A/N: BlackWiltedRose, thank you for the compliment. Give the two of them time, you'll see what will happen!!
Chapter Five
After Tara woke up on Sunday and started getting ready for work, she realized that today was her day off. In fact, it was her very first day off since she started working there. And while standing there, she did a little happy dance and a twirl in front of the mirror. Big mistake. She saw herself. When had she gotten so skinny? She asked her self. When you work all the time and have little money, its hard finding food. Once again, she looked in the mirror, but this time she took off her robe.
She could clearly see about ten of her ribs poking out from her side. Where she used to have curvy hips, her waist melted into her legs. And where she used to have decent sized breasts, well, she didn't want to get into that.
So Tara planned her day around grocery shopping. She glanced at her clothes; they were due for a good cleaning also. And who knows, maybe she'd go out to eat tonight? Her apartment was a mess also. How can such a small place attract so much dirt? She'd clean today also.
So Tara started pumping water into a bucket, added a little bit of precious soap, grabbed a cloth, and cleaned the grime away. It took just a little over an hour, but she did it. A girl that had never cleaned in her life and her apartment shined. She was kind of proud of herself in a way.
Now onto her clothes. When she was little, she used to think that it was a great game to help Nanny with the laundry. So, when she spotted a board in the closet, she got to work.
After two hours, her whole body was aching, but all of her skirts, blouses, pantyhose, and other undergarments were hanging up both inside and outside of her room. Tara smiled. Now onto shopping. But first, she went to how much money she had left.
Only $500, she won't be able to stretch it for much longer. She looked sadly at the drawer that held her and her mother's jewelry. Not yet. She still had some money left. So Tara grabbed fifty dollars, got dressed in her last clean skirt and blouse, and went to shop. On her way, she passed the Brooklyn distribution office. No one really noticed her, she received a couple of whistles and hoots, but she just ignored them. Only one newsboy took notice and followed.
"Buy a pape, miss?" Spot asked.
Tara rolled her eyes and turned to him. "Well, fancy meeting you here. Are you following me?" She asked composedly. Why, oh why did she keep running into him? Fate, she thought. She hated fate.
"Why, yes, I just might be." He replied with a smirk. "Da names Spot."
Tara lifted an eyebrow at his name. "Tara." She replied coolly. She turned around and started walking, Spot following her like a shadow.
"So, I guess your not gonna by a pape?"
"Will buying a 'pape' get you to leave me alone?" She asked.
"Probably not."
Tara hid a small smile at that. "Fine." She reached in her purse and drew out a penny. "Anything good in there?"
"Not really, same old boring shit. Fire, murder, and high society's miniscule but oh-so-important problems." At that last part, Spot cursed himself under his breath. She was starting to lighten up, and once again, her eyes cooled over.
"I'm sorry, but I have a lot to do today. If you'll excuse me." She said. And with that, she turned on her heel and strode away from him.
"Shit. I'm such an asshole! Way ta just blow dat one Spot." He thought. He'd see her again. He'd redeem himself. Spot started calling out headlines and made his way into the crowd.
Tara had started to buy meat and potatoes, but then she realized that not only didn't she not know how to cook; she was lacking things to cook with. Even if she had those things, they would be useless; she didn't have a stove or an oven. So, she stuck to buying bread, apples, oranges, and other various fruits instead.
By the time she made it back to her apartment, the sun was starting to go down. She brought her groceries inside and decided to eat out, something she hadn't enjoyed in a long time.
She wandered the streets until she found a cute little place. "Hmm, Cerino's. Doesn't sound too bad." She thought. It was a small Italian restaurant. It reminded her of Razini's Place and she smiled. She went in and was greeted by smells that made her stomach growl and her mouth water. The hostess seated her in a corner and she sat down looking at her menu.
When the waitress came to take her order, she knew exactly what she wanted and ordered the Chicken Parmesan with angel hair pasta, her favorite.
