A/N: Despite being sick, I was so excited for this chapter that I couldn't wait! The song I used in here is "What Hurts The Most" by Rascal Flatts.
Rose never slept that night. She tried for all she was worth, but the sandman kept eluding her. Every time her eyes closed, Jack's face appeared. Rose tossed and turned, punched her pillow, and rearranged her blankets, but she never settled down.
Jack had walked to his truck and drove off after their argument. "I'll be damned if I'm gonna stand by and watch it happen Rose." His words still echoed in her head. Rose had stayed behind for several hours, but he never came home. With Jack gone and Molly out for the evening, the house remained dark and quiet. Eventually Rose gave up and came home, where she laid now.
A little after midnight, it began raining. Rose began to cry.
I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house
That don't bother me
I can take a few tears now and then and just let them out
Jack was at home now, just as restless as Rose. Instead of laying on his bed and staring at the ceiling however, he was packing.
He had meant what he said to Rose; he couldn't watch her marry Cal. And he couldn't stay here any longer and pretend everything was going to be okay. Jack was too afraid of getting hurt even more.
More than anything, Jack wanted to pour out his feelings to her. He wanted to tell her that he'd loved her for as long as he could remember. He wanted to feel her lips brush against his. And Jack knew if he saw her again, it would happen. He had to leave before it was too late.
Molly had come home late, and Jack broke the news to her. She was upset and frightened, but didn't protest. Jack kept the real reason for his decision hidden, but Molly couldn't help but wonder if it was because of Rose.
A crack of thunder broke through the sound of the rain. Jack turned to look out the window. A flash of lightning lit up the night sky, illuminating the tree house in the backyard. Jack sighed. He didn't think he and Rose would ever be together in the tree house again.
He tossed his now full bag on the floor and collapsed on the bed. He was leaving early in the morning, and he wanted a few hours of sleep. Suddenly though, Jack stopped fighting the tears.
I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while
Even though going on with you gone still upsets me
There are days every now and again I pretend I'm okay
But that's not what gets me
"What do you mean he left Tommy?" Rose stared at her cousin in denial.
"I mean exactly that Rosie," Tommy replied. "Jack left about seven this morning."
"How the hell do you know?" Tommy handed her a note that he had found with his morning paper. She swiped it from his hand.
"He dropped it off at my place before I even got up," he explained. Rose didn't hear him, just read the words.
"If I don't leave now, I'll just regret it," Rose said, reading the words out loud. "I'll be back when I can. Tell everyone bye for me." Rose paused for a moment. "He went to war."
The realization hit her like a punch in the stomach. Rose was glad her bed was right behind her, because she sank into it. Tommy was next to his cousin in seconds, placing a supportive arm around her.
"I'm sorry Rosie."
"I should have told him that I love him," she whispered as a tear dripped for the top of her nose.
What hurts the most
Was being so close
And having so much to say
And watching you walk away
And never knowing
What could have been
And not seeing that lovin' you
Is what I was tryin' to do
Jack laid his head down on the pillow. Six weeks had passed since he left Gainesville. He was still in Georgia, at Fort Benning. Fabrizio was there as well, unwilling to let his best friend go to war alone.
Though Jack had left to escape the pain of losing Rose, the pain seemed to burn a little more viciously each day.
He knew that every day that passed was one day closer until Rose became Mrs. Caledon Hockley. And every day Jack was beginning to kick himself in the ass a little more. He thought of writing her often, but he could not bring himself to put his feelings on paper.
It took Jack awhile to fall asleep, as always. But upon waking the following morning, Jack learned that the day he was due home for a short leave before shipping out, was the same day as Rose's wedding.
Jack wondered if he should take it as a serious sign. Fabrizio practically beat him over the head with the fact.
It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go
But I'm doin' It
It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone
"I'll call you later Rose," Helga said as she left to run some errands. Rose closed the door to her bedroom, and face Tommy who had just walked in.
"One week Tommy, that's it. In one week I marry Cal. Why am I doing this?" Rose took a puff of the joint in her hand before handing it to Tommy.
"I ask myself that all the time Rosie." Tommy took a quick drag. "You love Jack and you're marrying Cal, it doesn't make any sense to me either," he went on, not shy about being brutally sarcastic.
"Jack," she said bitterly. "Jack who took off without a good-bye to me. No, I take that back. Jack said good-bye, through you, in a letter." Rose hadn't taken Jack's departure well at all. She was afraid that she had lost him, and distracted herself by actually getting involved with the wedding plans. "He hasn't written any of us."
"So that's it then? You're over Jack?" Rose glared at Tommy before snatching the joint from him.
"There's nothing to be over," she denied. "I'm just mad as hell at him." And myself.
Still harder
Getting up, getting dressed, livin' with this regret
But I know if I could do it over
I would trade, give away, all the words that I saved in my heart
That I left unspoken
Jack hailed a cab at the train station and gave the driver the address. Although Jack hadn't written to any of his friends, he had written to his aunt. He asked of the wedding location, saying he wanted to surprise Rose so Molly wouldn't alert her to his arrival.
The ride to his house was less than twenty minutes, but he still had three hours before the wedding. Three hours until he told her that he was in love with her. It took every ounce of patience, but it would pay off.
If Jack was going tell Rose he loved her, he was doing it in the most passionate way possible. There was no way he was going to lose her.
What hurts the most
Is being so close
And having so much to say
And watching you walk away
And never knowing
What could have been
And not seeing that lovin' you
Is what I was trying to do
Rose forced herself not to cry. Her makeup would be disastrous if she did. But it was harder than she imagined. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. The girl in the mirror was someone else. Though Rose could see she was beautiful, she didn't feel beautiful. And even if she felt beautiful, the darkness in her eyes took the beauty away.
A gentle knock on her door caught her attention. "Come in," she responded. Tommy came through the door, looking like a brand new man in a tuxedo.
"Who are you and where's my cousin," Rose said, attempting to make a joke. Tommy smiled and kissed her forehead.
"It's really me Rosie. I've been brainwashed into wearing this shit," he joked back, and Rose managed a weak laugh. "You ready?"
Rose glanced at herself in the mirror. On the outside, she was ready. Inside, she wanted to jump off a cliff. "Yeah, I think so." Tommy extended his arm and Rose took it.
"Thanks for giving me away Tommy," she whispered as the waited for the bridal march to begin. Taking a deep breath, Rose plastered on a fake smile as the doors opened and Tommy began to escort her down the aisle.
Jack came down the hall just as she disappeared into the church. "Shit!"
"Jack, don't swear in church," Fabrizio reprimanded him. "Besides, there's always Plan B."
What hurts the most
Is being so close
And having so much to say
And watching you walk away
And never knowing
What could have been
And not seeing that lovin' you
Is what I was trying to do
The priest's words flowed right through Rose's brain. She didn't absorb them, just listened to the drabble about the severity of the commitment in marriage, and how love conquers all. If it did, I'd be standing here with Jack, she thought.
She heard the priest ask for objections and she sighed, knowing there wouldn't be any. Just as the priest looked back to his book to continue, a voice spoke up from the back of the church.
"Wait."