Reunited (A Newsie Fanfiction)

Chapter 5

Isabella runs along behind Katherine, who's pulling her wrist so hard it may snap. She stumbles along, trying, and failing, to not fall over her dress.

"Katherine- where are we going!?" She laughs breathlessly.

"To Tibby's!"

With those words, Isabella anchored her feet to the ground, refusing to move. Katherine yanked her arm a few times, but pale little Isabella wasn't going anywhere.

"Katherine- I can't.." She trails off, staring at the ground.

"No, come on! You have to! I have a surprise for yo-" Katherine stops talking when she sees Isabella's face. "Look, I'm sorry if I said something I just thought that if I brought you there I could help you." She said sadly.

"It isn't your fault." Isabella gently pulled her wrist away. "I should go."

As Isabella turned and began to walk away, Katherine called to her.

"Please. Can I see you again tomorrow? I really do have something to show you." The little girl stopped and considered meeting this almost stranger again. 

"I can't." She ran off, not knowing her destination, just knowing she had to get away from her aunt. 

Katherine wasn't sure what to do. This hadn't been her plan at all. She ran to Tibby's breathlessly hurrying to Race. 

"Whoa whoa whoa what's wrong? Why ya runnin'?" Race said, looking past Katherine to see if there was trouble. When he found none, he looked at her expectantly.

"I- I found someone you might want to meet." She breathed. She still didn't want to ruin the surprise for her friend.

"Well- who is it?" He took his cigar out of his mouth and raised an eyebrow.

"Can't say. At least not yet."

"Why not? What's da point of tellin' me if ya can't say who it is?" 

"It's a surprise. I promise you'll like it, you just have to meet me outside the lodging house tomorrow. Please?" 

"A'ight fine. I'll meetcha." 

Race was then nudged by a smaller newsie at his table, signaling it was his turn in some gambling game they were engaged in.

"Okay, well, I'm going to go now... But you have to meet me tomorrow!" Katherine smiled.

"I said I will"

"Okay! Bye!" Katherine was grinning as she made her way out of the building.

Race returned to his game, his thoughts occasionally wandering to what the surprise could be. 

The truth is, Race always thought of his sister. Every day in fact. Countless times he thought about going to rescue her from their parents. But he never did. He wanted to wait until he could hold his own and get a real job, if not even have his own place. Once he did try to save her, but he was too late.

~~2 months ago~~

Race quickly finished selling his papers and went to his old house. He couldn't knock on the door, because his parents would bring him back home. He wouldn't be able to get Isabella. He decided to climb the fire escape and climb through Isabella's window, which he knew she'd left unlocked at all times. After climbing, Race attempted to pull open the window. It didn't budge. Then he knocked. No answer. Race climbed down a few rungs of the ladder only to see her room looked bare and empty. Her posters, decorations, her clothes- all were gone. At the bottom of the ladder he decided to look at the front door. There was a 'For Sale' sign plastered to the front. Race ran back to the lodge and kicked his bed in anger. He cried. He yelled at himself for weeks. He hadn't been the same, carefree person since. He'd been too late to save his little sister.