Chapter 14

Elsa played with her purity ring while waiting for Jack to finish talking to Tooth. Should she even still be allowed to wear it? She obviously broke her vow, but if she took it off her father would surely notice. What was worse: the wrath of God or the wrath of her father? Jack came out of the house before she could answer that. Elsa quickly stood up and watched as Jack walked right past her.

"Hey," she called after him. Jack slowed to a stop and Elsa came up behind him. "Are you alright?"

Jack said nothing. Elsa bit her lip.

"I just wanted to talk," she said. He remained silent. Elsa fought the urge to groan. "Look, if you're going to ignore me, the least you could do is tell me to my face. I mean, if you regret last night―"

Jack let out a bitter laugh. "Regret last night? God, I wish, Elsa."

"What do you mean?"

"I couldn't regret last night if I tried. I dreamed about last night since the first time that I saw you, since the first time we danced. But I can't. You're going to have to forget about me. It's the best thing for both of us."

"What are you talking about? Is it your job? I don't want you to lose your job."

"I don't care about my job! Well, I mean I do care, but it's more than that. Do you think your daddy will ever approve of me?"

"My dad has nothing to do with this."

"Doesn't he, Elsa? Your father's approval means something to you. You know that when you met a nice boy, you wanted his blessing and for him to walk you down the aisle and all of that other shit that dad's are supposed to do."

"You don't know me!" Elsa fought to keep her voice down. Jack was breathing hard and he still refused to look at her. "I love my dad, but he has nothing to do with this. And I don't know what this is, but I know that I like it." Finally, Jack turned to her.

"If we get caught, bad things could happen," he said, his voice low and his eyes dark. He hesitantly reached out to her and grabbed her waist, pulling her closer to him. Elsa looked up at Jack through her eyelashes and smirked.

"Then let's not get caught."

Anna slammed the door behind her, looking extremely happy and extremely irritated at being wet.

"I hate the rain!" she announced. Mrs. Winters looked up from her magazine, but Elsa and Dr. Winters continued with their game of chess. "Remind me not to take my honeymoon at Niagra Falls." She kicked off her shoes and flopped down beside her mother.

"How did your audition go, Anna?" Mrs. Winters asked.

"Wonderful," Anna said, a bright smile on her face once more. "I made it! I'm so excited. There's a big meeting tomorrow for everyone who made it. Don't let me forget, Mama," Anna told her.

"Check," Elsa said. Her father groaned playfully and looked to see if there was a move he could make to save his king. He moved his bishop only to have it taken my Elsa's queen. "Check mate!"

"I'll get you next game," he chuckled. Elsa glanced at the clock.

"Actually, I have to go," she said. She stood up and ran to her room to get her rain coat.

"Where are you going in this weather?" her mother demanded.

"They're doing charades in the west lobby," Elsa lied.

"I thought you hated charades," Anna challenged.

"I like the way they do it here. Plus, we get chocolate if we win," Elsa retorted.

"Well, be careful then," Mrs. Winters said. Anna huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, flopping back into the couch.

"I will," Elsa said before opening the front door and hurrying out into the storm.

A Johnny Cash record played in the background softly. A few candles were lit around the room. Elsa lifted her head off of Jack's bare chest to look at him. He was rubbing soothing circles in her back and looking at her. He smiled.

"What?" he asked.

"Have you been with many women?" she blurted out. She silently cursed herself. That wasn't as smooth as she'd wanted it to be.

"Elsa." Jack's eyes widened in surprise. He shifted uncomfortably.

"No, I want to know," she demanded. Her blue eyes didn't waver from his and he sighed.

"You have to understand," he started. "You come up from the gutter and there are all of these women throwing themselves at you. They shove money and their room keys into your pockets, and you just can't say no. They're so rich and they know all sorts of things and you just can't say no."

"It's alright," Elsa said. "You were using them."

"No." Jack shook his head. "They were using me." The two were silent for a few minutes, listening to the sound of Johnny Cash's voice. Every once in a while the record would skip. "Is Elsa your real name?"

"It's a nickname," she murmured.

"For what?"

"Adelais. It was my great-grandmother's name. She was supposed to marry some prince, but she ran off and came to America instead where she decided to practice medicine."

"That's a pretty name."

"They named me it because they wanted me to be like her. They didn't want me to follow the rules."

"It seems like you're living up to her name right now." Jack laughed.

"I guess I am." Elsa smiled and leaned up to kiss him.

"Hey, Elsa," Anna whispered across their quiet, dark room. Elsa groaned and rolled towards her sister.

"What?" she demanded.

"Are you awake?" Anna asked. In response, Elsa threw a pillow at her sister. "Okay, sorry, that was a stupid question. Anyway, I have a huge announcement." Elsa heard the silent squeal in Anna's voice.

"What is it?"

"You're not going to guess?"

"Anna, just hurry up and tell me so I can go back to sleep."

"Okay, okay! I've decided to go all the way with Hans," Anna sighed dreamily.

"What? Oh my God, Anna! You can't!"

"Why not? It'll be perfect. I'm going to surprise him tomorrow in his room."

"It should be with someone you love. Not with someone you just met. It's just wrong."

"Oh, come on, Elsa. Don't read me the riot act. You don't care about me. You only care that you're not Daddy's Little Girl anymore. Now, he listens to me more than you. You hate that."

"And what will he think when I tell him that you're going to sleep with Hans tomorrow?" Elsa threatened.

"Then I'll tell him that you're sleeping with Jack," Anna retorted. "And yeah, I know that you are. I saw you go into his room the other day. You're not nearly as sneaky as you think. You're such a hypocrite, Elsa. At least Hans is going to be successful. At least he cares about me. Jack will dump you as soon as someone prettier and richer comes along. I'm not trying to be mean. I'm telling you the truth. Wake up, Elsa. The world is an ugly place."

Hey, sorry it's been so long! Sorry it's short, but I didn't want to skip around too many times. NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE FILLED WITH DRAMA... I THINK!

Please follow, favorite, and review! Thank you guys sooooo much for sticking with me! I know it's been hectic, but we're coming to a close!

~Isabelle