I'm In The Mood For Love (Dunkirk Love Story)

Chapter Thirteen:

"Ken stop splashing me or I shall drown you!" Betty yelled at Ken as he continued to splash her with water, not allowing her to see anything. She had her hands in front of her eyes, protecting them from the water that was flying to her face.

"They are crazy" I whispered giggling to Katherine, who nodded her head agreeing with everything I was saying.

I felt two wet hands, slither around my waist and pull me close to them. Harry hugs me into his chest, our bodies tight against one another's. He presses a sweet kiss to the side of my cheek and Ken looks to us. His eyebrow arches and he then grabs Rose from Harry, he holds Rose and then stumbles back, falling over a small rock, falling in the water. Rose goes under with him, but she comes up earlier than Ken.

"You absolute idiot Ken" I splutter as I come up, but laughs at the idiot as he comes up beside me.

"So you and Harry are a thing?" He yells shocked, getting everyone's attention on me.

"Yes" I squeak, going bright red.

Everyone cheers, making me want to go back into the water and stay there forever.

"Finally Harry" Jim laughs as he hits Harry on the back. "So when you guys going to get married?"

"Easy there" Betty smacks him gently. "Let them get through the courting stage before anything else."

"Ken when you going to ask Betty then?" Jim smirks, while Ken went bright red; matching the colour of my face.

I could tell things were about to get slightly awkward.

"The question is" I smiled and looked to Jack and Katherine. Katherine was in Jacks arms hugging into him. "What about those two?"

"What a great idea" Betty laughed as she thanked me for avoiding the Ken remark. "Yes Katherine, when are you and Jack going to make more of a progression?"

We all laughed at the two as they went bright red.

"Oh hush you guys!" Katherine blushed as she looked to Jack.

"Besides we are waiting for –"Jack began but before he could say anything else, a scream echoed from the woods.

Our heads all snapped to the right, where the scream came from and Alice was there screaming; running towards us to get someone to try and help her.

"Please!" She begged. "They'll end up killing each other."

I immediately ran out, knowing that James would be furious with Lark. But no one could blame him, it was a huge act of betrayal and I knew he would blame himself.

"Stop" I shout as Lark hits James in the stomach. He stumbles back as Lark is in contact with him.

"Rose stay back!" James demanded. "This is my fight."

"James stop" I run to him and pushed him away, while Harry shoves Lark backwards, gripping him by his top. Harry mumbles something to him and Lark shoves him off; walking away back out the forest.

Meanwhile, Alice is standing there with her hands on her belly and sobbing; shaking from head to foot. I gasped at her as she rubbed her belly. She can't be I thought it my head and drove me insane.

"You are pregnant!" I gasped as I whispered to her; she did nothing but nodded her head to my new found discovery. "Oh my Gosh! What! You are kidding me right?"

"While I was in a German prisoner of war camp!" James yelled at Alice. "My wife was whoring around with my own cousin!"

"James stop" Katherine mumbles as she looks to him. Jack was holding her into his own side, making sure she was safe. Harry walks over to me and looks to Alice.

"You need to give her some support Rose" He whispered in my ear so only I can hear him. "You need to calm James down and make him see the bigger picture."

I nodded my head, completely agreeing with every word he was saying. Yet part of me wanted to continue to yell at Alice and tell her what an absolute moron she was, for letting go of James in hard times.

"It was hard for me James" Alice stuttered as the tears stopped crying. "I was alone"

James mockingly laughed at her.

"And how do you think it was for me Alice?" He snapped to her. "I was in a camp, where there was hardly any food; I had men dying and women dying in my arms. I had small children screaming for their parents from the other side of the hell hole – but I could not do a single thing to help them. I was useless. I felt utterly alone and I never thought I would ever make it out alive."

He walked to her and then gently grabbed her shoulders.

"But you know the one thing that kept me going?" He asked while trying to hold back the tears. "You. The thought of you being here at home for me; with the children and being ready to have me back in your arms. Yet I find you in the arms of my own cousin and now I come back and find my own wife, baring a child from my own blood line family!"

Alice then looks to her husband, who hugs her into his chest.

"I love you Alice." He whispered and let a tear go. "But I cannot be with you any longer. I shall always love you, but I do not like you."

James walked away and I looked to Alice. Katherine and Betty helped the crying women back to her house; the boys went back to the river, finding it very awkward. I looked to Harry and he put a hand on my lower back for support.

"Go to him sweetheart" He kissed my forehead.

"But he wants to be left alone" I whispered as I looked up to Harry.

"After being in the camp" Harry leant his head on mine. "I think he has had more than enough time on his own. He wants some company Rose. He knows you more than anyone, so go speak to him. He will only listen to you"

I smiled slightly at the wise boy I now got to call my boyfriend. As I pulled away from Harrys grip, I walked over to James who was now sat on the edge of the river on the eastern side.

"James?" I called out gently as I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Rose it has to be this way." He cried and I hugged him gently. "I cannot be with her anymore. Not after this"

"You do not have to be James." I whispered as I looked to his hurt faced. "But think of the children"

"That is the only thing that hurts me the most." He sniffled. "I do not want to lose them again."

"James you won't –"I began but he cut me off instantly.

"Rose I have been in a camp where people are treated like animals. Like you are worth the dirt on the back of your shoe. If they do not think you are working hard enough, you are shot; if you are old, you are shot, if you have an infirmity, well you get the point. But the pain it gives you every day to think every day is going to be your last. That I shall never see my children and family ever again. Do you know how hard that is? Well it seems almost impossible, but somehow you manage to get through it."

I stay silent not wanting to interrupt but at the same time, feeling so much empathy for a man, who did not think he would ever live to see another day again.

A human.

A man who has a life; has a wife and children.

A life that means something.

He is man who fought for what he believed in, to protect his country – to protect his loved ones.

A man who is so selfless and blames himself for the horrors that happened in the camp.

Something that was not in his control.