Truth

David rose early and ate a quick breakfast, his mind constantly on the clock that ticked upon the family's mantlepiece. Les had become so used to David rejecting his offers of selling together that he didn't bother asking, and Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs both assumed that David got ready in haste because of work. Which was partially true, and David reminded himself that they would only worry about him if they discovered his acquaintance with Jenny. What decent parents would want their son seeing a girl who sold herself, after all? David pulled on his cap and jacket, then proceeded to lace up his boots, when a voice said his name.

"David?"

David looked up from his boots to find Sarah standing nearby, looking apologetic. "I don't mean to delay you," Sarah said quickly. "I just wanted to ask you, is everything all right with Jack?"

"I've never known Jack to be anything other than all right," said David.

"Well he's been very attentive for the last several days, coming to see me and taking me out, you know. But yesterday he said he couldn't see me later that night, and he wouldn't explain why. Does that sound strange to you?"

"No, it sounds like Jack."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

David finished lacing up his boots and chose his words carefully. "It means that Jack doesn't feel the need to explain himself the way most people do." It also meant that Jack kept the truth to himself, whether it was right or wrong, but David couldn't tell that to Sarah. She admired Jack too much to see past his charming exterior and into the carefree liar within.

"So you think everything is all right?" asked Sarah.

"Try talking to him again," said David. "Maybe he'll take you out tonight, or come eat with the family. Now I've got to go."

He left the apartment and couldn't bring himself to worry about Jack the way Sarah clearly did. He hadn't forgotten what Spot had told him about Jack talking to Jenny, and he hadn't forgotten how Jack had lied to him when questioned about it, but those memories were at the back of David's mind and no longer bothered him. He had more important things to worry about, like his increasingly complicated relationship with Jenny, which he only kept secret out of necessity. David was too practical to pretend that he and Jenny could properly be together, and he knew the day would come when he would have to decide what he should do about her, but he wasn't ready to make that decision. For the time being David just wanted to see her whenever he could, even if it was only for a few minutes at a time, and he wanted to make her feel like she deserved better than the life she lived.

The distribution center wouldn't open for another forty-five minutes, giving David enough time to meet Jenny before he had to start selling. They had already agreed to meet at one of their usual spots, about a block away from Mrs. Johnson's house, and David headed in that direction knowing it was too early for any of his fellow newsies to run into him. It was funny how not long ago, before the strike, David would have been horrified at the very thought of a girl like Jenny, and now he woke up every morning eager to see her.

He supposed his morals weren't so rigid after all, and it didn't worry him as much as it used to. Every time he was with Jenny he was happy, and most importantly Jenny was happy as well. It took David this long to realize that buying her breakfast was one of the best things he had ever done.

Jenny hadn't arrived yet when David reached their meeting spot and he stood on the street corner, eyes open and alert for a glimpse of her face. He still felt awkward in situations like these, though he had become significantly less awkward when it came to kissing girls, thanks to the practice he had gotten over the last several days.

The minutes ticked by and David waited for the familiar sight of Jenny's blonde hair, but she didn't appear. It was strange; she was usually on time like clockwork and had seemed perfectly willing to meet him when they made the arrangements. The minutes wore on, and David began to feel rather foolish standing around waiting for a girl who clearly wasn't going to show up, when he should have been heading to the distribution center instead.

But if Jenny was sick or something had happened to her, he ought to find her, shouldn't he?

David hesitated for a few moments longer, then sighed and headed to Mrs. Johnson's house. If he was lucky he would run into Jenny on the way there, and if he was unlucky, well... David wasn't going to think about those possibilities. He didn't believe in luck anyway.

He couldn't help but glance into the alleys he passed by, just in case Jenny had gotten mixed up in one of those horrible stories David read about in the papers he sold. He was filled with overwhelming relief each time he saw only stray dogs and homeless people, for reading about horror stories was nothing like actually seeing them. David wasn't like some of the other fellows he knew. He wasn't a street boy with experience in handling serious danger, and he walked a bit faster as he drew closer to Mrs. Johnson's house. Perhaps Jenny had merely overslept and forgot that she was supposed to meet him that morning.

He slipped through the front door of the house as quietly as possible and made his way towards the staircase. He thought he saw a girl heading into the parlor and figured she was probably a servant, or at least he hoped that was the case, and walked up the stairs towards Jenny's room. It was risky of him to visit her like this, but he had to make sure that Jenny was all right and knocked softly upon her door so he wouldn't alert the other girls.

No answer. David knocked again, a little harder this time.

Still no answer.

David figured that it couldn't hurt to peek into her room really quick, just to make sure that nothing was wrong, and he gently pushed the door open. The room was so small that he immediately spotted the figure upon the bed, apparently asleep beneath the blankets, and he was about to retreat and let Jenny have her rest when he noticed something else.

A cowboy hat lay upon the floor, just a couple of feet from the bed.

A cowboy hat and a red bandana, the same hat and bandana David saw every single day upon the person of Jack Kelly.

