Guardian Angel

Cheer's Return

Three weeks passed by the time I had decided Cheer was healthy enough to start selling again. The boy had told me about how he had become an orphan and I quickly made sure he knew that I considered him to be my own little brother but there had been times when I acted more as a mother than a sister. As far as I was aware, Cheer was okay with that and even called me mom a few times instead of Angel by accident. I had taken Cheer shopping three days after he had been attacked and bought him two new summer outfits and an outfit that he could use for the winter. I also gave Cheer lessons on things such as manners and how to read and write.

Cheer decided that he wanted to start selling papers again and live at the Lodging House but he also said he promised to visit me once every two days, which I was grateful for. Cheer had also asked me to go with him to the docks so he could introduce me to his friends. Like I had previously thought, Cheer had me wrapped around his pinky and I simply couldn't say no. So I put his new clothing in a small bag, making sure to put a tin full of his favorite cookies in with the clothing, and we head to the docks.

We walked towards the docks at a leisurely pace, Cheer holding his bag in one hand and my hand in the other. He was smiling like he always did and telling jokes to make the two of us laugh. I was wearing one of my new dresses specifically because it was Cheer's favorite and he asked me to. The dirty cobble stone streets turned into wood a little too quickly for my taste and soon I was being dragged down a dock by Cheer. There were tens of tall, broad newsies surrounding the dock, all in their underwear. They were either in the water or had recently gotten out of the water. I wasn't the type of person to really care too much about this so, much to their surprise, I simply rolled my eyes and continued to follow Cheer. That was the next thing that shocked them, Cheer. I couldn't understand it, but they all seemed surprised to see him.
Cheer smiled at all of them and continued to pull me to a large pile of crates at the end of the dock. I watched him curiously as he called up to the person who was sitting on the top of the crates. I quickly realized that it had to be Spot Conlon, the so called King of Brooklyn. He quickly climbed down the crates and smiled as he saw Cheer.

"Cheer! Where have you been?! We thought you were dead!" he scolded. It was obvious that he cared for Cheer and I felt better knowing that he would be kept safe. I lifted my head up and actually looked at Spot. He was tall, shorter than what I guessed a leader would be, but he easily had at least ½ a foot over my 5'3" frame, probably more.. He was lean but muscular with dark blonde hair and stormy grey eyes. I could understand why girls were attracted to him.

"It's my fault," I quickly stepped in, not being able to watch Cheer get so upset as he was scolded, "I probably should have let him come back a week ago but I wanted to make sure his wound had healed."

Spot's head snapped to me, acknowledging me for the first time. I stood there, proud and defiant, holding my head high as he studied me before he politely said,

"Cheer, why don't you go put that bag of yours on your bunk." It was a dismissive comment and I didn't like seeing Cheer ordered around but I ignored it since I knew Spot was his leader. As soon as Cheer left us, Spot asked with his eyes narrowed at me, "What wound did you want to make sure was healed? How'd he get hurt?"

"Truthfully, I'm not quite sure how he got hurt. He never wanted to talk about it and I didn't push. I found Cheer in an ally while I was on a walk about three weeks ago. He had taken a bad beating and had a large cut across his chest. I got a doctor to look at him and I took care of him as he healed. All that's left now is some scaring and a few bruises," I explained patiently. He stared at me, trying to figure out if I was lying. I stared back calmly, holding my ground and soon he nodded, accepting my answer. Spot opened his mouth to say something but quickly snapped it shut as he stared at something moving over my shoulder. I hastily turned and clenched my jaw at what I saw.

Two boys, more specifically Oscar and Morris Delancey, were taunting and circling an upset looking Cheer at the end of the dock. The rest of the Brooklyn newsies were in the water, completely unaware of what was happening. Spot calmly brushed past me and walked over to them, starting to threaten the brothers, and I followed closely behind. I stayed a few feet away, trying to keep control of my anger but as soon as I saw Morris grab Cheer roughly I couldn't take it.