Wish I Could Catch a Breeze // Albert DaSilva

Chapter Sixteen

hello! I'm just here to place another trigger warning for blood and violence before this chapter!
thanks for reading, and enjoy!
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Gretchen suddenly remembered the broken bottle the man was holding, and her voice finally came to her.
    "Albert! Look out, he-"
    Gretchen never finished her plea. It was too late. With a sharp cry of pain, Albert took a step back. The man fled with the little energy he had left in him.
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Finally, Gretchen could move. She raced over to Albert just as he dropped to the ground, clutching his side.

Albert groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. "H-he...was gonna hurt y-you," he muttered, still holding his hands to his side.

Gretchen gently shushed him, not wanting him to use up any of the strength he had left. She carefully removed his hands from the wound, wanting to cry when she saw the amount of blood soaking his shirt. "We need help," she said, mostly to herself. But there was no one around. No one to come and help them. Her tears fell, but she didn't notice. "I'm going to get you to the lodging house," she told Albert. "We'll get help."

Albert nodded in response, breathing shakily. "I...I can walk," he said weakly, but he obviously couldn't.

Gretchen shook her head. "You can't. Come on." She took his arm and put it around her shoulders. Somehow, she was able to slowly stand up and bring Albert with her. The only sounds he made were cries of pain.

With each step, Gretchen apologized under her breath. She knew she was hurting him, but she didn't have a choice. The other option would have been to leave him in the alley, but he wouldn't have made it. When she adjusted his arm around her a bit, Albert let out a small whimper.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"Not your fault," Albert replied quietly. She could tell he was trying not to make any noises for her sake. But he couldn't help it. Gretchen had no doubt that her dress would be soaked in blood, but it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was getting help. Once she knew Albert was okay, then she could worry about her dress.

After what seemed like hours, but was probably only ten minutes, they reached the lodging house. Gretchen pushed the door open, exhausted from having to carry Albert. He had tried to help, but he could only drag his feet slowly.

"Help!" She called the instant the door opened. She was able to get Albert through the door by the time there were boys running down the stairs to see what happened.

The lodging house was filled with shouts of surprise and worried voices asking Gretchen how he got hurt. She couldn't answer. She just watched as Race hurriedly declared that they needed to get Albert to this hospital. It was a whirlwind of voices, activity, and blood.

As soon as a piece of fabric had been tied around the wound, a newsie picked Albert up. Gretchen followed as they left the lodging house, heading quickly towards the hospital. She, like all of them, just hoped that Albert could hang on long enough.