The next morning did not come gracefully.

I woke up to a storm, both inside and outside the Lodgehouse. The snow hadn't stopped during the night, and mounds of white now lined the window sills. Newsboys ran around the room, the younger ones playing tag and the older boys headed for the showers. I was definitely not getting a wash this morning. My showers usually took place a hour before the boys woke up and everything went crazy. I groaned as I sat up, missing the peaceful mornings on the rooftop with Jack.

Jack.

The shock of yesterday hit me all over again. I wondered how his first night in the Refuge had gone, probably not well. I knew Jack though, and he wasn't one to complain. His empty bunk beside mine made my heart hurt as it was usually full of his sketches and pencils. Jack was even more of an early riser than I was and would use the quiet as the peak drawing time or so he called it. I missed waking up to the sound of a pencil scratching on paper.

"We can go visit him tonight after hours if you would like." Race stood at the foot of my bunk, leaning against the metal posts. He looked sympathetic, but I could tell that he was missing Jack just as much as I was.

The three of us had been through thick and thin together. Jack had become a Newsboy first, and I showed up on the fire escape two years later. Race arrived not long after that. I still remember the first time we met. He was a kid who was practically my twin with same age, hair, and eye color, often leading people to place us together as siblings. A person could tell that he had been through hard times, sporting scars that weren't from falling of a bicycle. When he walked through the front door however, he had the biggest grin and a nasty cigar hanging from his mouth. I don't know what the reason behind the cigar is, but there was always one in his pocket. Jack, Race, and I had clicked instantly and have stuck together this whole time, something I was very thankful for.

"I would like that. Do you think we could sneak some food in?" I asked with a smile.

Race laughed. "Why not? I saved you some breakfast down at the front desk, hopefully nobody ate it," he said, walking back over to his own bunk across from mine. My stomach growled, and I realized that I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday. I threw back the pile of blankets on top of me and got out of bed. The moment I stood up, I immediately knew something was off. I tumbled onto the hard wooden floor. Race started laughing, but panic, not a laugh, was forcing its way up my throat. I rolled over and sat up, staring at my legs.

"Race!" I called, but he continued roaring with laughter. "RACE!"

"What?" he finally answered.

I couldn't see him, but I could tell he was trying not to laugh. "I'm serious!" I argued. "Something's wrong."

"What do you mean something's wrong? You fell over. Just admit that you're clumsy." Truth be told, I was a clumsy person, but this was different.

"Race, I can't feel my leg," I said slowly. He must have heard the panic in my voice and was kneeling at my side in a instant.

"Are you sure?" he asked, and I nodded. "Try wiggling your toes," he suggested.

I did as he said, but only the toes on my left foot moved. Race frowned and pinched at the skin of my right leg. My ankle was still purple from yesterday, but I didn't feel any pain. I could tell Race was trying hard to get me to yell in pain, but nothing happened.

"You honestly can't feel that?"

I shook my head at his question. "I wouldn't lie about something like this! Wh-" I started to cough, my throat itching.

Race felt my forehead with the back of his hand. "You're warm. The cold must've gotten to you from yesterday. We were all out in that storm longer than we should have. Stay here and rest."

"I can't. Jack wi-"

"Jack would want you to be better. I'll still go see him tonight and tell you all about it when I get back," Race told me sternly, but I knew his heart was in the right place.

"You'll make sure he's okay? that he had enough food and sleep and-"

"I got it, Celia," Race said helping me up and back onto the bed.

I guess I didn't realize just how tired I still was until I had laid back down. Sleep enveloped me quickly, keeping me wishing that things would get better the next time my eyes opened.

They didn't.