Chapter 4: Missing
The morning was just like any other. The boys got up and were loud with jokes and laughter. Alyssa would come out of her room and see every one off. Or, that was how a morning was supposed to be.
As everyone was leaving, Alyssa did not come out of her room.
Much to the dismay of every Newsie there.
"Where is dat goil?" Skittery asked. "She's da reason why I's keep sellin' dese lousy papes."
A couple of "awwws" were issued by some nearby Newsies.
"Race, go see if she's sleepin'," Specs said. Mush proceeded to shove the little Italian forward.
"Why me?" demanded Race, digging his heels into the floor. Specs was asking him to do something very dangerous; enter a girl's room uninvited.
Specs continued, "Well, yous seem ta be on such good terms wid her. It's logical."
"How was da soup," Bumlets muttered under his breath.
Resigned, poor Racetrack Higgins was shoved forward.
Revenge is a beautiful thing.
Timidly, Race knocked on the old oak door. "Alyssa, yous in dere? It's Racetrack."
Silence met Race's inquiry. Not a good sign.
If anyone was expecting Alyssa to fling the door open wide and hug Race, they were severely wrong and disappointed.
Mustering up as much courage as he could, Race put his hand to the door knob. Why couldn't Jack have done this, he asked himself. Oh right. HE had spent the night at the Jacobs house. Race gave a snort of indignation.
"Yous gonna open da door or what?"
"Shut it, Snipeshooter."
It took a lot of will power for Racetrack to open that door. Time seemed to drag on forever. The old oak door slowly swung forward on its hinges. It revealed an empty room. Her bed was made up and everything was strangely in order.
Everyone stared.
"She left wid out sayin' goodbye?" Mush choked out. "How could she do dis?"
Behind them, Kloppman came up the stairs to hear just what Mush had said. "If you're looking for Alyssa, she went shopping with Mercy this morning."
"Who's Mercy?" everyone chorused. They had never heard of her before.
"Mercy Williams. She's the cripple who lives next door. Sweet girl." Kloppman was amazed at how used to seeing Alyssa his boys had become. She really was part of the family.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Bright musical laughter filled the busy New York streets. Everywhere one looked droves of joyful holiday shoppers could be seen. Among them was Mercy and Alyssa. Shop windows were filled with tantalizing things; all to tempt an unknowing customer out of their last bit of money. This was not a problem for the rich though; they had plenty of money to buy the expensive gifts. The rest of the New York populous was not so fortunate.
The two came to one of the shops that they needed to stop at. It was a small store run by one of the textile factories. Prices were relatively low, so everyone could afford what they needed. Alyssa was there to buy a few things for the spinning wheel that she had salvaged. As she was selecting a spindle she saw Mercy gaze longingly at a shawl on display. After paying for the spindle and some yarn, she walked over to her friend.
"Mercy."
"Oh, sorry." Mercy turned and faced Alyssa. "Just admirin' dis shawl. Its Italian made, ya know. silk imported from the Orient, handmade. fireburst design in white on the solid blue. tassels on the edge. warm and thick. Way too expensive, though."
Listening to Mercy describe the shawl told Alyssa just how much Mercy wanted it. A glimmer of an idea formed in her head. Once Alyssa Cambell formed an idea, she never let it go. Foolish. perhaps.
"Where should we go fer da cigahs an' sweets?"
Alyssa received a reproving glance from Mercy. "Dere's only one place, O'Reiley's. Do I really gotta teach yous 'bout dis city?"
With a laugh and a shove, the two girls went out of the warm shop and into the bitter cold. Snow swirled around and people walking around were bundled tightly and were almost as like walking coats. A carol singing Newsie went by and stopped in his tracks.
Squinting her eyes against the glare, Alyssa looked at the Newsie. "Mush?"
"Alyssa!" Mush ran over and hugged her tightly. "We's all thought dat yous had left us."
She laughed at him. "Nah. Why would I leave you guys?"
Mush thought about that for a moment, trying to come up with a reason. "Good point. Who's yer friend?"
Mercy, not knowing who this Newsie was, was trying to blend into a shop wall behind her. All she knew was that he was Manhattan and that he lived next door to her. It should have comforted her that Alyssa knew him, but no.
