She sat alone in the washroom of the Newsboys Lodging House in Manhattan. She hadn't eaten much in days, three weeks, and all she'd ever have was a glass of water and a little bit of soup every so often, and it didn't bother her, as long as Spot thought she was still pretty enough, and as long as Jack didn't find out, or Spot for that matter, everything was fine. It was well after lights out, and for the four months that the lodging house had become co-ed, she'd been spending time in the washroom, trying to figure out if she was still pretty enough and still perfect enough for everyone. Every time she felt the hunger pains, she felt a feeling of satisfaction. She'd manage to stay small enough and good enough for everyone.
Her name was Echo, and she was 16 years old. Her mother died while giving birth to Echo, or Kaitlin (Katie) Marie Miller, she was raised by her father, but when her father died six months ago from smallpox, she started living alone on the streets. She'd sell newspapers to have money to survive, and when Jack met her and talked Kloppman into letting her stay at the Lodging House two months after he'd met her. She could finally have a decent place to stay and some people to call her friends.
Eventually, even some other girls started selling papers and living where she called home, Lyric and Crazer were the other girls she was closest to, but still, she'd always been a loner. She got along with most guys better than girls to be honest. Since she was little she'd been defending herself, and she knew pretty well how to get away from someone she didn't think she could take on. Jack introduced her to Spot one day, about one month after she'd become a newsie, and the two became friends quite fast. Then there was the day, it was one month after she'd moved into the Lodging house, when Spot asked her out. They went to Medda's and the two kissed before she went into the lodging house and he went back to Brooklyn. It was then that she knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, but she wasn't certain that he felt the same.
About 15 minutes later, Echo heard the sounds of someone coming up the stairs. They were the footsteps of Kloppman that were heard at least once a day. Had she been sitting in the washroom all night? Echo got up and quickly, but quietly, stepped into the room where the girls slept. She climbed into her bottom bunk and feigned sleep. She'd be as she was every morning, complain a bit and get up. Change and go brush through her hair, go with the guys to sell the papers, go off on her own, anywhere where she could possibly be alone, and hawk the headlines without thinking about it. No, her mind would be somewhere else, anywhere from Spot, to not eating, to who her mother was like. It didn't matter what she thought about, but she always thought about something.
At the distribution building, Jack looked at her, "You and Spot are going out tonight, right?"
"Yeah, he's gonna come and get me and we're going to go to Medda's, I think," Echo replied.
Jack looked at her more closely. When he'd first met her, she always went as Katie, her full name was Kaitlin, but just the same, she went as Katie. He'd given her the name Echo, although he never knew why. She didn't Echo anyone's words, the name just managed to fit her. But when he was mad, or worried about her, he used her real name, and often her full name, he was the only newsie who knew her given name, and she intended to keep it that way.
But when he'd first met her, she was a young, vibrant girl who had dirty blond hair and green eyes. She was incredibly healthy and looked pretty, sure she wasn't the prettiest girl alive, but she was pretty. Now when he looked at Echo, her skin was almost transparent, she was incredibly thin, so thin, her pants and shirt hung on her frame like they were three sizes too big and she'd found them in a dumpster, and her eyes didn't have the shine that once had him so intrigued. Instead they were dull, and many times bloodshot, but he never knew why. Any time he'd try to find out, she'd just say she wasn't feeling good, or that it was the lack of food. But when he thought about it, he hadn't remembered seeing her eat in weeks.
"You think you're going to Medda's?"
"I think, we might do something else. I mean, you have to give us a chance to get together and change our minds before one of our nights is set in stone!"
Jack laughed. She was right, almost every time they'd get together, the plan would be to go to Medda's, but half the time they would either roam the streets of Manhattan, sit in the Lodging House, or go to Brooklyn and you wouldn't see Echo until morning, or later.
Echo got up and bought her usual, 100 papes, and went off to see if she could make some money. The only problem was the fact that she felt slightly dizzy. But she had to have enough money to make rent, and she was sure she could make it through one day. It couldn't be that hard, could it?
She found herself a spot on a corner near a little market, she was hawking headlines as usual, but this time, her thoughts were on her dad, Christopher Miller. She'd grown up with him, he taught her to read and write, gave her values and morals to live from, and made sure she knew what an amazing person her mother was. Echo was always thankful for that, but for a few months after his death, she was angry at him for dying, for leaving her alone to fend for herself. But after time, the anger wore off, and then there was the time of fear and tears, when everything around her would remind her of her father and set her off and make her cry, and ever small thing that she felt she couldn't handle scared her half out of her mind. Life had been hell after he died, and for Echo, her life would probably be a living hell from then on out.
She sold her last paper and felt like she was going to pass out, she started straight back to the lodging house. Spot was going to meet her there anyway. She saw Jack when they were about one block away, and when she caught up with him, she felt even more dizzy than before, right as she passed out, Jack caught her, and picked up the frail body in his arms, not realizing how light she was until that very moment. He walked quickly back to the lodging house and got the door open. When Kloppman saw the girl lying in his arms, he helped Jack up the stairs, and they laid her down carefully.
"I'm going to call the doctor," Was all Kloppman said as he turned to go down the stairs. Jack sat down on the bunk next to Echo's and waited for news. When the other guys started congregating up in the bunkroom, Jack found Race and started towards him.
"Race, can you go and see if Spot's downstairs waiting for Echo, she got sick and I think he may want to come up here and see her. But I don't know if the two were meeting here."
