You Are My Destiny

Chapter 1:

Struggling To Move On

Mid June 1912

Albany, NY

Rose was awoken promptly at 6 a.m. by her unofficial alarm clock ; her upstairs neighbor's dog feverishly barking. She sighed and sat up in her very old and very small bed. She rubbed her eyes and looked around her tiny apartment that she had grown so fond of. It was absolutely nothing compared to what she used to have in life, but this was so much better. It was better because it was hers and hers alone, and she was actively paying rent by herself. She felt like she was finally getting the hang of being on her own.

Of course, her happiness lasted only about a minute until she felt the hard drowning pressure of sadness and guilt wash over her like it did every single morning. She winced as she felt her heart throb from pain and closed her eyes tightly to keep the tears at bay. That amount that she missed Jack was literally unbearable. The pain and suffering she felt from pure heartache was enough to make her want to rip her vibrant red hair out and scream at the top of her lungs. But after a few short moments of steady breathing she was able to calm herself down again. She knew that even though she didn't exactly want to, she had to go on living her life to the best of her ability so that she could make Jack proud. And that's what she had been doing for the past two months ; living her life the absolute best that she could considering her circumstances.

She got up and got dressed for her day at work, in which she was a nanny for a local upper class Italian family. She liked working for the Costa family because they were very kind and welcoming to Rose, and they were the only upper class family in the Albany area that weren't white and were 'new money' as of about 5 years ago. They were generally shunned from New York society because of these things, and that's probably why they were much more laid back and pleasant than anybody else in first class she had ever met. And of course, she adored the two children that she looked after. Lorenzo, who had just turned 11 a week ago, and Sophia who was 6.

Rose had decided to immediately get out of New York City and found herself in Albany, where it was must slower paced and laid back than the city. And it was definitely greener and more nature-friendly. She liked this because she loved to take the two kids out into all of the lovely parks that Albany had to offer. Rose had never thought in a million years that her life would become so reversed that she would be the one serving the upper class, but she was surprised by how well she adapted to the situation. Again, she thanked God for allowing her to be welcomed in by such an easy going family.

Rose arrived to the Costa residence at 7 a.m. sharp and used her small silver key to let her into the large house. The house wasn't nearly as big as the estates that Rose grew up on, but it was surely very grand and upscale. As soon as she opened the door she heard the tiny footsteps of Sophia coming down the hallway.

"Miss Rose!" Sophia yelled, her jet black hair blowing behind her as she ran full speed into Rose's open arms. Rose engulfed Sophia and gave her a tight and loving squeeze.

"Well good morning!" She said with a laugh. "You're very energetic this morning. I'm assuming your lazy brother is still asleep?"

"Yes," Sophia replied. "Can we go pour water on him to wake him up?"

"Absolutely not!" Rose said with a chuckle. "You may go kindly wake your brother up while I make your breakfast, okay? How does eggs and toast sound?"

"It sounds yummy!" Sophia squealed as she barreled up the spiraling staircase.

Rose smiled and made her way to the kitchen. She imagined how horrified her mother would be if she ever used the word "yummy" or ran around the house like the Costa kids did. She also laughed out how disgraced her mother would be at the notion that Rose was actually cooking. It was "a job for a servant" as Ruth always put it. But Rose found that she was actually quite good at it and enjoyed cooking and making up new recipes very much. She was thankful that she could say she had talent in something.

"Well good morning, sleepy head," Rose said as she cracked an egg into the hot skillet as Lorenzo made his way sluggishly to the table.

"Mmm" was the only reply she got. Rose smiled and continued to work on their breakfast. "Where is your mother? She's usually awake by now."

"She's still sleeping," Sophia said as she plopped herself on the chair that was much too big for her. "And daddy's already at work."

"He sure is a hard working man, isn't he?" Rose said admiringly, remembering how Cal barely did any work to deserve the huge amount of money he was basically handed from birth. She then let her eyes get dreamy as she thought of Jack and all the hard work he did throughout his life. She wondered what he would be doing now if he was still here, just like she did everyday. She immediately shook her head and blinked her tears away before she burned their toast, and served the children their breakfast.

Later That Afternoon

Chicago, Illinois

Unbeknownst to Rose, Jack was very much alive and well. She had mistakenly thought him for dead when he didn't move an inch in her attempt to wake him up that dreadful night. Jack, of course, never remembered falling asleep or Rose trying to wake him at all. He just remembered suddenly being engulfed in completely excruciatingly cold water, and knowing that he was in deep trouble if he didn't swim for the surface. He splashed around looking for Rose desperately, but didn't see a sign of her anywhere. He became frantic and started screaming her name, which attracted the attention of another life boat. Initially he refused to get in the boat, vowing that if Rose had died, he would die with her. But he was too weak to fight the officers and was hauled into the boat seemingly against his will.

After spending about two weeks in a hospital in New York City for a mild case of hypothermia, Jack immediately jetted out of New York all together. He had searched for Rose's name on the survivors list but didn't see her name anywhere, which only added to his devastation and heartbreak. He didn't know why, but he was so strongly reminded of Rose while in New York, this prompting him to get out as soon as he could. Jack spent about a month in the state of Ohio before making his way to Chicago, where he now resided.

Jack wasn't able to deal with his heartache in the healthiest of ways. He became a very quiet, agitated, less energetic version of himself. He was constantly walking in a cloud of sadness, completely bewildered by the fact that he had met the love of his life and lost her in the matter of simply three days. He felt so guilty about going about his day to day life without her, and he was frankly a little upset with her. He didn't know how she could promise him that she would survive, but instead let go of that promise so easily. Regardless, he still loved her tremendously and thought about her every single second of every day.

"Hey Jack, hand me that hammer there, would ya?"

"Huh?" Jack said, snapping his head out of his gloomy day dream. "Oh, uh, here ya go."

"Thanks."

Jack had been taking up small jobs here and there, and was currently working at a coal mine in Chicago in order to get some money to travel to his next destination.

"Hey, Adam," Jack said, approaching his new friend and roommate that he made while in Chicago. Adam had been very kind to Jack and let him stay in his apartment as well as landing him this job. Jack was sorry to have to leave him, but knew that he had to keep moving to keep his mind off of Rose.

"What is it, Jack?" Adam asked, stopping himself mid-hammer to hear what his friend had to say.

"So I think I might have to pack up my things and keep moving come tomorrow after I get my pay."

"Leaving so soon?" Adam said, unable to hide his disappointment. "I thought you were gonna stay at least until July."

"I know, and I'm sorry I have to leave so suddenly," Jack said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, "but I really just gotta keep moving."

"Well, alright," Adam said softly. "But at least let me take you out for a drink tonight, alright? One last time?" Adam asked while giving Jack a pat on the back. Jack was able to give his friend a genuine smile and agreed to one more night out in Chicago.

Author's Note:

Hey guys, so it's a slow start but first chapters are always the worst for me. I promise this story will get good and juicy. So please review/favorite/whatever you'd like to do to keep me motivated. :)