6. For Love

The next few days Anders and Karl left the house when they thought I was sleeping. They were planning something, something I knew that wouldn't be good.

I never followed them when they went on their night trips, I didn't want to know what they were up to, not with what happened last time.

One morning I awoke to silence. There was hardly a morning I would wake up without being kicked in the gut.

I quickly jumped off the floor and took a sweep of the apartment, it was empty. The boys had left me alone, but instead of feeling relief I felt panicky. Had I been forgotten this morning? Or had they just not wanted me?

I cleaned the apartment that morning, I didn't know what else to do. With that done, I pulled on my warmest dress, and the big black coat my father had left behind.

I headed out down the road, hugging myself to stay warm. I didn't see my brothers anywhere, and I finally went home.

They banged into the house only minutes after I had removed my coat.

"Get on yoah coat," said Karl

"What 'bout suppah?" I asked flatly.

"I said get yoah coat!" shouted Karl.

I grabbed my coat and pulled it on once again, and followed my brothers out of the building.

Outside the wind had picked up, and I pulled out a cap from my pocket, (like the one guys who worked on the docks wore, better known as a beanie), and put it on.

Karl and Anders led me into an alley, ad shoved me against a wall.

" Stay here," said Karl.

" Make Anders, he isn't useful for much else."

Anders glared at me, but I just walked off down the street. I moved into an alley farther away and tried to block out the thoughts of what they were doing, and what happened last time we did something like this.

A gunshot echoed not far off and a tear slipped down my face. I wiped it away with my sleeve and shuddered.

Shortly after, footsteps could be heard running on the pavement. At first I thought I was my brothers, but it turned out to be Jack, the girl who collected the dead body last time, and a man. He looked some how familiar, but his face was in the shadows and I couldn't see.

The girl( last time I heard them call her Ruby) noticed me and stifled a scream.

"Ya ain't as tough as you act ah ya now?" I whispered stepping forward.

Jack stepped closer to me and was evidently glaring through the dark. "Shut up Loki, I'd be cahful if I was you. We knows somthin 'bout yoah brudda dat would get you in lots of trouble."

I stiffened, but continued to stare back at Jack, I wouldn't let him win.

" I don't know what yoah talking 'bout Jacky boy, I 'avn't seen me brudda's all day." It was true, I really hadn't seen them until later this evening.

"Loki." Said the other man. I wondered how he knew my name, and who he was that made him so familiar.

"The man stepped out of the shadows and my entire body went cold. I was looking into the face of Oscar Delancy!

He no longer looked like he did when I had seen him over a year ago. His thin brown hair was now thick and clean, and he had the beginnings of a beard. His face no longer held the looks of a boy, nor that devilish grin that always bugged me.

"Oscah!" I couldn't help say his name; it was a way of making him real.

" Listen ,Loki, I knows how much you cahed foah me brudda. I knows you'd tell him if he had asked you this. So please tell me if you'se knew what yoah brudda had been doin."

I stared into Oscar's eyes and was only met with an honest expression. Why would Oscar question me like this? Wasn't he a villain himself?

" I knew what 'e was doin, but I got no say in what 'e does wit his life. And I didn't just care foah yoah brudda, you know I loved him. I wish ever day dat the poison who killed him would drop dead!" I snapped at him, all my anger from the years welling up in me.

In my peripheral vision I saw Jack step slightly back, and then Oscar stepped closer to me and to my fear and shock, he handed me a knife.

" I'm the one that killed him." Oscar said.

I gasped, and if my body hadn't already gone cold before, it was defiantly cold now.

"If you truly loved him with yoah whole heat, den kill me now." Said Oscar

"Why ah you'se doin dis?" I choked out.

" Morris was evil, nobody loved him for it, but you did. Yoah dah only one."

I held the knife up to Oscar's chest, and Ruby gave a cry from behind him.

My love for Morris had been real, I had been so sure of that. I lived all my life getting revenge, but would I go as far as to kill a man for it?

The memories of my relationship with Morris flashed before me.

