Don't Do It!

Don't Do It!

“Rosie!” I screamed. Chasing after her. Barely keeping up with her red mane; pushing bystanders out of my way. I was silently cursing the chiffon that I had to keep up bunched in my palms as I ran. My chest was heaving. “Rosie, don’t run!”
“No, Avie!” I heard her scream back to me. She was bounding down the stairs, going to the bow of the ship. We were separated by a deck. But I was fast, I was gaining. I saw her bound a corner, and go through the row of benches. “I can’t take it anymore!”
My heart skipped a beat. I was afraid for her this time. Mere seconds ago we had been at dinner. Feasting with the richest of the rich. I was desperately trying to make sense of what had happened.
“Avie.” Rosie had whispered to me. I was sitting between her and boy whose name I did not yet know. I looked up from the soup that was getting cold. I gently laid the silver spoon down.
“Yes?” her green eyes were burning into my gray ones. Her cheeks were crimson. Around us, dinner was going on as usual. The women in evening gowns, the men in suits. The music was wonderful. It helped to fill the air with the sound of mindless chatter. This was the first night aboard the wonderful ship. The Titanic. The ship that was taking us to the magical capital of the world.
Me and my sister, Rosie, got our invitations last fall. We took off on new year’s. This ship, with its stories, and halls, and tales, would be our home for the next 3 years. It was a blessing, no doubt, I never in a million years thought we would be chosen. We were now considered part of the elite. The best of the best. And when a title came like that. You had a reputation to uphold.
“He asked me to come back to the dorm with him.” Her voice was deathly silent. I gulped the swig of wine I had just taken. “I’m not going. Avie, don’t tell me I need to.”
He was her fiancé. The man 5 years older than her 16. The man our father wanted her to marry so our family stayed pure. He was...