Chapter 3:
Rae paced the floor of her room. She had been pacing for an hour, but she was still full of energy. She heard Spot telling the twins that it was bedtime and she started for the door to help them get ready, but stopped. Let Spot deal with them and then she'd have another talk with Spot once they were in bed.
"Night Mr. Spot!" Ann and Andy called. They knocked on Rae's door. "Night Miss Rae!"
She opened the door and placed a kiss on each of their foreheads. "Good night!" she said, trying to sound cheerful. They took turns giving her a hug and Andy headed off to his room and Ann to Spot's. While Spot went to settle them in their beds, Rae slipped downstairs to the parlor and picked up the pieces of the first dress that she was making for Ann.
A few moments later, Spot returned. Seeing Rae across the room, he frowned, hesitated, and then entered, making it clear that he was still angry.
She sighed. "Spot..." she said softly.
"What?" he replied stiffly.
"We need to try to get along, at least for the sake of Ann and Andy." she said, not looking at him.
"I reckon you're right," he replied, also not looking at her.
"Spot...I'm sorry." she said, softly, so softly that he almost couldn't hear it,
He chewed on his lip and contemplated her apology for a long pause. "I guess... I guess I should be sorry too..."
She looked up and caught his eye, a slight smile on her lips.
"What? Is there something on my face?" he asked, forgetting the fact that yes, there WAS something on his face- a web of scars.
She gasped slightly and bit her lower lip. "Spot...I..."
He arched a brow. "What?"
She laughed. "I don't know."
"No! What?! I wanna know!" he demanded, feeling like he was left out of some great secret.
"You asked if there was something on your face....and...umm...."
It dawned on him and he shook his head with a smirk. "Well... you WERE staring at me."
"I'm sorry...it won't happen again." she said.
He smirked. "Better not."
"So what did you men do while we were gone this morning?" she asked, trying to cover to unusual feeling in her stomach.
"Just tossed around an old ball we found.... oh yeah, and we explored the house a bit too. There's an attic above the third floor."
"Find anything interesting in the attic?"
"The ball." He grinned. Rae rolled her eyes. "Just a few trunks and stuff. Old furniture, a couple ugly paintings."
"Anything that we could use?"
He shrugged, picking at his fingernail. "We didn't look much. Once Andy found the ball, that was all he wanted to do."
"Maybe we can go explore it some more, once we get this house cleaned." she said, making a face.
Spot made a similar face. "That's one thing I ain't looking forward to."
"Where should we start tomorrow. If we work together it shouldn't be that bad."
He shrugged. "In here maybe?" He gestured around the parlor. It would probably be the simplest room to clean.
She nodded. "I noticed that there was a smaller parlor near the back of the house. We don't need two parlors, so why don't we clean the other one out and make it into a playroom for the twins?" she was starting to get real uneasy now.
Spot shrugged. "Sounds okay... I guess we're kind of adopting them now, aren't we?"
"I just can't see us sending them to an orphanage. We have all this room and all that money..."
Spot nodded after a moment. "Yes, I suppose you're right. I wonder... how DID they end up here?"
"No one in town seemed to recognize Ann, so maybe they aren't from around here."
"You think we ought to ask them?"
"We can try. It just seems odd that two small children would be here in a place that has been so obviously abandoned for several years."
"Well, it's pretty odd that we are here too," he pointed out.
"I wish I knew the mystery behind this place. It's almost too good to be true."
Spot nodded and glanced around. Maybe it WAS. Who knew whether or not the house's original owners were just traveling abroad for a few years and would come back to find a quartet of street kids living within.
Rae sighed. "I keep thinking this is all a dream. And that I'm going to wake up in my bunk back in Brooklyn."
"Wouldn't that be nice." It was a statement, not a question. And a very wistful statement at that. Spot sighed and shrugged.
Rae bit her lower lip. "So what happened anyway? All we knew was that you had disappeared."
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Do we have to talk about this NOW?"
"No." Rae whispered softly, looking down at her sewing.
"Well I... I didn't mean to upset you but..." He sighed and closed his eyes. "I had another job. One I worked after selling papers."
"You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to." she whispered.
"Well... I have to tell about it sometime... And I guess you deserve to know as well as anyone." He paused for a long time. "I started working at this new factory in town because I wasn't doing so hot selling papers anymore."
"Why didn't you tell anyone?"
Spot looked at her, confused. "Why didn't I what?"
"Why didn't you tell anyone that you weren't selling so well? Or that you had gotten another job?" She asked.
He gave her a look. "You think I want all of Brooklyn to know that Spot Conlon can't sell papers anymore? Or that he has to rely on another job to get by?"
"I didn't mean that you had to tell all of Brooklyn." she said, defensively.
"If I told anyone at the lodging house, all of Brooklyn would soon find out."
Rae snorted and glared at him.
He sighed in frustration. "Well, I didn't mean YOU necessarily! Just... a lot of others."
"So how...what...how?" Rae asked, looking down at her sewing.
"This?" He pointed to his scarred face.