Alyssa reached her hand out and gently drew Mercy forward. "Dis is Mercy Williams. She lives next door to us. Mercy, dis is Mush."
Mush stepped forward and cordially shook Mercy's hand. Pleased ta meet ya." Then, he looked at the clock tower. "Now, if you'll 'scuse me, I's gotta run." With that, he hurried away.
As they walked, they talked about this and that. The wind picked up again and they hurried along. They saw Spot and wondered what he was doing in Manhattan territory.
"Dat's da King a Brooklyn, ain't it?" Mercy quietly asked. They went inside O'Reiley's and began overlooking a sweet display.
"Yeah, dat's 'im alright. The famous Spot Conlon." Alyssa said this with a bit of hatred. To be honest, she had been thinking about Spot. Not in a good way either. Being new, she was told that Spot would go after her. Her little stunt the night she met him showed that he loved his power. She knew from experience that people with power like his eventually go too far. Hopefully, that time would not come too soon. Frankly, Spot was a good leader, for all his faults. Alyssa was going to try and stay away from men, in a romantic sense. She had to much pain because. no, she was not going to think about that now.
As Mercy was looking through the sweets, Alyssa wandered over to the cigars. She was immediately reminded of Racetrack; the comforting smell of a cigar always lingered on him. She blushed as she smiled to herself. Pulling out a bit of money that she had saved, she bought a tin of six; sure to go over well. Mercy paid for the sweets with their combined money and they moved on.
Passing Tibby's, Alyssa saw a sign in the window that caught her eye. It said, "Help wanted, waiter." She looked around to tell Mercy that she was going in, but Mercy was across the street talking with Crutchy. Turning back to Tibby's she walked in, interested in the sign.
Walking up to the counter, she asked, "I'm inquiring about the help wanted sign." She decided to speak without the accent to make a good impression.
"Well," the young man behind the counter said. "It says 'waiter' and you're girl, begging your pardon, miss."
"Murphy, what's the problem?" An older man in his forty's came forward.
"This young lady was inquiring about the sign."
Murphy was cut off by the older man. "Miss, I'm Jonathan Davis, manager of Tibby's. What is it that you were wondering?"
"I was wondering if you would be wiling to hire me as a waitress. I can work all day."
Alyssa was cut off by Mr. Davis. "You mean to tell me that you want the job?" His face was bewildered.
"Well, yes."
"Wonderful. When can you start? Oh, and what's your name?" Mr. Davis looked like the happiest man in the world.
"Alyssa Cambell. I can start tomorrow, I suppose."
"Great," he turned to Murphy, "Now we have someone to work Christmas Eve." Turning to Alyssa he asked, "You'll have Christmas off, of course. We're closed. Obviously you can take time off, but not to much or we'll have to fire you, unfortunately. Don't bother showing up if you're sick; we're a restaurant, not a factory. If you're sick, don't worry about it, we can get someone to cover for you. This is the worst winter that New York has seen in a while so sickness is bound to happen." Mr. Davis kept talking and Alyssa was quite pleased with herself.
"One, question, when do you want me here?" Alyssa figured it was a valuable piece of information to know.
"Right, of course. Seven sharp in the morning. See you then." Mr. Davis shook her hand to show that they had reached an agreement. "We'll do the paper work in the morning."
Back on the streets and having met up with Mercy, Alyssa was happier than she had been in a long time.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Christmas Eve morning. Alyssa savored the moment. Quietly, so that she would not wake anyone, she got ready for her first day of work. Excitement surged through her body making her shake. No one knew that she had a job, and she was going to try and keep it that way until tonight. Alyssa sang to herself as she braided her hair back and twisted it up into a bun.
Quietly, she slipped out of the Lodgings, and began the freezing walk to Tibby's. Alyssa watched as shops began to open and workers silently went to their jobs. She arrived early and was asked if she had any experience. After saying yes, Mr. Davis said, "Well, at least I don't have to teach you." Alyssa pulled on an apron and began work.
Back at the Lodgings, everyone was wondering where Alyssa was.
"How much shoppin' can one goil do?" Swifty asked.
"From what Sarah says, it's like a hobby er somethin'," Jack said. "Hey Kloppman, do yous know where Alyssa is?"
Kloppman stopped dead in his tracks. "No," he said slowly. "Somebody go next door and ask Mercy if she knows anything."