"Sure Jack, but, is she real sick? I mean she hasn't looked too good the past few days."
"I don't know Race, Kloppman called the doctor, but he ain't here yet."
"All right Jack, I'll go check."
Race went down the stairs only to find Spot Conlon, leader of Brooklyn and Echo's boyfriend, walking in the door.
"Hey Spot," Race shouted, "Jack said that Echo got sick and you may want to come up and see her. He didn't say what she had though."
"She's sick," Spot said quizzically, with a hint of worry in his voice, "She's gonna be okay, right?"
"I don't know Spot, let's just go upstairs."
Spot nodded and followed Race up the stairs to go see Echo. Kloppman shook his head from his post behind the desk and knew that the doctor would be there soon.
When Jack saw Spot, he stood up and walked to Spot, "Hey let's go out into the hall for two minutes."
"Why Jack, I just want to go see her," Spot fought back, he just wanted to see his girl.
"Because Spot, I need to tell you something about what's going on with your girl," Jack told him, looking him in the eyes.
"Fine, but make it fast."
When the two stepped into the hall, Jack started talking, "Spot, I don't know exactly what's wrong with her, but she's really sick. I don't remember seeing her eat for maybe a few weeks. She's been pale, hell her skin's almost transparent! She's getting so thin Spot, we had to see this coming. But she's currently unconscious, she passed out when we were walking back here. So when you see her don't be surprised, she can't talk back to you or anything. She's out cold."
"I ain't no two year old Jacky-Boy, I knew she wouldn't be in good condition, I was half expecting her to be unconscious."
"Fine Spot, but I was just warning you."
In all reality, Spot hadn't expected her to be unconscious, so it scared him more. He walked into the Bunkroom and over to the bunk where she was laying. Most of the boys had already gone over to see her and see if she was okay. Crazer and Lyric were both standing up as Spot walked over.
The thin body was laying on the mattress, covered with a few sheets, her eyes were shut, but you could see her pale complexion no matter what. She looked almost like a ghost, and to Spot, she looked like she may die, "Jacky-Boy, tell me she ain't gonna die."
"I can't Spot, I'm sorry, but I can't."
Spot sat down next to the frail body. He gently pushed a few strands of her short hair away from her face. He leaned forward and gave her a slight peck on the cheek, "You're gonna be okay Echo, you're a fighter, you're gonna make it through."
Jack got the boys to all go and do their own thing, Race initiated a game of poker in one corner of the room, other guys went to talk, Crazer and Lyric and a few of the other girls went into their little area to discuss whatever girls would discuss. Leaving Spot and Jack next to the bunk they laid Echo on, normally it was where Specs slept, but at the moment, it didn't matter to anyone. A member of their family was sick, and no one knew what she had, which scared most of the newsies more than anything.
"Blink, can you go to Brooklyn and tell 'em that I probably ain't gonna be back tonight. Tell 'em that until I show up, Scars is in charge of them all. Make sure they know that they'll be in trouble if the goof off and cause problems," Spot asked, still staring at the lifeless looking Echo.
"Yeah, sure Spot," And Blink turned to go and tell the Brooklyn newsies what Spot had wanted them to know.
When Jack looked at Spot, he saw him hold back a tear. True, Echo wasn't dead yet, but Jack figured that as sick as she is, it could probably happen at any second. Jack prayed that the doctor would get there soon.
Spot held Echo's hand and stared down at her, hoping that she would be fine, memories flashed through his head, the time he met her and knew immediately that she was the one for him. One month after they'd met and he left her at the Lodging House, but before they parted, he left her with a kiss lingering on the lips and with a feeling he couldn't describe and the look of surprise on her face when the two pulled away. Always going to Tibby's for dinner, but never seeing her actually eat, claiming she'd ate a big lunch. It always confused Spot, but he never thought anything of it.
He'd never noticed how thin she was getting, how sick she'd been starting to look. Now he was scared he may never get to tell her how he felt about her, how much he loved her. He should have told her earlier, he should have said it to her the second he knew it was true. And now, if he never got the chance, he'd regret not saying it forever.
He bent down one more time to give her a slight kiss on the forehead when she started coming around. Spot smiled at the sight of her green eyes opening. But on her face, there was a look of confusion, fear, and other emotions showing on the young girl's face. She looked more like a scared six year old than a mature and beautiful sixteen year old.
"What, what happened to me?" Echo asked, looking up at Jack.
"You were on your way back here, to the Lodging House, when you collapsed, I caught you and carried you back here. Kloppman called the doctor, he'll be here any minute. You're gonna be fine."
Echo sighed, what if the doctor found out she wasn't eating, what if he told Kloppman and Kloppman told Jack, and Jack not only asked her about it, but he told Spot? How bad could this get?!
"I don't need a doctor, I'm fine! Jack go tell Kloppman that I'm awake and don't need a doctor. I'm fine," She stated standing up, but a wave of dizziness overcame her and she immediately sat down, trying to regain ability to see everything. She felt like she was going to throw up, but there was nothing to throw up, she hadn't eaten in three weeks.
Jack helped her lay back down and Spot had an evident look of concern in his face. She looked up into his blue eyes that she loved, "Spot, I'm fine, I swear."
"Then how do you explain that?! You try to get up but can't, and you have to sit back down? Just lay in that bed Echo and stay there until a doctor comes to see you," The voice that said it was harsh but caring, and he just wanted her to be okay.
