Chapter 22:

Rose was pushed forwards and yet held down. Her limbs couldn't move. She tried to wake herself but she couldn't, there was something preventing her, as though she was stuck between a dream and reality. A sob escaped and then she felt something wet, sticky, it was tracing up her back, her neck. Like kisses. Her eyes bolted open. She knew then in that moment it wasn't Jack, it was Cal.

He was home. She remembered that much.

When she came face to face with him in the dim morning light it was like facing the devil himself. His eyes were almost black, sunken and his face was pale. He smelled of her.

''Cal?''

He said nothing, he just continued to trace kisses. This time around her face. ''No.'' She tried to push him off using her hand against his chest.

''Come on, my love. We are to marry soon. This is what lovers do.''

She knew in that moment that he had been with Cara. She could smell that perfume all over his body, made out faint bite marks around his neck.

''No, no it isn't.'' This wasn't what Jack had taught her. ''Get off me.''

His kiss became ravenous and rough, almost like he was licking her face all over. She felt him harden and squeezed her eyes shut in disgust. She ran her hands along his leg and felt his tongue enter her mouth forcefully. He tasted like poison. When Jack had kissed her, he had been so gentle, and when their tongues had touched, she had shaken with excitement all over. Now she shook with fear. He kissed her neck down to her collarbone and attempted to pull her dress down, but eventually he tore it slightly to get to her breasts. He kissed them hurtfully, even grabbed at them. She thrashed about beneath him trying so hard to break free.

Tears sprang to her eyes. Why hadn't she taken Jack up on his offer? She should have just gone with him and taken that chance whilst she had it.

Cal moaned with pleasure, although it sounded more like a grunt. Rose attempted to sit up a little, but he pushed her back down, trying to kiss her. She struggled under his weight and felt as though she couldn't breathe.

"Cal, I need to sit up," she said breathlessly.

"No, Rose, you need me. Make love to me, Rose."

Disgusted, she pushed him away in an attempt to sit up, but he grabbed her shoulders, holding her down. "Don't tell me you're having seconds thoughts. Hmm?"

"Please, I just want to sit up. Have a drink, maybe?" she suggested in hope she could put this off a little longer. She felt his throbbing against her leg.

"No, Rose. I paid for you. I paid too damned much for you and I have waited too long!"

He put his lips on hers once again and she fought against his weight, feeling him crushing her. "Cal…" She could barely breathe as he licked her face. Jack's face came to her head and she felt the tears fall freely from her eyes. With no warning, she let out a blood-curdling scream. Cal immediately placed his hand over her mouth and it tasted bitter, she wanted to bite it but thought better of it, for now.

"Don't do that again. You sound as if I am trying to kill you."

Her feet kicked randomly, but to no avail.

Cal forced Rose from the floor to her feet and held her against the wall. She could feel her own heartbeat in her ears and had never felt so much fear. She just wanted a big hole to swallow her up and take her away from this hell.

"Why are you doing this, Cal? You've had Cara, you've taken a whore!''

A sting came around Rose's cheek as she felt his hand strike her sharply. After that, he let her go and began to wander around the bedroom somewhat absentmindedly as though he didn't know what he was doing. He had never heard Rose to speak in such a way.

"Cara is no whore!''

Rose watched him go and had wondered whether to make a run for the door to get out, but she knew he would follow her. She knew it. She was too afraid to speak. Too shocked for words and in too much in pain to move from the floor where she sat, tears running from her eyes. Violence was never the answer to anything, Rose had always thought. It was a way of being punished and before meeting Jack, truly she had believed that she was the one who was in need of been punished but she wasn't. She knew that now.

"Well you're better off with her. I have never hurt you, never caused you anything and yet you stay, you continue to want me.''

Rose's voice seemed scared, like that of a small child. A bitter laugh came from Cal as he opened a bottle of whiskey and downed almost half of it. He could taste the burning of the liquid in his throat and he thought he would vomit. Taking so much in one consumption wasn't a good idea, but it was that what he needed to numb his insides.

"You don't disobey me, Rose. I am your husband in practice. You honour me. You don't make a fool out of me."

"You made a fool out of yourself, Cal. You went to bed with a woman who wasn't even your fiancée."

Rose found inner strength and stability from somewhere to stand. She looked at the man she had once thought she loved and stared with contempt and disbelief.

"How could I go to bed with my fiancée when she wouldn't let me? This is your fault. Now it's your punishment."

With that, Cal swooped Rose from her feet and carried her kicking and screaming to his bed. His breath was vile and when he tried to kiss her, she squirmed away.

What was wrong with him?

"Cal. Stop. Please stop."

Cal just laughed at her whimpers of desperation. He would get what he wanted, whether she liked it or not. He pulled violently at her night dress as she attempted to move from under him. He pinned her down strongly with his legs and one arm. He was strong, and it seemed the strength of the alcohol had added to it. Tears spilled from her eyes as she didn't know what was happening. Her back was to him and she could hear his muttering of curse words and feel his dreaded touch. He hitched up her dress and started to feel about for something, anything.

"No. No! Get off me, Cal."

Rose attempted once again to kick him away, but he just covered her mouth with his dirty hands. Tears spilled from her eyes and she panicked. She wished someone would just walk in or he would just stop.

Downstairs, Ruth wondered about the living room.

''What is he doing?'' Ruth pulled at Lovejoy's arms but it was no use. He may have been lithe, but he was a lot stronger than her. Her daughter's screams had filled the entire house, one after the other. The hairs on Ruth's arms stood up, her body covered with chills. This was something which she couldn't comprehend. Cal had only come home to marry her daughter, to love and protect her.

