Chapter Thirty Five: One Way Or Another

She walked out and met Jack outside. "Well?"

"She knows," said Rose. "And I said everything that I wanted to say."

"I'm glad," said Jack. They were walking back to the home. "What exactly did you say?"

"That I'm okay with her being here, and I'm okay with being in her class, but I don't want a relationship with her," said Rose.

"Are you sure you don't?" Jack asked.

Rose nodded. "If I had my way, I wouldn't ever see her again. We had a calm conversation today, but I don't want anything to do with her."

"Why not?" Jack asked.

"Because every time I see her, I remember what she put me through," said Rose. She turned to Jack, holding back her tears. "I was a depressed six year old. Can you imagine? A depressed kindergartener! That was me. And it was all because of her. And now that I'm seventeen, and she has no legal say over me, I can say that I don't want anything to do with her."

Jack reached over and intertwined his fingers with hers. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

"I don't want you to think I'm being unreasonable," Rose began. "I just know that if I let her in, this will start all over again. And I'll end up unhappy."

"Then you don't have to do it," said Jack.

They walked into the home, and Molly was at the front desk. "Rose, I need to talk to you," said Molly.

"Okay," said Rose, and she and Jack stopped at the desk.

Molly looked at Jack. "Alone."

Rose looked at him and smiled. "I'll catch up with you."

Molly took Rose into the private office. "I got a call a few hours ago, from someone wanting to adopt you."

Rose had no interest in being adopted. She wanted to be here, with Jack and Helga and her other friends. But still, she wanted to know who it was. "Who was it?"

"Ruth Dewitt. Is that your mother?" Molly asked.

Rose shook her head nervously. "Molly, please, no."

"What, what is it?" Molly asked.

"She's a horrible parent. She's bipolar, she's a mess. She cannot adopt me," said Rose.

"This wouldn't have to do with you wanting to be with Jack, would it?" Molly asked, arching an eyebrow.

"No, Molly, she abandoned me when I was eight. And now she's stepping in for whatever reason. I can't do this," said Rose. "This goes beyond my relationship with Jack. Is there any way we can stop this?"

"There are a few options," Molly began. "The first is you can become emancipated. That way, no one will be able to adopt you because you will be a legal adult. The second option is to claim she's an unfit guardian. This one is risky, especially because if she's cleaned up her life in recent years, the court will look favorably towards her."

"I mean, I would become emancipated," said Rose. "But I don't have a job, income, anything. I have my father's money. That's it."

"I think emancipation is the safer option," said Molly. "But if you feel confident that if you went to court, you'd win, pursue that."

"But the part I don't understand is that when people turn eighteen, they can still live here until they graduate," said Rose. "Why couldn't I do the same?" She ran her fingers through her hair nervously. "I'm going to call my father's lawyer, and I'll ask him what to do."

"Let me know what you decide," said Molly.

Rose went upstairs to Jack and crashed on the bed. "What happened?" Jack asked.

"Ruth's trying to adopt me," said Rose. She put her head down on the pillow. "Good night!"

"Wait, Rose," said Jack. He sat down next to her. "She's trying to adopt you?"

"Yes," said Rose. "I left a message with my dad's lawyer, and I'll discuss with him how to get out of this."

"Okay," said Jack. He stroked her cheek..

"I don't understand. I said 'I don't want a relationship', and then she called a lawyer to try to get custody," said Rose.

"So what did Molly say?" Jack asked.

"I can file for emancipation, and I wouldn't be able to live here anymore I don't think," said Rose. "And the other option is going to court and claiming she's an unfit mother."

Rose covered her face with her hands, and she cried quietly. "Rose, baby," Jack whispered. "What is it?"

"Why can't we just have our happily ever after?" Rose cried. "I just want us to live a boring life. I don't want the constant drama!"

"I know," said Jack. He kissed her and held er tightly. "And I promise you. I will do whatever it takes for us to have our happily ever after."

"So will I," said Rose. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, as if if she let go, he would disappear. "So, I was thinking about something last night."

"What were you thinking about?" Jack asked.

"When we're eighteen, we get a chance to change our names," said Rose. She smiled brightly. "And I want to take yours."

Jack smiled. "I've never had the same last name as someone who loves me." He leaned in and closed the gap between them, kissing her passionately.