At that moment, Kloppman walked upstairs with a doctor at his side, "Okay everybody, go downstairs. This is Dr. Witfeild and he's going to take a look at Echo."
Spot tried to resist, but Jack got him to go to the hall with him, but Spot wouldn't go farther. He would stay right outside of the door until that doctor walked out.
As Dr. Witfeild started with a normal physical, he was asking Echo many questions, "Echo, do you know your parents?"
"My mom died when I was born," She replied quietly, "My dad died from smallpox about six months ago. He didn't want me to get sick when he got it, so he sent me to live with a family friend. But when he died the friend put me out in the streets."
The doctor nodded and a few minutes later, "Echo have you been eating?"
"Kind of, I'm never really hungry, so I don't eat very much."
"You are incredibly underweight, you need to start eating more or you'll pass out like this all the time and eventually die from it. Okay, so you promise me you'll eat every day and I'll go, because that's the only thing wrong that I can find."
"I'll eat, Doctor," Good thing she could lie well, "I'll eat three meals a day, when I can afford it."
"I'll make sure she can Dr. Witfeild," Kloppman said standing up.
The doctor walked out and Kloppman followed and when he saw Jack standing with Spot, he looked at the boys.
"She's going to be fine, Jack I want to talk to you alone though."
Jack nodded and Spot went in to see her.
Jack asked the old man the question that had been expected, "What'd he say Mr. Kloppman?"
"Jack she's really underweight and she said that she's not been eating much because she's never hungry. Please watch her and make sure she eats. I don't want her passing out like this again. I'm going to go get a sandwich for her to eat. You can go see her if you want."
Jack went up as fast as he could, seeing as everyone else was up there. She was telling everyone that she was fine and the doctor just said she needed some rest.
"She needs rest, as does everyone else standing in this room, let's go it's almost lights out. Spot there's an empty bunk over there," Jack said pointing to one in the corner, "The top's free, you can sleep there," Spot nodded in understanding.
Jack then turned to Echo, who knew from the tone in his voice that he knew about her little problem, as she was positive he'd call it, "Come on, you and I are going downstairs to talk about something, I'll help you down, but we need to talk."
Echo sat up and Jack picked her up and carried her down while all the boys were getting ready for bed. They got some quizzical looks but both ignored them all. When they got downstairs, Jack placed echo on a chair and he sat down next to her.
"Kaitlin Marie Miller," That was the worst sign possible, "Why haven't you been eating? You sell a hundred papes a day, usually, if not more! Why won't you eat anything. I haven't seen you eat in weeks."
"I eat, just not around everyone," Echo couldn't believe he was doing this.
"Katie, I know you want to impress Spot, but you can't starve yourself. Have you looked in the mirror lately?"
Echo nodded, she had, and it wasn't pretty, but all she saw was a fat cow who needed to lose more weight, "I know Jack, but I think that all I have to do is be small enough, then I'm pretty and perfect enough for Spot, for everyone."
"Echo," Jack said, scooting in closer, "You scared the hell out of everyone today when they saw you unconscious in that bed. Spot was almost in tears. You gotta take care of yourself. Don't do this. You're pretty enough to Spot no matter how you look. He told me the day he met you that he liked you, a lot. Why do you wanna hurt yourself?"
"I didn't know that it would be this bad, Jack," Echo looked at him, she was about to cry, "I just thought that all guys liked small, petite girls. I thought that I was too big, too fat, that Spot didn't think I was pretty enough. I think I love him Jack, I think that he's the one."
Echo turned away from Jack as Kloppman brought out a sandwich for her to eat, "Here you go Echo."
"I'm not eating that."
"You're eating it, Katie, you're eating it," Jack told her as he took the plate from Kloppman.
"Jack, I...I can't. The one time I tried, It all came back up. I don't want to eat."
"We'll take it slowly, one step at a time, okay?"
Echo nodded, and one tear fell down her cheek. Jack reached up and wiped it away. It would be a long road to recover for Echo, but all the boys, especially him and Spot, would be there for her.
"When are you gonna tell Spot?"
"I don't know, I'd prefer not telling him."
"Echo," Jack looked at her green eyes, that, for once in the conversation, had a glimmer of hope in them, "You've got to tell him. He'll want to know. Please, I'll talk to him with you if you want."
"Okay, but Jack," She was going to say, don't bug me about it again, she was going to say that it really wasn't his business, she was going to say she could handle it on her own, but she knew she couldn't.
Jack looked at her, "What?"
"Thanks. You've been like a big brother to me since I met you. You were what I've needed when I cry at night because I miss my dad. Thanks Jack."
"It's not a problem Echo, it's not a problem," He looked at her as tears escaped from her green eyes. He carefully grabbed the frail body and held her in his arms.
Race heard the quiet sobs and he came down to see what was going on. When Kloppman saw Race, he put a finger to his mouth to keep him quiet. Race turned and saw Jack holding a sobbing Echo.
Race looked at Kloppman, "Is she okay?"
"Yeah, she'd gonna be fine. It'll take some time for her to fully recover, but she's gonna be just fine."
Race turned to go back upstairs when Jack heard him. He looked over at him, "Race, get Spot. Tell him that Echo needs to tell him something and he needs to get down here."
Race just nodded and went back up to the bunkroom. Jack kept comforting Echo, but he didn't know what to do to help her.
"Shhhh, Echo, everything's okay."
"Jack, how'd I get myself into this mess? How'd I manage to screw up this bad?"
