comment. Her
mother was still telling her to get into the boat. And leave Jack? Not a
chance in hell! "Good-bye, Mother." She started to walk away,
ignoring her mother’s cries and pleas.
"Come back, Rose! Come back!"
Cal grabbed her arm. "What? You’re going
to him? To be a whore to a gutter rat?"
She looked at him, her eyes flashing angrily.
"I’d rather be his whore than your wife," she said in a low, angry
voice. She started to walk away again, but he grabbed her arm forcefully.
"No! I said no!" he cried.
She spit in his face, then ran off, almost
laughing at the expression plastered on his astonished face. Good thing Jack
had taught her how to spit! But there was no time for laughing. She had to find
Jack. He was her entire world now.