Darlin' [Jay Gatsby - Discontinued]

Chapter 8 - The Forgiving

08.| Chapter 8

"No! You do not get to do that again!"

A cold, lonely tear slips down a delicate pale cheek, rounding on a cheekbone before tucking underneath a smooth neck and running down the middle, travelling down the valley of breasts, a shuddering sigh flutters from quivering lips, eye lashes laced with tears close gently, head hanging down. Rose turns towards the long glass doors, pushing the handles down gently, hearing them click, before padding softly into the heavy rain pelting on the ground. Stepping out from underneath shelter, freezing droplets of rain soak Rose immediately, her well brushed and styled hair, flattening thickly against her head, thin strings of hair falling and twirling on her forehead, the pink linen fading into a pale skin transparency, clinging onto her skin.

Even when absolutely drenched, Rose still manages to look perfect.

Rose pulls and crosses her arms over her chest, huddling herself inwards, a deep frown settles in between her eyes, her lips pulling down sadly. A soft sigh slithers from her lips, her breath freezing with the rain. Rose' ears twitch, listening to the sound of Nicks voice become closer and louder, he's talking to someone, but the who is deathly silent.

Stepping out of the rain and back into shelter, head to toe dripping with numbing rain water, shivers creep over her skin, miniscule goose bumps rising gently, with shaking hands Rose steadies herself on the painted white beam stabilising the porch, leaning her head on it solemnly, her hands poking, rubbing and nipping at the paint peeling of the beam in front of her nose. Suddenly the rain stops. The last few bitter droplets hit the ground before a deathly silence fills the air, a stale scent of misery and longing lingers roughly, almost suffocating, a dry humid warmth coats the Carraway's land. 

The doors behind Rose squeak open, the sound echoing throughout the lifeless air. Rose winces gently from the noise, her delicate body shivering harshly, the water clinging onto her, drying uncomfortably leaving a dewy layering. Expensive shoes shuffle nervously behind her, Rose can almost see the pristine white shine of them in her mind, forcing her body to clench with protection, her glistening eyes focus on nothing in the distance, straining to stay in place, avoiding anything and anyone that may try to attract her attention.

"Darlin'?" A dreadfully shaking voice whispers from behind her, and her stature almost resolves, melting into a helpless puddle on the floor.

All Rose had desired in that moment was to turn around and console the man, even though she was the one who truly needed consoling. But she could never find the strength to do so.

"Rosie please?" The man whispers, his hand reaching up to gently place on her quivering shoulder, but with a gasp, she launches herself away from his touch and back out into the yard, desperate to put more distance between them, spinning around, the words almost die in her throat, seeing the damp looking Gatsby, hurtful tears stinging his eyes.

"No! You do not get to do that again!" Rose yells with conviction, power flooding through her voice, her eyes never leaving the man who's prone to leaving. Gatsby recoils slightly, never hearing the love of his life yell at him.

"You do not get to leave and come back whenever you see fit!" She shouts, her voice breaking, the power she once had escaping her body as quick as it had entered. "You stay, or you leave, there is no in between. I cannot keep getting my hopes up, just for them to come crashing down when you walk out that door, and don't return for another 5 fucking years!" The foul word slips from her mouth without even notice, her anger radiating throughout her, the grief, the sorrow, the loneliness flushes her face.

"I thought you had died Jay! I thought after all this time, the man I love, died in the War. But no. You were frolicking about with god knows who, doing god knows what whilst I sat and cried. I cried over a man who spared me no second glance once he left. Walked out the door leaving the love he felt behind, leaving me behind!" She screams at him, her throat raw with emotion, hot steaming tears rushing from her eyes, staining her flaming cheeks, anger pulsing strongly through her veins.

Gatsby stands frozen and confused, his hands hanging lamely at his sides, the tears dripping from his eyes gently. One thought stumbles messily through his head. Did she not get my letters? Seeming to come to his senses, Gatsby takes a hesitant step forward, his feet carrying him towards her, the broken love of his life, pouring her heart out to him.

"Stay the hell away from me Jay!" Rose shouts, her feet fumbling backwards, desperate to be further away from him. "Please!" She whimpers, holding her arms out as if that would keep him at bay. Encapsulating his hands around Rose's wrists, he brings them up to his chest. Rose struggles to pull them out of his grip, squirming to get away. "Let go of me" She whispers, the fight in her leaving, as a drowsiness tumbles over her.

"Listen to me Darlin'!" Gatsby insists, bringing his head down to follow her line of sight, desperate to have her attention on him, to know she was listening. "I sent letters to you, I sent them all the time for the first few months I was in the army, it was all I'd done with my spare time, hoping once, just once, you'd write back to me. But it seems you never even got those letters, and I can't explain to you why. But my love for you has always stayed, growing inside of me, not once did I ever dream of letting you go, but it seemed to me you had let me go. And even that didn't stop me, I wanted to make a life for myself, so I could make a life for you, I wanted to get money, have a reputation, have the finer things in life, to give you a better one. Everything I have ever done was for you, because I love you." He whispers, his voice holding a tone of authority and conviction that blows Rose away, she nods weakly, her body falling towards him, enveloping herself in him.

"I'm sorry I acted the way I did, I've never felt so angry and lost before, it was just all collecting inside of me because Nick didn't know about you and I couldn't really tell him who you were." She whispers into his shoulder, her arms slipping from his grasp to wrap around his waist. "I love you too".