"You didn't screw up, Echo. You made a mistake, everyone does. Everyone's gonna help ya get through this, and Spot will be more supporting than anyone of us."
"It's my fault. I can't believe this," Echo was talking to him in between the sobs, "Jack, please don't make me tell Spot."
"You've got to tell Spot, he needs to know that you're going to be okay, he needs to know why you fainted," As Jack was talking, he looked over and saw Spot walking down the stairs, he looked almost scared at the sight of his girl being held by Jack as she sobbed, and he wasn't scared because Jack was holding her, he was scared because she was sobbing.
"Echo, are you okay?"
She looked up, but didn't reply. She was scared to tell him what she had been doing to herself; scared to say that she thought she wasn't pretty enough for him. She didn't think he'd respect her once she told him that she thought that he didn't like her because she wasn't the skinniest girl around.
Jack nodded his head, urging her to tell him, so she did, "Spot, I haven't eaten in a few weeks."
There, she'd told him. He wouldn't ask questions, he'd just say that it was fine and go back to bed. But as much as she wanted her fantasy world to come true, she knew it wouldn't.
"Why not?"
Echo looked into his blue eyes and wanted to cry even more, "I didn't think I was pretty enough for you, I just thought that you might leave me to go for one of the smaller girls, someone prettier, someone like Lyric maybe."
"Echo, how could you think that? I, I love you Echo, not Lyric, not anyone else."
"Spot, how'd I get myself into this kind of mess? I thought that everyone thought that I wasn't pretty enough. Spot, I, I think I need help," She started crying again, and Jack was still holding her, but this time, Spot did most of the comforting.
"Echo, I'm gonna help you get through this, and so is everyone else. You're gonna be fine, and everything's okay," Spot was talking to her and rubbing her upper arm softly.
Jack and Spot sat with her for about an hour until she'd calmed down and fallen asleep. The next day was going to be difficult. They were going to help her through everything though. They won't let her go through it alone.
Jack carried her upstairs as quietly and carefully as he could with Spot following. They put her in an empty bunk in the girls room that was next to Lyric, they covered her up and they went into their own bunkroom, got into separate bunks and were asleep in minutes.
~*~*~*~
When Echo woke to the sounds of Kloppman yelling at everyone to get up, she looked at her surroundings, most of the girls were already up. Lyric and Crazer were looking at her with worried expressions.
"What happened to you last night?"
It was Lyric, "I just haven't been eating enough because I couldn't afford it. I'm fine and I'm going to get ready and go talk to Jack."
Lyric looked at Crazer, the tone in Echo's voice told both of them to get lost, she obviously didn't want to talk about whatever it was that had made her pass out yesterday. Echo stood up and noticed she was still fully clothed. So she left the girls' bunkroom to find the rest of the guys standing up and getting ready, which was a usual sight for when she first moved in, she had stayed in the same room as them.
Echo walked over to where Spot was standing, he was already dressed and she knew that he'd make her eat something, but for a few minutes, they could act like nothing happened yesterday. When Spot saw her, he took her into a hug and they eventually kissed, which got all the guys clapping and cheering for the two. Echo pulled away from Spot and looked at his blue eyes, the same eyes that forced her into telling him the truth last night.
"I'll meet you downstairs," She whispered to him as she turned to go talk to Jack.
When Jack saw her, he smiled, she was hopefully strong enough to make it through the day, but if she wasn't, he'd try to help her, "You feeling any better?"
"A little, but what if I try to eat something and it, ya know, comes back up? Jack, I don't want everyone to see me like that."
"We'll just get ya a little something from the nuns, just a biscuit." He looked at her and noticed that she was still incredibly pail, and probably still weak, "You gonna be okay today?"
"Yes Jack, I'm going to be okay."
He just shook his head, "Whatever you say, 'cause I know I'll never get you to listen to me, you're way too stubborn!"
She just laughed, turned and went to finish getting ready. When she was finally prepared to go sell and spend some time with her boyfriend and the rest of the guys, hopefully this time without having some serious problems with fainting. She had to be with someone the whole day, but she was fine with that. At least, she still had Spot, and if she didn't have him, heaven only knows where she'd go... what she'd do.
Echo looked into a mirror and pulled her hair out of her face and back in a clip. She ran over to Spot and stole his hat off of his head and placed it on her own. She then sat down and sighed, already low on energy. How would she be able to pay rent today. It wasn't going to happen. But in any instance, she had to try, she couldn't depend on the guys to take care of her, whether she was sick or not. It wasn't fair to any of them, they had to have money to pay for their stay too, they had to be able to buy newspapers for tomorrow so that they could continue survive in a world of cruelty and problems.
All of the guys started walking out of the door in a big mob, although Spot had already made it downstairs. Jack stopped to help her get off of the bunk, and he heard a small whisper from right next to him, "Thanks."
He smiled a little bit, "Not a problem Echo, you can always come to me."
Echo slowly took his hand and he yanked her up off of the bunk. She then laughed a little bit and walked with him downstairs, still tired, and still a little bit dizzy, which scared her. But she refused to tell him that she was feeling like that again, then she saw Spot, "Hey, Brooklyn!"
"What?!"
"You gonna sell with me? I mean, I know, I know ya don't wanna, but, please?"
He was amazed that she was asking him to sell with her in front of all the guys, that wasn't her style. But still, he wouldn't say no, "Sure, c'mon."