She didn't know how, but she had managed to eat the entire monstrous meal. She practically felt her stomach grow and dance happily. She smiled. For the first time in a while, she was content. Before leaving, she cleaned up the scraps of paper and put them on the plate. She piled her dishes up so that it would he easier for the busgirl to clean. She had a new found respect for those in the service industry. She paid her bill, set a generous tip on the table, and left the restaurant. By this time it was completely dark out, so she made her way quickly down the street. All of the sudden when she was going down an alleyway, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Someone, or maybe two someone's were following her. She picked up her pace, but they grabbed her arm. She was swung around and looked at her assailants.
She had no idea who they were. One of them had a small moustache and was quite big. The other was almost as tall as her and a lot skinnier. Tara decided that if they were going to try and kill her, she wasn't going down without a fight.
The smaller of the one was the one that held her arm. Tara reared up and kneed him in the groin. When he doubled over, she grabbed his head and kneed him in the nose. He went down and she kicked him in the stomach. He lay on the ground and she glanced at his partner. This guy was much bigger than her. He was at least a half of a foot over her 5'8" height, and packed with muscle. She knew that she didn't stand a chance. Tara quickly turned around and started running. She almost made it to the exit of the alley, but she felt his hand grab a handful of her hair and yank her back. She let out a scream of pain and fell backward. Promptly, he started kicking her in the stomach. He then kicked her in her shoulder. She felt the pain course through her body. It was the shoulder where her father had shot her, and she felt her vision blackening. But through sheer will, she stayed conscious. Her eyes started gathering tears of pain, and she accepted that she was going to die.
Spot was walking down the street back to the lodging house after selling the evening edition, but he stopped when he heard a cry. Thinking one of his boys were in trouble, he tore through the streets of Brooklyn. He ran down an alley and saw a big figure kicking a smaller on in the stomach. He ran at the guy and tackled him. Spot landed on top and started punching the guy in his face. He then grabbed the guy's hair and slammed his head into the ground. The guy was out cold. He kicked him a couple more times in his ribs for good measure and stood there, staring at his handiwork.
Spot heard a whimper to his right, he had forgotten about his newsie. He looked, and his stomach clutched. It wasn't one of his newsies, it was Tara. He fell to his knees and touched her face. She started at his touch, but opened her eyes.
"Spot?" She asked shakily.
"Shh, sweetheart. You're okay. Just lay der for a sec." He said. He looked down and saw blood. He knew that he had to get her inside. His lodging house was too far away to carry her.
"Do ya live around here, Tara?" She nodded.
"Just a couple of buildings to the left." He picked her up and she stiffened from the pain in her shoulder. He had a new found respect for her. This girl had endured so much but was still strong. He held her a bit closer, reveling in the way that her body held him with such trust, and made her way to her apartment.
Once he got inside with her help, he laid her down on the bed and looked around. Her room was even smaller than his at the lodging house. He felt pain for her. He grabbed a cloth that was hanging from the bed post and ripped it into pieces.
"Tara, I need ta unbutton your shirt. Your shoulders bleedin'. Do ya trust me?" He asked.
She nodded her assent and he started to unbutton her shirt. Thank god she had a shift on underneath, he didn't want to be distracted. Just like he thought, her shoulder was bleeding where she got shot. He peeled the shirt off of her wound and heard her hiss of pain. He tried to ignore it. He knew that he had to clean the wound and bind it so that it wouldn't get an infection. He had seen too many of his boys get an infection, and then, the fever. He refused to let this happen to her.
Spot pumped some water onto another cloth and proceeded cleaning the wound. He knew from experience how much this hurt her, but never the less, he had to do it. After cleaning it, he wrapped it in the cloths that he had ripped up before. Somewhere in the process, she had passed out. That was for the better. She wouldn't feel any pain and she needed rest to recover.
He sat down next to her on the bed and touched her face. She looked to fragile when she slept. Not like she did when her first saw her, with hard eyes and a cool demeanor. She wasn't as tough as she let on. Spot leaned down and kissed her on her forehead. He vowed then and there that he would protect her. He didn't know why he felt such possessiveness and a need of protection for her, but he did. He sat down in her one chair and prepared himself for an uncomfortable night of sleep.