She nodded slowly, not looking up.
"This new factory stayed open all the time, running three shifts. They had children working all three shifts. Because I was the leader of the newsies the owners decided to hire me as a shift supervisor." he said.
Rae nodded and smiled a bit. "Of course. The leader of something. You like being in charge, don't you?"
He nodded. "We got behind on our production, so the owners ordered that we turn up the pace of the machines. The problem is that those machines were already going as fast as they were supposed to go."
She clucked her tongue. "That's why I hate them. Factories... all of them..." She blushed a bit when he looked a little annoyed at being interrupted and gestured to him abruptly. "Go on."
"I knew something was wrong and decided to get my kids out of there. I turned around at the door to make sure they were all out when the machines exploded."
Rae's hand lifted to her mouth as she gasped. "Oh my gosh..."
"I'm not even sure how long I was out. I woke up in the hospital and stayed until they let me leave. The doctor's said I was lucky. My face wasn't the worst of it."
Rae looked at him skeptically.
He unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt and began to roll up his sleeves. Rae realized for the first time that he had been wearing long-sleeved shirts since she had found him that night in Brooklyn. Spot rarely wore long-sleeved shirts. Once he had rolled the sleeves up to his elbows he held his arms out toward Rae, palms up.
She gasped again, gently taking his arm and looking at the long, ugly scars that tore up his arm. She didn't want to look at them, but her eyes were glued. The pink puffy skin looked so mean and so violent...
Spot was shocked when Rae fainted. Gently lifting her into his arms, he placed her on the couch and ran into the kitchen to get a wet rag. Maybe it was all too much to tell her about it and show her the gruesome scars. He never knew Rae to be weak, but some things affected people differently. 'At least she didn't throw up,' he thought wryly.
He quickly returned to the parlor with a wet rag and a glass of water. He knelt next to her and placed the wet rag on her forehead.
After a few moments, Rae awoke with a start. "Wha.. what?"
Spot smiled faintly. "You silly girl."
"What happened?" she asked.
"You fainted."
"Oh." she whispered.
He put his hand behind her head and gently lifted her head. "Here, drink some of this." he said, helping her drink some of the water.
She gagged a bit and took the glass from him carefully. "Let me do it before you drown me," she teased quietly.
"I'm sorry." he said. "I guess I shouldn't have shown you the scars."
She shrugged. "You wouldn't have known.... But .... oh Spot.... I can't even begin to imagine how awful that was..."
"Yeah." he muttered standing. "You should get to bed."
Rae looked at him uncertainly. "I didn't mean anything by that..."
"I know." he said with a slight nod. "Think you can make it upstairs by yourself?"
She nodded. "I'll be fine."
"See you in the morning then." he said, leaving the room.
Casting an uncertain glance after him, she slowly climbed the steps to her room. As she climbed into her bed she thought about what Spot had told her. Why hadn't he sent word to them that he was hurt? Even if he hadn't sent word to everyone, he could have at least told her.
She frowned deeply. Of course. Him and his leader pride. She shook her head.
Downstairs, Spot sat at the dining room table, tapping his own glass of water that he had just gotten himself, staring at the wall blankly. Rae had FAINTED... because of his ghastly scars. He scowled and took a long gulp. She couldn't help it. It just happened. But that just enforced on him just how beastly he looked.
He downed the water in one gulp and threw the glass against the wall, shattering it.
* * *
Rae woke up early the next morning and drowsily headed downstairs for something to drink. As she passed through the dining room, she caught sight of a glittering on the floor in the morning light that spilled through the window. Cautiously, she crossed the floor, frowned, and knelt, picking up the shards of glass.
"I'll do that." Spot said from behind her, scaring her and causing her to cut her hand on the glass.
She hissed and put the cut to her mouth. "Don't sneak up on a person!"
"I'm sorry." he said kneeling beside her. "Let me see." he said, pulling her hand from her mouth.
She glanced at him fleetingly. "Did you do that?" She jerked her head towards the pile of glass.
"Yeah." he muttered, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapping it around her hand.
"Thanks," she murmured when he tied off the knot. "Why?"
"If you can throw plates into the sink I can throw a glass against the wall." he said, standing to his feet.
She fought to keep herself from snapping back at him, opting not to say anything. Sitting down, she began to pick up the glass pieces. With a sigh she leaned her head against the wall for a moment. What had gotten into him?
Spot frowned. "I said I'd get it."
"I know." she whispered as she stood, the shards of glass in her hand.
"So let me do it."
"I've got it." she argued as she headed toward the kitchen to throw away the glass.
With a grunt of frustration, Spot scuffed his foot on the floor and stormed from the room.
Rae wanted to scream. What was his problem? Just then Ann walked into the room. "Good morning, sweetheart!" Rae said cheerfully to hide her true mood.
Ann stifled a yawn and waved. "Hi Miss Rae.
"Are ya hungry?" Rae asked, stooping to the little girl's level
"Yes. Very."
Rae smiled at the girl and lifted her onto one of the stools. "What happened to your hand?" Ann asked.
