Unscripted (Jack & Crutchie)

Chapter 38 - I Understand

criticism spot!

Crutchie's POV

I jumped as the morning bell rang, feeling my heart begin to pound as I instinctively felt terrified that I was about to be screamed at by Snyder. I then felt Jack's arms quickly wrap around me, holding me tightly.

"You're not at the refuge," he whispered, helping me to calm down.

"Sorry," I whispered back, keeping my head against his chest.

"You haven't even been out for an entire day yet. You have nothing to be sorry for, okay?" He started to play with my hair, and I kept close to him. "Let me know when you're ready to get up." He spoke delicately, holding me tightly against him. 

I kept him there for a few more minutes before I sat up, sighing. He got up and grabbed clothes for us, not saying anything to me in order for me to continue calming down. As I changed I thought about the strike, realizing I hadn't asked about it.

"What happened with the strike?" I said, causing Jack to look at me.

"Well, I was able to make Pulitzer only increase the price to fifty-five cents, but now they also buy back any papes we don't sell." He said with a smile, walking over to me and helping me up.

"I told you that you'd do it," I smiled at him, and I could tell he was trying not to smile wider. We went down the ladder as usual, walking to the Square.

As we walked I could still feel myself shaking, but no longer from fear. I still hadn't eaten, and I was finding it hard to keep myself up. I didn't want to worry Jack, however, so I stayed silent, planning on holding on until dinner. Eventually I felt his gaze on me, and he stopped walking.

"When was the last time you ate?" He asked, reading me like a book.

"Uhm..." I thought, not sure how long exactly it had been. "Not since you brought me food," I said, and Jack's eyes widened.

"We'll get you some food, okay?" He rested his hand on my shoulder, but I felt defensive rather than allowing myself to accept his care.

"I'm fine," I said, pushing his hand off of me. He stepped back, taken off guard.

"No you aren't, you seriously need to eat. We'll get you some food, it's no problem-"

"I can fend for myself!" I yelled, causing Jack to freeze in place. I felt my eyes begin to burn from tears, not fully knowing why I snapped at him. I looked down at the ground, guilt overtaking me. "I'm- I'm sorry, I don't know what..." I trailed off, not wanting to cry. "I'm sorry." I repeated once more, still not looking at him.

"It's okay. I know what's goin' through your head right now, okay?" He moved closer to me, talking quietly. I slowly looked up at him and nodded, still feeling bad. "I know you can fend for yourself. You're real strong. I was just sayin' that we can get you food on our way to sell." He continued to speak calmly, placing his hand on my shoulder once more.

"I know that's what you were saying, I don't know what happened," I said back weakly, my eyes still burning. "Let's just go," I turned to keep walking, the tears subsiding. Jack followed, staying quiet. 

We got in line as per usual, but I didn't talk to any of the fellas. I stayed quiet, dwelling over the fact that all the progress I had made was immediately destroyed by Snyder. I kept replaying Snyder's words in my head, beginning to believe them more and more. Jack turned to look at me, pulling away from the group a bit.

"You okay?" He asked, snapping me out of it a little.

"Uh- yeah, yeah. I'm fine." I smiled at him, but I could tell he didn't believe me. Instead of pushing me, however, he let me be, understanding that I needed time. I couldn't help but feel relieved when I remembered that he truly knew exactly what was going through my head right now, especially considering that he'd been to the refuge multiple times.