Chapter 6: Ellie

The rest of the weekend had passed and Monday evening had come. For now, it was just me and Sarah with the kids while Tommy and John were out. I knew Tommy was giving one last attempt with the job search while John had a late meeting with a client.

"Thomas has been out for quite awhile hasn't he?" Sarah inquired from the living room floor, surrounded by her children with practically every toy you could think of. I lifted my head up from the dishes I was finishing up from dinner, making eye contact through the small archway above the kitchen sink.

"Well this will be the last day he'll be looking for a job. I'm sure he's making it last for as long as he can," I let slip. Sarah looked perplexed.

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just say I have the feeling when he gets home, he'll be willing to take that offer from John."

"You finally led the horse to water," she laughed in disbelief, "How did you talk him into that one?"

"A lot of persuasion, but I think he decided to finally listen to me at the right time," I shrugged, taking a seat next to her on the floor. James was occupied in an endless loop of stacking and knocking down block towers. Lizzie was surrounded by dolls of various hair colors and sizes. Grabbing one made from yarn with yellow, straw like hair and a purple dress, she forcefully shoved it in my hand.

"Here!" She smiled gleefully.

"Oh thank you," I smiled warmly, "She's lovely."

"Her name is Jane. It's her bedtime," she brought my attention to her wooden dollhouse, "That's her home, her bed is in there."

"Ah, I see. Shall we tuck her in?"

Lizzie nodded, her golden curls bouncing.

"It's coming up on your bedtime too, Lizzie," Sarah stated, "You and Ellie can tuck Jane in and then we have to get you and your brother off to bed."

"But I'm not tired, mama," Lizzie pouted.

"You've had a busy day, you'll fall asleep as soon as you hit the sheets," she ruffled her hair.

Any hopes of getting the kids down to bed shortly were dashed when Tommy swung the door open with a huge smile on his face.

"El, start packing your bags, we're out of here!" He practically picked me up off the floor, swinging me around before kissing me, not caring about his aunt and cousins in the room.

"What are you talking about?" I laughed, confused.

"I got a job!"

I exchanged glances with Sarah, who looked equally confused.

"I thought you were going to take John's offer."

"I told you to give me one more day, didn't I?" He seemed so eager, so proud of himself, "It's a steel mill job. I hit it off with the manager, after telling him about Titanic of all things. He wanted to know my experience, and he wants me to oversee some of the lines. Better than a line worker position, but not a supervisor role. He says I could easily move up in time."

"Do you believe that?" I knew these jobs were dangerous and I certainly did not want him to be taken advantage of.

"I think so," he shrugged, "We'll find that out in time. But El, there's housing. We could have our own place."

"What, is living here so bad?" Sarah jumped in the conversation. Tommy smiled sheepishly.

"Of course not, Sarah, it's more than comfortable. But we've been here for five months, I think we've been in your hair long enough."

"I won't have you both livin' in the slums Thomas," she shook her head, "It's no good in those parts, it's not safe."

"It doesn't seem too bad."

"You saw the place?" I inquired. He nodded.

"It's small and nothin' compared to this place but it's a start."

"Thomas..." Sarah was rubbing her temples, "Are you really sure this is the best option? You really do not have to rush to get out of here, I've said it a thousand times."

"It seems promising, and it's honestly a chance I want to take."

Sarah looked over at me again, her eyes pleading with me to talk him out of this.

"You're certain?" I turned to lock eyes with him. He placed my hands on my shoulders.

"I am. You know I've been wantin' to figure this out on my own."

"I understand that, but-"

"El," he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear lovingly, "I'm doin' this for the both of us, not just me. I wouldn't take somethin' if I didn't think it would benefit our future."

Hearing those words and seeing the pride on his face made it so difficult for me to say otherwise. I knew he was stubborn, but I hoped he wouldn't take just any opportunity. If I wanted things to work out between us, I had to trust him on it.

"When would you start?"

"They said I could start tomorrow if I wanted."

"Wow," I was taken aback, "That's so soon."

"The faster I start makin' money, the better."

"Well if this is what you really want," I hesitated a bit, "then I support you on it. I'm proud of you."

"That means the world to me," he held me tightly. I looked over at Sarah apologetically, and she just sighed, "Now start packin'! The faster we move in the easier it is for me to get to work."

"If you insist," I replied. He was off to his room with no hesitation. Holding James and with Lizzie by her side, Sarah made her way to me.

"You tell me if anything goes wrong. If you have the slightest feelin' that things aren't right, you come to me."

"I will, I promise."

She nodded, turning to the kids, "Now let's get you two to bed, shall we?"

After giving the kids goodnight hugs, I headed to my room and began packing things up, grabbing a suitcase from the closet. Things were suddenly picking up so fast after the past five months being so stagnant. I felt as if I needed a few days to process all of this. I hadn't even seen the new place, and here I was packing to move into it. I hoped Tommy was making the right decision for us. I figured we would need a few days to get settled, at least.

