Disclaimer: *looks around* *whispers: Spot, Jack, and Race are locked in my basement, shh!!!* Actually they're not… I don't own anything… I can wish, but it's never gonna happen.
Shout Outs:
TheLoneReed – so I'm a dork and a fool huh? That would probably hurt if I was still in like the 5th grade huh? Just kidding. I should just not post this just to make you mad, but I'm still posting. And it's not *that* bad of a cliffhanger. At least I don't think so. Let me know what you think!
Brooke Lyn – If you had expected it, there would be no fun in my job. Now would there? Thank for the reply! Do it again! Please???
Just Duck – "What the fork?" I like it. Interesting… lol. Thanks for the reply. And here's an update. I'm not just leaving it. And I thought my cliffhanger wasn't that bad…. Lol. Actually I knew it was, but whatever. Hope you like it!
Author's Note: Um… nothing to note here. Except, I'm running out of characters! So send me your info.! And if you already sent it to me awhile ago, but aren't in here yet, please write to me again, because I probably have lost it. My e-mail address is bulldogchik05@hotmail.com. So please e-mail me! I need your real name, newsie name, personality, physical appearance, 'ships, and any other tidbit info.
A Dream Come TrueChapter Ten
"Track, you're my brother." Pup said.
Race heard the words, but it took awhile to register them. Pup just stood there terrified that he was going to laugh, or yell, or something. She didn't get what she expected though. She certainly hadn't expected complete silence. She wasn't sure which was worse.
"Track? Say something? Please?" She pleaded. Race snapped out of his stupor and registered one thought.
He had a sister.
Spot heard the words that Pup spoke, and wanted to jump for joy. Pup wasn't in love with Racetrack. She was his sister! He felt all of his jealousy fade, and slowly snuck away so as to leave them to talk. He also plenned on coming up with a way to tell Pup he liked her.
Race was having a hard time believing that the girl standing in front of him was his sister. The girl that his family had thought was lost forever.
"Ashley?" He whispered.
"Yeah. That's me." She said softly, still unable to tell how he felt about all of this.
Race continued to stare at her, hardly breathing, and not knowing what to do. After all these years he had found the one person he had never thought he'd see again. He looked into her eyes and saw the terror she was trying desperately to hide. But all he felt was anger.
"That's why you left, isn't it? You were scared of me. So you left." He spat. Pup flinched and tried to turn away, but Race wouldn't allow her to.
"Track, I…" She started but Race cut her off.
"I don't want to hear your excuses! Did you not think that maybe I deserved to know the truth? Oh wait, I forgot, thinking is too hard of a concept for you. You don't know how to think. Or else you wouldn't have left and you would've told me as soon as you found out!" He was yelling at her now. He knew he was being a prat, but he couldn't stop. Pup's eyes filled with tears until they overflowed. She had hoped she'd been wrong about him being mad, but she wasn't. She turned away and ran. She ran to the lodging house with tears running down her face. She ran up the stairs and crumpled to the floor sobbing.
Spot and Jack were in the middle of a game when they saw Pup come in. They saw the look on her face and tears falling and knew something had happened. They looked at each other, and then ran upstairs. What they saw broke their hearts.
Pup was sitting on the floor, sobbing, and crying out 'why'. Spot knelt down beside her and she latched onto him, crying into his shirt. He looked up at Jack, and nodded. Jack went and sat on the stairs to guard against anyone going up.
Race was still sitting in Central Park staring at the spot where Pup had been. He had screwed up royally. He had only confirmed her fears were justified. By blowing up at her, he only proved that she had a reason to fear him. *What am I gonna do?* he asked himself.
About an hour after Pup attached herself to Spot's shirt, she fell asleep, exhausted. He picked her up and took her to his room. He laid her on his bed and tried to walk out the door. However, even in sleep, she wouldn't let go. So he picked her up again and walked back towards Jack. Jack looked up as they reached him.
"Is she okay? What happened?" He whispered, so as not to wake her.
"I don't know Jacky-boy. She upset. Really upset. And I don't know what happened. She didn't stop crying long enough to tell me." Spot answered. He was worried .What had happened to the Pup they all knew and loved.
