I awoke to the feeling of tear stains on my face and the cold tile floor of my kitchen. I pushed myself up and felt how stiff and sore my back and arms were from sleeping on the hard floor. I remembered what happened only hours before, but I held back the tears this time. I have to be strong. Brave. I wrote down a note to Dr. Thomas and left it on the table. It was something along the lines of "I will be moving into a family friend's house, I packed all my belongings and I will call him if I needed any help.
I filled an old bag with my newsboy clothes and packed some of my night gowns and a couple dresses just in case. I threw in my hair brush and tooth brush and quietly took the necklace off of my mother's neck. I held it in my hand and observed the bright jewels implanted in the silver frame. I remember when my father bought this for her. They were so happy before everything went wrong. I tried to brush away the troubling events that have happened in my life and clipped the jewelry around my neck. I glanced in the mirror on the dresser and saw my blood-shot eyes and my stained cheeks. Pathetic. I inhaled deeply and I saw the necklace. I told myself I will be brave. I will move on.
I felt pretty awkward walking up to the window with my extra bag of belongings with me. I adjusted my grey hat and my flannel shirt when I saw Crutchie sitting in front of the window with his crutch sitting next to him.
"Hey B! I haven't seen ya in a while! What's in da bag?" I forced a smile towards him and sat down.
"Um well... These are all of my things. My mother died." I didn't know how to say it any other way so I said it the only way I knew how; how it was. I didn't want to tie any emotion into it because I knew how easily I would fall apart. Crutchie was silent for a moment, but tried to lighten the mood how ever he could.
"Wow." he said. "I'm really sorry kid." My lip was trembling and he looked me in the eye. I could see the sympathy and worry in his bright hazel eyes. I knew what he saw in mine. Fear. Heartache. He opened his arms and that was just what I needed. Crutchie gave the best hugs, by far. I threw myself into his arms and hugged him so tight I was afraid he might stop breathing. He wrapped his arms around me as well and told me it would be okay. He told me that I can live in the Lodging House with the rest of the Newsies. I nodded into his shoulder and a single tear ran down my red cheek and was implanted in his shirt. We broke apart and he wiped another tear off my face I smiled again and tried to pull myself together.
"Thanks," I said casually.
"No problem," he said and gave me a playful punch on my arm which I returned slightly harder. We laughed quietly, and he got up to buy his morning papers. As he got up and left I noticed another Newsie that was watching us. Before he ventured any closer I knew it was Specs. I pulled myself together and let him come sit next to me.
"I heard what you said," he commented looking at his hands. "I'm sorry. For everything else too." I nodded and told him that I was sorry and I was the one who pushed him away. I gave him a small hug and I told him I would be moving in to the Lodging House this afternoon. I looked up at him and saw what he wanted to say.
"I will tell them. I don't know when, but I'll tell them." He nodded and stood to buy his papers and after a moment I stood to follow him.
I sold by myself for most of the day but, when I did sell with some of the guys I didn't tell them about my mother, let alone me. I sold all my papes and slowly followed some of the boys to the Lodging House. As soon as I walked through the door I was met by boys running up and down the stairs, yelling and chasing each other. I wasn't surprised at what I saw though. Jack came jogging down the stairs and smiled when he saw me. "Hey Blue! What are you doing 'ere?" His smile faded when I showed him my bag.
"Umm, I'd like to tell all of the guys together if that's okay." He nodded and patted my shoulder. "HEY!" He yelled with his hands cupping his mouth. Immediately all of the chaos stopped and the boys slowly made their way down to the main area in front of the door. Jack looked around at them and told them I had something to tell them. I looked around and saw Crutchie in the back. He met my eyes and gave me a thumbs up. I saw Specs sitting in one of the chairs to the left and he nodded and me with encouragement. I took a deep breath and began speaking to them.
A/N Hey guys! Sorry this chapter was kinda short compared to the others lately... I'm really happy how much you guys are reviewing and following my story! I'm having a lot of fun with this one and again, I LOVE REVIEWS so any comments or criticism I take into consideration! Well that's all I have to say for now!
~ GTHN