Chapter Two
The afternoon sun shone brightly over New York, long since drying the rain from the night before. Raindrop and Spot sat near the top of the fire escape behind the Manhattan Lodging House. Spot took Raindrop's hand and laced his fingers between hers.
"Raindrop," he said, "Ya avoided it da foist time I ast ya, so I'se gonna ast ya again. How are ya?" Raindrop sighed.
"Spot, I don' wanna tawk about it," she said, the sick feeling in her gut growing. It was always there, just like the conscious knowledge was always there; that her parents and brother were dead, and that her brother had intended to kill her. Thinking about it made the feelings swell. Spot ran his fingers through his hair.
"Raindrop, I know it's 'ard. Ya gotta let it out." Raindrop looked at him after that comment.
"Ya killed him. Ya killed Jonathon. Ya moidered yer goil's bruddah. How do you deal wit dat?" Spot looked at her in surprise, trying to figure out how to answer her accusation.
"I 'ad ta," he said, "I didn' want ta, but it was yu 'r 'im." Raindrop didn't accept his answer.
"I didn' ask ya why, I ast ya how ya deal wit it. I know bloody why ya did it. 'e desoived it." Spot nodded slowly. He thought hard for awhile.
"Yu," he said, "I ain't proud ah what I did, but I know dat if I 'adn't yu woulda died. An' everytime I see ya I know dat even dough I feel guilty about it, I'd do it ten times over again if I had ta, even if I knew I'd be toimented by guilt fer da rest o' me life."
"So," Raindrop whispered, looking at him hard, "It's okay ta…ta be glad ya killed 'im?" Spot looked at her in surprise, and nodded after a moment.
"Aftah what 'e did ta you'se der ain't nuttin' 'e don' desoive." He moved closer to her, and she wrapped her arms around him. "Don' woiry, Ya don' have ta feel guilty 'bout nuthin'." Raindrop lifted her head and nodded.
"Awright."
"Der anyt'in' else bodderin' ya?" Spot asked. She shook her head.
"No."
That night when the newsies went to Tibby's for dinner, Raindrop and Spot sat in a corner booth by themselves, oblivious to the ruckus