After getting the kids down, I could hear Sarah bickering with him a bit, which didn't surprise me in the least. From what I could pick up on, it had to do with the location of our potential new home, and how she didn't approve of it.

I didn't have much to pack at all, considering most of my personal belongings were at the bottom of the ocean. All I had were the clothes Sarah had bought me, the roll of twenties, and the Heart of the Ocean. It didn't take long to fold and fit my clothing in the single suitcase. Certainly I was packing way too early, but he was excited. I shrugged it off, deciding it was a good thing to be prepared. Still hearing Tommy and Sarah going at it assured me I was alone. Taking a quick look at the empty doorway to make sure, I crouched down the side of the bed, lifting up the mattress and retrieving the money and necklace I hadn't set my eyes on since we've been here.

Shifting myself to sitting on the floor, I shoved the twenties under my clothes in the suitcase, and held the necklace briefly in my hands. It was huge, cold and heavy. But there was no way you could deny it was a stunning piece.

I shuddered, shoving it under the clothes with the twenties.

"What the hell is that?"

Caught off guard, I jumped to see Tommy in the doorway. My face grew hot.

"What?"

"Whatever you just threw in your suitcase there, you could spot that miles away."

"It's nothing," I swallowed uncomfortably. My burden was out in the open.

"Didn't look like nothin'," sensing frustration building in his voice, I didn't fight him as he made his way into my room and pulled out the necklace and roll of twenties out of the suitcase. I continued to sit on the floor, now in shame. "Please tell me this is fake."

"It's not," I shook my head, "It's very real."

"What is it?"

"It's the Heart of the Ocean. It's a very rare diamond," I sighed, "It was my sister's. It's worth millions."

"Jesus fucking Christ, El," he threw it back in the suitcase as if it was something not to be touched. He leaned against the wall, as if he needed the support to keep himself from falling, "How did you-"

"Rose slipped it in my pocket on Carpathia. Cal gave it to her, I don't understand why she handed it off to me. I didn't ask for it, I never wanted it."

"And you just thought it would be a good idea not to tell me?" He looked insulted.

"No," I shook my head again quickly, breaking eye contact with him out of guilt, "It's not like that, it's complicated."

He stood there for awhile, covering his face with hand while he processed this. He was silent, but I could feel his anger growing stronger by the second. Tension filled the air.

"So you're telling me," he said after a few moments, which felt like a lifetime, "You've had this the past five months while I've been out struggling day after day finding something so we can start our life together?" he shook his head, "That's real cheap, El."

"It's not like we could just sell it, Tommy," my guilt was shifting to anger now, "It's a precarious situation."

"She gave it to you for a reason didn't she?"

"I'm sorry, but what happened to no handouts from anyone?"

"That was before I found out you've been hiding a god damned fortune under your mattress!" He wasn't yelling yet, but his voice was stern. He was pacing now.

"That shouldn't change anything," I stood up abruptly, "Listen, I understand you're angry. I should have been open about this, but I was afraid to do so."

"You had the power to change our lives this whole time and you just let it sit there."

"I know that, but there's nothing we can do with it."

"I don't believe that."

"I'm not putting my sister's life at risk so we can live a more comfortable lifestyle."

"You're being dramatic."

"It's not worth it, Tommy," I snapped. I could feel my face completely flushing.

"Says the one who grew up rich."

"Now that's cheap," I glared at him, searching for a jacket. I needed to get out of here, "I can't help the way I was brought up, same goes for you."

"I think you've been wantin' to live out this poor girl fantasy. And you've been holding onto that as your ticket out," he said coldly.

His words felt like a slap across the face. I bit my bottom lip hard, holding back tears.

"Is that what you think this is?" I asked in disbelief. I could see the regret on his face already.

"Christ, El, I'm sorry."

"Well I don't need you to live out that fantasy now do I?" I replied as calmly as I could. He stood there silently. I slipped my jacket on, shutting my suitcase. Heart of the Ocean in hand, I threw it on the floor towards him, "I'm taking the twenties so I can stay somewhere for awhile. You do what you want with that."

"El, I didn't mean any of that, I-"

"You said enough," I brushed past him to see Sarah in the hallway.

"What in God's name is going on?"

"Thank you for everything, Sarah. You are one of the most generous people I have met," I gave her long hug, "I can't stay here any longer. I thank you for all of your hospitality."

"Ellie, you're not going anywhere, it's dark out."

"I have to go," I was holding my composure the best I could. "I cant stay here."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm sorry," I couldn't hold back tears anymore, "I just need to get out of here."

I briskly went on, not turning back. I wasn't sure where I was going or what my plan was. I just needed space to clear my head.

Relief rushed over me as I got into an empty elevator, allowing me to let my tears flow. There I stood, regretting my choices and hoping I didn't ruin everything between us.

I wanted to get this out sooner with Titanic's 110th anniversary, but I've been so busy with my 1 year old! If you're reading, please don't forget to drop a review! I love reading them, and I love knowing your thoughts! Thank you all!