~ Fifteen ~

I sprint down the roads of Manhattan, passing Medda's place, Tibby's, City Hall, and Town Square. Davey and Kid Blink trail twenty feet behind me, but I don't dare stop for them to catch up. My mind is set on the lodging house, and only the lodging house. I have to get to Jack.

My mind tries to convince itself that I'm not just going for Jack, but my heart tells me that he really is the only one on my list.

Snyder's carriage patiently waits outside across the street from the Newsboy Lodging House as I approach my home. It's painted all black and it gives me chills every time I see it.

I burst though the doors and make a bee-line for the staircase. I know that Jack would be on the roof. The roof is his safe place. I shove my way up the steps to find men rummaging through the beds, closets, and all over. They don't even notice me. When I'm in the boys' room, I see the giant glass window is open.

Jack.

It leads to the fire escape and up the stairs is his "penthouse in the sky".

I swiftly ascend the fire escape steps, with one hand on the railing, careful not to slip on the wet metal stairs. I step over the broken glass bottles, scared to think about why they were there. I can't stop my feet from moving, and when I reach the top, I have to grab onto the wall to stop and catch my breath.

"Jack?" I whisper.

My head turns left to right, scanning every possible hiding spot. The raindrops from the night before drip off of the gutter, giving me the only sound to listen to. My heart beats faster and faster when the waiting of Jack's response keeps getting longer. I await the thick Manhattan accent to whisper, but no avail. I feel like falling.

They got him, didn't they?

Have you ever been so stressed, so worried, that you're calm? When I thought of all the possibilities, I began to panic. But my mind shut off, I realized... There was nothing I could do.

A wave of sadness flooded through me. They got him.

Everything was quiet, except the noise below me. The crashing, the screaming, the grunting. I try to fight the tears, and the urge to collapse on the ground.

I'm never getting him back, am I? Snyder has been chasing Jack for years. Even before he went by the name, Jack Kelly. He wouldn't release him for all of the money in the world!

I see his men go outside and decide it should be safe to come back downstairs. When my feet decide they can walk again, I'm slowly walking down the fire escape steps. The thoughts of Jack and the horrors of the Refuge race through my mind.

I remember everything about the Refuge. It was a nightmare. I was bullied, beaten, and I was treated like a servant. The living conditions... I wouldn't even call them conditions. I always felt unsafe and surrounded by unhappy faces.

The only thing that was worth waking up for in the morning was Jack. His smile, his almost impossible-to-understand Manhattan accent, his blue eyes, and his crazy talk. I remember wanting to get up, to see the face of the ten year-old boy sleeping on the bunk below me. I remember all of these things, and think about how I might not ever see them again.

I try to take my mind off of Jack, and Snyder, and the Refuge. I need to think about the Newsies that I have with me. The strike isn't over yet, and we need a new leader. I assume it's up to Davey and I.

Davey! I had almost forgot about him. Is he okay? Where is he?

Quickly, I climb through the glass window and back into the boys' room. No one was around. There was room to walk, there was room to move. My footsteps echoed in the empty space. This worried me. Where did they all go? I still hear voices from outside, I look out the window to see Snyder's men, getting in the carriage.

The more I walked around the lodging house, alone, the more frightened and worried I became about the boys. Where would they all be? They were all gone. I took this time to explore the upstairs level of the lodging house. I'm not usually allowed up there.

The boys are gone. Nowhere to be found.

My mind races through all of the possibilities of where they could be, what they could be doing.

After a while, I jumped at a knock from downstairs. It echoed through the entire building. I pass my bedroom, or, closet, and I have a sudden feeling rise up inside of me. Almost like a shooting pain, it came out of nowhere. I keep on walking, and I feel like I'm in danger.

But there's no one in sight.

Slowly, my hand reaches for the doorknob. It's hesitant to turn it. I'm about to, when I hear another creaking door ringing in my ears.

Then I hear him.

"Cory! You'se okay?"

I smile at the sound of his voice.

"Cowboy! Jack... I'm so glad you're alright." I race to his side. Relief washes over me when I see all of the little details that I look forward to every day.

The light in his eyes. The rasp in his voice. His talk of a small town out west. The way his neck tenses up, when he's laughing, or shouting. His dark hair and the nearly invisible freckles across his nose.

"Have you been in my room this whole time?" I grasp his hands, and hold them tight, never wanting to let go.

"Yeah, pretty much." He lets out a breathy chuckle."Figured Snyder wouldn't find me there. I was thinkin' 'bout making it my new safe place, maybe."

"I was so worried," I look down and ramble on. "Where are the rest of the boys?"

"No need to worry about them." We both stop and gaze at each other. My green eyes meet his blue, and the tension between us is electric. His face is inches away from mine, I tilt my head and he closes his eyes.

This is it. My first real kiss with Jack. He's not drunk, he's not depressed. He really does like me. Maybe this time, love won't hurry away.

I prepare myself for the sparks beginning to fly. Everything seems to fade away until the only thing I can feel is his hand on the back of my neck, and the texture of his newsboy cap and curly hair in my fingers. One second is all I need to feel his lips on mine.

Knock, knock.

And I didn't even get one second.

The obnoxiously loud knock throws me right back into reality. I'm back in the foyer of the lodging house again.

My head hangs down to where his lips are almost touching my forehead, and I laugh.

"I should get that." I slowly and hesitantly pull away from his gentle touch, to creak open the door.

I expect to see the nuns, giving us bread. If not them, then Medda, though that's highly unlikely.

Instead, I couldn't see anything. For when I opened the door, I was knocked out cold.

📰 ❤️ 🎵 📰 ❤️ 🎵 📰 ❤️ 🎵 📰 ❤️ 🎵 📰 ❤️ 🎵

-HEY IT'S ME AGAIN.

-I haven't been updating very much lately, but everytHING THAT I'VE WANTED TO HAPPEN FOR SO LONG IS FINALLY HAPPENING.

-This chapter is basically showing my hopeless romantic side. I love a good romance. #JoryOTP

-QOTD: Speaking of love, who is your favorite Broadway couple?

-AOTD: Well, Jack and Katherine, duh. But Bonnie and Clyde, Alexander and Eliza, and Jimmy and Millie.

-Well, that's all the time we have for today, folks. We'll see you next time on Queen of New York. Otherwise known as: Hayden Really Loves This Story and it's All She Ever Talks About!

Love, Hayden Beth 🙃💕