David felt suddenly lightheaded and at first he couldn't move, frozen stiff by the dread that crept into his heart, but at last he entered the room and shut the door behind him. It was sick curiosity that drove him to walk across the tiny room, stepping around the telltale hat and bandana until he had reached the side of the bed, and his fears were confirmed when he saw Jack sleeping on Jenny's sheets, his head buried in Jenny's pillow. All the lies that David had decided to overlook came to the forefront of his mind and he stared down at Jack, knowing that his friend had betrayed him again.

"So you don't know Jenny," David said, loud enough to wake Jack. "Nothing's happened between you two. Of course."

Jack opened his eyes and looked groggily up at David. "Wha— Davey? Wha's happenin'?"

"Why did you keep lying to me, Jack? How long has this been going on?"

Jack groaned and rubbed at his eyes, clearly not a morning person, and David hated the sight of him in Jenny's bed more than he had ever hated anything before. That time during the strike, when Jack appeared all dressed up in that nice suit Pulitzer gave him, was nothing compared to the sight in front of David's eyes.

"What are you doin' here?" Jack murmured. "Where the hell am I— Oh." He finally took in his surroundings and sat up in bed, keeping the blankets clutched to his chest, and shook off his remaining drowsiness. "Davey, if you're gonna interrogate a fella, at least let him get dressed first, will ya?"

"You're making jokes at a time like this?" David demanded. "You've been lying to me all this time. All those times you kept asking about Jenny, you just wanted to cover up for what you've been doing, haven't you? And what about Sarah? What about my sister, Jack? I bet you never considered how I would feel, or how Sarah would feel, or even how Jenny would feel about your selfishness. You don't care about anyone or anything but yourself, do you?"

David couldn't stop. Once he started talking, the words came pouring out in an angry torrent and Jack just watched him from the bed, his face unreadable as he listened to David list all of his sins.

"Yeah, you're right," said Jack. "And I ain't got an excuse for what I did, but I did it all the same. There ain't no goin' back."

"How could you do this to Sarah?" David asked. "I should have never let you have anything to do with her. I should have known you would be trouble."

"You ain't much of a saint yourself," Jack shot back. "You're always walkin' around, actin' like you're so perfect and pure, but here you are in a brothel, Davey. Ya do know what a brothel is, don'tcha?"

"Yeah, I know what it is. And Jenny deserves better than people like you coming in and using her."

"Why don'tcha wake up already? Jenny ain't your girl and she ain't never gonna be your girl, no matter how nice you is to her. She's a whore."

"She's just doing what she has to do to survive, Jack."

"Yeah, and she kept secrets from ya in order to do that."

For the first time since the strike, David had a strong urge to lose control and hit Jack. He wanted to drive his fist right into Jack's lying, carefree, treacherous face, just to show him that he wouldn't stand by and tolerate his behavior. "That doesn't matter," he said, forcing himself to have control. "Why did it have to be her, Jack? Out of all the girls in this city, why did you go to Jenny?"

"What, are ya jealous or somethin'?" asked Jack. "Why don'tcha ask that to all the other fellas who've paid Jenny to be with 'em? You're real smart, Davey, and a smart guy like you oughtta know better than to get too attached to a girl like her anyway."

"I never said I was attached," said David.

"Yeah, but it's written all over your face. Stop the presses, everybody; David Jacobs has fallen for a whore!"

David nearly did hit him, but he was stopped when the door opened up and Jenny herself appeared, her hair wet from the bath. "What's all this— David?" She took in the sight of Jack sitting up in bed with David standing before him, wearing a scowl, and for the first time since David had known her she looked completely lost.

"I waited for you," said David. He felt a strange sadness settle over him, taking the place of his anger.

"Well I'm here now," said Jenny. "This ain't the way I wanted to meet, but—"

"I don't want to talk to you anymore," David cut in. "I'm off to work."

"Oh, Davey, don't be like that," Jenny pleaded as David headed for the door. "You know what I do for a livin'."

"Yeah, but you never told me you were spending your nights with him." David pointed at Jack, who remained silent during their exchange, probably too groggy to contribute.

"Well ya never asked," said Jenny. "And I never bothered mentioning him 'cause Jack don't mean nothin' to me, Davey! Can't we forget about this and carry on like usual?"

"I'm not in the mood."

David moved past Jenny and strode out into the hall, not even caring that a girl from two doors over could see him. If the whole entire brothel saw him he wouldn't care, he was in such a state, and David was glad to get outside and away from the house's poisonous atmosphere. It was true that he had never asked Jenny a single question about Jack, but he didn't think he needed to and never imagined that he would walk into her room and find Jack sleeping in her bed.

He hated being kept in the dark when it came to the truth. He hated it when Jack lied to him about who he was, he hated it when Jack lied to him about Jenny, and he hated the fact that Jack was exactly right. He was attached to Jenny and he tried his best to ignore her profession, but it was suddenly right in his face and the sight of Jack was a wake-up call. He should have never allowed himself to get involved with Jenny in the first place.

Perhaps if he walked extra fast, he could still make it to the distribution center before they ran out of papers. David wanted nothing more than to work himself for hours on end, in hopes of forgetting everything that had happened that morning.

And if he never saw Jack or Jenny again, then that would be just fine.