Silence (Newsies Fanfiction)

Chapter 3

Days passed. Liana saw Davey a couple more times after that night, and the two had become good friends. He even returned to watch her at the vaudeville one night. Heather teased her, saying that she and Davey would make a good couple, but Liana just rolled her eyes and told her to shut up. She didn't feel that way about him, and if Jack heard that, she wouldn't be able to see him any more.

One night, Liana was walking home alone. It was late, well after midnight. She had been out with Jason, Heather, and Elaine all night. The three of them, and Medda were leaving for the weekend, to visit someone they used to know, before Liana had joined the vaudeville. She had decided to stay home. The theater was closed until they returned, so she had the weekend off. She thought she might try to visit Jack in the morning...

She stumbled up the stairs, but when she reached her front door, a middle-aged man was standing there.

"Who-" she asked, surprised. "Who are you?"

He didn't answer. "You live here, correct?" She nodded. "Miss Liana Marcs?"

"Yes, that's me."

"I regret to inform you that your apartment will be closing. You see, you don't have enough money currently to continue paying your rent. So I'm afraid you will have to find other lodgings until you can afford to live here."

She stared at him. "Are you sure? Because-"

"You were sent a letter two weeks ago,  notifying you that you were behind on your payments."

"Yes, I know, but I thought..." She twisted her hands together, flustered. "I didn't have enough time- could I have at least another week?"

"I'm sorry, miss. We can't bend the rules."

"Oh.. um, okay..."

"You'll have to find somewhere else to stay tonight."

"It's two in the morning!"

"I'm sorry miss. That's the rule. You'll have to find a friend to stay with."

She walked away. What a mess she was in. Who could she possibly stay with? Jason, Heather, Lainey, and Miss Medda were all out of town. She couldn't stay with Jack, as she wouldn't even know where to find him. Sometimes he stayed in the newsboys lodging house, sometimes he slept on a fire escape somewhere, and sometimes he just slept in an alley somewhere. Maybe she could just sleep outside, just until she found something better.

When she stepped outside, it was pouring rain. A streak of lightning lit up the black sky. "Oh this is just lovely," she whispered. She walked for a bit, alone in the rain. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man leaning against a building, holding a beer. He was staring at her. She pulled her soaked-through shawl tighter around her body. Something about him wasn't right. She walked faster. The man began following her. She broke out into a run, terror burning inside her. 

Her breathing was heavy. Her feet pounded on the hard ground. She had no idea where she was going. All she knew was that she couldn't stay here. It wasn't safe.

She was finally satisfied with the distance between her and the stranger. She collapsed, falling to the ground. She couldn't stay out in the open alone. There would be others like him. She was afraid. 

Liana looked up to try to find out where she was. With a start, she realized she knew exactly where she was. She was lying on the cold, wet ground outside Davey Jacobs's house. She knew it was late, and she really didn't want to bother anyone. Then she remembered the cold wave of panic she had felt when the man had started following her. She pushed herself to her feet an began to climb the fire escape. Maybe there was no need to wake everyone.