sinking ships - succession

chapter seven

         Rose wilted away.

        In only two months time, Jack deteriorated. She spent practically every moment by his side. And then the inevitable came.

        He had died at night in her arms while coughing up blood. He kept repeating that he didn't want to leave her over and over again. And then his heart just stopped and his body stilled. She had spent so much time crying and clinging to him before she finally let someone take his body from her.

His funeral was a couple of days later. She was practically catatonic as she sat at his funeral that was outside. Even when it ended, she still sat there. She watched as his casket was lowered into the grave. She watched as people shoveled dirt on top of it and eventually it seemed like the Earth swallowed him whole.

He was gone and she was here. Alone. He had been her forever and now forever was gone, too.

______

Her father had to deal with three messes. Cruises, the bear-hug that Kendall created, and herself. He was so worried about her that he had her stay with him for a couple of weeks. He even brought her to work just to keep an eye on her. But she didn't do much besides sit in a chair and waste away.

Her chest felt empty like she could no longer feel the heart that beat inside. She was a shell. A rose with all the petals fallen off.

She no longer drew any fashion designs anymore. She had given up being CEO of her oil company. She was going to sell her shares rather carelessly as well but her father stopped her from doing it. She didn't really care. She had no desire for anything anymore because the one thing she wanted she couldn't have.

         So she merely wasted away for two weeks. She sat in the office with her father and watched the skyline alone. One day she had actually broke down crying in the middle of a meeting her father had. Gerri had gently escorted her to the bathroom to get her sorted out.

         Roman had commented to their father about her, "Dad, I know she's in a bad place but maybe you shouldn't bring her here. It's not really a good look."

         "Shut it, Romulus."

          And that was the end of that conversation.

           When night came, Rose would fall asleep and then wake up crying. Her father had comforted her and patted her back as he held her, "I know, Rosebud. I know. Just get it out."

         He had done it every single night without fail. He hated that she had to know such true loss like he did. He had never wanted any of his children to know that pain but, especially, Rose. Named after the sister he lost, he had never wanted her to know death. That was the whole point of naming her Rose, she was supposed to be the one he protected from that pain unlike his sister that he couldn't.

         _____

        After two weeks, Rose had enough. The emptiness inside her chest created an ache so raw that she thought for sure she'd look down and there'd be a crack. She was tired of the pain.

          So, she moved back to her own apartment so there'd be no supervision. For the next several months, she went to parties and drank herself into oblivion.

       It made her ever so numb. Until, of course, she woke up from the hangover and the ache in her chest was still there. So, she'd just repeat the cycle and she didn't give a fuck who watched her self-destruct. But there was one in particular that was a little more interested than the others.

Lukas Matsson.

It was New Year's Eve and there was a party in Greece. A hotel had been rented out for this party and the whole top floor became a night club. It was dark and there were flashing lights.