No Freedom

Chapter 14

"Let's play spin the bottle! Only we ain't drunk," Race declared, placing a bottle in the middle of the room.

I chuckled, now leaning into Elmer with my head propped up against his. The black-haired boy gently stroked the back of my hand with his thumb, squinting in an effort to stay awake. 

"You's goin' first, Racer," Jack decided. The blond shrugged, spinning the bottle and waiting for it to stop. The opening pointed at me. 

"Truth or dare?" Race asked, a mischievous smile crossing his face. 

"Truth," I decided quickly. 

"Do ya got a torch for Elmer?" 

I felt a blush slowly creeping up my cheeks, "y-yes." 

"YES!" Race yelped, jumping up in triumph. "Okay, yer turn." 

I spun the bottle, waiting for it to stop. It landed on Race, "truth, dare, or hug?" 

"Dare," he said. 

"Hmm," I thought this one over. "I dare ya to let me drop snow down your shirt." 

His bright blue eyes widened, "okay." We all went outside and I gathered up a large wad of snow (unbeknownst to Race) and dropped it down his shirt. He yelped, trying to get it out (which, mind you, was absolutely hysterical to watch). " 'Ey! That was huge!" He protested as the snow melted into a wet spot on his back. 

I shrugged, "that's what ya get." 

"Can we go inside now?" Elmer whined, shivering a little. 

"Sure," I agreed as we all headed back in. "Race, your turn." 

"Great," he spun the bottle, watching it land on Elmer. "Truth, dare, or hug?" 

"Dare," Elmer mumbled. 

"I dare ya to kiss Katie," Race laughed. Elmer's dark eyes widened and he looked over at me, face redder than a tomato. 

"Can I?" He asked. When I nodded, he gently pressed his lips to mine, one hand supporting himself as the other kinda cupped the side of my face. He pulled away and I fluttered my eyes open, almost positive my face was as red as his. (A/N: Ew. I dunno what I did in this paragraph. Sorry it sucks!) 

"OoOoO!" Some of the others cooed. 

"Aw shut up," I hissed, smacking Race and Romeo with Elmer's hat. 

Elmer quickly spun the bottle, the green glass landing on me. "Truth, dare, or hug?" 

"Hug," I smiled, shooting Race a quick glare. He shrugged as I was embraced in Elmer's warmth. All too quickly was it over and the bottle was being spun. We played until about two in the morning and most of our original players had gone to bed. So, now it's just Jack, Albert, Race, Elmer (who is half asleep), and Kid Blink (he's not around much). 

I yawned, "I'm gonna go to bed." 

"Take Elmer," Jack whispered. I nodded, nudging Elmer until he showed signs of being awake. 

"Hm?" He asked groggily. 

"You're falling asleep," I explained, slinging his arm over my shoulder and hoisting him up. 

"No I's not," he moaned, slurring his words (in the tired way). 

"C'mon," I groaned, struggling to keep us both upright. 

"Okay, I's good now," he said, fully standing on his own. 

"You weren't asleep?" I inquired, fully confused and surprised. 

"Nope," he grinned proudly. 

"Why'd ya fake it?" 

"Because I don't like walkin'," he responded. 

"You're such a kid," I chuckled, climbing into my bed. 

"Hey, I know you act like one too!"

"Yeah, so?" I laughed.

"So, you's got no room to talk," he responded. A silence filled the room; after a few minutes, I heard Elmer's soft snores coming from below me. I sighed, tossing and turning before the darkness of sleep finally consumed me.

Two Months Later: July (I think)

It's official, Elmer and I are a thing. This is so exciting. Nobody really ever cared about me and went out of their to avoid me. Not the Newsies, they'd been supportive from the start, even when they found out about my cancer. Speaking of my cancer, it's been a year since Doctor Anne told me I was cancer free. So, right now, Elmer and I are selling. What else would we be doing? Probably walking down the beach. Turns out, he loves the beach. Courtney occasionally goes down there on her grey gelding, Thunder.

"New invention, tacos!" I shouted. Though I thought the word was made up, it's actually a food. (Don't actually know when tacos were invented. I'm being too lazy to look it up. Feel free to, just don't criticize me for it.)

"Tacos?" Elmer asked, meeting me by the tree.

I shrugged, "the word sounds cool."

"Okay," he laughed, planting a small kiss on my temple before running up to a man. "Would ya like ta buy a pape?"

The man waved him away. Today was a slow day, barely anyone rushing through Newsies' Square. I sighed, still having about ten papers to sell. The sky was turning to a fiery orange color, and Jack didn't want any of the Newsies out after dark.

"Elmer!" I shouted, waving a paper to get his attention.

After a few minutes, the black-haired boy turned to me, "huh?" He asked, jogging over.

"Jack doesn't want us out after dark, we should head back," I sighed.

"You's not done sellin'," he commented.

"Pulitzer has ta buy the papes back, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Elmer face-palmed. I laughed, taking his hand in mine as we headed back to the Lodging House.

"You didn't sell it all?" Mush asked, blue eyes sparkling in a weird way.

"Nope," I answered, pulling my white cloth bag over my head and dropping it on a table.

"Pulitzer's gotta buy them back tomorrow," Jack explained.

"We know," Elmer said.

"Good," Jack sighed, fetching a paper. "Katie, this' for you."

I unfolded it, quickly reading over the text. It was from Momma and Dad.

Katie,

If you're reading this, it means your father and I have made our exit from the world. If you're worried about Patrick, don't worry, he's fine. Your brother had orders to head straight for the orphanage (right next to the Brooklyn Bridge). Do NOT go there to get him. You must stay with the Newsies. They know where Patrick is, but don't know where you are. They haven't seen you since you were ten, so they shouldn't know what you look like. Stay safe, we love you. 

Yours,

Momma and Dad

"Who's they?" I asked myself, forgetting that there were other people in the room. 

"Huh?" Elmer asked, snapping me out of my whirlwind of emotions. 

"Um, read this," I said, holding the paper out to him and allowing him to read it. 

"I dunno who they are, but they won't harm a hair on your head. We'll get to the bottom of this, don't worry," Elmer reassured me, pulling me into a tight hug.

THE END

Epilogue and Author's Note next