Family Don't Break

CHAPTER 27

TW: Gross men being suggestive

RACE'S POV:

I've been trying to thread this needle for at least twenty minutes. "Alex, how the hell am I supposed to do this?" she reaches over and threads the needle for me in less than three seconds. "Now, just pull the thread through and sew the hole shut." I do as she says, doing my best to stitch the jacket. When I finish, the hole is sewed shut but it looks all weird. "You pulled the thread too tight when the fabric was too far apart. Closer stitches."

"What's even the point of this? Why don't people just bring it to a tailor?" I groan. "Because they don't have to pay us here. Free labor." she snaps the thread with her teeth and tosses it onto the table beside her. "This ain't legal." Alex shrugs her shoulders. "Lots of things are legal when they shouldn't be. If you got money or you make money, the government looks the other way."

"Hey. No talking." The guard smacks the back of her head. "Sorry, sir." he smacks the back of her head again, and this time her hat comes off. "I said no-" her hair unfurls down her back. I freeze. Crap. This ain't good. "You're a girl?" Alex quickly grabs her hat and tucks her hair into it again. "Don't matter if I am or not. Won't make any difference in how I do my work." she says quietly.

"A girl in a workhouse? You ain't got no parents?" one of them sneers. "I got parents. Now please, I can't do my sewing if I'm distracted." Her voice is steely and confident, but I can hear the fear underneath. "Aww, look, she thinks she can scare us!"

"Leave her alone. I bet Ms. Heathrow wouldn't like you interfering with work. We got a lot of clothing to get through." I hiss. The guards mumble but head off. Even they don't want to risk the wrath of Ms. Heathrow.

"Alex, you okay?" Alex's hands are shaking and she can't thread the needle. "Yeah. I was hoping no one would find out." I take the needle from her, afraid that she'll stab herself. "It's okay. They'll forget about it all in a couple of days."

"Race, they know. They won't be forgetting. The only thing I had going for me ain't going for me no more. This is bad, Race."

"I know. But I won't let anything happen to you, promise." I mean what I say. Alex is like a sister to me. I'm not gonna leave her alone in here. I hand her back the needle and she threads it, her hands a little less shaky.

The next few hours are spent sewing holes. I lose count of how many repairs I do, but it must be well into the eighties. My fingers are blistered and peppered with cuts. I kept poking myself with the needle. I literally put my sweat, blood, and tears into my work.

"Line up! Back to the bunks!" a guard shouts. All of us get in line, orderly and straight. We march into the bunk room like a bunch of tired out soldiers. I'm surprised that all of us are still standing. I feel like I could collapse right now. The only thing keeping me up is the fact that if I fell onto these floors, I would smell worse than I already do.

Just like the night before, the guards come around with the bread. Each child gets a roll. When the guard comes by, they throw a roll to Peter but don't give one to me or Alex. "Hey. What about our food?" I ask. The guard cocks his head, turning to face us. "You want food? You earn it." he smirks. "I worked all day, I think I earned some bread." I clench my fists, getting ready for a fight. Alex and I need this food, we're barely able to live off the food we're given. If we don't get bread, I don't know if we'll be able to work. If we can't work, we don't get bread. It's a vicious cycle, and it won't end well.

"You need us to keep working. We can't work if we're starved half to death." I say. "We can replace you faster than you can say urchin. You're replaceable, boy."

"What do you want, then? My cigar? My hat? Maybe a hug?" I narrow my eyes. The guard thinks for a second. "Give me an hour with the girl." I feel Alex tense up behind me. "Not happening. You touch her and I swear, I will tear you limb from limb." I hiss. "You want food, you give us the girl. Fair trade." the guard stares at Alex with a predatory gaze. It makes me want to punch him even more.

"No. She's not property or something to trade. Leave her alone." The guard stares me down, expecting me to break. I don't back down. I push Alex behind me, making sure that he can't get to her. "Fine. When you change your mind, you know where to find us." He winks at Alex before walking away with his gang.

I turn to Alex and I see that she's white as a sheet. "Hey. It's okay. They're gone." I softly rub her shoulder. "This is why I didn't want them to know." she says quietly. "I'm scared, Race. I'm really scared." a tear rolls down her face. It's the first time I've ever seen her cry, and it's shocking. She has such a tough exterior. She doesn't let anything get to her. "I'm not gonna let you outta my sight, ya hear? As far as I'm concerned, they won't get within six feet of you without getting a black eye."

Alex chuckles, wiping her eyes. "Thank you Race. As horrible as it is, I'm glad that you're here with me." I smile at her. "Yup. You're pretty lucky." I smirk. She gently whacks my arm and laughs.

Jack and Spot will get here any day now. I just have to keep her safe until then.