Rae glanced at it. "Oh, I just cut it, that's all."
"On what?" Ann asked. Rae muttered something under her breath about nosy four-year-olds.
"On some glass. Spot dropped a cup and I was helping him clean it up."
"Ok."
* * *
It was cleaning day. Spot had insisted the work be divided by rooms... just some time he could spend alone. So there he was, alone, in the study, cleaning the dirty windows. The door creaked open behind him.
"Mr. Spot?" Andy inquired.
"What Andy?" he asked, trying to cover his irritation.
"Did you need any help?" He held up a bucket of water. "I finished what I was supposed to, and Ann is helping Miss Rae."
"Nope." Spot said. "Why don't you go ask Miss Rae to give you another job."
"You could give me one, couldn't ya Mr. Spot? I wanna help you."
"I don't need any help, Andy." Spot said, his irritation beginning to show through his voice.
"But I-"
"I said I don't need any help, Andy!" he snapped.
"But..."
"NO ANDY!" Spot yelled. "GET OUT!"
Andy flinched, stepped back, and then scurried from the room.
A few minutes later Rae stuck her head in the room. "Spot, what's wrong with Andy?" she asked.
"How should I know?" he snapped.
"Well he came from this room in tears when he entered it all happy and bouncy. I think that would say that something went on in here!"
"He asked if I needed some help, and I told him that I didn't. Leave me alone, Rae."
She arched a brow. That couldn't have been all that happened.
Spot glanced back. "I said leave me alone Rae," he growled.
She walked over toward him. "Spot, something else had to have happened."
"Get out!" he yelled.
"Spot..." she was cut off when the back of his hand connected hard with her face. She stared at him wide-eyed and her hand drifted up to touch the mark he had left. Spot's eyes were dark and angry.
"I said leave me alone." Promptly, he turned around and went back to cleaning.
She watched him for a moment until tears began to cloud her vision, and then she slipped quietly from the room.
Spot glanced back and then looked towards his window again, staring at it, and he slumped to the floor. He had told her to go away and leave him alone, but she just wouldn't listen. He looked down at his hand, which still stung a bit. She'd know better next time, he thought with a shrug. Sighing, he stood and went back to his cleaning.
* * *
It was dinnertime again. Both Ann and Andy had sensed something wrong. From Andy's accounts with Spot earlier that day, they both guessed it had to do with his moodiness. They just didn't know how moody. Rae was silent, picking half-heartedly at her foot. Spot, silent too, quickly ate his food and excused himself from the table.
Rae picked at her food until the twins had finished and left the table. Picking up the plates she quickly cleaned the kitchen. She had earlier planned on going back into the parlor to work on Ann's dresses, but now she wasn't exactly sure where Spot was, and she wasn't sure she wanted to be near him.
She couldn't believe he had actually hit her. Her life long friend Spot Conlon.... had actually HIT her! She was still a little shaken. What had gotten into him?
A moment later, Spot entered the room. "I'm going out to work in the yard," he said flatly.
"It will be getting dark soon." Rae reminded him softly.
"I'll be okay Rae, this isn't Brooklyn."
"But the townspeople..." she trailed off when he glared at her
"If it's getting dark, they won't see me so well. 'Sides, aren't they all scared out of their wits about me anyway? Why would they come around?"
"They may try to come..."
"I'll be fine. Stop nagging me!"
She shrank back and nodded.
Whirling on his heel, he stalked from the room.
Rae scrubbed her sleeve over her eyes in attempt to stop the tears. She wasn't much of a crier, but some things just couldn't be helped. She sniffled, making her way to the parlor. At least she didn't have to worry about him being in there.
Ann and Andy were quietly playing on the floor, but when she came in the crawled up on the couch on either side of her. "Miss Rae?" Ann asked.
Hastily, she dried her face. "Yes sweetheart, what is it?"
"What's wrong with Mr. Spot?" Ann asked, resting her head in Rae's lap.
Gently, she began to stroke Ann's hair. "I don't know sweetheart. I don't know."
"Did he make you cry?" Andy asked.
"Just a little. He has a lot on his mind. We all do."
"Why is your cheek purple?" Andy asked.
'Good grief, these kids sure ask a lot of questions!' With a sigh, she shook her head. "It's nothing, really. Why don't the two of you go play?
"I don't want to." Ann said, snuggling up closer to Rae.
"You want me to finish your dresses don't you? I'm going to need some quiet time to get them done," Rae replied.
Ann sighed and hopped off the couch. "Stay in the house and don't bug Mr. Spot." Rae said, as the children left the room.
The twins nodded and headed off upstairs.
Once they left she stood and walked over to the fireplace and looked into the mirror above it. Sure enough, there was a nice purple bruise there. The sight of the mark angered her. "How DARE he hit me!" she murmured. Closing her eyes, she looked away.
'At least it's not near as bad as Spot's face.' a little voice told her. 'And yours will heal.'
She cringed and sighed. Her little voice was right. Spot was.... affected... he had to heal on the inside as well.... she just hoped that things were going to get better.