Buy My Last Pape'?

Chapter 12 - Apologies?

Crutchie's POV

I sat at the top of the penthouse and looked out onto the world. It was around 3:30pm, so many young boys and girls were running through the streets below me. Each of them yelling about something different.

"Crutchie!", I heard Race call me from downstairs, "Youse got a visitor".

I sighed, who the hell could want me, I don't talk to anyone other than the newsies and my family sure as hell didn't care.

I struggled to climb down the fire escape and pull myself through a second story window of the lodge.

"Hey Crutchie", Albert stared at me as I walked into the 'common room' (which was more or less where we all played poker on a broken couch), "Care to explain why da Delancey's sista is 'ere to see you?".

Albert stepped out of the way to reveal Clara standing in the doorway. She looked like hell, beautiful hell. Her hair was let down and her clothes looked like they hadn't been washed in a week. Her once gorgeous and bright eyes were now weighed down with black bags. She was significantly paler than usual and much skinner. Too skinny.

"Crutchie I-", she tried to say.

"What da ya want Delancey?", I cut her off coldly.

"I want to talk", she sighed. I watched as each newsie in the room turned to stare at her.

"Yeah well, maybe you shoulda thought of that before you lied to me", I spat, raising my voice slightly.

"I neva lied to ya Crutchie", she raised her voice back at me, "I just...didn't tell ya everything".

"Oh yeah, you just forgot to tell me ya was a Delancey!", I yelled at her.

"I didn't think it would be important, I thought you could love me for me!", she yelled right back. The room went silent. "I thought you could look past me last name, like Jack did for Katherine".

I felt my face drop, "How did youse-".

"Nevermind how I know that", she looked at me, tears welling up in her eyes. "I thought you could look past my name Crutchie, why can't you take a page from Jack's book".

"Because Pulitzer neva beat me and left me for dead", I calmly stated.

"And neither did I", she spat, tears starting rolling down Clara's cheeks, "I neva would hurt you Crutchie, I'm not my brothers!".

I hated seeing her like this. I hated hurting her. AllI wanted to do was run to her and hold her. Let her know everything was okay. Let her know I loved her. But I stood still, rooted to the ground.

"Clara I never said ya were".

"Yeah well ya leavin' me when ya found out who my brothers were begs to differ". I could feel the tension in the room. Each person was holding their breath. Every pair of eyes was on us. You could basically hear my heart pounding in my chest.

"Can we go talk in private?", I said quietly. Clara stares at me before nodding slightly and following me up to the penthouse.