A/N - Um... Hi guys. I would like to apologise for worrying some of you that I had left the story. I havent - I had just gone on holiday and foolishly forgotten to tell you all! :/ So, after a long wait by my standards, here is chapter 9! I thank you for all the reviews, favourites, follows, and anybody who has kept frantically checking most days for an update. At long last, here it is! Oh, and for all of you Rose/Harold lovers, he is back again!
~Okaly~
Bride POV
"And then, she run out and cry, cry cry. I think she miss Jack but-"
"Jack?"I interrupted. Rose had often confused me for this 'Jack', yet I had never got an explanation.
"Si, Jack. He was my best friend. He and Rose met on the Titanic, but have told you this already, yes?" Fabrizio squinted his eyes and looked across at me like I was a simpleton. We were sat in my hotel room, discussing this alleged breakdown Rose had last night.
So that's Jack, I remembered. Rose had a lover… That's when the full effect of how much of an idiot I'd been for pushing my feelings onto her when she was in grief hit me. Oh God… she must really, really hate me!
"Well," said Fabrizio, standing and walking to the door, "I must leave. I have a job in a restaurant, yes? To cook. So I leave now." I sort of nodded dismissively as he walked out of the door. There was no stopping him! Maybe, if I just gave Rose some time, she may accept my affections. She must just be in grief and shock, the poor woman – mourning the one she loves with some desperate man practically throwing himself at her!
I dropped my head into my hands, letting it rest there, before picking up the newspaper. I glanced at the front cover and my eyes nearly popped out of my head. There, in big, bold letters, was:
'IS THIS CALEDON HOCKLEY'S MISSING FIANCEE?'
Underneath, there was a large picture of a woman's face looking down from the camera, clutching a blanket around her hair as strands flew about her face. Her eyes looked red and weary, and her lips pale and full. Everything about the picture made sense. It was indeed a picture of Rose leaving the Carpathia. I remembered the blanket she was practically attached to as some sort of coping mechanism. And then, as I kept looking, I noticed a dark haired man, grinning, half of his face covered in the crowds. Fabrizio.
I practically tore open the newspaper and devoured the article:
"The young finacee of Caledon Hockley, Philadelphia steel tycoon, was thought to have tragically died in the Titanic disaster just a few nights ago. However, new evidence has emerged that she may actually be among the living survivors. A photograph taken of a survivor leaving rescue ship 'The Carpathia' has an uncanny resemblance to the 17 year old Rose DeWitt-Bukater.
When contacted, Mr Hockley confirmed that the woman in the picture could be his missing fiancée. He appeared overjoyed at the news, and is offering anybody who could notify him of her whereabouts a large cash reward.
Miss DeWitt-Bukater has striking red curls and a very pale complexion. She is about average weight and height, and expected to be in the New York area. It is presumed that she is unaware of her fiancée and mother's survival, and is therefore staying by herself."
The rest of the article discussed various other prominent missing persons, and the events of the sinking. My hands rattled the newspaper as I pushed it aside and slowly rose to my feet. Oh shit. Shit, shit, shit! I muttered to myself as panic mode set into my body and I tugged my shoes on.
I flew down the stairs, out the lobby and through the bustling streets of New York, desperately trying to remember the address Fabrizio had mentioned they were staying at.
Rose POV
I opened my eyes and tried to adjust to the bright light pouring onto me through a crack in the curtains. My eyes stung and felt puffy, like they do when you spend ages the day before crying. I should know.
I turned to face away from the sun, and smelt the unmistakeable scent of Fabrizio in my bedsheets. What? I pushed myself up to sit on the bed as I pulled a hand through my hair and scrunched up my eyes to be able to see. My brain was slowly switching itself on and I tried to work through all the early morning fog to get to some answers.
Did we… do something? Surely not. Not Fabrizio, please, not Fabrizio. He's a good man, he wouldn't – Oh.
It all came back. I remember running across a park and encountering some scary men. And then someone ran and punched them until they ran away. Was it Fabrizio? The punches were so rapid and strategic – yet I struggled to imagine someone as gentle as Fabrizio being capable of such force!
Then, I remember I somehow ended up back here. Fabrizio must've brought me. God, I was proving to be hard work for him if not only does he have to provide and care for me, but also has to get up in the middle of the night and play hide-and-seek with me through the streets of New York City.
I pressed my eyelids closed, sat for a few seconds and opened them again. Why did we end up sharing a bed though? I led back to try and think, snuggling into the covers and relaxing when I inhaled Fabrizio's scent. The smell of reassurance. Ah, I wanted him to keep me safe during the night! I recalled.
God, how selfish of me! Not only was I demanding his protection all day, but now all night! My eyes still stung and it felt like every muscle in my body had been torn apart. To say I was lost without Jack was an almighty understatement. I felt empty. Just like I had nothing left. I know, I know, things could be so much worse for me – yet I feel it is my right to have a while to come to terms with my loss. If only I was like Fabrizio; so selfless.
