CHAPTER 10. – JUST WHAT KIND OF LOVE KEEPS BREAKING A HEART

- BASH -

The corridor was long but eventually Mary and I found one unguarded and Leith followed us up the stairs. I tried the gate. It was locked. "Damn it!" I said. I started looking around for something—anything—to get it open. Leith told us to wait while he went off to find something. Mary clung close to me. "It's gonna be alright. We'll get up there soon."

That's when we felt the boat tilt.

It was the first time the boat had really moved since it struck the berg some minutes before. I didn't even know how much time had passed. We couldn't have been down here for more than thirty minutes. But when the ship moved, we both stumbled and Mary lost her balance and fell down the stairs.

"Mary!" I shouted and almost lost my own balance while she tumbled down the stairs. As soon as I found my balance I rushed down to her side. "Are you alright?" I asked urgently.

Sitting up, Mary said, "I'm fine."

"Come on, let's get you standing." I took her arms and went to pull her up but as soon as she was on her feet she cried out in pain, bending her right knee to keep the weight off her foot. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing."

I forced her to look at me. "Mary, don't lie to me. Please, tell me what's wrong."

She hesitated but finally answered. "It's my ankle. There was a sharp pain that ran through it when I stood up."

Damn it. We couldn't go to the infirmary because it was closed and everyone was being moved up to the deck. Hell, we couldn't even get out of here. I sat Mary down on the ground and examined her ankle. I wasn't a doctor, but I'd seen some broken bones before and knew how to examine for them. It was something I'd picked up along the way, living on the streets with people who had no resources like medicine. "It's not broken," I said. She hissed when I pressed it a little. "I think it's sprained. You're going to have to stay off of it."

"Great," she muttered. "How the hell am I supposed to get out of here if I can't even move?!"

Leith came back. He noticed Mary sitting down and asked, "What happened?"

I explained what happened to him. He'd come back empty handed, and informed us that the people behind the gate said that only women and children were being allowed to pass through when they opened the gates in a few minutes. Of course. Women and children came first. I had to get Mary to a boat. She was injured. "Leith, I'm going to need your help to move her."

He nodded and we both supported her as we went back up the stairs and found a young maid passing by. "Miss!" Leith called, since he was the first to see her.

The young maid stopped. "You're not supposed to be here. You should go back to the main stairwell." She was Irish. Her accent told all.

"Please," I begged. "My fiancée, she's injured. We need to get her to a boat."

"I… I don't have a key," she said.

"Please, find someone who does."

She looked uneasy. I could see the conflict in her eyes. She would technically be disobeying orders. But thankfully she said, "Wait here, and don't tell anyone else." We thanked her and watched her run away. Leith and I sat Mary back down. She winced in pain again and grabbed her ankle, but then quickly removed her hands, knowing it only hurt worse when she did that.

"It's gonna be alright, Mary, I promise," I tried to convince her. She nodded, tears forming in her eyes, and attempted a grin.

We waited what seemed like an eternity but eventually the young maid came back. The water was creeping towards us more and more now. "Here," she said and shakily put the key in the lock. Leith and I helped take the chain out and push the door open. We then picked Mary up and supported her through the gate while the maid closed it and locked it again. "Follow me, I'll take you to the deck."

While we were on our way, Mary asked the young woman, "Have the first class passengers been loaded yet?"

"They just finished loading all of the first class women and children," she told us. "And they were letting the third class go up, but women and children only." She led us to a secret stairwell which was difficult to get up with having to support an injured Mary, but eventually we made it out onto the deck. There were so many people around, it was kind of ridiculous.

Before the maid could leave, Mary asked her, "What is your name, Miss?"

"Deirdre," she answered.

"Thank you, Deirdre. I pray you a safe outcome."

"And you all as well," she said before curtsying and leaving us to go back down the stairwell.

Now we were on the deck. Leith and I looked around while trying to keep Mary balanced between us. "We need to get to a boat," Leith said. "It looks like they're all gone."

Mary shook her head. "They have other boats, not just those hanging. They can't all be gone, not yet."

"Let's check around on the other side," I said and we turned to head in that direction. It was a bit of a struggle, trying to get through the frantic crowd. People were already jumping overboard. The ship was titled at a pretty decent angle now, which made it nearly impossible for us to go 'uphill.'

We finally found a boat. The officer was calling for women and children. I knew I had to let her go here.

"Mary," I said. "You have to get in the boat."

She shook her head. "No. I'm not going without you, Bash. I'm not leaving you and Leith here after you carried me up here from third class."

"You have to, Mary, you're injured."

Then we heard another voice. "Curious," it said. We both turned to see Francis standing there. "She doesn't look injured. Now, you, on the other hand, Mr. Poitiers, are a moment away from being injured yourself."

Leith spoke up. "You will not speak to them that way. Who the hell do you think you are?"

Francis shot a look at Leith. "I'm Francis Valois, Mary's fiancée."

"Not anymore," Mary shot at him. "I will never marry you."

"I figured as much when I found that drawing of you in your chambers, along with a recently slept in bed. Or… well, we shouldn't really call it sleep should we?"

"None of your business," Mary said, angrily. "What I do with Bash is my own concern, not yours. I'm in love with him, and I'm going to be his wife."

He smirked. "That's an awful fast promotion, considering your previous label with him was 'whore.'"

I wasn't going to stand here and let Francis abuse Mary. "You son of a bitch," I said, though almost gritted teeth. I let go of Mary, and Leith kept her balanced. "How dare you call her that. You call yourself a man? I know how you've forced yourself on top of her. She told me everything. And I'll be damned if I let you touch her again."

Francis was clearly very amused by this. "Bold. But not bold enough. Mary's coming with me, Mr. Poitiers. And Hugo, here," he said, gesturing to his bodyguard standing off to the side a bit through the crowd of people trying to get into the boat, "will make sure you're taken care of."

When he went to grab Mary, I punched him in the face. Francis stumbled back and bit and Hugo stepped forward, but Francis held his hand out to stop him. "I'll take care of this myself, Hugo," he said. That's when he swung for me and instead of hitting me, since I was smart enough to duck, he hit someone else, knocking them into the crowd and causing a domino effect. People were being pushed forward.

Then a gunshot went off.

...

A/N: Chapter 11 coming soon! Send me some love! xo