When asked, Mercy said that she had no idea.
"If Spot has anythin' da do wid dis, I'll kill 'im." Racetrack was beginning to pull on his coat and light up a cigar.
Jack looked at his best friend. "What makes yous think dat Spot had somethin' da do wid dis?"
Race looked at Jack as though the answer was obvious. "Well, he's been askin' 'bout her a lot."
"And I saw 'im follwin' 'er yesterday," Mush added.
At this, everyone began talking and chaos reigned supreme. It looked like every single Manhattan Newsie was going to storm Brooklyn and interrogate Spot Conlon.
Not a bright idea.
Jack said, "HOLD IT! Me and Race'll go ask Spot some questions. Da rest a yous'll keep an eye out while yous sellin'. Any questions?"
Snitch said something that sounded remotely like, "No siree Bob."
Grimly, everyone went out; each and everyone of them worried sick about Alyssa.
While Alyssa was serving lunch to a business man, Jack and Race were serving Spot Conlon some questions.
"Yous seen Alyssa lately?" Though Jack had a girl, he felt obligated to feel responsible for her because she was living with him. He also thought of her as a sister.
"Yeah, I's seen 'er," Spot said. He was unsure as to why Race and Jack were here in Brooklyn, asking questions. A look from Race told him that he had to explain. "Saw 'er yesterday wid dat cripple goil. Dey was headin' ta O'Reiley's. Haven' seen 'er since."
Cowboy and Race looked at each other, skeptical and worried at the same time. If Spot had only seen her yesterday, then who knows what could have happened. However, they knew that Spot would not lie about a girl; it was a weakness of his.
Satisfied that the King of Brooklyn was telling the truth, the two walked away. Race's only words were, "Alyssa's Manhattan territory."
Now, Spot was more confused than ever. It seemed to him that the knew that he was looking at Alyssa. How would he not. In his eyes, she was the definition of the word beautiful. Her long brown hair always swirling around her, her flashing green eyes, milk white skin, and lovely laugh, was everything that Spot was looking for in a girl. The topper though, was the fact that she knew how to use a weapon. It also seemed to Spot that the Manhattan Newsies were getting possessive of her. Race's final words resounded in his head, "Alyssa's Manhattan territory." What the bloody hell was that supposed to mean?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Brian Denton walked into Tibby's. The first thing that he noticed was that they had gotten a waitress. To him, she was beautiful with milk white skin, brown hair curled into a bun, and flashing green eyes. As she walked over, Denton thought of hitting on her then she spoke.
"So Denton, what'll ya be havin'?"
Shocked, he looked up at the waitress and saw that it was Alyssa who looked down at him. So much for his idea.
"You're working at Tibby's? Do you realize that every Newsie in Manhattan is out looking for you? They're all worried sick; Racetrack thinks you've been kidnapped."
When he said this, Alyssa paled. Denton, without knowing it, had struck a chord deep within Alyssa. "Race thinks that I've been kidnapped?" she whispered. Alyssa sunk into a chair beside Denton and put her head in her hands. Never, in her whole life had anyone ever been worried what had happened to her. Now, at least twenty people were worried out of their minds. She told Denton this who just stared in amazement.
"You best tell them as soon as possible. If you don't, these boys will tear the whole city apart looking for you. The last thing you want is a bunch of angry and worried Newsies running around New York looking for their adopted sister." Denton paused for a moment and then said, "Oh, I'll have the chicken with a baked potato and peas."
"And ta drink?" Alyssa made the transition easily. Firm, comfortable ground. This was good.
"Could you get me a beer?"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Each Newsie came home that night with no luck. Not a single person had seen her. Sarah and Mercy were both very anxious. The boys had forbidden them to look that day. There was a fear that they might get taken too. Racetrack sat in corner, beer in one hand and a cigar in his mouth.
Down on the first floor, the door slammed shut. The sound of a coat being taken off was heard. No one moved because they figured that it was Kloppman, back from looking for Alyssa and a Christmas Eve party. Nobody even shifted when footsteps sounded on the wooden staircase.
From the doorway, Alyssa could see the haunted and mournful faces of all her friends. It shocked her to see the usually rambunctious group so solemn; and it was all because of her. Timidly, she stepped into the light and said with a wavering voice, "Hey, everybody."