Chapter Five
After Tara woke up on Sunday and started getting ready for work, she realized that today was her day off. In fact, it was her very first day off since she started working there. And while standing there, she did a little happy dance and a twirl in front of the mirror. Big mistake. She saw herself. When had she gotten so skinny? She asked her self. When you work all the time and have little money, its hard finding food. Once again, she looked in the mirror, but this time she took off her robe.
She could clearly see about ten of her ribs poking out from her side. Where she used to have curvy hips, her waist melted into her legs. And where she used to have decent sized breasts, well, she didn't want to get into that.
So Tara planned her day around grocery shopping. She glanced at her clothes; they were due for a good cleaning also. And who knows, maybe she'd go out to eat tonight? Her apartment was a mess also. How can such a small place attract so much dirt? She'd clean today also.
So Tara started pumping water into a bucket, added a little bit of precious soap, grabbed a cloth, and cleaned the grime away. It took just a little over an hour, but she did it. A girl that had never cleaned in her life and her apartment shined. She was kind of proud of herself in a way.
Now onto her clothes. When she was little, she used to think that it was a great game to help Nanny with the laundry. So, when she spotted a board in the closet, she got to work.
After two hours, her whole body was aching, but all of her skirts, blouses, pantyhose, and other undergarments were hanging up both inside and outside of her room. Tara smiled. Now onto shopping. But first, she went to how much money she had left.
Only $500, she won't be able to stretch it for much longer. She looked sadly at the drawer that held her and her mother's jewelry. Not yet. She still had some money left. So Tara grabbed fifty dollars, got dressed in her last clean skirt and blouse, and went to shop. On her way, she passed the Brooklyn distribution office. No one really noticed her, she received a couple of whistles and hoots, but she just ignored them. Only one newsboy took notice and followed.
"Buy a pape, miss?" Spot asked.
Tara rolled her eyes and turned to him. "Well, fancy meeting you here. Are you following me?" She asked composedly. Why, oh why did she keep running into him? Fate, she thought. She hated fate.
"Why, yes, I just might be." He replied with a smirk. "Da names Spot."
Tara lifted an eyebrow at his name. "Tara." She replied coolly. She turned around and started walking, Spot following her like a shadow.
"So, I guess your not gonna by a pape?"
"Will buying a 'pape' get you to leave me alone?" She asked.
"Probably not."
Tara hid a small smile at that. "Fine." She reached in her purse and drew out a penny. "Anything good in there?"
"Not really, same old boring shit. Fire, murder, and high society's miniscule but oh-so-important problems." At that last part, Spot cursed himself under his breath. She was starting to lighten up, and once again, her eyes cooled over.
"I'm sorry, but I have a lot to do today. If you'll excuse me." She said. And with that, she turned on her heel and strode away from him.
"Shit. I'm such an asshole! Way ta just blow dat one Spot." He thought. He'd see her again. He'd redeem himself. Spot started calling out headlines and made his way into the crowd.
Tara had started to buy meat and potatoes, but then she realized that not only didn't she not know how to cook; she was lacking things to cook with. Even if she had those things, they would be useless; she didn't have a stove or an oven. So, she stuck to buying bread, apples, oranges, and other various fruits instead.
By the time she made it back to her apartment, the sun was starting to go down. She brought her groceries inside and decided to eat out, something she hadn't enjoyed in a long time.
She wandered the streets until she found a cute little place. "Hmm, Cerino's. Doesn't sound too bad." She thought. It was a small Italian restaurant. It reminded her of Razini's Place and she smiled. She went in and was greeted by smells that made her stomach growl and her mouth water. The hostess seated her in a corner and she sat down looking at her menu.
When the waitress came to take her order, she knew exactly what she wanted and ordered the Chicken Parmesan with angel hair pasta, her favorite.
