The Life I've Been Waiting For (SLOW UPDATES)

Chapter 16

When Jack finally decided to leave my side to continue his job as captain I wandered back to my room to process everything that just happened. "Well it seems as though I'm a dating women once again" I said to myself as I closed the door behind me. I sat on the bed in silence for a few minutes when all of a sudden an ache hit me that I had not felt as strongly in a while. I got up and walked to my small jewelry box and looked at the contents inside.

First I pulled out the picture my youngest sister had sketched of my family as a gift before I left for Tortuga. I smiled softly as I ran a finger over every family members face and let the memories of them run through my mind. I turned the paper over and read the notes each family member had written for me, I folded it gently and put it back in the box. Second I pulled out the gold locket my father gifted me for my 21st birthday the year he passed. I smiled fondly as I read the engraving on the back "you are the blessing I always prayed for" I slowly put it on for the second time in 3 years. For fear of it being stolen I hadn't worn it at all during my time in Tortuga. Finally I looked at the ring that had been sitting there untouched for 4 years. My eyesight became blurry as I looked and ran my fingers over it. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back while taking deep breathes. Now is not the time to be sad I thought myself. I looked back down at the ring as I closed the lid and put the box away.

I was just about to start walking towards the door when I heard footsteps coming down the hall. I didn't recognize them as anyone I knew so I quickly grabbed the box and found a place to hide sliding under the bed. The door to the room opened and a crewmember I had never talked to walked in, I remembered him to be one of the men glaring while Jack announced our relationship. My eyes widened when I saw him start to walk to where I had previously put the jewelry box. He opened the closet door and began rummaging through Martha's stuff. Not finding what he was looking for he started rummaging through mine. He grunted in frustration as he looked around the room, after snooping for what felt like an hour he finally walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

I waited a few minutes before running to the top deck with my jewelry box in hand. I headed straight for Jack and he must've read my expression before I got there because he closed the distance between us in no time at all. "What is it love?" he asked with a very confused expression on his face. I explained to him what I had witnessed and when I tried to point out who
had done it I couldn't see him anywhere. I-I don't know where he went. I looked around slower and tried to scan each person individually in order to identify the crew member who invaded my privacy. "If you cannot see him then describe him to me. I might recognize him." He said getting more serious than I had ever seen him. I described him to Jack while taking deep breaths to try and calm myself down. He nodded and wrapped an arm around my shoulder tucking me into his side. "It is ok love, we will make sure nothing happens to you". I wrapped the arm without the jewelry box around his waist and returned the embrace breathing in the scent of saltwater and rum. There was something else there that I could not quite recognize.

His eyes scanned the deck before landing on the jewelry box. "What is that?" he said reaching out to touch it. I pulled it back quickly. He snatched his hand back a flash of hurt making an appearance in his eyes. "It is something that is really special to me. I have not even told Martha about it." I said, trying to defend my panicked response. He shook his head slowly and returned the arm that was around my shoulders back to his side forcing me to remove my arm as well. He nodded slowly but I could tell he was still hurt. "If you see the man who entered your room make sure you come tell me." He said taking a step back and beginning to sound indifferent. "Please do not be offended. It just is not something I am ready to share with you yet." I said holding the jewelry box to my chest. His eyes glanced to where my hand was turning white due to how tightly I was holding it. "I am not offended." He looked up to meet my eyes. "I just assumed you had more trust in me. Especially after I shared so much with you." Before I could respond he turned away and continued walking until he was out of my sight.

I felt anger bubbling up in my stomach. I tried my best to remind myself that he was probably overwhelmed and that he did not really mean it, but it did not help at all. I took a deep breath and made my way to where I spotted Martha. Immediately her face grew concerned showing me she knew something was wrong. "Roxy? What is going on?" I quickly smiled and shook my head. "Nothing is wrong. I am just processing everything that happened today." I said shrugging and quickly glancing behind her. "You are lying to me." She said raising an eyebrow. I shook my head trying to look confused. She sighed "I just want to remind you that you do not have to protect me. I can handle my own and I have grown a lot since you first met me. I am your best friend. I am someone who wants to support you and be there for you to talk to about things. Do not hold back from telling me things just because you want to 'protect' me." She finished by crossing her arms and waited for my response.

I sighed and placed me hands on my hips. "Someone broke into our room and seemed to be looking for something. I am still not entirely sure what, but I have an idea." Her eyes widened a little bit, and I could not help but notice that she wrapped her arms around herself a little tighter. "I already told Jack, and he is on the lookout for who it is. I am not sure of his plan yet, but I trust him to follow through." I began to fidget with my necklace as I waited for her response. Her eyes then flicked to the necklace and the jewelry box I was holding. "Well, I am glad that you already told Jack. We should probably also tell Jacob and Jonathan." She began to scan the deck in order to find them. Once she did, she signaled them over. "That necklace is new" she said turning her attention back to me. "Actually, it is six years old. I just have not worn it in 3 or more years because I did not want it stolen." She nodded in understanding. I suddenly felt a pang in my chest when I realized that Jack had not even noticed I was wearing a necklace.

He was just busy with all the other information I told him, I said to myself as the boys finally reached us. I told them the same story I told Martha, and an expression of annoyance took over their face. "Well, I guess we are standing guard outside of your room until that man is caught." Jacob said with a shrug. "We are going to go talk to the Captain about it right now." Jonathan piped in as they walked off. Martha and I glanced at each other amused by the way they walked off. "Well, I guess we have three pirates in shining armor watching over us" She giggled while covering her mouth. I nodded with a slight smile. She looked back at me and immediately stopped smiling. "We definitely need to talk." She said dragging me to the side of the ship.