*She turned back into a girl* Spot thought. The girl in his arms was no longer the strong boy they had all counted on, but the girl who had seen more in her short life than any girl should ever have to. He didn't know what had happened to her in the orphanage, but he knew that it was most likely something horrible.
Racetrack slowly made his way back to the lodging house, after having thoroughly practiced the apology he was going to give Pup. He didn't know if she was going to forgive him, but he could hope.
As he walked into the Lodging House, the room went silent. Everyone was staring at him. He was just about to ask what was going on when he saw a fist coming at him.
Jack saw as Race came in and knew he had something to do with why Pup was so upset. He had seen them leave together earlier. Everyone had. He had thought maybe something had happened to him, and had sent a few boys out to look for him. But he appeared to be fine. He began to get a little upset. Because if nothing had happened to him, then that meant that he had said something. He felt the need to soak him, and stood up. He paused long enough to tell one of the guys to go find Trouble and Junior, the two he had sent after Race. He then continued walking towards him.
The room grew silent as Jack walked up to Race, glaring at him. He then did something they never expected. Jack punched him.
Spot sat next to Pup as she slept, wondering what had happened to make her so upset. He started looking around his room, and noticed something sitting on his dresser. He walked over and saw that it was money. He knew he hadn't left it there and began to count it, having his suspicions on where it came from. Sure enough, it was half of the money Pup had won in the poker game.
"You're too nice Pup." He said softly to himself. "How did you manage playing a tough newsie all those years?"
"I did what I had to in order to survive," came the soft reply. Spot jumped.
"I didn't realize you were awake." He said going back over next to the bed, "thanks for the money by the way. But you really didn't have to." He said.
"I know." She said, "I wanted to." Spot smiled, knowing she probably thought he wouldn't have any money for tomorrow if she didn't give it to him. He began to realize that he knew how she would feel in certain situations. He hadn't known the real her for very long, but it felt like he had known her forever.
"Pup, will you tell me what happened to make you so upset?" He asked gently, trying not to upset her more.
Pup was confused. Where was the Spot who would make fun of her for giving him the money and make her feel bad? Where was the Spot who would force her to tell him? Who was this, and what had he done with Spot?
Then Pup realized that she had been asked a question, and everything came flooding back. Telling Race, him being mad, and running away, again. She felt tears fill her eyes again as she looked at Spot.
At first Spot didn't think that Pup had heard the question. She had a very confused look on her face. However, it turned to sadness and Spot saw her eyes fill with tears again. And so, for the second time that day, he held her while she cried.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Jack was being restrained by Trouble and Knack. Racetrack was trying to get at him, but Blink and Dutchy were holding him back.
"Whoa, Jack, what's going on?" Trouble asked him, still trying to keep him away from Race.
"What did you do to her?" Jack screamed at Race. "What did you do to Pup that she is so upset she can't even talk?!"
Race froze. And then slumped to the floor. He held his head in his hands mumbling, "what have I done?" over and over again.
In seeing Race on the floor, trouble and Knack let Jack go. He stood over Race before stooping down next to him.
"What happened Race?" He asked, the anger gong from his voice.
"I yelled at her. I said horrible things to her. She probably hates me now. She was so scared. So scared." He said, caught in his memory.
"What was she scared about/" Jack pushed, hoping to find out what was going on. He hated mysteries, and this was way too close to one for his liking.
"She wanted to tell me, wanted so bad to tell me. So she did. But she was so scared of how I would react. She said that you know. She said that she was scared of how I would react. She started asking all of these weird questions. I got so frustrated that she wouldn't just tell me. And then she finally did. And oh god, I wish she hadn't. I wish she hadn't. I proved she had a reason to be scared. I yelled at her. I called her a coward for leaving. She ran but not before I saw the terror and the tears. Oh god, what have I don't?" Race was sobbing now. He was rocking back and forth in the middle of the lodging house floor sobbing.
All of the boys stood there watching. They were in shock at seeing their friend in this state. They wanted to leave. They wanted to turn away, but they couldn't. They wanted to help, but they were frozen in place. They were too sucked in. They couldn't do anything but stare.
"Jack?" Race said.
"Yeah?"
"How could I do something so horrible? How could I have yelled at her? She trusted me, and I betrayed her. I'm a horrible brother." Race said looking at him, eyes still glazed over with tears.