She didn't know how, but she had managed to eat the entire monstrous meal. She practically felt her stomach grow and dance happily. She smiled. For the first time in a while, she was content. Before leaving, she cleaned up the scraps of paper and put them on the plate. She piled her dishes up so that it would he easier for the busgirl to clean. She had a new found respect for those in the service industry. She paid her bill, set a generous tip on the table, and left the restaurant. By this time it was completely dark out, so she made her way quickly down the street. All of the sudden when she was going down an alleyway, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Someone, or maybe two someone's were following her. She picked up her pace, but they grabbed her arm. She was swung around and looked at her assailants.
She had no idea who they were. One of them had a small moustache and was quite big. The other was almost as tall as her and a lot skinnier. Tara decided that if they were going to try and kill her, she wasn't going down without a fight.
The smaller of the one was the one that held her arm. Tara reared up and kneed him in the groin. When he doubled over, she grabbed his head and kneed him in the nose. He went down and she kicked him in the stomach. He lay on the ground and she glanced at his partner. This guy was much bigger than her. He was at least a half of a foot over her 5'8" height, and packed with muscle. She knew that she didn't stand a chance. Tara quickly turned around and started running. She almost made it to the exit of the alley, but she felt his hand grab a handful of her hair and yank her back. She let out a scream of pain and fell backward. Promptly, he started kicking her in the stomach. He then kicked her in her shoulder. She felt the pain course through her body. It was the shoulder where her father had shot her, and she felt her vision blackening. But through sheer will, she stayed conscious. Her eyes started gathering tears of pain, and she accepted that she was going to die.
Spot was walking down the street back to the lodging house after selling the evening edition, but he stopped when he heard a cry. Thinking one of his boys were in trouble, he tore through the streets of Brooklyn. He ran down an alley and saw a big figure kicking a smaller on in the stomach. He ran at the guy and tackled him. Spot landed on top and started punching the guy in his face. He then grabbed the guy's hair and slammed his head into the ground. The guy was out cold. He kicked him a couple more times in his ribs for good measure and stood there, staring at his handiwork.
Spot heard a whimper to his right, he had forgotten about his newsie. He looked, and his stomach clutched. It wasn't one of his newsies, it was Tara. He fell to his knees and touched her face. She started at his touch, but opened her eyes.
"Spot?" She asked shakily.
"Shh, sweetheart. You're okay. Just lay der for a sec." He said. He looked down and saw blood. He knew that he had to get her inside. His lodging house was too far away to carry her.
"Do ya live around here, Tara?" She nodded.
"Just a couple of buildings to the left." He picked her up and she stiffened from the pain in her shoulder. He had a new found respect for her. This girl had endured so much but was still strong. He held her a bit closer, reveling in the way that her body held him with such trust, and made her way to her apartment.
Once he got inside with her help, he laid her down on the bed and looked around. Her room was even smaller than his at the lodging house. He felt pain for her. He grabbed a cloth that was hanging from the bed post and ripped it into pieces.
"Tara, I need ta unbutton your shirt. Your shoulders bleedin'. Do ya trust me?" He asked.
She nodded her assent and he started to unbutton her shirt. Thank god she had a shift on underneath, he didn't want to be distracted. Just like he thought, her shoulder was bleeding where she got shot. He peeled the shirt off of her wound and heard her hiss of pain. He tried to ignore it. He knew that he had to clean the wound and bind it so that it wouldn't get an infection. He had seen too many of his boys get an infection, and then, the fever. He refused to let this happen to her.
Spot pumped some water onto another cloth and proceeded cleaning the wound. He knew from experience how much this hurt her, but never the less, he had to do it. After cleaning it, he wrapped it in the cloths that he had ripped up before. Somewhere in the process, she had passed out. That was for the better. She wouldn't feel any pain and she needed rest to recover.
He sat down next to her on the bed and touched her face. She looked to fragile when she slept. Not like she did when her first saw her, with hard eyes and a cool demeanor. She wasn't as tough as she let on. Spot leaned down and kissed her on her forehead. He vowed then and there that he would protect her. He didn't know why he felt such possessiveness and a need of protection for her, but he did. He sat down in her one chair and prepared himself for an uncomfortable night of sleep.