"I love you more than anything," said Rose. She kissed him again. The phone ringing interrupted them. "It's the lawyer." She answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi, Rose, I just got your call."

"Thanks for returning my call," said Rose. "It's been a crazy few days."

"What's been going on?"

"My mother started working at my school. I was placed in her class, which I've accepted, but now she's trying to take custody of me," said Rose. "She's a horrible parent. I can't live with her. I don't want a relationship with her or anything."

"I think your father would agree with that assessment."

"So do I," said Rose. "So what are my options?"

"You're seventeen years old," said the lawyer. "Once you turn fifteen, you're allowed to say whose custody you want to be under. If you get up in front of a judge and say that your mother is an unfit parent and you would not be comfortable living there, the court must listen to you."

"So where do we go from here?" Rose asked.

"I'll send a letter to your mother asking her to rescind the request, and that if she doesn't, we'll see her in court."

Rose nodded. "And in terms of payment-"

"No charge for Rose Dewitt Bukater."

Rose smiled. "Thank you so much."

"Of course. So, I'll get started on this, and I'll call you when I find out."

"Thank you."

Rose hung up the phone. "What did he say?" Jack asked.

"I can say that she's an unfit parent, and they legally cannot make me live with her," said Rose. "First, they're sending her a letter to ask her to rescind it, though."

"Okay," said Jack. He wrapped his arms tightly around her. "You're not going anywhere."

"Try and stop me," said Rose with a smile, leaning against his chest.

"What did he charge you?" Jack asked. "Because I've been working lately, and I can help-"

"It's an old friend of the family, so he's doing it for free," said Rose. "I would've fought him on it, but let's face it, we should save money."

"Yeah," said Jack. He rested his head on the pillow next to hers.

"Hey," said Rose, sitting up. "How are you here right now?"

"What?" Jack asked.

"You didn't do your usual move of going up the fire escape," said Rose.

Jack chuckled. "Molly's known about it for a while. She told me."

Rose's eyes widened. "She does?" Jack nodded. "Is she going to make us stop it?"

"I don't think so," said Jack. "She seems pretty okay with it."

"Good," said Rose. She lay back down next to him. "Because I couldn't do that."

"I know," said Jack. "The quarantine was beyond impossible."

"Yeah, I know," said Rose. She looked up and stroked his hair. "You're beautiful."

"Oh, well I'm not wearing my lipstick today," said Jack.

"I'm being serious!" Rose said. "Your hair, your eyes, your body. You're beautiful."

"No, you're beautiful," said Jack.

Rose put her head on his chest. "I want to show you a movie," she said.

"What movie?" Jack asked, as Rose stood up and grabbed her computer.

"You're gonna laugh," said Rose.

Jack took her hand. "No I won't."

"Okay," said Rose. "Well, when I was twelve, I read all of the twilight books, and they were my absolute favorites."

"Okay," said Jack.

"And I was obsessed with the books and the movies," said Rose. "Whenever I was sad, I would watch the movies and they would make me happy again."

"You want to watch them?" Jack asked.

"Well, here's the thing," said Jack. "It's stupid. It really is. And I know it's stupid. But at the same time, I get this feeling of nostalgia whenever I watch it."

"Let's watch it," said Jack.

Rose turned on the movie, and she moved back into her spot in Jack's arms, with her head on his chest. "I love you."

"I love you," said Jack. He kissed the top of her head.

The movie started. Rose had her head on Jack's chest, and she could hear each heartbeat and feel his chest rise and fall with each breath. She had her legs intertwined with his, and was holding his hand.

They watched the movie, and then Edward, the main vampire, spoke. "it's like a drug to me... my own personal brand of heroin."

Jack looked down at her. "That's the way I feel about you," he said quietly.

"What?" Rose asked.

"You're a drug. I'm addicted to you. I can't get enough of you," said Jack.

Rose looked up and kissed him lovingly. "I love you too."

They watched the whole movie, and then Jack looked down at Rose. "Are you crying?" Jack asked quietly.

"No," said Rose. She wiped her tears and looked up at him.

Jack chuckled. "Are you crying over Twilight?"

"It's not as silly as it seems," said Rose. She sighed and looked down. "When I was little, I always wanted to find someone who looked at me the way Edward looked at Bella." Rose looked at him and giggled. "And I did."

Jack tightened his arms around her and kissed her cheek, ear, and neck.