The next thing anyone knew, Race was flying from his corner and violently hugging Alyssa. "Thank God yous alright!"
Seeing the notorious gambler like this almost brought Alyssa to tears. "I owe all yous a apology and a explanation." She was about to say more when the tears began to fall silently down her cheeks. Race, being closest, pulled her close so she could sob onto his shoulder. It was not hard; she was three inches shorter than him. Seeing such an unfettered display of emotion sent everyone forward to try and comfort her. Alyssa was overwhelmed and she let about a years worth of tears fall.
Every painful moment that had happened to her within the past year fame flooding back. Each time she had been abused; each time she had seen her whole life about to end; each time that she huddled in an alley, hungry and cold.
Such pain. So many shadows. Things better left unsaid.
Maybe these people could help her walk out of her shadowed past and start a new life without all the pain.
Alyssa felt herself being guided to a chair. Sitting, she began to compose herself. Slowly, as if she was coming out if a trance, she spoke. "This morning, I left for my first day of work." She was so shaken that she spoke without the New York accent. "I'm so sorry."
Jack cut in. "Yous ain't gotta factory job, do yous? If yous do, quit - now. I won't allow it." He wasn't about to see Alyssa wither away to nothing under the conditions of factory life. "Dat goes fer you too," he said to Sarah.
With a smile, Alyssa shook her head. "No, I'm not. I'm working at Tibby's."
"Yous workin' at Tibby's?!" Skittery cut in. "Alright, someone else to buy us lunch."
Alyssa continued, "I'm working as a waitress. Denton came by for supper and saw me. He told me how upset you all were. I'm so sorry for making you all worry. If I had known it would distress you so much, I would have told you before I left. I took the job because I need a way to support myself while I live here. The opportunity just presented itself."
"Don' worry 'bout it," Specs said.
"Yeah don' worry." Race said. He moved to kneel in front of her. "It's just dat we's don't want nothin' bad ta happen ta ya. We's all wanna keep yous."
Without any further words being spoken, Alyssa was sent off to bed by Sarah and Mercy. They said that she had enough stress for one day. Give her current state, Alyssa fell asleep and slept peacefully.
The morning was just like any other. The boys got up and were loud with jokes and laughter. Alyssa would come out of her room and see every one off. Or, that was how a morning was supposed to be.
As everyone was leaving, Alyssa did not come out of her room.
Much to the dismay of every Newsie there.
"Where is dat goil?" Skittery asked. "She's da reason why I's keep sellin' dese lousy papes."
A couple of "awwws" were issued by some nearby Newsies.
"Race, go see if she's sleepin'," Specs said. Mush proceeded to shove the little Italian forward.
"Why me?" demanded Race, digging his heels into the floor. Specs was asking him to do something very dangerous; enter a girl's room uninvited.
Specs continued, "Well, yous seem ta be on such good terms wid her. It's logical."
"How was da soup," Bumlets muttered under his breath.
Resigned, poor Racetrack Higgins was shoved forward.
Revenge is a beautiful thing.
Timidly, Race knocked on the old oak door. "Alyssa, yous in dere? It's Racetrack."
Silence met Race's inquiry. Not a good sign.
If anyone was expecting Alyssa to fling the door open wide and hug Race, they were severely wrong and disappointed.
Mustering up as much courage as he could, Race put his hand to the door knob. Why couldn't Jack have done this, he asked himself. Oh right. HE had spent the night at the Jacobs house. Race gave a snort of indignation.
"Yous gonna open da door or what?"
"Shut it, Snipeshooter."
It took a lot of will power for Racetrack to open that door. Time seemed to drag on forever. The old oak door slowly swung forward on its hinges. It revealed an empty room. Her bed was made up and everything was strangely in order.
Everyone stared.
"She left wid out sayin' goodbye?" Mush choked out. "How could she do dis?"
Behind them, Kloppman came up the stairs to hear just what Mush had said. "If you're looking for Alyssa, she went shopping with Mercy this morning."
"Who's Mercy?" everyone chorused. They had never heard of her before.
