The Rose of Manhattan

Runnin' Round Town

Jack's POV

"Wait, I thought Rose was at Medda's," Crutchie said slowly. The boys froze when I shook my head.

"You really don't know where she is?" Race asked.

"If I did, would I have run in here yelling if anyone had seen her?" I said, unable to control my anger.

"Jack, calm down." Davey tried to get me to relax.

"Wait, Rose didn't show up?" Specs asked as he walked into the room.

"Medda said she never showed. Please, please tell me she is here. Please tell me she is upstairs."

"I. . . I'm sorry, Jack. We haven't seen her since she left for Medda's theater," Crutchie said.

"She's not here?"

"Wait, where is she?" Les asked, starting to get scared. "Is she. . . Is she hurt? What if she's hurt?" His eyes watered as he looked towards his brother.

"I'm sure she's fine," Davey said kneeling down to comfort his little brother. "And we're going to find her. It'll be fine. Right Jack?" He looked at me, asking for help.

"Exactly," I stuttered. I cleared my throat as I knelt in front of him and put my hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, little man. We'll find her."

**********

We spent the whole night, running around the city looking for her. We checked all of our usual places; the market, the theater, the distribution gate. 

"Jack, come on. It's late. Let's go back to the Lodge, get some sleep, and we can continue looking for her in the morning." Davey said as we leaned against a building, defeated. 

"No!" I said standing up. Davey and Crutchie watched as I paced back and forth. "We looked all over town and no sign of Rose anywhere! We checked Medda's theater, Jacobi's Deli, the market, Newsies Square, the cafe she likes, the library. Hell we even checked the Refuge. And nothing! Where else can we. . . What if she. . . What could've. . . Where is she?"

"Jack," Davey sighed, standing up and stopping me from pacing. "Don't worry. We'll find her."

"What if we don't?"

"You will!" Crutchie smiled.

"How do you know that?" I scoffed. 

"Because you're Jack Kelly," Crutchie laughed. "If I know you, you'll find her."

"Jack, can I ask you something?" Davey asked.

"Sure," I sighed.

"Do you love her?" The boys looked at me, waiting for my answer.

"I think I do."

"You think?" Davey asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I don't know!" I yelled throwing my arms up in defeat. "I don't know what love is like. I mean. . . I care about her, a lot. I want to find her. I want to protect her. I want her to be happy and I want to be the one making her happy."

"Jack, that's love." Davey laughed.

"Really?" Crutchie and Davey couldn't help but laugh.

"She has you practically wrapped around her finger," Crutchie laughed as he shook his head.

I bit my lip as I thought about Rose. I thought about how caring she is. How fun she is to be around. How kind she is. How beautiful she is. "Wow," I gasped. "I love her."