A Night Without Gatsby

Chapter 17- It Was Just A Small One...

Nick sighed as he knocked on Tom's door. He didn't know what to expect.

Tom slowly opened the door. "Nick... You actually came." Nick shrugged and walked in. "I usually do." Nick made his way through the furniture and sat on the couch. Tom closed the door.

"Nick, she's gone..." "From the way you treated her I would assume so." "No, I mean, she's gone. Up and left. She left Rose. She left you." Nick tensed. "....." He took a deep breath.

"I don't care if she left me or you. What matters is Rose. And I don't trust her with you." Tom grew tense at that. "I am her father."

"You may be her father, but you aren't her daddy. The way you treated her and Daisy, they don't trust you anymore." Nick stood up, Tom following pursuit. "You never played with Rose. You always treated Daisy like crap. They saw you for who you were--" "Nicholas. That's enough." Tom's rage grew. "No. I will not stop." Nick glared at him.

"People like you and Daisy are careless. You smash up things and creatures, then retreat into your money or carelessness, and let other people clean up what you left." Tom, infuriated, slapped Nick. Nick stood strong. "You are acting like a child! You need to grow up, this isn't high school. This is real life, and you need to--" Tom slapped him again, this time with enough force to shove him on the couch. He pinned him down. "YOU NEED TO SHUT UP. JUST SHUT! UP! YOU KNOW NOTHING OF ME!"

"From what I see you are nothing but a playboy bitch!!" Tom growled. "You know what's wrong? YOU!! You're wrong! What type of a man loves other men!? A devil! You are nothing but a low-life demon!!"

Gatsby entered through the door. He saw what had happened. "......" Infuriated, Gatsby slammed Tom into a wall. Nick gently got up as Gatsby knocked Tom out. "..............." Gatsby ran to Nick and hugged him close. "GOD, OLD SPORT, DON'T EVER--......Don't you ever go do that again.... I was worried sick about you..." "...." Nick hugged back, nuzzling into him. "..." Gatsby softly kissed the red marks on his cheeks. "Come on..."

Gatsby gently walked Nick downstairs. Nick just stayed in Gatsby's arms. It felt so right, but... He couldn't accept it. Not yet. He needed to wait... "... Nicky, where did you leave Rose? Is she alone?"

Nick shook his head. "No, she's with a friend of mine. I was going to pick her up right now..." "... May I go with you?" "You don't want anything bad to happen to me, right?" Nick smiled softly. Gatsby nodded. "Alright. Come on." Gatsby sent Samuel home as he got in with Nick, the two driving off to the Valley of Ashes.

~

Draven slowly opened an eye as Rose gently shook him awake. "Hm?" She sat back, clutching onto her bear. "I'm hungry..." She replied sheepishly. "May I please have some food?" Draven sat up and yawned, getting off the bed and looking through the cabinets. He highly doubted she wanted a catsup and bun sandwich for a meal. He tugged on his shoes. "We'll have to go out to eat."

Rose watched him curiously. "..... You're not as bad as Daddy said they are." Draven looked at her. "Nah. People are just assholes." "What's an--" "Please no repeating." Draven stood back up. He opened the door and let Rose out. She hopped down the steps. "Where are we going?" She asked as the two walked.

"To a restaurant. In the mood for Italian?" Rose smiled happily. "Yeah!!" Draven smiled as she held his hand. She was so tiny and innocent. They walked to the small restaurant next to George Wilson's car shop. Draven started walking to the back. "What are you doing?" He looked back to Rose. "Going through the back."

"Why?" "... Because of my race. My skin color." Rose scrunched up her nose. "That's mean. People shouldn't treat you more different because of your race... Whatever that is." Draven smiled sadly. "... Well... wait here. I'll get your food." Draven walked in through the back. Rose sat on the curb and waited, clutching onto her teddy. A few kids looked at her weirdly, but left her alone to go off and play. Rose sighed quietly, softly kicking her feet.

A tall male walked up to Rose. He knelt down next to her. "Hey." Rose looked up at him. "... Hello." She seemed tense and nervous.

"I lost my dog... Can you help me to find him?" Rose shook her head. "I have to stay here." Draven came out. He looked at the two. "..." He stood in front of Rose and smiled at the guy. "Rose, is this a friend of yours?" "N-no..." The man growled. "Beat it, nigger."

Draven gently handed her the food. He looked back up at the man. "Look. I made a promise to keep this girl safe. I'm just doing my job." "And what type of white person would trust a negro like you." Rose scrunched up her face.

"Draven!!" The three looked to see Nick and Gatsby. Rose smiled and ran to the car. Draven looked to the man. He kept a deadly smile on him. "Have a nice day." He walked over to Nick.

Rose climbed up in the backseat and tried buckling herself in. Draven helped her. "Who was that?" "Some pedophile." Gatsby looked at the man, disgusted. "People today..." Rose looked at her teddy. She gave it to Draven. Draven shook his head. "Nope. That's yours." She still held it up to him. "You helped me... I want to give you something that helps me." Draven smiled softly.

"And how does this help you?" He asked as he gently took the small white bear. "He helps me fall asleep at night when I get scared. You seem really tired, and you can use extra sleep with the help of teddy!" She smiled sweetly. "..." Draven smiled softly and put the bear in his jacket. "Thanks. I'll keep him safe." Rose smiled. Draven went to talk to Gatsby and Nick.

"So what now?" "I don't know... I have to find a place for Rose to stay... I'm not her guardian...." Draven nodded softly. Nick rubbed his temples. "I'm going to bring up a court case so that I can get custody of her, but.... after that I don't know..."

Draven looked to see Rose eating quietly, as if nothing was wrong with the world. "... Well, she can always come and visit." Nick smiled. "Thank you." Draven nodded and stood back up.  "You all take care. Alright?" Nick nodded. Rose looked up at Draven and smiled brightly. "You take care too Mr. Raven!" Nick smiled softly. "See ya..." They drove off as Draven walked back home.

Nick sighed softly. "...." Gatsby held his hand. "You know I'm here as well, Nick." Nick nodded. "I know.... She'll have to spend most of the time at your house, because I have to go into work tomorrow."

"That's alright. I'm mostly at home anyways."

"No parties while she stays at your house, because I usually don't return til two in the morning."

"Fine with me."

Nick nodded softly and ran a hand through his hair. "... This is going to be one long year." Gatsby chuckled softly.

"That it is, old sport... That it is."

Author's Note: Whooooo, that was lengthy. But worth it!

Question: Should I actually do the court case with Tom and Nick or not? Up to you guys!

I will see you all in the next chapter! Bye!