There was the night in the bar, the kissing in the alley, seeing him with another girl. That was all. We had nothing between us, and that sucker had ruined my life, and now would I kill for nothing?

I began to shake, my emotions and brain getting out of control, as Oscar still stood in front of my calm and quiet. I gripped the cold handle of the knife, and quickly released it, letting it fall to the ground.

Oscar and the others till didn't move, and I quickly dashed away. Farther down the road I met up with Karl and Anders.

"What's wrong?" asked Anders

"Nothing, is yoah business done?" I asked, changing the subject.

Karl grunted and walked on, Anders and me close on his heels.

The next few days I couldn't rest or relax. My mind kept playing over what happened in that alley. I soon realized that I had to find him; I had to talk to Oscar again.

Grabbing my coat and hat, I ran outside and down the snow covered streets. The snow had started falling a few days before, and it didn't look like it would let up anytime soon.

I headed for the distribution center where the newsies were just leaving.

I waited until a short black kid and a short white kid walked out the gates. I stepped up to them and the white boy backed away; he knew full well who I was.

"Please don' take me money," the boy whined.

"Calm down, I ain't gonna take yoah money," I replied, feeling annoyed that they might think that. "All I wanna know is wheah I can find Oscah Delancy."

Both boys visually relaxed. "If I tell ya , will you'se promise not to evah steal from us?" asked the black kid.

I sighed and looked at the two boys. "Alright," I agreed. It was a price I would just have to pay. "Tell me yoah names so I'se wont foahget ya."

"I'se Snipeshootah and dats Boots," said the white kid.

"Ok Snipeshootah, wheah can I'se find Oscah?"

" 'e lives at Beck's Moahgue (morgue) wit Ruby Watt."

Nodding my thanks to them, I headed out again. I asked a passing police man where to find the morgue, and I was soon on my way.

The place was easy to spot once I found the street. I wasn't the strongest reader, but it wasn't hard to find a house that said 'morgue' on it in big letters.

I walked up to the door and stood staring at the door, summoning up all the courage I had to knock.

Finally I shoved my hand out from my side and rapped on the hard wood door.

No one answered. I was about to walk away, when it was opened by a middle-aged man.

"May I help you?"

"Yeah, Can I'se speak wit Osach?" I asked nervously.

"Yes you may. He's out back with Ruby; I could take you out there if you want."

"No!" I said quickly. The man raised an eyebrow and looked down at me. " I mean, I don't wanna distoibe(disturb) 'im. Could you just ask him tah meet me at dah Horace Greeley statue in an hour?"

"Sure I will," said the man, still eyeing me suspiciously. "Who should I tell him called?"

"Just give 'im me discription. Me last name is Poulson." As I finished my sentence, I turned and ran down the steps and as far away from the morgue as possible.

I fidgeted at the statue for an hour. I became nervous as I saw Oscar arrive. I noticed something I hadn't last night, he had limp when he walked.

"Hello Loki," Oscar said.

"Hello Oscah." I replied quietly. Wiping a strand of hair out of my face, I stepped closer to him. "Why'd ya do it?" I asked. He knew exactly what I was talking about, and took a deep breath before beginning.

"Morris and me were involved wit a group of guys who were aftah a goil named Angela Millah (Miller). Most people only knew her as Sundance, Cowboy's sistah."

I remembered Jack telling me about her. Said she was getting married.

"Anyway, we'ze found Sunny and dey began tah beat on her. But it wasn't no normal beatin, I'm talking about a 'to dah death' beatin.

I had talked tah Sunny befoah since she was a newsie an' all, and she always treated me like a normal human bein, not like some dumb Delancy brudda.

So I couldn't stand her bein beatin like that, so I'se told em to stop and..." Oscar stopped talking and his eyes clouded over as he remembered the things of the past.

"and what?" I asked.

"and so dey toined on me and began to beat me instead. Me brudda smashed down on me ankle, dats why I'se limp."

He definitely had a limp, and for the first time I looked down at his leg and saw that his ankle was twisted at an odd angle.

"So Sunny was passed out in an alley way, an' I was near death. Den Jack...Jack and dah uddas, dey took me in and payed foah a doctah.

