Family Don't Break

CHAPTER 23

JACK'S POV:

The street is dark, only illuminated by the streetlights. The cobblestone streets are hard to see. "Okay, but Race, if you gave Les four cups of coffee he would probably just pass out." Alex argues. "Or he would have a ton of energy and do all the chores in record time," Race points out. "Neither of you should ever be giving my brother coffee." Davey orders.

All of us are walking home after a late night at Medda's. She let us watch one of her rehearsals. As rambunctious as the boys are, they always sit still for Medda's performances. They love listening to her just as much as the rest of us. They always give her a standing ovation when she's done.

Davey is carrying a sleeping Les on his back, the little boy snoring away. He fell asleep halfway through the rehearsal, right on Spot. Spot didn't seem to mind though. He even stole Spec's jacket to use as a blanket for Les.

"Hey! Look at all those newsies!" A drunken voice slurs. All of us stop, wary of what's coming. The Delancey brothers stumble out of the shadows, obviously intoxicated. "Oy. Not these two." Davey huffs. Oscar has a mostly empty bottle of whiskey in his hand and he swings it as he walks.

"Oh! And it's the girl pretending to be a boy!" Morris shouts. The two of them laugh loudly at their own insult. "C'mon, just go around 'em." Albert whispers. We start to walk past them, but then Morris grabs my arm and pulls me back. "You broke my brother's nose, asshole." I shake him off, walking away. "Ay! Come back here!" Oscar shouts. He grabs me again, and this time I push him. "Jack, don't. Let's head home." Alex says.

"Oh, shut up girl. You don't know nothin'." Morris slurs. I'm about to yell at him, but Alex places a hand on my shoulder and gently ushers me back. "You're still recovering from your last fight. I don't want you to open your cuts again."

"Aww, look at little Jack! He needs his whore to take care of him." the alleyway goes silent. "What did you just call her?" Race asks. "A whore. That's what she is, ain't she? Not like she can do any other job." I can feel the tension rise. "Davey, take Les and go. Get the first aid ready." Jojo whispers. Davey doesn't argue this time. He knows that something is about to go down and he can't stop it. It's best to keep Les out of the way.

"You take that back. Right now. Or I'm going to make sure you can't walk straight for a month." Ike hisses. "Look at them, thinking they're so tough!" Oscar chuckles. They are clearly too drunk to think straight. They just signed their death certificate.

I lunge forward, hitting Oscar. I can feel my cuts open again, but I don't care. I can't feel anything but blind rage. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Finch and Albert fighting Morris.

"Boys! Stop!" we all freeze to see four policemen running up the alley towards us. "Run!" Specs yells. We all start sprinting. I hear them chasing after us, blowing their whistles. I look behind me to check on Alex, and I see her trip over a cobblestone. "Alex!" I start to run towards her but Race shoves me back. "Go! I'll get her!"

I keep running, but then I hear Alex call out my name. I turn around to see her and Race being hauled off by the police, hands forced behind their backs. "Alex! Race!" I shout. I'm about to race towards them but Albert stops me. "We have to get out of here. You can't help them if you're locked up too." I want to argue but I know he's right.

We rush back to the house. When we get inside, everyone is gathered around. Davey is checking in to see if they're all okay. "Jack! Albert, thank God." he waits for more of us to enter, but when the door shuts his face falls. "Where's Alex and Race?" he asks. "The cops, they got 'em. I couldn't stop them, they were too far away." I can feel panic engulfing me. They got Race and Alex.

"Breathe, Jack. Breathe." Davey sits me down and I try to take some deep breaths. "The cops got Race?" Spot asks. I nod, too tired for words. "Fuck!" he swears. "Do we know where they mighta gone? Maybe we can ask Katharine for some bail money." Ike asks. "I think I know." Crutchie says. His voice is soft and small. We all look at him. "The workhouses." he answers. "The what houses?" Mike questions.

"The workhouses. It's a new kind of refuge. I've heard it's worse. It's where they're sending all the kids they pick up off the streets. It's not good." all of us think about this. I remember being told about the workhouses by one of the kids in the refuge. From what he told me, the refuge sounded like a paradise.

"We have to get them out." I say. "We will, Jack. We just have to know which one they ended up at." Davey is trying to calm me down, but it's not working. "No! We have to find them, I can't let them go through that. It's my fault that they got taken, Davey. I can't let either of them get hurt!" The thought of anything happening to Race or Alex makes my gut churn.

"Jack. The only thing we can do right now is call Alex's parents. Go to bed, all of you. I'll call them and explain what happened. We'll figure out a plan in the morning."

"Tell them I'm sorry, okay? Tell them that I'll get her back." my voice cracks. Davey nods his head yes, ushering me to bed. I take one of the bunks, not having the energy to climb all the way to the roof.

I try to sleep, but I can't. Alex and Race are in danger. Who knows what's happening right now. They could be hurt or hungry or- no. That won't do any good. Don't focus on that. Focus on a plan. How are we going to get them back? We have to get them back.

I can never protect the people I love. Why do I keep putting them at risk? Everyone who loves me gets hurt. Because of me, the love of my life and my friend are in some workhouse suffering. This is all my fault, isn't it?