Title: A Simple Twist of Fate
Author: Amiee Amelie
~**~
Chapter 3 part I: Jack
"So what do ya think?" Racetrack was sitting on the counter of the washstand, swinging his legs. Crutchy was opposite him. They both seemed to be waiting for my reaction. Great.
"'Bout Baldy?" I shrugged, adjusting my bandanna. "He soaked you pretty good, Race."
"Not that he didn't deserve it," said Crutchy. He seemed to have taken a liking to the new kid. "Anyways, it's not like you needed protecting, either, Race. Ya coulda hit him back."
"Didn't need to," Racetrack grunted. He pulled out a cigar. "He made his point. He don't wanna be messed with. I understand that."
"I like him," I finally pronounced. "He's a good kid. He's got guts. We coulda killed him after he hit Race, but he did it anyways. That takes guts."
"He don't take to being called 'Princess' either," said Racetrack, wincing at the bruise already purpling his cheek.
"I don't know no one who takes to being called 'Princess,'" I said. I stuck my hand in the water barrel, ran it through my hair, and turned. "Don't wait up late for me, now," I grinned.
"You take care of yourself, Jack," Crutchy grinned too. "Those hot dates of yours aren't good for business."
"'Specially when you can't get up in the morning," Race added. "Hey Crutchy, ten to one says he don't get up til seven tomorrow…"
I laughed, and headed over to the Jacob's.
~**~
Chapter three, part II: Baldy
Jack didn't come in late, the way Racetrack had bet me he would. I grinned. Boy, was Race gonna be sore in the morning. And not just from the shiner I had given him.
Jack had stumbled through the doorway, looking slightly groggy. Racetrack stood up and glared at him.
"Hey, Cowboy, you lost my bet! Now I'm gonna…" He stopped at the look Jack had thrown him, and sat back down again. Jack clomped up the stairs and into the dorm.
"What's up with him?" Mush looked up from the hand of cards he was losing.
"Jack don't hardly ever act like that," Crutchy looked a little concerned.
"Maybe he's sick or something?" Racetrack laid down his cards in front of a disappointed Mush. "Straight."
"Wonder if they did something with the prices of the papes again…"
"Hold up…" I tried to get a word in edgewise.
"They wouldn't do that, would they?"
"Hold up…"
"Not so soon…"
"Not after what happened last time…"
"Especially since Spot Conolon's on our side…"
"SHUT UP FOR A MINUITE, WILL YA?!" The room got suddenly quiet. At least I had got my point across. Even if these blockheads couldn't figure out what had happened to their friend, I sure could. How many times I had seen it before?
"Listen, did Jack have a girl?" Everybody was staring at me like I had grown three heads. Great.
"Yeah," Mush finally answered. "Davey's sister. Why?"
"Well, I don't think he has one any more."
"Nah, couldn't be…"
"Jack would never…"
"Davey wouldn't let her…"
"What makes you think…"
I sighed. Good heavens. I headed up the stairs, in the same direction as Jack, leaving them arguing down below.
~**~
I found Jack lying listlessly on his bed. I tried to shake the memories out of my head, the ones of the brother who left me like my parents. I would come in, finding him lying on the bed just like that; slightly tipsy and clammed up. Then once he was back in his right mind, he would relate the whole thing, always about a girl. Same old story.
"Get up," I snapped.
"What?" he stared at me in surprise.
"Get up, or I'll soak you."
He started to laugh, precisely the reaction I wanted. What could at skinny, hundred pound kid do to him? The shock seem to get him moving. He climbed down from the bed. Before he had time to react, I had grabbed him by the bandanna and hauled him into the washroom. That was always the way to work. Keep the shocks coming when they weren't completely sober. I threw a wet towel at his head.
"Wash your face," I said. He stared at me again. Maybe I had grown three heads. Ah well. He just stood there and stared at me like he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. I sighed, grabbed the towel off his head, rubbed it briskly with a bar of soap, and scrubbed his face with it. Finally, another reaction.
"Ow! What are you doing? What are you, me mothe…" He was cut off as his head was shoved into the water barrel. He came up, dripping and sputtering. "Listen here…" he grabbed my by my vest. "That…"
"Worked like a charm," I finished for him. "You're sober now, aren't you?" He thoughtfully released my vest.
"Well…yeah…"
Now was the hardest part. You had to ask enough questions to keep them off balance until they said everything they had to. Otherwise they'd sit and brood for days.
"Good. She didn't see you like that, did she?"
"Who Sarah? Nah, it was after…"
"She said goodbye," I finished again. "Good…that would be the worst thing you could do, showing up like that…Who'd she leave for? Spot?"
"Yeah, she said…" he suddenly glared. "How do you know…"
"Listen, you're gonna think I'm crazy," I said. "The boys downstairs don't know what's going on, and they were talking about Spot. I figured it had to be him because none of them would ever think of doing that to you. Spot's an outsider. It wouldn't matter."
"Yeah, I 'spose…" He turned listless again. "Dunno why, though."
"Were you mean to her?"
"No."
"Neglect her?"
"No! I mean, it's not like I coulda been with her every second of the day, but…"
"That's a no then. Did you buy her presents?"
He looked up, surprised. "What?"
"That was a joke."
"Right. Maybe I shoulda, though…"
"No. You don't got the money, Jack, and she knows it. Did you ever hit her?"
"What? No! Whaddaya take me for…"
"Were you always a complete gentleman around her?"
"Uh…"
"Right," I said. "But hey…did you love her?"
"No." He looked confused. "But wait…nah, I thought I did. But no."
"There's your problem then," I finished. "You didn't love her, so she couldn't love you. So she left for Spot. Is that really enough to waste money on for a couple of beers? No."
"Yeah, she was a great girl, though…" He pushed his soaking hair out of his face. "I dunno why I'm even telling you this. I don't know you, you just came in today, and you've already soaked Race and stuck my head in the water barrel…"
"'Cause I'm figured out what's going on," I said. "'Cause I'm not an idiot and I'm the best you've got at the moment. So you might as well sit here and tell me everything, cause you got time."
He looked at me warily. "How do I know you're not gonna…"
"Put this on every headline?" I finished. "Who'd care anyway? And besides, even if I did, I probably wouldn't be walking for the next couple of days."
"Right," He tugged at his hair.
"So why didn't you love her?"
"I dunno, I shoulda. She was…"
"A great girl, I know. But you didn't. Why?"
"Well…" He hesitated, then exploded with a torrent of words. "She didn't have any guts at all. Like the Delancy's went after her and her brothers and she took one swing at them and then didn't try again. Or she'd get scared with me but wouldn't have the courage to tell me to stop whenever…"
I raised my eyebrows.
"…I got carried away," He finished lamely. "Not like that, of course," he added, seeing my look.
"See?" I asked. "You didn't love her. She wasn't the right one for you. You'd would've driven each other nuts. And Jack…you can't marry everybody." He looked at me, surprised.
"You know, she said that…" he trailed off.
"Just think," I pressed on. "If she hadn't cut it off you would've started to hate her, because she wouldn't say no and she wouldn't fight back. And just think what that would've done to you and Davie."
"Yeah," he patted me on the back. "You're a good guy, Baldy. You understand girls better than I do."
He turned, and walked out the door.
Heh, I thought. Right.
~**~