Title: Cuts Like A Knife
Author: Stress
First written: May 12, 2002
Edited and replaced: January 21, 2005
Summary: Part I of the Soul Mates Series; She thought that life couldn't get any better. She had friends and a family that loved her – she was taken care of and had no complaints. But that was before he came into her life. And, no matter how hard she tries to escape his grasp, he'll never let her go.
. May 26, 1895 .
The O'Connor's Home
"Jess, dear, your friend is here for you!" Mrs. O'Connor called as thirteen year old Jessa Rhian ran around her "room" in the cramped apartment, getting ready for the day. Today was the day that Spindle, the leader of the newsgirls there in Queens, was going to take her around with her to sell the newspapers . You knew you were accepted into the newsgirl's gang when the leader invited you to sell with her.
"I'll be right down, Mrs. O'Connor!" she cried as she finished pulling on her long black skirt and tucking in her white blouse. Even though the O'Connor's weren't very well-off, Mrs. O'Connor was still able to tailor beautiful clothes for the young girl that they had raised since taking her into their home when she was six.
Just before leaving the room Jess tried to run a comb through her mass of blondish brown curls until she threw the brush down in annoyance. It would take forever to get all the tangles out of her hair and she didn't want to keep Spindle waiting. Spindle was known for having a temper and though they were becoming friends, Jess didn't want to risk upsetting the older girl. Looking herself once over in the mirror, Jess sighed. In the reflection she saw a slim, curvy girl, who looked older than her thirteen years, with long, curly hair and a mischievous glint in her green and gold eyes. The girl in the mirror was wearing a lovely outfit any young girl would love to wear. "If only they would let me wear knickers like the other girls!" she complained out loud, letting her adapted New York accent out since she was the only one in the room. Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor disapproved of her speaking like a street rat, though all she ever did was hang out with the girls at the Queens Lodging House for Newsgirls. She was jealous that the other girls had freedom and could wear anything they wanted when she had to live with the O'Connor's and abide by their rules. Then, remembering that she didn't have any extra time to contemplate her living arrangements, she picked up the quarter off of her dresser and ran out into the living room where she saw one of Spindle's head girls, Quipster, sitting on one of the chairs in the living room, playing with her long brown ponytail, looking bored.
"Hi, Quipster. Where is Spindle?" Jess asked nervously. Spindle only ever sold with her boyfriend, a guy from Harlem that no one has met yet but did not doubt existed, except when she was letting a new girl into her gang of newsies. Jess was worried that Spindle might have changed her mind about letting her become a newsie. After all, she was three years younger than Spindle and actually had a place to call home. Most of Spindle's gang of newsies resented the fact that, even though she was an orphan, both of her parents dying when she was six, she didn't have to live in the lodging house or have to worry about being thrown on the street if she didn't make any money selling papers that day.
"Don't you worry. Spindle said to tell you to meet her down at the distribution center. She was running a bit late this morning and wanted to make sure that you didn't go and sell with out her." Quipster answered calmly. Jess suppressed a laugh. She spent the entire morning worrying about whether Spindle would still let her sell with her or not, and here was Quipster telling her that Spindle was worried about Jess not selling with her.
"Well, I'm ready to go. I'll see you when I get home, Mrs. O'Connor. Tell Mr. O'Connor that I said to have a nice day at work!" she added. Mr. O'Connor, though he was getting on in years, took a job as a trolley conductor so that they had enough money to afford a two bedroom apartment in Queens- one room for the O'Connor's and one for Jess.
Mrs. O'Connor gave Jess a quick kiss on the cheek like she did every day before Jess left to sell newspapers. No matter how many times they told her that they didn't need her to sell papers to make rent, Jess always insisted so that there would be a few extra cents a week. "Bye, dear. Be careful and have fun!" she said before turning back to enter the kitchen and cook breakfast for her husband, remembering the first time she had met Jess. It had been on the passenger ship that she had arrived in America in, along with her husband. Jess was a wee child, only six years old, and her only relative, her father, had just been found dead in the room they were staying in. The captain said that he would make sure that she was sent to the orphanage once they docked at Ellis Island. After convincing her husband that it would be the best thing to do, Mrs. O'Connor offered to take Jess with them when they set off to find a home in New York. She had lived with them since then, for over seven years now. As Mrs. O'Connor reached over to get the bread, she couldn't imagine life without Jess.