She ran up to him, thankfully she had someone to sell with in case something happened, in case anything happened. So much could, and she hated herself for everything that she'd put herself through, what she'd put everyone else through, "Thanks, Spot."
"Not a problem," Was his reply, short and simple. Then, the two went on their way, side by side, to sell their newspapers and deal with their lives.
Her name was Echo, and she was 16 years old. Her mother died while giving birth to Echo, or Kaitlin (Katie) Marie Miller, she was raised by her father, but when her father died six months ago from smallpox, she started living alone on the streets. She'd sell newspapers to have money to survive, and when Jack met her and talked Kloppman into letting her stay at the Lodging House two months after he'd met her. She could finally have a decent place to stay and some people to call her friends.
Eventually, even some other girls started selling papers and living where she called home, Lyric and Crazer were the other girls she was closest to, but still, she'd always been a loner. She got along with most guys better than girls to be honest. Since she was little she'd been defending herself, and she knew pretty well how to get away from someone she didn't think she could take on. Jack introduced her to Spot one day, about one month after she'd become a newsie, and the two became friends quite fast. Then there was the day, it was one month after she'd moved into the Lodging house, when Spot asked her out. They went to Medda's and the two kissed before she went into the lodging house and he went back to Brooklyn. It was then that she knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, but she wasn't certain that he felt the same.
About 15 minutes later, Echo heard the sounds of someone coming up the stairs. They were the footsteps of Kloppman that were heard at least once a day. Had she been sitting in the washroom all night? Echo got up and quickly, but quietly, stepped into the room where the girls slept. She climbed into her bottom bunk and feigned sleep. She'd be as she was every morning, complain a bit and get up. Change and go brush through her hair, go with the guys to sell the papers, go off on her own, anywhere where she could possibly be alone, and hawk the headlines without thinking about it. No, her mind would be somewhere else, anywhere from Spot, to not eating, to who her mother was like. It didn't matter what she thought about, but she always thought about something.
At the distribution building, Jack looked at her, "You and Spot are going out tonight, right?"
"Yeah, he's gonna come and get me and we're going to go to Medda's, I think," Echo replied.
Jack looked at her more closely. When he'd first met her, she always went as Katie, her full name was Kaitlin, but just the same, she went as Katie. He'd given her the name Echo, although he never knew why. She didn't Echo anyone's words, the name just managed to fit her. But when he was mad, or worried about her, he used her real name, and often her full name, he was the only newsie who knew her given name, and she intended to keep it that way.
But when he'd first met her, she was a young, vibrant girl who had dirty blond hair and green eyes. She was incredibly healthy and looked pretty, sure she wasn't the prettiest girl alive, but she was pretty. Now when he looked at Echo, her skin was almost transparent, she was incredibly thin, so thin, her pants and shirt hung on her frame like they were three sizes too big and she'd found them in a dumpster, and her eyes didn't have the shine that once had him so intrigued. Instead they were dull, and many times bloodshot, but he never knew why. Any time he'd try to find out, she'd just say she wasn't feeling good, or that it was the lack of food. But when he thought about it, he hadn't remembered seeing her eat in weeks.
"You think you're going to Medda's?"
"I think, we might do something else. I mean, you have to give us a chance to get together and change our minds before one of our nights is set in stone!"
Jack laughed. She was right, almost every time they'd get together, the plan would be to go to Medda's, but half the time they would either roam the streets of Manhattan, sit in the Lodging House, or go to Brooklyn and you wouldn't see Echo until morning, or later.
Echo got up and bought her usual, 100 papes, and went off to see if she could make some money. The only problem was the fact that she felt slightly dizzy. But she had to have enough money to make rent, and she was sure she could make it through one day. It couldn't be that hard, could it?
She found herself a spot on a corner near a little market, she was hawking headlines as usual, but this time, her thoughts were on her dad, Christopher Miller. She'd grown up with him, he taught her to read and write, gave her values and morals to live from, and made sure she knew what an amazing person her mother was. Echo was always thankful for that, but for a few months after his death, she was angry at him for dying, for leaving her alone to fend for herself. But after time, the anger wore off, and then there was the time of fear and tears, when everything around her would remind her of her father and set her off and make her cry, and ever small thing that she felt she couldn't handle scared her half out of her mind. Life had been hell after he died, and for Echo, her life would probably be a living hell from then on out.
She sold her last paper and felt like she was going to pass out, she started straight back to the lodging house. Spot was going to meet her there anyway. She saw Jack when they were about one block away, and when she caught up with him, she felt even more dizzy than before, right as she passed out, Jack caught her, and picked up the frail body in his arms, not realizing how light she was until that very moment. He walked quickly back to the lodging house and got the door open. When Kloppman saw the girl lying in his arms, he helped Jack up the stairs, and they laid her down carefully.
"I'm going to call the doctor," Was all Kloppman said as he turned to go down the stairs. Jack sat down on the bunk next to Echo's and waited for news. When the other guys started congregating up in the bunkroom, Jack found Race and started towards him.
"Race, can you go and see if Spot's downstairs waiting for Echo, she got sick and I think he may want to come up here and see her. But I don't know if the two were meeting here."
"Sure Jack, but, is she real sick? I mean she hasn't looked too good the past few days."
"I don't know Race, Kloppman called the doctor, but he ain't here yet."
"All right Jack, I'll go check."
Race went down the stairs only to find Spot Conlon, leader of Brooklyn and Echo's boyfriend, walking in the door.
