The Past Comes Back

Brother(s)

Once outside Feister leaned up against the Lodge with her arms crossed. "So whaddya want, I's haven't got all day," she snapped, making sure her voice was still at a low pitch. She didn't know why she agreed to do this. But something inside her said to do it.

"I think you know." William crossed his arms as well.

"No I's don't know." she took a step closer to him and stared straight into his eyes.

"C'mon, Claire I know it's you." William was sure that this newsie was his sister posing as a boy. The "boy" was a lot smaller than all the others and was looking at him weirdly.

"Look," Feister snapped. "I's dunno who you'se are or where yer from, but my name ain't Claire, it's Feister."

"No, yer Claire, ma sistah," He replied mimicking her accent.

"An' what makes ya think I's yer long lost sistah? Or some goil?" She asked with her thick New York accent, but she was still loud and clear.

"Cause of this." He snatched her cap off, making her braids fall. "Nice to see you again, Claire." he said with a happy smile.

Feister snatched her cap back and put it on. "How'd ya know it was me?" she crossed her arms, glaring at her so called brother. To her, he still looked somewhat the same. He still had his messy dark brown hair and blue eyes; he finally grew into those long legs and was a little more built. In fact, to Feister William (or Will, for short) looked a lot like their Father.

"The scar on the back of your neck." he gestured to her. "Remember when you were four-"

"Funny," she cut him off. "I's also remember when I's was four you'se left us, without a note or nothin'," she said, a bit too loud, making the boys go out to see what was going on. At that point Feister didn't care, old anger, sadness, and betrayal came bubbling back.

"You'se left us! We's looked for months, but ya never came back. I's thought I did somethin' ta make ya leave, an' then mom dies; dad goes down the wrong path. He often took it out on me. Then one night he brings back some goil, who was a monster. An' then he left me in that dumb old apartment when I's was only six!. I's was on my own for weeks tryin' ta make a livin' for myself an' then some thug jumps me, an' starts ta soak me." She paused, and looked over and saw all her brothers, staring, with wide eyes, and mouths open. Even Mush, who knew almost everything about her, didn't know that much. "Jack, Race, an' Specs were there. They's helped me, an' brought me back here, ta my real family." Feister was furious. What made Will think that after all these years he could just pop out of nowhere after he left.

"Claire," Will sighed. "They're not your family, I am. I'm your real brother."

At this point Feister lost all control and flat out yelled for the whole city to hear. "My brudda? Yer not my brudda. They are." she pointed to her boys. "Were you'se there after I got jumped by some thug? Were you'se there ta wake me up from a nightmare? An' were you'se there ta put me back together after everything I's been through?"

Will didn't answer, instead he stood there, looking into Claire's eyes, that looked hurt. But he pushed that aside and got a good look at her. The last time he saw her she was a little four yr. old girl, now she was a fourteen yr old.

To Will Claire didn't change a bit, she still had her long, black hair, that always seemed to be in those two braids, her big brown eyes were just as he remember, but this time they had a lot of fire inside, instead of being empty.

She had obviously gotten taller, her light skin had gotten the faintest tan from the summer sun, her face and some parts of her arms had dirt smudges; her hands were ink stained, and she looked a bit stronger, like she could take down someone twice her size. The only big difference was that for some reason she was in boy's clothes.