"Mercy Williams. She's the cripple who lives next door. Sweet girl." Kloppman was amazed at how used to seeing Alyssa his boys had become. She really was part of the family.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Bright musical laughter filled the busy New York streets. Everywhere one looked droves of joyful holiday shoppers could be seen. Among them was Mercy and Alyssa. Shop windows were filled with tantalizing things; all to tempt an unknowing customer out of their last bit of money. This was not a problem for the rich though; they had plenty of money to buy the expensive gifts. The rest of the New York populous was not so fortunate.
The two came to one of the shops that they needed to stop at. It was a small store run by one of the textile factories. Prices were relatively low, so everyone could afford what they needed. Alyssa was there to buy a few things for the spinning wheel that she had salvaged. As she was selecting a spindle she saw Mercy gaze longingly at a shawl on display. After paying for the spindle and some yarn, she walked over to her friend.
"Mercy."
"Oh, sorry." Mercy turned and faced Alyssa. "Just admirin' dis shawl. Its Italian made, ya know. silk imported from the Orient, handmade. fireburst design in white on the solid blue. tassels on the edge. warm and thick. Way too expensive, though."
Listening to Mercy describe the shawl told Alyssa just how much Mercy wanted it. A glimmer of an idea formed in her head. Once Alyssa Cambell formed an idea, she never let it go. Foolish. perhaps.
"Where should we go fer da cigahs an' sweets?"
Alyssa received a reproving glance from Mercy. "Dere's only one place, O'Reiley's. Do I really gotta teach yous 'bout dis city?"
With a laugh and a shove, the two girls went out of the warm shop and into the bitter cold. Snow swirled around and people walking around were bundled tightly and were almost as like walking coats. A carol singing Newsie went by and stopped in his tracks.
Squinting her eyes against the glare, Alyssa looked at the Newsie. "Mush?"
"Alyssa!" Mush ran over and hugged her tightly. "We's all thought dat yous had left us."
She laughed at him. "Nah. Why would I leave you guys?"
Mush thought about that for a moment, trying to come up with a reason. "Good point. Who's yer friend?"
Mercy, not knowing who this Newsie was, was trying to blend into a shop wall behind her. All she knew was that he was Manhattan and that he lived next door to her. It should have comforted her that Alyssa knew him, but no.
Alyssa reached her hand out and gently drew Mercy forward. "Dis is Mercy Williams. She lives next door to us. Mercy, dis is Mush."
Mush stepped forward and cordially shook Mercy's hand. Pleased ta meet ya." Then, he looked at the clock tower. "Now, if you'll 'scuse me, I's gotta run." With that, he hurried away.
As they walked, they talked about this and that. The wind picked up again and they hurried along. They saw Spot and wondered what he was doing in Manhattan territory.
"Dat's da King a Brooklyn, ain't it?" Mercy quietly asked. They went inside O'Reiley's and began overlooking a sweet display.
"Yeah, dat's 'im alright. The famous Spot Conlon." Alyssa said this with a bit of hatred. To be honest, she had been thinking about Spot. Not in a good way either. Being new, she was told that Spot would go after her. Her little stunt the night she met him showed that he loved his power. She knew from experience that people with power like his eventually go too far. Hopefully, that time would not come too soon. Frankly, Spot was a good leader, for all his faults. Alyssa was going to try and stay away from men, in a romantic sense. She had to much pain because. no, she was not going to think about that now.
As Mercy was looking through the sweets, Alyssa wandered over to the cigars. She was immediately reminded of Racetrack; the comforting smell of a cigar always lingered on him. She blushed as she smiled to herself. Pulling out a bit of money that she had saved, she bought a tin of six; sure to go over well. Mercy paid for the sweets with their combined money and they moved on.
Passing Tibby's, Alyssa saw a sign in the window that caught her eye. It said, "Help wanted, waiter." She looked around to tell Mercy that she was going in, but Mercy was across the street talking with Crutchy. Turning back to Tibby's she walked in, interested in the sign.
Walking up to the counter, she asked, "I'm inquiring about the help wanted sign." She decided to speak without the accent to make a good impression.
"Well," the young man behind the counter said. "It says 'waiter' and you're girl, begging your pardon, miss."
"Murphy, what's the problem?" An older man in his forty's came forward.
"This young lady was inquiring about the sign."
Murphy was cut off by the older man. "Miss, I'm Jonathan Davis, manager of Tibby's. What is it that you were wondering?"
"I was wondering if you would be wiling to hire me as a waitress. I can work all day."
