Not Just The King Of Brooklyn

Chapter 9

I sit at the table with Sarah, Les, David, and their parents for breakfast. But I just sit and stare blankly at my plate. David sighs and grabs my fork.

"Spot wouldn't be happy if you didn't eat." He reminds me. A tear slips down my cheek.

"I's ain't gonna eat if he can't eat." I reply simply. Sarah frowns.

"What makes you think he isn't eating right now?" She asks. I look at her.

"It ain't a secret dat dey took da boys dey arrested yestaday to da refuge for da night before deir trial dis mornin'. Snyder ain't gonna feed 'em if dey ain't gonna be stayin'. Even if dey were ta stay, he's only gonna give 'em some bread and some wata." I tell her sadly. Mayer and Esther, their parents, look horrified.

"How do you know this?" Mayer asks me. I shrug slightly.

"Jack was in da refuge for stealin' food once. Da stories dat he told me afta he escaped ain't gonna leave me, not eva." I reply. David holds my fork up with some egg on it. I turn my head away.

"I's ain't gonna eat if he ain't gonna eat." I say stubbornly, not taking back my statement. David sighs and puts my fork down.

"You need to eat, Brianna." David tells me. I cross my arms.

"No. I don't, Davey." I reply. Esther reaches across the table and grabs my fork.

"Maybe Spot won't go to the refuge. How will he react to you not eating?" Esther asks me. I sigh, giving in. I lean forward and let her feed the bit of egg to me even though I can feed myself. She smiles and puts the fork on my plate. There's a knock on the door, causing David to get up to see who it is. He opens the door and there stands Denton. I jump out of my chair and hurry over to the door with Les right behind me.

"The trial starts soon. Get ready, we need to get the boys out of trouble." Denton tells us. David and Les hurry to their room to get ready. I scoff.

"I's ain't changin' for some bastards who want ta send my boyfriend to da refuge." I tell Denton. He smiles at me.

"We can always count on you to protect the boys." Denton says. I roll my eyes.

"Spot, Jack, Race, Blink, Skittery, Bumlets, and Dutchy are da only ones I's concerned 'bout right now. Da otha boys matta ta me. But I's can only worry 'bout so many at a time. And Mush sure as hell ain't one of 'em any time soon." I tell him. Denton nods.

"Understandable." Denton says. I wave at Mayer, Esther, and Sarah before leaving as soon as David and Les come back. Denton leads the way to the courthouse. There's a large crowd of people moving around inside, so it takes a good amount of effort for us to get to the gates of the courtroom the boys are having their trial held in.

"I fine each of you five dollars or two weeks confinement in the refuge." I hear the Judge say. My heart drops. But Denton gets the gates open and we walk into the courtroom.

"I'll pay the fines. All of them." Denton tells the Judge. David and Les stand by Denton's side while I immediately search the crowd of boys for Spot.

"Bree!" He exclaims from the back of the group. Tears of joy fall from my eyes as he pushes his way to the front and grabs the railing. I run over to him and jump up to press my lips to his. He kisses me back and wraps his arms around me to keep me from falling back to the ground.

"Where's Jack?" David asks the boys as Spot carefully puts my feet on the ground. They shrug. I sniffle and smile slightly as Spot kisses my forehead.

"Why did ya have ta leave me." I say shakily. His hands are shaking as they move to the sides of my face and he slowly makes me look up at him.

"Yous have no idea how bad I's was panickin'. I's didn't want yous ta get hoit and I's thought dat maybe da Bulls still got ya." Spot tells me. I shake my head.

"I's fine. But yous ain't. Have ya seen yoaself since da rally?" I ask softly. He rolls his eyes.

"Obviously I's haven't, Bree." He replies. I look at the bruises that are visible on his jaw and arms. A couple tears slide down my cheeks and Spot wipes them away. I brush my fingers over the large bruise on the left side of his jaw before letting out a loud sob and jumping up to hug him. He lifts me over the railing and sets me down on my feet in front of him. I cry into his chest as he kisses the top of my head.

"I's got ya, Acushla. Yous don't have ta worry, I's ain't eva leavin' ya again." Spot reassures me. My body shakes as I continue to sob. Jack walks out with his wrists cuffed together.

"Heya fellas!" Jack exclaims with a big smile. He notices me crying into Spot's chest and a look of concern replaces his smile.

"Hey Cowboy! Nice shina!" Race calls. The boys around us let out small laughs before being forced to leave the courtroom. Spot lifts me up so I can wrap my arms around his neck and wrap my legs around his waist. He follows the boys while carrying me with him. I slowly calm down as Spot rubs the small of my back gently.

"I's love yous, Spotty." I sniffle and pull back a little so we're face-to-face but my arms are still around his neck and everything. He pecks my lips quickly.

"I's love yous too, Bree." Spot replies as we get outside of the courthouse. The Newsies are slightly spread out. But we're near the middle of them all. Spot places a light kiss on the tip of my nose. And that's when I notice that Mush is watching us. I smile slightly at Spot.

"How much?" I ask, my voice still shaking a bit. Spot gives me a smile, the one he only uses for me.

"More dan Brooklyn." Spot tells me. This cheers me up completely, causing me to giggle and give Spot a big smile. His eyes light up and he hugs me tightly.

"Are ya hungry?" Spot asks. I nod and kiss his cheek.

"How 'bout wes all go ta Tibby's?" Blink suggests. Me, Spot, and the rest of the boys agree. But all I can do while Spot carries me as he follows the boys, is think about how happy I am that Denton bailed everyone out. I don't know what I'd do without Spot. Well, actually, I kind of do. I'd just sit there and do nothing, wasting away as I never eat or drink anything. It's come to show just how much Spot and I need each other. And really, nothing can stop us from returning to each other. And I know it'll stay that way, no matter what anyone throws at us.