''It's no longer your concern, Mrs.'' Lovejoy told her calmly. The thing was about Ruth, she seemed to have quite a lot of bite. More than Lovejoy could have handled. His arms circled around her body and threw her straight onto the large thick rug in the living room. He didn't wish to hurt her, just calm her temporarily. She piped down. Sobbing into her hands. How reminiscent of her daughter this was. Lovejoy smiled; she was easier to handle than he had thought. This so-called bite which Cal spoke of was absent at this moment in time but he would just have the upper hand to deal with her, if she decided to bite at a later time.

''She is been taken care of, that is all.''

Upstairs, Cal was forced to roll off Rose. She wasn't letting him; she wasn't giving in so easily this time. Why? Her eyes were red, not just from tiredness but from her tears. As soon as he was off her, she tried to run for the door but he caught her wrist, it burned as he pulled her back to the bed in one strong swoop. She screamed again, this time he came at her, covering her mouth with his hand. She bit as hard as she could, not even caring if she drew blood. He ripped his hand away quickly. She ran to the window, this time she would make a run for it; outside. As quick as she could, she unlocked the balcony door, her heart in her stomach, she knew this time if he caught her, she was going to severely pay for running but as she glanced down at the ground, she knew that if she put one foot wrong then she would fall. Her heart pumped in her ears. The door seemed to open easier than she remembered, then she felt someone grab her, pulling her into their warm arms. In the dim light, she found Jack's eyes, his fingers on her lips shushing her. She began to cry. He was here. She no longer feared her own life, but Jack's too. She opened her mouth to speak, but he shushed her. She heard Cal, his voice raised, she cowered but Jack tightened his grip on her as he hid behind the door of the balcony. He seemed to not fear anything.

''I saw it all.'' Jack whispered so quietly that Rose could barely even hear him. She nodded once. ''I love you.''

She smiled weakly, another tear falling down her face. ''I love you, too.'' She mouthed to him. He pushed her behind him so that she was in the corner. Jack stood, arms folded, just waiting for Cal to come out. It must have taken him several seconds to figure out that Rose had even left.

Cal's uneven footsteps came to the balcony.

''Rose!'' He called out loudly, but she didn't answer and instead came eye level with a face he could fairly remember but he didn't know where from. He laughed, perplexed. Confused. As though, he genuinely, had no idea what was happening. The whiskey must be setting in now, because he wasn't just drunk but hallucinating. Or was he? ''Hello?''

Jack smiled, casually. ''Hey.''

Cal peered behind Jack to see Rose cowering. Something seemed to not add up for a second or so and his eyebrows knitted together. Then it hit him. ''Oh, I see.'' He pointed his right finger to Jack's chest. ''Jack Dawson?''

''The one and only.'' He backed Cal into the bedroom. ''I hear you got a sidekick around here, a valet, wherever he is, he won't be much use to you.''

Jack almost thought he was mild. Someone who would be all mouth and no action. It didn't look as though he would want a fight with his hair so perfectly styled and the clothing which he wouldn't want to get dirty. This could be easy to handle.

''You're so steaming you can barely stand.'' Jack observed, as he swayed backward into the bedroom until out of nowhere, Cal lunged Jack in the stomach and immediately he crumbled to the ground feeling the pain. He felt as though he was going to be sick, he struggled to breathe for several seconds and his eyes blurred from the unexpected punch. Jack gritted his teeth, knowing he would more than likely have a fight on his hands, even if he could barely stand.

''So, I hear you're well acquainted with my fiancée?''

Rose stood out on the balcony. She stared above at the stars, praying silently for the outcome of this morning. She was too scared to go inside her bedroom for fear of seeing Jack, hurt by Cal but he had just taken a blow to the gut for her, and then, her fears left her as quickly as it had come. She found some strength, somehow.

''My valet is no concern of yours, neither is Rose.''

Jack reached into his pocket. He swiped back his hair as he pulled out the hand-held camera which Tommy had taken to Cara's.

''This might be a concern though,'' when he pressed play, his own voice filled the room followed by Cara's. Rose stepped inside the bedroom from the balcony.

''Oh, Jack. Naïve little Jackie.''

''What?''

''You were so drunk that night to even stand. You honestly believed that we made love?'' She came beside Cal, stroking his shoulder. ''Ethan is the one who wouldn't leave me alone. He has this obsession.''

Jack tensed his body. ''Then why tell him so?''

''You were just a little play thing, something to toy with whilst I was at the Grill. Those days can be boring. I need entertainment like any woman.''

Cal grinned. ''You think that Cara would be interested in guys like you?''

Jack stopped the tape for a minute. ''I have everything on here from tonight, everything.''

Cal watched in disbelief, trying to piece together in his head the contents of the tape as well as how Jack would possibly have managed to do such a thing.

Rose stepped forward, her eyes lingering on the camera.

''Jack?''

Jack pressed his lips together, forgetting that he had promised Rose to not see Cara. He turned to her, seeing the tears settling in her eyes. ''Rose, I'm sorry. Tommy and I, we went to Cara's to find out the truth.''

Rose glanced at the floor. That wasn't what she was interested in. ''She didn't take you to bed?''

''No.'' Jack shook his head. ''She didn't.''

Cal had produced another bottle of something from his jacket pocket. Rose sensed something was about to happen. She bit her lip, catching eye contact with Jack and it was hard to even recollect much else past that point.

From Cal's jacket pocket he produced a gun, he quickly pointed it in the air, first to Jack and then to the camera.

''I suggest you give me that.''

Yes, something was about to happen.