Alyssa was cut off by Mr. Davis. "You mean to tell me that you want the job?" His face was bewildered.
"Well, yes."
"Wonderful. When can you start? Oh, and what's your name?" Mr. Davis looked like the happiest man in the world.
"Alyssa Cambell. I can start tomorrow, I suppose."
"Great," he turned to Murphy, "Now we have someone to work Christmas Eve." Turning to Alyssa he asked, "You'll have Christmas off, of course. We're closed. Obviously you can take time off, but not to much or we'll have to fire you, unfortunately. Don't bother showing up if you're sick; we're a restaurant, not a factory. If you're sick, don't worry about it, we can get someone to cover for you. This is the worst winter that New York has seen in a while so sickness is bound to happen." Mr. Davis kept talking and Alyssa was quite pleased with herself.
"One, question, when do you want me here?" Alyssa figured it was a valuable piece of information to know.
"Right, of course. Seven sharp in the morning. See you then." Mr. Davis shook her hand to show that they had reached an agreement. "We'll do the paper work in the morning."
Back on the streets and having met up with Mercy, Alyssa was happier than she had been in a long time.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Christmas Eve morning. Alyssa savored the moment. Quietly, so that she would not wake anyone, she got ready for her first day of work. Excitement surged through her body making her shake. No one knew that she had a job, and she was going to try and keep it that way until tonight. Alyssa sang to herself as she braided her hair back and twisted it up into a bun.
Quietly, she slipped out of the Lodgings, and began the freezing walk to Tibby's. Alyssa watched as shops began to open and workers silently went to their jobs. She arrived early and was asked if she had any experience. After saying yes, Mr. Davis said, "Well, at least I don't have to teach you." Alyssa pulled on an apron and began work.
Back at the Lodgings, everyone was wondering where Alyssa was.
"How much shoppin' can one goil do?" Swifty asked.
"From what Sarah says, it's like a hobby er somethin'," Jack said. "Hey Kloppman, do yous know where Alyssa is?"
Kloppman stopped dead in his tracks. "No," he said slowly. "Somebody go next door and ask Mercy if she knows anything."
When asked, Mercy said that she had no idea.
"If Spot has anythin' da do wid dis, I'll kill 'im." Racetrack was beginning to pull on his coat and light up a cigar.
Jack looked at his best friend. "What makes yous think dat Spot had somethin' da do wid dis?"
Race looked at Jack as though the answer was obvious. "Well, he's been askin' 'bout her a lot."
"And I saw 'im follwin' 'er yesterday," Mush added.
At this, everyone began talking and chaos reigned supreme. It looked like every single Manhattan Newsie was going to storm Brooklyn and interrogate Spot Conlon.
Not a bright idea.
Jack said, "HOLD IT! Me and Race'll go ask Spot some questions. Da rest a yous'll keep an eye out while yous sellin'. Any questions?"
Snitch said something that sounded remotely like, "No siree Bob."
Grimly, everyone went out; each and everyone of them worried sick about Alyssa.
While Alyssa was serving lunch to a business man, Jack and Race were serving Spot Conlon some questions.
"Yous seen Alyssa lately?" Though Jack had a girl, he felt obligated to feel responsible for her because she was living with him. He also thought of her as a sister.
"Yeah, I's seen 'er," Spot said. He was unsure as to why Race and Jack were here in Brooklyn, asking questions. A look from Race told him that he had to explain. "Saw 'er yesterday wid dat cripple goil. Dey was headin' ta O'Reiley's. Haven' seen 'er since."
Cowboy and Race looked at each other, skeptical and worried at the same time. If Spot had only seen her yesterday, then who knows what could have happened. However, they knew that Spot would not lie about a girl; it was a weakness of his.
Satisfied that the King of Brooklyn was telling the truth, the two walked away. Race's only words were, "Alyssa's Manhattan territory."
Now, Spot was more confused than ever. It seemed to him that the knew that he was looking at Alyssa. How would he not. In his eyes, she was the definition of the word beautiful. Her long brown hair always swirling around her, her flashing green eyes, milk white skin, and lovely laugh, was everything that Spot was looking for in a girl. The topper though, was the fact that she knew how to use a weapon. It also seemed to Spot that the Manhattan Newsies were getting possessive of her. Race's final words resounded in his head, "Alyssa's Manhattan territory." What the bloody hell was that supposed to mean?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Brian Denton walked into Tibby's. The first thing that he noticed was that they had gotten a waitress. To him, she was beautiful with milk white skin, brown hair curled into a bun, and flashing green eyes. As she walked over, Denton thought of hitting on her then she spoke.