"Hey Spot," Race shouted, "Jack said that Echo got sick and you may want to come up and see her. He didn't say what she had though."
"She's sick," Spot said quizzically, with a hint of worry in his voice, "She's gonna be okay, right?"
"I don't know Spot, let's just go upstairs."
Spot nodded and followed Race up the stairs to go see Echo. Kloppman shook his head from his post behind the desk and knew that the doctor would be there soon.
When Jack saw Spot, he stood up and walked to Spot, "Hey let's go out into the hall for two minutes."
"Why Jack, I just want to go see her," Spot fought back, he just wanted to see his girl.
"Because Spot, I need to tell you something about what's going on with your girl," Jack told him, looking him in the eyes.
"Fine, but make it fast."
When the two stepped into the hall, Jack started talking, "Spot, I don't know exactly what's wrong with her, but she's really sick. I don't remember seeing her eat for maybe a few weeks. She's been pale, hell her skin's almost transparent! She's getting so thin Spot, we had to see this coming. But she's currently unconscious, she passed out when we were walking back here. So when you see her don't be surprised, she can't talk back to you or anything. She's out cold."
"I ain't no two year old Jacky-Boy, I knew she wouldn't be in good condition, I was half expecting her to be unconscious."
"Fine Spot, but I was just warning you."
In all reality, Spot hadn't expected her to be unconscious, so it scared him more. He walked into the Bunkroom and over to the bunk where she was laying. Most of the boys had already gone over to see her and see if she was okay. Crazer and Lyric were both standing up as Spot walked over.
The thin body was laying on the mattress, covered with a few sheets, her eyes were shut, but you could see her pale complexion no matter what. She looked almost like a ghost, and to Spot, she looked like she may die, "Jacky-Boy, tell me she ain't gonna die."
"I can't Spot, I'm sorry, but I can't."
Spot sat down next to the frail body. He gently pushed a few strands of her short hair away from her face. He leaned forward and gave her a slight peck on the cheek, "You're gonna be okay Echo, you're a fighter, you're gonna make it through."
Jack got the boys to all go and do their own thing, Race initiated a game of poker in one corner of the room, other guys went to talk, Crazer and Lyric and a few of the other girls went into their little area to discuss whatever girls would discuss. Leaving Spot and Jack next to the bunk they laid Echo on, normally it was where Specs slept, but at the moment, it didn't matter to anyone. A member of their family was sick, and no one knew what she had, which scared most of the newsies more than anything.
"Blink, can you go to Brooklyn and tell 'em that I probably ain't gonna be back tonight. Tell 'em that until I show up, Scars is in charge of them all. Make sure they know that they'll be in trouble if the goof off and cause problems," Spot asked, still staring at the lifeless looking Echo.
"Yeah, sure Spot," And Blink turned to go and tell the Brooklyn newsies what Spot had wanted them to know.
When Jack looked at Spot, he saw him hold back a tear. True, Echo wasn't dead yet, but Jack figured that as sick as she is, it could probably happen at any second. Jack prayed that the doctor would get there soon.
Spot held Echo's hand and stared down at her, hoping that she would be fine, memories flashed through his head, the time he met her and knew immediately that she was the one for him. One month after they'd met and he left her at the Lodging House, but before they parted, he left her with a kiss lingering on the lips and with a feeling he couldn't describe and the look of surprise on her face when the two pulled away. Always going to Tibby's for dinner, but never seeing her actually eat, claiming she'd ate a big lunch. It always confused Spot, but he never thought anything of it.
He'd never noticed how thin she was getting, how sick she'd been starting to look. Now he was scared he may never get to tell her how he felt about her, how much he loved her. He should have told her earlier, he should have said it to her the second he knew it was true. And now, if he never got the chance, he'd regret not saying it forever.
He bent down one more time to give her a slight kiss on the forehead when she started coming around. Spot smiled at the sight of her green eyes opening. But on her face, there was a look of confusion, fear, and other emotions showing on the young girl's face. She looked more like a scared six year old than a mature and beautiful sixteen year old.
"What, what happened to me?" Echo asked, looking up at Jack.
"You were on your way back here, to the Lodging House, when you collapsed, I caught you and carried you back here. Kloppman called the doctor, he'll be here any minute. You're gonna be fine."
Echo sighed, what if the doctor found out she wasn't eating, what if he told Kloppman and Kloppman told Jack, and Jack not only asked her about it, but he told Spot? How bad could this get?!
"I don't need a doctor, I'm fine! Jack go tell Kloppman that I'm awake and don't need a doctor. I'm fine," She stated standing up, but a wave of dizziness overcame her and she immediately sat down, trying to regain ability to see everything. She felt like she was going to throw up, but there was nothing to throw up, she hadn't eaten in three weeks.
Jack helped her lay back down and Spot had an evident look of concern in his face. She looked up into his blue eyes that she loved, "Spot, I'm fine, I swear."
"Then how do you explain that?! You try to get up but can't, and you have to sit back down? Just lay in that bed Echo and stay there until a doctor comes to see you," The voice that said it was harsh but caring, and he just wanted her to be okay.
At that moment, Kloppman walked upstairs with a doctor at his side, "Okay everybody, go downstairs. This is Dr. Witfeild and he's going to take a look at Echo."
Spot tried to resist, but Jack got him to go to the hall with him, but Spot wouldn't go farther. He would stay right outside of the door until that doctor walked out.
