With one hand I knocked on the apartment door. My other hand was being held on to like there was no tomorrow. I looked down at Rosie, whose big eyes were staring up at me. She squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back with a smile.
I had needed help, so I went to the one place that I knew I could get it from.
"Just a second!" David yelled from inside his apartment. He opened the door a few moments later. "Les," he said with a surprised look. Then he noticed Rosie. "Who's she?"
"Can we come in?"
Rosie had now let go of my hand and was clinging to the back of my shirt. She peeked out at David, and I reached behind myself and put my hand on her head. "Yeah, I guess," David replied. "You have some explaining to do."
I took Rosie's hand again and led her inside the apartment. It wasn't anything special. Really, it wasn't. It was one room that served as a kitchen and bedroom. The toilets were a floor up and down the hallway.
"So who is she?" David asked.
I glanced at Rosie. "Hey Rose, you wanna put your hands over your ears like this?" I covered my ears with my palms. "Really tight, all right?" She did as I asked and sat down on David's bed.
"She's Kid Blink's daughter," I explained.
"Yeah, I heard he got married. How is he? And why do you have her?"
"His wife died and they were on the streets; I saw them yesterday," I continued. Rosie's hands were still covering her ears, and I knew she couldn't hear me or else her expression would have changed. "I went out last night and when I came back she was there." I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out the folded—and now crumpled—piece of paper. "Blink left this."
I handed it to David, who unfolded and read it quickly. He frowned. "You can't keep her, Les," he said. "You need a family yourself."
I knew he was going to say something along those lines. "I know," I said. "And...that's why I want you to take her."
David blinked. "Me?"
"Yeah, you."
"It's out of the question!" he exclaimed. "You know I'm busy trying to get some articles put in the paper. I don't have time for her." He sighed. "I suggest you take her to an orphanage."
"But Blink didn't want that; that's why he left her with me!" I argued. "Well...what about Jack and Sarah? Jack's practically her uncle."
"So what are you gonna do, shove the girl on a train and leave it at that?" David asked. "This isn't a good situation, Les. Had you stayed home, this never would have happened in the first place."
"Don't even start that, David," I growled. "I came here for help, not a lecture."
"And you should have expected both," he replied. "Now, my advice is to take her to an orphanage. There's one pretty close to here. If you don't want to, then I can."
"She ain't going to no orphanage."
"This is a human being, Les, not a puppy or something," said David. "You have to think about her health and her future. You can barely feed yourself these days. How do you expect to feed a child, too?
I sighed. David was probably right, but I was growing attached to this little girl and I wasn't going to let her go so easily. "Thanks for your help, Davey," I said. I went over to his bed and took Rosie's hand away from her ear, and hold it as we walked towards the door.
"Les."
"Yeah?"
"Please don't ruin her life."
I picked Roise up and held her on my hip. "David, I'm not a kid anymore," I said sternly. "I can take care of myself and any one else who happens to walk into my life. We're going to be fine, both of us."
I awoke the next morning to find that I wasn't alone in my bed. Rum had moved off of the top bed in our bunk so that Rosie could sleep there, but I suppose she must have climbed down during the night, because she was fast asleep right next to me, clinging on to my arm.
"Ain't that sweet," Rum commented as he walked past. I couldn't tell if he was joking or not.
Gently I sat up so I wouldn't wake Rosie. I didn't want her to be awake if she didn't have to be yet. I got up out of bed and went over to a sink. I pulled off the mittens that had been on my hands for two days and set them on the countertop. My fingers felt stiff, and they still hurt like hell. As softly as I could I began to unwrap my fingers from the bandages. They were covered with blisters. I groaned in disappointment and pain.
I briefly stuck my hands under the faucet so they would be clean, but not cold. Johnny walked up and stood next to me. "So you're keeping the kid, huh?" he asked as he ran his fingers through his hair.
"Yeah, that's the plan," I replied, glancing over at her before grabbing a towel and gently drying my blistered hands. "She's a good girl."
"Seems like it," Johnny said. He reached over the counter and grabbed me some more bandages. "Here," he said. "Lemme help." Johnny wrapped my fingers yet again. "And keep those damn mittens on."
Six appeared across from us. He yawned and scratched his head. "G'morning," he mumbled.
"Hey," I said as I pulled on those ugly mittens. Johnny managed his own "G'morning."
"Listen, Les," Six said. He was buttoning his shirt. "My cousin's been asking about you. You remember her, right? Poppy Parkview?"
My heart jumped. "Yeah. Yeah, I remember her."
Six grinned. "She thinks you're good-lookin'."
Johnny laughed at Six's remark. "Well ain't that swell! Les got himself a girl who thinks he's good-lookin'!"
"Shut up," I muttered.
"Hey, I'm happy for ya!" Johnny said in his defense. "She's not so bad-lookin' herself. Man, Les, if I were you--"
"Hey shut it, Johnny, that's my cousin you're talking about," Six warned.
"Yeah, well you got a pretty cousin. I think that's all I need to say, am I right?" Johnny laughed and elbowed me.
My face burned. I was so damn embarrassed. "Yeah," I said simply. I left those two and went over to my bed, where Rosie was just beginning to wake up.
"Good morning," I said softly. She opened her eyes and looked up at me.
"Hi," she replied quietly. I grabbed my shirt, which was hanging on the corner of the bunk. As I pulled it on (which was pretty hard to do with stiff hands), I explained to her, "I have to go to work, and you have to come with me."
"Okay." Quickly I put on my pants and moved my suspenders over my shoulders. Then I grabbed my coat and pulled it on.
I picked Rosie up and sat her on the edge of the bed. "Lemme get your shoes," I said as I scanned my hand under the bed and grabbed two of the smallest shoes I'd ever seen. They weren't matching, but they looked to be the same size.
I put Rosie's shoes on for her and tied them as best I could twice so the knots wouldn't come undone. She didn't have any other clothes, so I didn't have to change her. I took her coat, which was hardly a coat at all, and helped her into it. "You ready to go?" I asked. She nodded and yawned. The poor girl still looked really tired.
I led her out of the lodging house and into the freezing streets. "We'll get some breakfast," I explained. "You wanna sit on my shoulders?"
"Yeah," she said. I let go of Rosie's hand and crouched down. She took her cue and walked behind me. I held her hands as she placed herself on my shoulders.
"Put'cher arms around the top of my head, Rosie," I instructed, and she obeyed. "You holdin' on tight?"
"Yeah." I stood up, and after I made sure Rosie was secure, I began to walk towards the distribution center
Thanks for all the reviews! I don't have time for individual SOs tonight, because school starts tomorrow! This can mean one of two things. Either A.) Updates will be less frequent, or B.) They will be larger because I'll write in class. Whatever the case may be, keep reading and reviewing!
