America & Maxon's Fate **UPDATED** 10/27/20

Getting Ready

As promised. Here is chapter 10!  Hope you like it! :)

America's P.O.V.

I step out of the bath, and wrap a towel around myself, as I hear the door open. I look up at the clock, it reads 6:00. Marlee must be back from her date. I wonder how her date went. I slip on a satin chemise and my slippers, and head outside into our living room. Marlee reaches the couch as I enter the room, and I see that she is smiling.

"Hey! How was your date?" I ask as I raise my hands.

"Oh, My, god America! It was amazing!" She says.

I sit down next to her, and lean into the couch.

"Tell me about it! We have some time, before we need to get ready for dinner." I say.

"Well, we first played a game of racquetball. Racquetball is kind of like tennis, but your hitting the ball at a wall, instead of a person. Anyway, we had a competition, and Carter won. He decided where to go next, and we went to that parisian cafe, the one that has the ivy growing on the walls. We had tea and coffee, and talked about our families, and then we went to the promenade deck, to talk and watch the sunset. We had a really deep conversation..." Her voice trails off, and then she smiles.

I get up from the couch, and jump up and down. I bet he kissed her! She is smiling like she is on cloud 9.

"Marlee!!! Did Carter kiss you???!!!!" I ask.

I sit back down on the couch, and look at her.

"He did America!! And It was amazing! He is soo good at it!" She says back.

"Do you like him?!" I say.

"I do, I think I'm starting to fall for him. It's kind of like when you came back, and told us about you and Maxon." she said.

I smile because I'm thinking back to that moment. I run my hands through my hair

"It's a pretty good feeling isn't it?" I say while nodding.

"Yes it is! But how is this happening. How is this real life? How did we both meet two incredible guys in two days. I feel like this is a dream, and when we dock in New York, I will wake up, and it actually was a dream." She says with a worried expression.

Oh Marlee, you have no idea how worried I am about that. Especially because my connection with Maxon is soo much deeper than it was ever with Aspen!" I say while trying to comfort my friend.

I stare across the room, and think to myself. What if this actually is a dream? What if I have never met Maxon before? What if I ended up with Aspen?

No, I can't do that. I am really starting to fall for Maxon, and I'm falling hard.

"Tell you what Marlee, I will make a promise to you. If this is a dream, it would be very hard to forget how beautiful and amazing this dream is. If we wake up, and this was a dream, let's promise to find Carter, and Maxon. Because they have to be real right? I mean the details on his face are so vivid. And I can touch his hand, and feel it. So let's find them, if we wake up and realize this is a dream." I say.

"Deal! That sounds like a great idea." She said back.

I call Miss Charity over to help me get dressed. She laces up the corset, and I slide into the blue evening gown that I'm going to wear. I love my dress, and the sparkle it gives when the light hits the rhinestones! Miss Charity zippers up the back, and I put my heels on. I grab my silk shall, and I put my necklace on. 

"Oh America, You look so beautiful! Maxon is gonna die when he sees you!" Marlee says.

"Haha Marlee, I could say the same thing about Carter." I tell her. 

I help Marlee get her dress on, and I see the other girls finishing up their makeup. The dinner bell rings telling us it is 7:00 sharp, and we start to head out the door. Im nervous about tonight, I heard there is a dance on board for all the young adults, and I'm still a little nervous. I mean I know that Maxon and I are I guess technically boyfriend and girlfriend, but I never got to this level with Aspen. I would love to dance with Maxon though. I can just picture us dancing in the back of the boat, with nothing but the moonlight shining. 

"Girls, we will all walk together toward the dining room. I believe the boys are meeting us there." My aunt says. 

Little Elise is leading the pack, she starts to skip down the hall singing her favorite song. 

"Elise! Slow down! I can't keep you with you! Ladies are not suppose to run!"

Um... Yes we can :)

"Its okay Aunt Daisy, Marlee, the girls, and I will follow Elise, and if you need to walk behind with Nick that is fine. If we get there early, we can just meet you outside the dining room." I say as I pick up my pace.

"Yes America, that is fine. Be careful and watch her. I don't want her to trip down the stairs and cut her head. Who knows how the medical care is on this ship." She says.

We pick up our pace to catch up to Elise. We pull her aside when we turn the corner to talk to her. Nicoletta crouches to her level to speak to her. 

"Okay Elise. We can skip down the hall, but you need to be very careful, I want you to hold my hand, and we will skip. When we get to the stairs, I want you to walk, your mother doesn't want you to trip down the stairs, and get a boo boo. Is that okay?" She says to Elise.

"Yeah thats good! Im so excited to skip!" She says as she jumps up and down.

Nicoletta takes her hand, and we start walking again. I turn my head around the corner, and see my aunt and my cousin following behind. I wonder where Maxon and the guys are? I sometimes think about if Aspen was on the boat, if we would have gotten closer. Would I be passing by Maxon down the hall, and giving a quick glance, nothing more than that. I think that would suck.  Aspen would still want to keep this a secret, and I would be lying to my aunt where I am. We wouldn't have been able to dance with each other tonight because people would know. Maxon would probably be with another girl, and I would just be sitting at the table with the adults. That doesn't sound fun. 

Marlee and Annie discuss the plans for tomorrow as we are walking. 

"I really would like to try the racquetball court tomorrow." Annie said. 

I chip into the conversation. "Ooh! That sounds like fun! I've never played but that would be fun to do!" I say.

"Yeah I am game, we could even get the guys in on it. We could have a match, and whoever loses, has to do something." Marlee said. 

Annie starts to get  really excited. "Ooh! I would love to do that!" She said.

"Tell you guys what, let's tell the guys during dinner. I am sure they would be down to do that." I say!

We reach the grand staircase, and we slow down. We have to go down two flights of stairs to reach the dining room. The dining room is not that much farther than the staircase. I am not sure where we are meeting the guys. I think Daisy is taking the stairs because of her pregnancy.  I pick up Elise, and we start to travel down the stairs.

We reach the bottom of the staircase, and people are chatting outside the dining room. Every one is dressed really fancy. So many ladies are wearing dresses with beading on them. They have fur shawls, and a feather hat. The ladies wear white satin long gloves on their hands. Their suitors are standing next to them, and they are talking about their wealth. Someone mentions they owned a jewelry company, and they brought their diamonds and sapphires to sell to the western world. Another was talking about an invention they created where you can wash clothes without the use of a wooden tub and a washboard. People around him were fascinated. I look down the hall to see Thomas Andrews (the carpenter of the ship) walk down the hall with a few men. 

We walk over to the side of the ship to look out the windows, and get some fresh air. The air is crisp and cold. You can literally see your breath when you breathe. The water is black as the night sky, and the ship is churning the water, creating tiny waves that move away from the ship. 

I focus on the horizon in front of me, thinking about this week when I hear footsteps walk toward me. 

"Hello my dear" he says.