When I was awake, they let me stay . I couldn't walk then, and I lay in me bed wonderin why me own flesh and blood would 'ave done this to me. I also wondered why dah people I had always tormented would be dah only ones to want me."

"I bet it was a trick," I said lazily, as I picked at some concrete on the statue. His story was gripping me in an odd way, and I was trying to cover up my feelings.

"No it wasn't. Soon I began to realize that bein a jerk all me life never got me anyweah and nevah would.

After I stopped actin that way I'se began to enjoy life. And then, I'se fancied myself in love." Said Oscar with a grin. It was obvious that he wouldn't tell anymore until I had asked.

I didn't want to give him any sort of pleasure, but I was dying to know so I over came my pride. "Who were yah in love wit? Jack?"

"Close," laughed Oscar. "I was in love wit his sistah Sundance."

"But I hoid she was getting married to some 'Race' fellah. Yoah name ain't Race is it now?"

"Shut up and let me tell the story," snapped Oscar. I was taken aback, but then I realized that his tone had been playful, not angry.

" She married Race dat day when we met in the alley, but that ain't the next paht of the story."

But Oscar didn't finish telling me the story until we were seated in a pub; whiskey warming the insides of our stomachs.

" So any way, I loved Sunny, but her Fadda an' his men were still aftah her.

Since Morris was also woikin foah him, Sun asked me to go back an' secretly get information foah her. I did because my desire was ta make her happy."

I snorted and rolled my eyes. Oscar could be such a love sucker. I quickly stopped laughing when I realized I had been a suck as well. I nodded embarrassedly at Oscar and he continued.

"In dah end they still got her, and got his son, Jack, along wit it. Next ting I know, Morris is runnin at Sunny wit a knife.

I had a gun in me hand an' I had to choose which should live. Morris, me brudda and criminal who nevah cahed foah any one, or Sunny, kind and innocent. I chose Sunny." Oscar finished, looking down at his empty glass.

"And yet she chose Race instead," I stated disgustedly.

"Sunny nevah offered me anything but friendship," defended Oscar. "She was the first poison(person) to accept me as a friend. I had nevah said anything to her about my feelins, Racetrack did. She loved him right back."

"So you ran away?" I asked in disbelief.

" I had just killed me brudda Loki!" exclaimed Oscar. "I had to get out of New York, I had to breath."

"And did you?" I asked quietly.

"No. But that's why I came back, and it got better."

"Yeah and how's that?" I asked harshly. I was feeling annoyed with him now.

"I was decidin whedda or not I should visit the newsies when a goil ran inta me. She said some guy was attackin her, so I stepped in to help. Dah guy toined out tah be yoah brudda..." I was going to ask him which one, but he had already continued. "... So I'se gave him a good smack in dah nose foah it."

I burst out laughing; Anders' crooked nose no longer a mystery. Oscar was giving me a strange look but I just waved my hand for him to continue.

'An' the goil toined out t" be Ruby."

"Dah dead people feelah?" I asked with a shudder.

"Yeah, and tanks to her I'm foahfillin me dream. Her uncle Beck is teachin me tah be a doctah."

I shook my head in wonder. How could a former street kid like Oscar get so darn lucky?

"I discovahd one udda thing Loki. I discovahd that I was attracted tah Sunny but I didn't love her. Ruby has taught me what love really is, and a few days ago she agreed tah be me goil."

What Oscar had just said made me really angry. I wasn't sure why that was so, but I stood quickly to my feet.

Oscar began to say my name, but I didn't give him any time. I ran out of the pub and back into the cold.

It wasn't until I was out there that I realized I had left my hat back in the pub, but I didn't care, I wouldn't go back in there again.

Well thats my next chapter. I know it was a lot of diolog, but i'm quite sure it had to be done. The stuff Oscar told Loki is pretty much a short recap of what happened in my first story 'Never Alone.' I hope you did enjoy this chapter anyway and that i get lots of reviews.

A very special thanks to Koodles4you, my only review for my last chapter! Have a cupcake! Loki's favorite dessert.