"Aye, Jay, didja pack yer lucky quarter?" Jack calls. I search through my small duffle bag before sighing in frustration and running a hand through my hair.
"No," I groan. Where the hell could it be? I look on my shelf, the bathroom, under my pillow, in my sheets, but to no avail. Then, Race trots up to me.
"Ya lookin' for this?" he asks, holding up the quarter that has several small dents in it. I nod and pluck it out of his fingers, putting it in my duffle bag.
"Yeah, where'dja find it?" I ask him. He nods over to a crack in the floor.
"Somehow it got stuffed in there," Race tells me. I smile and hug him quickly.
"Thanks, Race," I say. "You're the best friend ever."
"So are you's," Race tells me. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and kisses my forehead gently. I smile as he does and when he pulls away, Jack approaches me.
"Do ya have yer--?" he begins to ask. I cut him off laughing.
"Jack, I's a Newsie," I point out. "You's asked me if I's packed so many things that I wouldn't even dream a ownin'!"
"I guess I's just worried aboutcha," Jack tells me. I smile.
"I know Jack," I tell him. "I'll be fine."
"I know, I know, you's a big goil," Jack waves me off. "I's just gonna miss ya. So much, Jay."
"I'll miss ya too, Jack," I tell him. "You's me only true family, after all."
"But, I'm the best you's got," Jack tells me with a smirk.
"Ya never fail ta promote ya-self, do ya, Jacky Boy?" I ask him, punching him lightly on the arm. He nods and then, Denton comes up the stairs. As soon as he walks in the room, his nose wrinkles up and he stops dead in his tracks.
"What died in here?" he asks in a very offended tone. Jack and I start cracking up.
"Aw, we don't stink that bad, do we?" I ask him in mock hurt. Denton still proceeds to hug me.
"Hi, sweetheart," he says, kissing my hair. I smile.
"Hey, Our Man Denton," I say, smiling widely.
"The coach is waiting outside," Denton says. I smile and grab Jack and Race's hands.
"I's gonna say me goodbye ya the odda boys," I tell them. They nod. They wanted to come with me to the train station. "Couldja wait in the coach for me til I get there?"
"Yeah, course," Jack tells me, kissing my cheek on his way out. I smile and run up to Kamden, my best friend.
"I's gonna miss ya so much!" I exclaim. Kamden smiles and I feel tears drip onto my shoulder. She pulls away, her green eyes glassy. I've never seen her cry before, except the night she got stabbed by Race's dad.
"I'll miss ya too, Jay," she says, tackling me into another hug. I feel my eyes tear up too and bite my lip to try to keep the tears from falling. "You's the best friend I's ever had."
"Mine too," I tell her. Then, I move to Crutchy and guilt washes over me. He was gone for so long in the Refuge and now I'm leaving him again. He's my family and I love him. I love all of them. Sure, not in the way I love Spot, but I still love all of them with every fiber of my being.
"Aye, Jay," Crutchy says, wrapping one arm around me because he needs the other to hold into his crutch. "Promise you'll think a me often."
"Course I will, Crutchy," I tell him. "You better promise me the same thing, ya hear?"
YOU ARE READING
Brooklyn *Spot Conlon Love Story*
Romance"In my defense, I've never really known a guy as more than a friend. Never really looked at a guy that way and don't see why I should." ~ Jaylinn Kelly. Yes, she says that now, but what happens when she meets the fearless, King of Brooklyn and her...
