•My Goil• ||newsies x reader||

Chapter 32

"I have to leave."

Everyone stops.

"What the hell is dat supposed ta mean?!" Race yells.

She gets up from the ground, dusting off her skirt.

"I have to leave Manhattan. I have to leave you all." She says lowly, not looking up at them.

"What the hell?" "You can't do that?" "What's da matta with you?"

The boys start yelling again.

"Why?" Davey asks.

She can practically hear all their hearts shattering.

"I have to live with my aunt. She's taking me to her family friends, in England. We're going to live there." She explains.

The boys start shouting again.

Y/n looks down in shame.

"When do you have to go?" Jack asks sounding angry, but y/n can hear the sadness in his voice.

"I have to be at the dock tomorrow morning. I still have to pack my things. I wanted to be able to say goodbye before I left."

He scoffs and runs his hand through his hair.

A tear drops down her face.

She feels a hand slide into hers.

She looks up and sees Crutchie. He gives her a sad smile. Tears are streaming down his face.

"I-I'm sorry." She weeps.

- last night -

"There is a change of clothes in your room upstairs on the bed. Clean yourself up and put them on. I can't stand to look at you in those preposterous rags any longer! When you're done, it's off to bed with you!" Gladys orders.

Y/n nods and walks up the stairs in defeat.

She looks at herself in the mirror.

Mud covers her face.

Her hair is greasy and a complete mess.

She has tear stains on her cheeks.

She steps into the tub and washes herself off, then she walks over and puts on the eggshell-white night gown on and crawls into the bed she was provided.

She lays there in the dark and in the silence.

She is sleeping alone in a room for the first time in what seems like forever.

Warm tears stream down her face and pool up on her pillow.

"I-I'm sorry" she whispers out loud into the empty room.

- the morning -

"You will be wearing this dress. You will have time to say goodbye to your friends and collect your things. You will be coming back tonight and sleeping here again one more time. The ship leaves tomorrow morning." She states. She sets the dress down and grabs her tea; stirring it slowly.

Y/n nods.

"Why now?" Y/n asks breaking the silence. "Why after all these years did you start looking for me now?" The girl finishes.

Gladys stops and looks up at her.

"Well you see darling, the city didn't realize you were gone at first. I kept getting my money and didn't even have to care for you. It was a gift from God. It was a win win situation. You got to live out your pathetic life how you wanted and I got my money." She exclaims laughing lightly. Her face then falls.

"But they eventually realized that you were no longer in my care, so the checks just stopped coming in. Disappeared." She says furrowing her eyebrows.

"I knew I had to find you then! My checks had been split in two! I was only getting half what I was before, which isn't acceptable." She says swiftly.

Y/n's face twists in disgust.

"You are so selfish." She deadpanned.

Gladys shrugs.

"Wait- half? You have other orphans?" She asks suddenly, just now realizing what she said.

"Of course I do! How do you think I afforded to get my hair done." She chuckles, motioning to her hair.

Y/n scoffs.

At least I won't be alone...

She grabs the dress and makes her way to the bathroom.

~

"I-I'm sorry." She weeps.

"Hey hey it's okay, it ain't your fault." Crutchie says, pulling her in for a hug.

"We'll be there." He says. She looks up at him and smiles.

"T-thank you." She whispers.

"Alright boys, wese gotta spend da rest of da day with y/n. Sellin can wait." Jack announces standing on the statue.

The boys cheer.

Y/n giggles and wipes the tears from her eyes.

~

"I still need to say bye to Spot, Sarah and Kath, and Medda." She says listing off names.

They had decided they would take her around the town to say bye to anyone she needed to before she left.

They headed to Medda's first.

"I'll be right back out, okay boys?"

They nod.

She takes a deep breath before walking in the door of the Bowery.