𝐌𝐑. 𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐒𝐁𝐘

Chapter Sixteen

Rose had returned home to Nick holding a worried expression. When questioned about it, he informed her of how Gatsby's car ran over Tom's mistress, Myrtle. And the worst part was, Daisy was driving.

The day after the ordeal, she carried a small basket of cookies to the mansion next door. She found him in his office. He seemed distraught.

Her pale knuckles made contact with the wood of the door as she knocked. Gatsby lifted his head to her eyes. A smile replaced the frown that had sat on his lips. "Where did you disappear to?" He stood.

"I had a funeral to attend." She answered. She walked further into the room, placing the basket down on his desk. "And before you say how sorry you are for my loss, it's fine. Her memory carries on."

Gatsby didn't speak. He pulled Rose towards him, smashing his lips to hers. After getting over the initial shock, she kissed back. He pulled away and searched her eyes, his hand placed to her cheek. "Is it too soon to confess my love for you?"

Rose smiled. "Is it too soon to say it back?"

Gatsby's smile intensified. "I knew there was something special about you. I knew it since the first day I laid my eyes on you."

Rose took Gatsby's hands in hers. "Let's go for a swim?" She reached into the basket, pulling her swimsuit from inside. She handed a cookie to Gatsby.

The two changed before heading to the pool. Rose sat on the edge as Gatsby dived beneath the water. She couldn't help but to feel a dreadful feeling as she watched him. The phone beside the pool lit up with a shrill, practically blaring in her ear as she sat beside it. Gatsby's head poked out from the water. He walked towards the phone, but before his reached it, Rose caught something from the corner of her eye.

She gasped as she noticed a man pointing a gun in Gatsby's direction.

It only took 5 seconds.

1

Rose was quick to react when the gunshot rang out.

2

She pushed Gatsby aside, her body lifting up from her seat to a standing position. Gatsby stumbled forward, spinning around to face her.

3

The bullet struck flesh and pain shot through Rose's side as the bullet entered her.

4

She looked down as the blood pooled. Her head became light and her eyes were heavy. Gatsby stared in horror as her bold, brown eyes rolled to the back of her head and the color drained from her face.

5

Rose's body limped to the side, splashing into the pool. A sea of red expanding around her, exiting from her body. At the sound of another gunshot, Gatsby's head moved to face the sound. Myrtle's husband laid on the ground, blood pouring from his head as a gun laid beside his hand.

Gatsby jumped back into the pool, pulling Rose's limp body into his arms. Soon he was covered in her blood. He pulled her to the edge of the pool, failing at holding her wound shut.

The police had been called, then Nick. But it was too late. Rose had died once her body hit the water.

A funeral was set for the following week. Not many people showed. Her brother, Alice, and Gatsby were the only ones to pay their respects.

All attendees were upset with Daisy, the one who claimed to love Rose the most, had not even bothered to make an appearance. She had been informed of her cousins death. They all knew that Tom wouldn't keep her away.

But across the lake, Daisy and Tom packed their bags. Daisy looked out across the lake, Rose crossing her mind. Daisy had mourned for her cousin in her own way, but it was short lived. She had to leave New York, for her own good. After all, she was the one who killed Tom's mistress.

There she was, Daisy Buchanan doing something that hurt her family for her own selfish gain like always.

~

Rose's body had been lowered into the ground. Alice had left an hour earlier, her heart too broken from her two best friends being killed less than a month apart. Tears never stopped pouring from her eyes.

Nick and Gatsby stood over the grave. Rain began descending upon the pair. Nick cried for his sister, not bothering to remove his tears. Gatsby placed a hand on Nick's shoulder in a comforting manner. "I'm sorry, old sport."

Nick stayed silent. He had no words for his neighbor. He knew that the bullet was meant for Gatsby and that Rose had selfishly put herself in harms way for him. It was the type of thing she would do. It was so... Rose like of her. There was no better way to put it.

Gatsby removed his hand, beginning to walk away. "It's not your fault." Gatsby stopped at Nick's words. "She loved you. She never said it, but I could tell. I could always tell."

Gatsby didn't respond. He had lost something that day. Not just a lover, but a friend. Little did they both know, but they would never see each other again.

Days after the funeral, Nick left. The home held too many memories of her. The mansion next door did little to no help either. Especially the residents within.

So here ends our story. The great love affair between two young adults. She had changed Gatsby's mind about Daisy. The thought of her never even crossed him. He learned to live without her, something he thought he could never do. Rose made him realize that. And just like with Daisy, he learned to live without Rose. But he never forgot her. He would rather die before that could happen.

For her love for Jay Gatsby was the thing that killed her.

• The End •