The walk to Brooklyn was long, but it gave me time to think. Time to think about the choices I've made over the past few months, and time to think about the boy whose heart I just broke.

The Brooklyn boys were not asleep like those in Manhattan. No, they were wide awake and celebrating. I could hear their shouting from the end of the dock. It made me smile at how carefree some people could be, while others carried the weight of the world on their shoulders.

"Well… what do we have here?" A boy, about 6' asked. Before I knew it, I had about four or five boys surrounding me. "Excuse you." I said, trying to push past the boys. They didn't budge. "Now, what's a pretty lady like you doing in these parts at this time of night?" The tall one asked.

I huffed and crossed my arms. "I am here to see Spot." I said. The boys chuckled. "Never knew Spot had a soft side of rich girls." The tall boy said. I rolled my eyes. "I will make this very clear. I am not like, I do not sell my body. I also have connections in very high places, and if you don't want to find yourself in the newly reopened refuge, I suggest you let me pass." I threatened.

The boy looked at me, his eyes dark and narrow. "Let her by." The booming voice of Spot said. The boys all turned around to look at their leader. "I said, let her by Snipeshooter." Spot said again, his voice low.

The boys backed off, and I stuck my tongue out at them as I walked by. "Why I outta." The tall one, Snipeshooter, said. "You oughta do nothing. Leave us." Spot said. The five boys dispersed and walked back to all the excitement.

"So, to what do I owe this pleasure of a visit from the beautiful Adeline Hearst?" Spot asked. I looked at him. The shock of my name had come and gone. "You know too?" I asked. The blonde boy chuckled. "I don't think there isn't a Manhattan newsie that doesn't know you're the daughter to William Randolph Hearst." He says.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry to show up unannounced and uninvited, but I need someone to talk to." I say. The Brooklyn leader looked at me with curious eyes. "I would've gone to Amanda or Bill, but they wouldn't understand. Crutchie's out of the question, I haven't spoken to Katherine since Amanda's "Funeral". You're the only person I could go to." I explain as the two of us walk to the Brooklyn lodging house.

Spot didn't say anything. "I can understand if you don't want to hear my rich girl problems, but I don't know where else to turn." I say to him.

The Brooklyn leader looked at me with soft blue eyes. "You know my biggest secret and haven't told anybody, I'm here to talk." He says. I smiled softly and the two of us sit on his bed.

"I made a deal with mother to be allowed back into the family. I can't have any contact with Katherine or the newsies, and I can't talk to my siblings. I have to do everything my mother says, and I am all but arranged in a marriage to a guy that I have never met and don't love, and I broke the heart of the guy who loves me and I love him. I don't even know who I am anymore."

There was a look of sympathy in his eyes. He didn't say anything.

I felt the tears build up in my eyes. "Tell me what to do."

Spot rubbed circles on my back, and brushed the tears away. "Why are you subjecting yourself to this kind of mental abuse?" He asks softly. I sighed and felt more tears fall. "When I first came back, Gianna, my sister, was so broken over the fact that her sisters had been exiled from the family. She had noone to talk to or comfort her. I can't let her go through that again if I defy my mother." I tell him.

In the silence, I took a moment to look at the Brooklyn lodging house. It was very similar to the Manhattan lodging house. The bed were lined up against the wall, the window was on the far wall. The bathroom connected with the bedroom, and the smell of old soap and cheap cologne filled my nose.

Spot broke the silence. "How do you think Gianna would react if you gave her the chance to escape with you?" He asks.

I looked at him, curiosity in my eyes. "What are you proposing?" I ask. There was a mischievous glint in his blue eyes. "What if you and Gianna ran away? That way, you can finally be free from your mother controlling reigns, and you won't be leaving Gianna alone with her."

I smiled at him. "Spot Conlon, you are a genius." I say.

The boy smiled at me. "That is one thing I have never been called before." He says. I chuckled. Then it dawn on me. "There's only one flaw in your plan." I tell him. He looked at me. "What?"

"We can't go to Manhattan. That would be too easy for my mother to find us." I tell him. Spot thought for a minute before his eyes lit up. "Come here." He said.

The shock of what he just said, rendered me speechless. Brooklyn? He wants my sister and I to come to Brooklyn? With tall boys who would grope us with any chance they were given? The Brooklyn that was famous for brawling newsies? Spot Conlon was off his rocker.

"You want my sister and I to come to Brooklyn?" I asked, unsure of what I had just heard. The brooklyn boy looked at me. "It's the safest option. Manhattan would be to obvious. Tell me, would your mother step foot in brooklyn?" He asked.

My eyes widened and a smile found it's way onto my face. "No." I say. Spot chuckled. "Brooklyn is the safest option. We can easily get you names so you won't be discovered, and I have connections. I can protect you and your sister." Spot said.

I felt tears come to my eyes at his words. Never would I have imagined that the most feared and respected newsies in all of New York would be offering my sister and I protection and a place to escape to.

"Is this the side of Spot Conlon that nobody gets to see?" I ask. The blue eyed boy looked at me. He smiled softly. "This is the Sean Conlon that hasn't been seen in almost eleven years and the boy that only Race sees." He tells me.

I smile softly at him. "Thank you. I owe you one." I say, kissing his cheek. The boy smiled at me. "Bring your sister here tomorrow night, and I should have everything ready. Don't throw this away Adeline." He told me. I nodded, and took off into the night.

I was getting out of hell.