So sorry for the late update🙏🏾 I just got out of volleyball camp lol
Things will start looking up, and something you probably didn't even notice (it was very horribly hinted) will be found. Not in this chapter tho, lol
I'm debating whether to update twice (because yk half the plot of this chapter is in the next one) or to leave it until tomorrow.
Enjoy!
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Jack took a deep breath as he sat in front of just about a thousand Newsies, a bright light shining on his face as they sat and stared, awaiting the longest speech of their lives.
"I know you can't forgive me", Jack started, licking his lips nervously. "I'm not askin' you to."
He looked across the room, never feeling more terrified than right now. All eyes were on him, and one wrong word couldn't get him covered in rotten food. "I am sorry, however. My actions was stupid, and driven without clarity. I shouldn't have left you all that way."
The room was still silent despite hundreds of Newsies sitting before him. He looked over at Mush and Blink who had a new set of bruises on their faces.
Mike and Ike, who opted to sit apart. They've never done that before.
Romeo, who's bloodshot eyes could tell a blind cat just how much he's cried.
JoJo, who sat annoyedly, his arms crossed.
Not to mention the countless amount of Newsies before him.
Race was right. He had let down everyone in New York.
"I'm sorry", I sighs, speaking as loudly as he could. "I don't know how else to say it. I've let you all down because I was scared.
"Someone said somethin' to me that shook he to my core. It threatened the safety of my family, and I...as a leader, the comes first. I couldn't deal with that.
"I ran away because I'm really a weak man. I was tested on my strength that day and I failed, and have continued to fail for the past month. I never wanted to leave you, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left, and I'm sorry I ever thought of it."
The same silence cascaded over the room, everyone staring at Jack. A hand was raised.
"Why?" Jack looked over to find Spot with his hand raised, a confused look on his face. "Why'd you leave?"
Jack licked his lips, trying to find a way to explain what happened on that Tuesday. He hated thinking about it, and he's never told the story before. Yet, he felt he owed them the right to truth. "Pulitzer threatened my boys."
Whispers moved across the theater, the loud one where everyone is sharing the same secret. "He said he'd put them all in jail, and I couldn't handle that. The idea of them gettin' nothin' to eat and never seein' the light of day was too much. Plus he-"
Jack swallowed, realizing he wasn't ready to have that conversation again. "He just threatened them."
Jack looked in front of him, finding all the eyes he could looking at him, staring at his soul. He swallowed nervously, bracing himself for the rotten fruit that was about to fill his nose for weeks.
Instead, he was welcomed back.
"What do you need us to do?" He looked up to find Roller smiling at him, leaving him to grin.
He had his family back.
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Jack marched with Spot, Race, Roller, Smalls, and the leader of Staten Island himself, Simmer, down the streets of New York City, hoping to find the only two girls on his mind.
He was hoping they wouldn't hate him, and Katherine wouldn't punch him. He was also hoping Davey was with them.
"Kelly", Spot called, stopping at a bookstore. "Is those your girls right there?"
Jack ran to the window and looked inside, surely enough finding the Jacobs' twin and Pulitzer's daughter. He ran into the store quickly, hoping he wasn't causing too much of a scene.
"Katherine! Sarah!" He ran up to them, nearly knocking displays over as everyone else followed him. He fell onto his knees and clasped his hands together, making Spot and Race snicker. "Hi."
"Do you need something?" Sarah stood with her hands on her hips and an angry look on her face. She didn't know exactly what happened, or why her brother was practically dying in their sofa, but she knew Jack had done something. He had everything to do with it. "Last I checked, you ran away, and I don't help beggars."
Smalls leaned over to Roller. "What crawled up her butt?"
Jack nodded, knowing his mistake was bigger than himself. "Yes, I know. I'm an asshole and I don't deserve your forgiveness.
"I messed up big time, which is something I seem to do a lot, but I had a reason, a good reason. I ain't gonna tell you what it is right now because, I swear to God, we are gonna beat the son of a bitch, but I do need your help. I'm so sorry for the stress and pain I caused you, but will you please help me?"
Katherine sighed, stepping forward and her heels clicking lightly, a book in her hand. "I know what my father has done", she states, leaving Jack to hang his head in knowledge. "I know what he's capable of."
Please, say yes. That's all Jack wanted. He needed Sarah and Katherine there, to make this all right. He wasted their time, and while that's not all that big, he hurt their friend, their brother, just as he had done to his own. And he could only pray that they would set that aside long enough to work with him, to finish this once and for all.
"I'm with you", Katherine smiled, making a small glimmer of hope flash in Jack's eyes. Everyone turned to Sarah expectantly.
Jack sat with his hands clasped his hands tighter, out of fear of being hit and hope. He wasn't even mad when Sarah slapped him.
"What do you need us to do?"
He smiled at them, grateful for second chances.
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He hoped his luck hadn't run out yet.
He stood in front of the Jacobs' home, the familiar door staring at him tauntingly. Sarah told him Davey was here with Les, she told his Davey was here.
He didn't want to be honest, but Davey has been at the forefront of his mind since took off. Simple worries he hadn't thought about when thinking of anyone else. Did he sleep? How often did he eat? Is he okay?
He took a deep breath, holding his fist up as if to knock. He could do this. Unless Davey decided to claw his eyes out for revenge, but he could do this.
He knocked three times, waiting nervously until the door opened up, revealing Les.
"Oh, thank God", Les groaned, staring at Jack incredulously. "Where have you been? I've had mope on aisle couch for ages!"
Jack ignored him, tearing through the door at the sight of the love of his life, staring blankly. He ran up to him and kissed him passionately, hoping Davey would respond.
The shorter felt his face heat up in color, and his lips automatically move against his first love's in a symphony as he closed his eyes and enjoyed something he'd been deprived of for a month. He felt tears rush down his face and to his chin, relief washing over him.
Jack pulled away and kissed him all over his face, making sure to let the other boy know how sorry he was. "I'm so sorry", he says through tears, bringing Davey close.
Davey sobbed into his neck, pulling Jack closer as if afraid to let him go. Jack just let him, understanding the hurt he felt. "I'm so sorry I did this to you."
Davey sobbed, relief flooding throughout his body. He hadn't felt Jacks touch in a month and this is what it did to him. He felt a bit ashamed that he couldn't go a month without the other boy's voice, without his hands on the small of his back.
He had sat, heartbroken and tired, waiting for something to happen. He remembered the nights he wished for hate too fill his chest and replace the void Jack left in heart. But all he did was cry until he couldn't anymore leaving him numb.
It was like breathing again when Jack walked up to him, and feeling again when they kissed. And he was more than happy to love again when he felt Jack's arms wrapped around him.
But there was something he couldn't figure out, something that rang through his mind since that Tuesday. "Why?"
Jack had been asked this so much. Ever since he'd gotten back, he'd been asked the same question over and over again, the same three words. But this was different. For Davey, he deserved the whole truth, from the beginning.
He swallowed, holding onto to Davey's hands. "We should talk."