Chapter 1
March 31st 1909
Jack
Jack looked around miserably. He was at a loss for what to do, he could no longer stand to live here, but yet, he couldn't bring himself to leave either. For the sake of his siblings, and his mother, he had to stay.
Jack hated his father. His father was the type of man that Jack hoped he would never be. This is why he wanted to escape, if his friends, or his family ever knew what he had done, been doing, he would be judged, severely.
You see, Jack was an artist, or more accurately he aspired to be. When he was 11 years old he had gotten his first job, working out on the Di Rossi farm, with his best friend, Fabrizio. Fabrizio's family owned the farm, and his mother was a very kind woman. She had offered Jack the job when he had told her he needed something to help support his family, being the oldest child in the Dawson family, and seeing as his mother had recently lost her job as a part-time seamstress.
Fabrizio's mother Isabella paid Jack 2 dollars an hour, and Jack usually worked about 6 hours a day, earning him 12 dollars each day. With this new found income, Jack decided he would like to attend the art class that they offered at the community centre for aspiring artists. He knew he had wanted to be an artist one day, and drawing landscapes and portraits had always interested him, but he knew that drawing was considered girly, and if his father or siblings ever found out about it, they would call him a sissy.
Only Jack's mother, Janelle Dawson knew of his dreams, and aspirations, and supported him 100%. She also knew that his father should not be told, until Jack was absolutely certain he could make a living at it. For if he could not make any money off of it, Janelle knew that his father, John would not be very happy about it. As it was already considered a woman's fancy to be a artist.
Jack had six other siblings, 2 brothers and 4 sisters. Their names were Dorothy, Grace, Marie, Margaret, James, and Joseph. Dorothy was 14 Grace was 13, Marie was 12, Margaret and James were 10, and Joseph was 8. Jack, being the oldest, was 16.
When Jack started attending the art class, he was already quite talented, even his instructor thought so, and she knew it wouldn't be long until Jack was getting paid to do portraits. She had absolute confidence in him.
But Jack's life was about to change, he was about to meet the most amazing girl he had ever set eyes on, and his heart was about to be forever hers.
April 1st 1909
Rose
Rose had never been particularly outgoing. She had never had many friends, and she was quite shy. Rose was different. She was among the wealthiest class in Philadelphia, but she didn't really enjoy it. Actually, she didn't enjoy it at all. She hated it.
You see, Rose wanted freedom, she wanted the chance to showcase her independence, she wanted her own life. She hated that her mother controlled every single aspect of her life now, and she never thought she would be able to break free.
On this particular morning Rose awoke in her soft comfy bed to the sound of birds chirping. She glanced at the clock on her bedroom wall, it read 7:00 am. She sighed sleepily, wondering why she was awake already. She slowly crawled out of bed and wandered over to the window, and slid it open. The morning air was surprisingly warm for April, and the sun shone brightly.
"Rose! Get up darling! We're leaving in 20 minutes! We're going wedding dress shopping, and Cal will be joining us afterwards for a luncheon with the Philadelphia society!" Ruth Dewitt-Bukator called up the stairs to her bedroom.
"I'm already awake mother, and I'm nearly ready!" Rose called back angrily. She had been in a good mood until her mother had decided to tell her what she was going to be doing that day.
"How can you be nearly ready? I haven't even heard you call for the maid to help you with your hair!" Ruth called back.
Suddenly the door swung open and Ruth was standing in the doorway. Her eyes flashed menacingly as she took in her daughters appearance.
"Rose! What do you think your doing? Your not nearly ready! You look as though you've merely rolled out of bed and have decided to take on the day like this! Honestly Rose, I don't understand you. You live as though you want to be a poor woman, always wanting to do things yourself, there's a reason we have maids you know." Ruth said angrily.
"Oh, stop it mother. You'll give yourself a nosebleed."
"Rose, get yourself ready right now! Don't you dare talk back to me like that. You will do what I say, and you will respect my authority." Ruth growled. "Now call for the maid to lace your corset and do your hair, and for gods sakes, apply a little make-up! You look like the living dead." She spat.
Rose looked back at her, hurt clear in her green eyes, but Ruth didn't care. She merely spun around and stalked out of her daughters bedroom, leaving her cruel words to sink in.
Rose walked over to her mirror and sat down on the small stool in front of it. She looked at her reflection and flinched. Her mother was right, she did look awful. She carefully applied some foundation, and a little bit of mascara, then she called for the maid.
"Trudy!"
"Yes miss Rose?"
"I need you to come upstairs to lace my corset, and do my hair!" Rose called
"Coming miss!" Trudy called back. She was there in a matter of seconds.
A/N What do you guys think? (I edited it up a bit from the last time i posted, Do you like it? I'm trying to do something a bit different with the characters, you'll see what i mean soon enough :3 . Read & please review! It would mean a lot. :)