As Dr. Witfeild started with a normal physical, he was asking Echo many questions, "Echo, do you know your parents?"
"My mom died when I was born," She replied quietly, "My dad died from smallpox about six months ago. He didn't want me to get sick when he got it, so he sent me to live with a family friend. But when he died the friend put me out in the streets."
The doctor nodded and a few minutes later, "Echo have you been eating?"
"Kind of, I'm never really hungry, so I don't eat very much."
"You are incredibly underweight, you need to start eating more or you'll pass out like this all the time and eventually die from it. Okay, so you promise me you'll eat every day and I'll go, because that's the only thing wrong that I can find."
"I'll eat, Doctor," Good thing she could lie well, "I'll eat three meals a day, when I can afford it."
"I'll make sure she can Dr. Witfeild," Kloppman said standing up.
The doctor walked out and Kloppman followed and when he saw Jack standing with Spot, he looked at the boys.
"She's going to be fine, Jack I want to talk to you alone though."
Jack nodded and Spot went in to see her.
Jack asked the old man the question that had been expected, "What'd he say Mr. Kloppman?"
"Jack she's really underweight and she said that she's not been eating much because she's never hungry. Please watch her and make sure she eats. I don't want her passing out like this again. I'm going to go get a sandwich for her to eat. You can go see her if you want."
Jack went up as fast as he could, seeing as everyone else was up there. She was telling everyone that she was fine and the doctor just said she needed some rest.
"She needs rest, as does everyone else standing in this room, let's go it's almost lights out. Spot there's an empty bunk over there," Jack said pointing to one in the corner, "The top's free, you can sleep there," Spot nodded in understanding.
Jack then turned to Echo, who knew from the tone in his voice that he knew about her little problem, as she was positive he'd call it, "Come on, you and I are going downstairs to talk about something, I'll help you down, but we need to talk."
Echo sat up and Jack picked her up and carried her down while all the boys were getting ready for bed. They got some quizzical looks but both ignored them all. When they got downstairs, Jack placed echo on a chair and he sat down next to her.
"Kaitlin Marie Miller," That was the worst sign possible, "Why haven't you been eating? You sell a hundred papes a day, usually, if not more! Why won't you eat anything. I haven't seen you eat in weeks."
"I eat, just not around everyone," Echo couldn't believe he was doing this.
"Katie, I know you want to impress Spot, but you can't starve yourself. Have you looked in the mirror lately?"
Echo nodded, she had, and it wasn't pretty, but all she saw was a fat cow who needed to lose more weight, "I know Jack, but I think that all I have to do is be small enough, then I'm pretty and perfect enough for Spot, for everyone."
"Echo," Jack said, scooting in closer, "You scared the hell out of everyone today when they saw you unconscious in that bed. Spot was almost in tears. You gotta take care of yourself. Don't do this. You're pretty enough to Spot no matter how you look. He told me the day he met you that he liked you, a lot. Why do you wanna hurt yourself?"
"I didn't know that it would be this bad, Jack," Echo looked at him, she was about to cry, "I just thought that all guys liked small, petite girls. I thought that I was too big, too fat, that Spot didn't think I was pretty enough. I think I love him Jack, I think that he's the one."
Echo turned away from Jack as Kloppman brought out a sandwich for her to eat, "Here you go Echo."
"I'm not eating that."
"You're eating it, Katie, you're eating it," Jack told her as he took the plate from Kloppman.
"Jack, I...I can't. The one time I tried, It all came back up. I don't want to eat."
"We'll take it slowly, one step at a time, okay?"
Echo nodded, and one tear fell down her cheek. Jack reached up and wiped it away. It would be a long road to recover for Echo, but all the boys, especially him and Spot, would be there for her.
"When are you gonna tell Spot?"
"I don't know, I'd prefer not telling him."
"Echo," Jack looked at her green eyes, that, for once in the conversation, had a glimmer of hope in them, "You've got to tell him. He'll want to know. Please, I'll talk to him with you if you want."
"Okay, but Jack," She was going to say, don't bug me about it again, she was going to say that it really wasn't his business, she was going to say she could handle it on her own, but she knew she couldn't.
Jack looked at her, "What?"
"Thanks. You've been like a big brother to me since I met you. You were what I've needed when I cry at night because I miss my dad. Thanks Jack."
"It's not a problem Echo, it's not a problem," He looked at her as tears escaped from her green eyes. He carefully grabbed the frail body and held her in his arms.
Race heard the quiet sobs and he came down to see what was going on. When Kloppman saw Race, he put a finger to his mouth to keep him quiet. Race turned and saw Jack holding a sobbing Echo.
Race looked at Kloppman, "Is she okay?"
"Yeah, she'd gonna be fine. It'll take some time for her to fully recover, but she's gonna be just fine."
Race turned to go back upstairs when Jack heard him. He looked over at him, "Race, get Spot. Tell him that Echo needs to tell him something and he needs to get down here."
Race just nodded and went back up to the bunkroom. Jack kept comforting Echo, but he didn't know what to do to help her.
"Shhhh, Echo, everything's okay."
"Jack, how'd I get myself into this mess? How'd I manage to screw up this bad?"
"You didn't screw up, Echo. You made a mistake, everyone does. Everyone's gonna help ya get through this, and Spot will be more supporting than anyone of us."
"It's my fault. I can't believe this," Echo was talking to him in between the sobs, "Jack, please don't make me tell Spot."
