No Freedom

Chapter 12

Katie's POV:

I yawned, sitting down on the couch after Elmer. He smiled, dropping an arm over my shoulders and pulling me closer. I sighed, eyelids drooping as he fully embraced me. In a few minutes, I would be asleep. In a few minutes, Elmer would be able to get out of telling me about his memory. I groaned, trying desperately to stay awake.

"Just go to sleep," the dark-eyed boy muttered.

"No," I whined, furrowing my brows.

"I'll tell you later," he mumbled, head dropping onto mine.

I sighed, slipping into a sleep state.

I woke up before dawn, still in the same position as the night before. Elmer was snoring lightly, gently hugging my shoulders. "Don't go," he whispered drowsily.

"Okay," I muttered, burying my face in his shoulder.

I struggled to stay awake, eyes seemingly getting heavier as I listened to Elmer's rythmic breathing. His hand found its way to mine, gently lacing his fingers through mine and rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb. I let our a drowsy groan like one of those kids who has to get up in the morning, but doesn't want to. This was me only instead of getting up, I was falling asleep.

Apparently I did fall asleep, only waking up to Elmer shifting. I lifted my head slightly, meeting his dark brown gaze with my own. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"You gotta go to work?" I asked, shifting so he could get up.

"Yeah," he replied, ruffling my hair then planting a small kiss on my cheek.

(A/N: I don't actually remember if they've kissed yet. Haha. Someone help. Sorry if this book is boring and crappy, I'm doing my best.)

I froze, unsure of how to react. He just sort of smiled. Like those smiles where your mom just caught you getting cookies when you weren't supposed to and you throw on an "I'm scared of you, but totally innocent" face. The other Newsies filtered in, shrugging on their usual Newsie gear with the usual antics. Mainly involving Race's cigar. As fast as they were in, they were out.

Since the fire, my parents and brother had opted to live in the theater until they found another place for the bakery. Momma got a job painting sets with Jack Kelly while Dad got a job at Jacobi's Deli. Race had kinda taken Patrick under his wing, turning the eight-year-old into quite the flirt.

Time Skip: One Year Later

Guess what! Still no new place to live or put the bakery. I had taken up selling with the Newsies even though Momma advised against it. My new doctor had said I was able to be more active and that the cancer was starting to go away. This was about five months ago and now it's completely gone.

"Good news, Katie!" Doctor Anne exclaimed, handing me a clipboard.

I tilted my head, a confused expression crossing my face.

"Your cancer is almost gone!" She grinned, practically bouncing.

"Wait...REALLY?!" I yelped, flying a solid three feet into the air. Elmer pulled me into his chest, planting a small kiss on my forehead before I was engulfed in his kind of apple-y scent.

"That's awesome! I'm so proud of you!" He said, squeezing me. I smiled into his shirt.

"Here's your papers!" Doctor Anne smiled, handing me a binder filled with papers.

I took them, smiling ear-to-ear, "thank you!" I hugged her quickly, turning back to Elmer's embrace.

"No problem. You can work without having any restrictions. Just please come to me if anything happens. It should take a few months to fully recover," Doctor Anne said, face growing serious.

"We will," Elmer nodded, leading me out and toward the theater. "We gotta tell yer folks."

"Yeah. They're gonna be ecstatic," I beamed, clutching the binder to my chest.

I held up a paper, yelling a bizarre phrase to catch people's attention. A few people filtered through, buying a couple papers before returning to their everyday lives. Elmer trotted over, evidently finished selling his papers.

"Done?" I asked, nudging him.

"Yeah. Do goils can't resist me," he joked, getting a solid punch from me. " 'Ey! I don't got my eyes on anyone other dan you!" He protested, rubbing his forearm.

"Good," I huffed, noticing a group of girls observing us. I groaned, rolling my eyes and walking away from Elmer.

" 'Ey, what's wrong?" He asked.

"You's bein' watched," I responded, pointing to the group.

"Dey mean nothin' to me. You's much better," he assured me.

"Why don't ya go say 'hi' and make their day," I replied.

"Is ya sure?" He asked.

"Yup," I fake chuckled.

He trotted over to the girls, getting surrounded in a matter of milliseconds. I sighed, trying to finish selling while keeping an eye on my Newsie and the girls. Most of the girls were blonde, another had ginger hair and the last was a brunette.

One of the blondes noticed me, breaking off from the others and approaching me. I mentally groaned, plastering a fake smile on my face.

"Hi! I'm Julia!" She grinned, blue eyes twinkling.

"Katie," I replied, shaking her hand.

"Do you know that boy over there?" She asked, a stupid grin playing on her lips.

"Uhuh," I responded, getting annoyed.

"Is he taken?" Julia asked, clasping her hands together.