January 1901

The Newsboy Lodgehouse towered above me. I could see one light shining from the top floor. The rest of the windows were dark. I doubted that anyone would be awake since it was so late, but I didn't have anywhere else to go. Jack and Katherine were at a show, and Andrew was. . . .

The wind started to pick up, and I hugged my jacket closer. Knowing I should go inside out of the cold, I opened the door quietly. The room was cast in shadows, the only light coming from a dim desk lamp beside the door. I shut the door behind me, pushing hard against the wind.

"Celia, is that you? What are you doing here?" someone exclaimed from the staircase in front of me.

I could just barely see Mush, Race, and Albert lounging across the stairs. "Um, I thought I would come visit you on my way home from the theater," I answered quickly, trying to add excitement to the tone of my voice.

"It's past midnight, and you live fifteen blocks in the other direction. Did you and Andrew have another fight?" Albert asked bluntly.

Before I could give an answer, Mush turned on the wall light, his arms long enough to reach it. The moment light flooded the lobby, gasps escaped from the boys' mouths.

I knew I was a mess. My eyes were puffy and red from crying as well as the cold air, and there had to be bruises forming on my cheek and around my eye.

The trio jumped off the stairs and crowded around me.

"Celia, what happened?" Race inquired quietly, touching the bruises gently.

"Did he hit you?" Mush sounded angry, his hands clenched into fists.

I searched for a way to answer him, but no words came out.

"DID HE HIT YOU?" Mush yelled, causing me to jump and take a step back away from him.

Albert noticed my reaction and shoved Mush away. "Go get an ice pack for her," he told Mush, who instantly started to argue, "Maybe you need some too. Go cool down."

Mush stormed off into the darkness.

I stood in my place awkwardly, staring at the ground.

"It's okay, Celia. You don't have to talk about it till you're ready," Race said with a tender smile.

"Have you eaten?" Albert asked.

My stomach growled loudly, and the three of us laughed.

"I'm taking that as a no. I think I can find something for ya."

"Albert, we don't got any food here," Race reminded him.

Albert's cheeks turned pink. "I might have hidden some things here and there for myself," he blurted out. He ran over to the front desk and pulled half a loaf of bread from a drawer.

My stomach growled again.

"Well, come and get it!" Albert called playfully.

I took two pieces with a thank you.

Race stared at Albert while he hid the bread back in its spot. "How long have you been hoarding food?" he asked.

Albert crossed his arms with a smirk. "I'm not going to tell you!"

We sat down on the staircase. Mush came in soon after I had finished eating with a bag of melting icicles he must have gotten from outside. He handed them to me, looking thankfully a lot calmer than before.

I finally decided to tell them what had happened. After all, these guys were my family.

"Andrew's friends though it would be funny to take him out and get him drunk. When I got home after the show, he was passed out on the sofa. I went into the kitchen to get my meal, but accidentally dropped a plate while removing it from the cabinet. Andrew stumbled in right as it shattered on the tile floor. He started to yell and before I knew it, he had swung. I left the apartment immediately, but that didn't stop him from screaming profanities. It continued the entire way out the front door of the building. I was going to go to Jack and Katherine's, but I remembered about how they were going to a show and came here instead."

The boys were silent for a few moments.

"He's never done this before, right?" Race asked.

I nodded. "This was the first time. He's has been acting weird lately. He'll stay out all night at work or get up way before dawn to leave. I wish Jack hadn't gotten him that job."

"It's a busy time of year. Remember that's what Jack said," Albert added me.

Jack had been able to acquire a job for Andrew alongside him at The World not long after the strike. Jack had been working late hours as well, but not like Andrew had.

Suddenly, the front door burst open. A bundled up Katherine stepped in and forcefully shut the door behind her.

"Katherine," I said in surprise.

She took off her hat, causing her auburn curls to fall down over her shoulders. "Is Jack here?" she asked.

I turned to Race, who shook his head.

"Nope. He ain't here."

Katherine groaned and yanked her hat back on.

"I thought you went to a show together. Did you lose him on the way home?" Mush laughed, but Katherine's glare shut him up.

"I didn't lose him. He's gone," she told us.

"Gone?" I asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"He came home from work with a high fever. I sent him straight to bed, but I still had to go review the show and thought that since he was sleeping he would be fine. When I got home a little while, I checked in on him. He was gone. The bedding had been thrown off the mattress, and the window was wide open. There wasn't a big amount of snow inside so I'm guessing he hasn't been away long."

"Do you know where he could have gone?" Race asked.

"No. I tried looking for footprints, but the snow's covered up any tracks. I have to find him soon. The temperature feels like it's dropping every minute," Katherine said struggling to open the door again.

"Wait!" I called.

She paused.

"We'll help you look."

She nodded, letting her hand drop from the door handle. Albert hurried upstairs to find anybody else that was awake and could help. He came down with Henry, Finch, Buttons, and Romeo. We split into groups and decided that each group simply checks their area and returns back. Bundling up against the cold, we left all at once. The snow was falling in thick flakes and coated my hair in seconds.

Race, Katherine, and I had the distribution square.

"Let's do this quickly. It's freezing out here," Race muttered with a shiver.

We walked to the square, our footprints leaving deep tracks in the snow behind us. Once we were there splitting up seemed like the best option. The snow was now falling so thickly that we could barely see our surroundings even though Race and I had been here thousands of times. With a promise to yell loudly if anything was found, I went off to the left. I tried to star near the streetlamps. The wind howled around me as I searched, tearing at my clothes and hair. I paused in front of The World distribution office, a flash of memories coming back.

"Celia?" A voice asked in my ear.

I screamed and jumped in surprise. Slipping on a patch of ice, I fell back onto my bum and looked up to see who had scared me.

Jack stood a few feet away, doubled over with laughter. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," he gasped between bouts of laughter.

"Jack!" I got up and hugged him, and he felt like an ice block. I put my hand on his forehead. "Your fever's broken."

"Falling into a snowbank can do that to a person." Jack laughed. He suddenly hugged me again. "I'm glad you're okay, Celia."

The bruises on my face must have blended in with the redness caused from the cold air.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked innocently, stepping back.

"Under the influence of the fever, I thought you were still in The Refuge."

I noticed tears in his eyes. "Hey, I'm not there anymore."

"I know, but I'm sorry. It's my fault that you went in there. I couldn't save you when the Delanceys-" He broke off, letting out a shaky breath.

I grabbed hold of his hand and made him look at me. "You did save me! If you had given up on the strike, me and countless others would still be trapped in that hellhole. I might be even dead if you had."

"But-" I shushed him.

"No. You saved me, Jack. End of story, okay?" I gave him one quick hug. "Let's get out of the storm."

He smiled. "That's fine with me. I'm freezing!"

"You did fall in a snowbank!" I laughed.

"Oh yeah."