I rolled out of the bed and shuffled into the kitchen area, and there was a scrap of paper.
''I have gone to work. Have a nice day, Rosa. Be careful, yes?
Fabrizio.'
'BANG, BANG, BANG!' I froze still as the sound of violent beating coming from my door.
"Rose! Rose! Are you there?" shouted a man's voice from the other side. It didn't sound like Cal's, but I made no sound just to be sure. There was silence for a few seconds.
"Please, Rose. It's Harold. Harold Bride? Please let me in, it's really urgent!"
I let out a breath of relief as I made my way to the door. I didn't want to see Harold, but compared to the possibility of Cal knocking on the door I was ready to open it in a heartbeat.
Jack POV
I walked down the passageways of steerage. I'd knock on every door in ever hallway if that's what it took to find her.
"Is Helga Dahl here?" I asked a man who opened one door, who muttered his apologies in answer and closed it. That's what happened for about an hour before finally, a door was opened by a young woman with short blonde, mussed up waves falling into her face. She was wearing a loose fitting white dress with lace around the edges. It like she had only just gotten out of bed; it looked like she had been crying. A silver trail of water was left on her cheek and her eyes were red.
"Helga Dahl?" I questioned. She furrowed her eyebrows and nodded.
"Jack Dawson, friend of Fabrizo. Fabrizio DeRossi. Do you remember me?"
"Jeg forstår ikke, jeg beklager. Jeg kjenner deg, men jeg vet ikke hvor fra... "
Brilliant. I thought to myself. "Do you speak any English?"
"Engelsk?Nei."
I bit down on my bottom lip. This would be harder than I expected…
"Helga?" Called a man from inside the cabin. The owner of the voice showed himself at the doorway, protectively stood over the girl. He put a restraining hand on her shoulder, and she looked back at the man, a tear escaping her eye. Quickly, she escaped from his grasp and pulled on one of my braces as she began sprinting down the corridor. I had no choice but to follow. The man chased after us, but we seemed to speed up until he gave up and leant on his knees, panting and sending us a stream of surely very angry sentences in whatever language he was speaking. We got to the deck, and walked up to it.
She walked to the rail and threw her head into her hands. Her body began to tremble as I heard muffled sobs. What am I supposed to do?
"Here," I coaxed, as I held out my arms. Without a second thought she crumbled into my embrace and wet my shirt with her tears. I sort of patted her back awkwardly. I didn't have any idea why she was crying, or why she had ran away so fast.
How do I let her know I am Fabrizio's friend without words? Aha! Mr Andrews…
"Come in!" shouted an Irish voice as I pushed through the door, gesturing for Helga to follow. "Why Jack, what're you doing here yet again?" I smiled awkwardly.
"Do you have information about the passengers?" I asked. Helga's eyes were darting about, as if she was in deep confusion, and quite afraid. Mr Andrews turned back to me, carrying a large book. "Who'll you be wanting?" he questioned.
"Fabrizio DeRossi."
He opened a page, and there was a picture of Fabrizio, as he is in the real world. He looked pretty tired, but other than that the same as normal. I pointed to the picture and her eyes instantly lit up. 'Fabrizio' she mouthed with a smile. 'Yeah!' I nodded, and then pointed to myself. 'Jack.'
She gave me a puzzled look, as did Mr Andrews. I pointed to her 'Helga'. And then to me, 'Jack.'
'Ah!' She smiled. 'Jack' she mouthed, as she had done with Fabrizio's name. I nodded, then asked Mr Andrews if we could go and visit Fabrizio.
Fabrizio was chattering away in fast Italian that I couldn't make sense of in a kitchen somewhere. He was rolling out dough for Pizza, an Italian dish he made me try. I'm so happy to see him cooking. He is doing what he loves, and of course, providing for Rose.
"Fabrizio!" Helga pointed, quite like a child.
"Yeah." I nodded. We returned to Mr Andrews' office once again. "Thanks again."
"Oh no problem Jack," he laughed, "good luck!"
We sat on the deck. I decided pretty much using a charades idea would help us to be understood. I held my hands out in a questioning manner, then pointed at her, and then ran my fingers down my face in a lame attempt to make it look like tears. "Why were you crying?" I mouthed. She seemed to understand.
From her gestures I gathered that her parents were mad with her for falling in love with Fabrizio, and then she was crying because she didn't know where he was.
"You can stay with me." I smiled. Tried to. Rose seemed to occupy my mind every second of the day. Seeing as Helga didn't understand, I gestured for her to follow me. We walked through the maze of corridors until we got to my room. I pointed to the top bunk and told her she could sleep there. I gestured between me and her, then spread my arms across the room. "We can stay here together. Don't worry, I will look after you." She smiled and climbed up the bunk.