"You've got to tell Spot, he needs to know that you're going to be okay, he needs to know why you fainted," As Jack was talking, he looked over and saw Spot walking down the stairs, he looked almost scared at the sight of his girl being held by Jack as she sobbed, and he wasn't scared because Jack was holding her, he was scared because she was sobbing.
"Echo, are you okay?"
She looked up, but didn't reply. She was scared to tell him what she had been doing to herself; scared to say that she thought she wasn't pretty enough for him. She didn't think he'd respect her once she told him that she thought that he didn't like her because she wasn't the skinniest girl around.
Jack nodded his head, urging her to tell him, so she did, "Spot, I haven't eaten in a few weeks."
There, she'd told him. He wouldn't ask questions, he'd just say that it was fine and go back to bed. But as much as she wanted her fantasy world to come true, she knew it wouldn't.
"Why not?"
Echo looked into his blue eyes and wanted to cry even more, "I didn't think I was pretty enough for you, I just thought that you might leave me to go for one of the smaller girls, someone prettier, someone like Lyric maybe."
"Echo, how could you think that? I, I love you Echo, not Lyric, not anyone else."
"Spot, how'd I get myself into this kind of mess? I thought that everyone thought that I wasn't pretty enough. Spot, I, I think I need help," She started crying again, and Jack was still holding her, but this time, Spot did most of the comforting.
"Echo, I'm gonna help you get through this, and so is everyone else. You're gonna be fine, and everything's okay," Spot was talking to her and rubbing her upper arm softly.
Jack and Spot sat with her for about an hour until she'd calmed down and fallen asleep. The next day was going to be difficult. They were going to help her through everything though. They won't let her go through it alone.
Jack carried her upstairs as quietly and carefully as he could with Spot following. They put her in an empty bunk in the girls room that was next to Lyric, they covered her up and they went into their own bunkroom, got into separate bunks and were asleep in minutes.
~*~*~*~
When Echo woke to the sounds of Kloppman yelling at everyone to get up, she looked at her surroundings, most of the girls were already up. Lyric and Crazer were looking at her with worried expressions.
"What happened to you last night?"
It was Lyric, "I just haven't been eating enough because I couldn't afford it. I'm fine and I'm going to get ready and go talk to Jack."
Lyric looked at Crazer, the tone in Echo's voice told both of them to get lost, she obviously didn't want to talk about whatever it was that had made her pass out yesterday. Echo stood up and noticed she was still fully clothed. So she left the girls' bunkroom to find the rest of the guys standing up and getting ready, which was a usual sight for when she first moved in, she had stayed in the same room as them.
Echo walked over to where Spot was standing, he was already dressed and she knew that he'd make her eat something, but for a few minutes, they could act like nothing happened yesterday. When Spot saw her, he took her into a hug and they eventually kissed, which got all the guys clapping and cheering for the two. Echo pulled away from Spot and looked at his blue eyes, the same eyes that forced her into telling him the truth last night.
"I'll meet you downstairs," She whispered to him as she turned to go talk to Jack.
When Jack saw her, he smiled, she was hopefully strong enough to make it through the day, but if she wasn't, he'd try to help her, "You feeling any better?"
"A little, but what if I try to eat something and it, ya know, comes back up? Jack, I don't want everyone to see me like that."
"We'll just get ya a little something from the nuns, just a biscuit." He looked at her and noticed that she was still incredibly pail, and probably still weak, "You gonna be okay today?"
"Yes Jack, I'm going to be okay."
He just shook his head, "Whatever you say, 'cause I know I'll never get you to listen to me, you're way too stubborn!"
She just laughed, turned and went to finish getting ready. When she was finally prepared to go sell and spend some time with her boyfriend and the rest of the guys, hopefully this time without having some serious problems with fainting. She had to be with someone the whole day, but she was fine with that. At least, she still had Spot, and if she didn't have him, heaven only knows where she'd go... what she'd do.
Echo looked into a mirror and pulled her hair out of her face and back in a clip. She ran over to Spot and stole his hat off of his head and placed it on her own. She then sat down and sighed, already low on energy. How would she be able to pay rent today. It wasn't going to happen. But in any instance, she had to try, she couldn't depend on the guys to take care of her, whether she was sick or not. It wasn't fair to any of them, they had to have money to pay for their stay too, they had to be able to buy newspapers for tomorrow so that they could continue survive in a world of cruelty and problems.
All of the guys started walking out of the door in a big mob, although Spot had already made it downstairs. Jack stopped to help her get off of the bunk, and he heard a small whisper from right next to him, "Thanks."
He smiled a little bit, "Not a problem Echo, you can always come to me."
Echo slowly took his hand and he yanked her up off of the bunk. She then laughed a little bit and walked with him downstairs, still tired, and still a little bit dizzy, which scared her. But she refused to tell him that she was feeling like that again, then she saw Spot, "Hey, Brooklyn!"
"What?!"
"You gonna sell with me? I mean, I know, I know ya don't wanna, but, please?"
He was amazed that she was asking him to sell with her in front of all the guys, that wasn't her style. But still, he wouldn't say no, "Sure, c'mon."
She ran up to him, thankfully she had someone to sell with in case something happened, in case anything happened. So much could, and she hated herself for everything that she'd put herself through, what she'd put everyone else through, "Thanks, Spot."
"Not a problem," Was his reply, short and simple. Then, the two went on their way, side by side, to sell their newspapers and deal with their lives.