"So Denton, what'll ya be havin'?"
Shocked, he looked up at the waitress and saw that it was Alyssa who looked down at him. So much for his idea.
"You're working at Tibby's? Do you realize that every Newsie in Manhattan is out looking for you? They're all worried sick; Racetrack thinks you've been kidnapped."
When he said this, Alyssa paled. Denton, without knowing it, had struck a chord deep within Alyssa. "Race thinks that I've been kidnapped?" she whispered. Alyssa sunk into a chair beside Denton and put her head in her hands. Never, in her whole life had anyone ever been worried what had happened to her. Now, at least twenty people were worried out of their minds. She told Denton this who just stared in amazement.
"You best tell them as soon as possible. If you don't, these boys will tear the whole city apart looking for you. The last thing you want is a bunch of angry and worried Newsies running around New York looking for their adopted sister." Denton paused for a moment and then said, "Oh, I'll have the chicken with a baked potato and peas."
"And ta drink?" Alyssa made the transition easily. Firm, comfortable ground. This was good.
"Could you get me a beer?"
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Each Newsie came home that night with no luck. Not a single person had seen her. Sarah and Mercy were both very anxious. The boys had forbidden them to look that day. There was a fear that they might get taken too. Racetrack sat in corner, beer in one hand and a cigar in his mouth.
Down on the first floor, the door slammed shut. The sound of a coat being taken off was heard. No one moved because they figured that it was Kloppman, back from looking for Alyssa and a Christmas Eve party. Nobody even shifted when footsteps sounded on the wooden staircase.
From the doorway, Alyssa could see the haunted and mournful faces of all her friends. It shocked her to see the usually rambunctious group so solemn; and it was all because of her. Timidly, she stepped into the light and said with a wavering voice, "Hey, everybody."
The next thing anyone knew, Race was flying from his corner and violently hugging Alyssa. "Thank God yous alright!"
Seeing the notorious gambler like this almost brought Alyssa to tears. "I owe all yous a apology and a explanation." She was about to say more when the tears began to fall silently down her cheeks. Race, being closest, pulled her close so she could sob onto his shoulder. It was not hard; she was three inches shorter than him. Seeing such an unfettered display of emotion sent everyone forward to try and comfort her. Alyssa was overwhelmed and she let about a years worth of tears fall.
Every painful moment that had happened to her within the past year fame flooding back. Each time she had been abused; each time she had seen her whole life about to end; each time that she huddled in an alley, hungry and cold.
Such pain. So many shadows. Things better left unsaid.
Maybe these people could help her walk out of her shadowed past and start a new life without all the pain.
Alyssa felt herself being guided to a chair. Sitting, she began to compose herself. Slowly, as if she was coming out if a trance, she spoke. "This morning, I left for my first day of work." She was so shaken that she spoke without the New York accent. "I'm so sorry."
Jack cut in. "Yous ain't gotta factory job, do yous? If yous do, quit - now. I won't allow it." He wasn't about to see Alyssa wither away to nothing under the conditions of factory life. "Dat goes fer you too," he said to Sarah.
With a smile, Alyssa shook her head. "No, I'm not. I'm working at Tibby's."
"Yous workin' at Tibby's?!" Skittery cut in. "Alright, someone else to buy us lunch."
Alyssa continued, "I'm working as a waitress. Denton came by for supper and saw me. He told me how upset you all were. I'm so sorry for making you all worry. If I had known it would distress you so much, I would have told you before I left. I took the job because I need a way to support myself while I live here. The opportunity just presented itself."
"Don' worry 'bout it," Specs said.
"Yeah don' worry." Race said. He moved to kneel in front of her. "It's just dat we's don't want nothin' bad ta happen ta ya. We's all wanna keep yous."
Without any further words being spoken, Alyssa was sent off to bed by Sarah and Mercy. They said that she had enough stress for one day. Give her current state, Alyssa fell asleep and slept peacefully.