Author's Note: Oh, man. I apologize. August has been so much busier than I anticipated. Sorry to make y'all wait so long. Thank you to all who have reviewed - your encouragement keeps me posting! My hope is to finish writing/editing this story this month and then post the rest shortly thereafter. If you've made it this far, thank you so much for sticking with the story!
July 30, 1899
Day 10 of the strike
Tap tap tap.
Charlotte turned over in her sleep.
Tap tap tap.
Charlotte furrowed her brow in her sleep.
Tap tap tap.
Charlotte slowly opened her eyes. Something had woken her. Was that tapping from a dream or was it real?
Tap tap tap.
Charlotte turned over and saw Boots squatting on the fire escape next to her window. She sighed and rolled out of bed. She tip-toed over to the window and gently pushed it up and open.
"What?" she whispered, an edge to her voice.
"We need your help," Boots said quietly.
Charlotte sighed. "Did Spot send you?"
Boot shook his head. "No, Aide did."
Charlotte nodded. "Meet me on the street."
Boots nodded and silently climbed down the fire escape. Charlotte quietly got dressed, careful to listen for any noise from her aunt and uncle's room.
She put her coat on and quietly crept down the fire escape. Once she was in the alley, she turned onto the main street and found Boots.
"Tell me what happened," said Charlotte as they began the walk to downtown.
"He was just taking papes away from this scab, and these thugs jumped out and got him," said Boots. "We told him don't work alone like that, but you know Snipes, he thinks gotta prove himself or something, and—
"No, no, I mean his injuries," said Charlotte. "Is he bleeding? Bruised? Can he walk?"
"Oh. Uh, mostly bruised up pretty bad. Black eyes, he was limping when Itey and Skittery brought him back to the lodging house. There was blood, but I didn't see where. He fell down once he came through the door."
Charlotte nodded, her mind going into overdrive. She knew there was only so much she could do for Snipeshooter. Whenever the boys asked her to come help, it was mostly bandaging the boys up properly, and making them feel better. She just felt lucky that no one had died on her yet.
They walked quickly through the cold night and made it to the Newsboys Lodging House in record time.
"Meet you up there," Boots said when they reach the corner of the building. He went in the front door and Charlotte walked into the alley towards the fire escape. She climbed up the fire escape quickly. She was careful to avoid the windows until she got to the third floor, where Spot was waiting by the window.
Charlotte hesitated when she saw Spot, her adrenaline rush coming to a halt. He quickly opened the window and held his hand out to her.
"Thanks for coming," he said.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, rooted to the spot.
"I was here when they brought him in," said Spot. "The kid used to be Brooklyn - you really think I'd just leave?"
Charlotte gave him a glare and stepped through the window without accepting his hand for help.
"We've got the bandages ready and they're carrying up the hot water now," Skittery said.
Charlotte walked directly over to the bunk that Snipeshooter was lying on. Adelaide sat by his bed, holding his hand.
"Just take tiny breaths," Adelaide said to him.
"Hurts," said Snipeshooter.
"I know, but you still gotta breathe, buddy."
"Hey Snipes," Charlotte said softly. "What hurts?"
"Everything," Snipeshooter said softly.
"He says it hurts to breathe," said Adelaide. "And he's got some nasty body bruises. Not to mention…well, you can see we tried to patch him up as best we could."
Charlotte nodded and lifted a few of the makeshift bandages the boys had put over his wounds.
"I got everyone downstairs, so they wouldn't bug you," said Spot.
Charlotte ignored him. "You've probably got a couple broken ribs," said Charlotte. "I'll try and be gentle."
She dipped a cloth into the hot water and began washing away the blood.
Snipeshooter winced when the water hit his wounds.
"It's okay," Adelaide whispered. Snipeshooter looked over at her. She gave him a small smile. "You've survived much worse."
Snipeshooter smiled a little bit at that.
"He's gonna be okay, right?" asked Spot.
Charlotte nodded. She quietly and quickly went about patching Snipeshooter up, bandaging his wounds and wrapping his ribs.
"You need to take it easy the next couple days, okay?" said Charlotte.
"Uh-huh," Snipeshooter nodded.
"Snipes," said Charlotte, gently but firmly. "Look at me." Snipeshooter looked over at Charlotte. "I'm serious. You need to rest. Stay in bed for the next couple days."
"Yes, ma'am," Snipeshooter gave a small smirk.
Charlotte grinned. "Good."
"Is there anything we need to do for him?" asked Adelaide.
"Just change his bandages if they bleed through and keep them clean," she said. "He's gonna be sore for the next few days, so just take it easy."
"Thank you, Char," said Adelaide.
"No problem."
"No, Char," said Adelaide, causing Charlotte to look at her. "I appreciate it." Adelaide tossed a glance at Spot. "Really. Thank you."
Charlotte gave her a small smile. "You're welcome." She stood up and went into the washroom and washed her hands.
"Aide," Spot whispered, then gestured toward the washroom.
"No," Adelaide whispered, shaking her head.
"Go!" Spot leaned towards her over Snipeshooter's bed.
"No! I am not going to convince this girl to take you back when you were the one cheating. If anything, you should go back to Violet, who needs you!"
"What are you two talking about?" Snipeshooter asked.
"Nothing," said Aide, shaking her head.
Charlotte walked back out of the washroom and Adelaide sat back down as Spot stood up straight once more.
Charlotte looked at Spot. "Next time, you can leave if you know I'm coming over."
Spot clenched his jaw, but said nothing.
Charlotte opened the window once more and climbed out.
"Whoa," said Spot, walking over. "You don't think I'm gonna let you walk home alone, are you?"
"I'll be fine," said Charlotte.
Spot shook his head and crawled through the window. Charlotte headed down without waiting for Spot to follow her. She walked down the fire escape and down to the street.
"Wait up, Charlotte," said Spot, walking down the fire escape. He jumped down to the street and jogged to catch up with her.
Charlotte said nothing to him as they walked down the street.
Spot didn't know what to say, so he stayed silent.
If Charlotte had made it to the Lodging House in record time, the walk home felt like the longest one ever. In equal measure, Charlotte wanted to run away from Spot and run into his arms at the same time. After not seeing Spot for a few days, she was well on her way to getting over him. Now that she was walking next to him, she felt herself caving. She knew she had to get away from him. She took longer and quicker steps, hoping to leave his company sooner so she could continue getting over him.
Soon they were at her building.
"Thank you for walking me home," she said without looking at him. She walked down the alley to the fire escape next to her window.
"Charlotte, wait," said Spot, chasing after her.
"What?" She looked at the wall next to him.
"Thank you," he said, his voice a softer than usual. He reached for her hand, but she jerked it away.
"I didn't do it for you."
With that, she began to climb the fire escape.
"I know I did things a little out of order," said Spot to her retreating figure, causing her to pause. "But I only ever wanted you."
Charlotte clenched her jaw and forced herself to keep going up. She finally got to her window and climbed inside. Spot watched her from the ground until she disappeared. Once she was safely inside, Spot turned around and walked out of the alley.
Charlotte poked her head out of the window and watched Spot turn the corner.
