counterfeit [newsies x reader]

chapter twenty-one

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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

"THE 'TOUR'"

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YOU RELUCTANTLY FOLLOWED Race out to the supposed "penthouse", which was actually a larger fire escape towards the top of the building. Apparently Jack had spent a lot of his time out here alone, if Crutchie wasn't with him. Racetrack walked all the way out and leaned against the railing as he looked over the back alleys of New York, some that you didn't see often. You joined him and decided to strike up conversation.

"Why'd you decide to come here first?" He looked down and swallowed, looking completely more somber than he had in the other room.

"If I'm gonna completely honest, I wanted to talk to you in private."

You ripped your eyes away from the alley and flicked them toward Race. It was odd talking to anyone other than Davey one on one. In fact, you hadn't even anticipated on having a serious conversation with Race at all.

"About what?"

"A lot of stuff." Silence resumed and you could hear him inhale. You decided to wait and let him start asking what we wanted to know.

"You'se been through an awful lot this past week."

You nodded, unsure of what to say.

"I'se ain't trying to be rude, but how do you think you'll do without your mom?"

It was a surprising question. You had never pegged Race on being one to ask such a thing. It was almost as if he was checking on you but also asking for advice. You swallowed, thinking about the subject of the question.

"I don't know." You admitted. "I'll stay here as long as you guys will let me and we can get away with it." You were beating around the bush about the whole mom question. You decided you weren't going to lie to Race. "I don't know what I'm going to do without her. It's always been me and her, ever since I was born, and just being apart from her at work was a lot."

You looked down at the streets as your eyes blurred, but you could see Race turning his head to look at you out of your peripherals.

"It's selfish, but I miss my house, and coming home from school and seeing her there with a smile on her face and dinner made. It's probably my fault too." You swallowed the growing lump in your throat. "If I hadn't taken better care of her while she was sick, she might still be here."

Race stepped closer.

"Hey, don't go around blaming yourself." He said, volume louder than it had been. "You did what you'se thought was best and that was enough. Not to mention, if you hadn't tried to make more money as a paper boy, we wouldn't have met you."

You sniffed. You could see Race step back again and lean up against the rail before pulling his worn hat off his head.

"I don't know how to tell you this or if it's gonna make things better, but I lost my mom too."

You looked up to him, blinking the tears out of your eyes.

"I was younger, so I don't remember too well." He explained. "My parents had been fighting, and my dad left the day before and never came back. I remember that."

He swallowed, and slouched a bit more.

"My dad was a mean guy. He yelled at my mother a lot, often threatened to do some nasty things to the two of us. It's not nice to say this, but I was glad when he left."

His voice seemed to grow more congested as he continued to speak.

"But when he was gone, my mom couldn't really afford to stay in our house, so the two of us had to find somewhere else to live. The next weeks were just us bouncing from place to place, church to boarding house. It all ended in us having to find somewhere else to stay though. But one night, we never found anywhere to sleep, so we stopped at an old alley to stay in until the sun came up. Unfortunately someone else also was in the alley. Somebody bigger, somebody stronger." He inhaled quickly. "Let's just say, by the time the sun came up I was the only Higgins left."

Your eyes widened, and you blinked away your tears.

"Race," you whispered in shock, "I had no idea." You rushed to him and hugged him around his waist. He exhaled and slowly wrapped his arms around you.

"I just wanted you to know you're not alone." He whispered.

The two of you stood there for a while, hugging each other. You could feel a tear of his hit your head, and you were sure some of yours had fallen on him. You both of you slowly steadied your breathing, but never left the comfort of the hug.

You knew Race was rowdy, but never knew any more than that. You knew he liked to laugh, but you never knew why. You knew he liked to beat up bullies, and now you knew why. Race was a miracle boy, if not a mirror image of you.

As the sun set, Race and you stood, arms around one another. You looked out at the sun setting over the cursed city and knew you weren't alone, at least, not now. Not now with your new older brother.