Wish I Could Catch a Breeze // Albert DaSilva

Chapter Twenty-One

Three days later, Albert was finally released from the hospital. The doctors instructed him to stay in bed until the medications they gave him ran out. Then, he would be able to slowly return to his normal activities, as long as he didn't do anything too straining until he was fully healed.

The minute her shift ended, Gretchen made her way to the hospital. She and Race were going to help take Albert to the lodging house, since he had trouble walking long distances by himself. She met Race outside the hospital, and they walked in together. Just as they had discussed, Gretchen would talk to the doctors and look through any paperwork while Race helped Albert out of bed.

Gretchen stopped by the front desk and received the small stack of paperwork she had to look through before Albert could be discharged. She signed where she needed to and flipped through the pages of words. She stopped when she came to the bill. Gretchen had been expecting a lot of money, considering the bad shape Albert was in when he came in the first place. She had no clue how any of them would be able to pay that bill. She'd have to pick up extra hours and the newsies would have to sell more papers, but hopefully they'd be able to pull together enough money.

But Gretchen didn't want to worry about that yet. The most important thing was getting Albert home. She finished flipping through the pages, detailing the treatment Albert was given and everything that they did during his stay. She finally got to the last page, signed one more time, and handed the papers back to the woman at the front desk. Once the woman said she was good to go, Gretchen went to Albert's room. Race was already helping him stand up. The doctor finished giving Albert instructions and left.

"Ready to head home?" Gretchen asked with a small smile, even though she already knew the answer.

"Very ready. I don' wanna be by myself at night anymore," Albert said. The simple statement broke Gretchen's heart. He had been spending every night alone for a while. Of course he was ready to be around his friends again. They were practically brothers.

"Let's go," Race said softly, putting Albert's arm around his shoulders and holding onto his side carefully. Their position reminded Gretchen of what had landed Albert in the hospital in the first place. She wasn't sure he'd make it through the night, but here he was. Standing, smiling, and joking around like always. She couldn't believe how incredibly lucky he was.

Race was able to get Albert out of the hospital without Gretchen's help, since the hallways weren't wide enough for her to help and allow room for people to pass them. Once they were outside, Gretchen took the same position as Race, but on the other side of Albert.

"I'm so ready to go home," Albert said softly. He didn't say much else, since he was focusing all his energy on putting one foot in front of the other and not stumbling.

When they eventually reached the lodging house, Jack had to restrain the boys from swarming around Albert in excitement. A few of them, the younger ones, hadn't been able to visit him in the hospital as much, if at all. They were the most excited to see Albert. One small boy managed to slip forwards and hug Albert tightly. Albert winced slightly in pain, but he smiled down at the boy and ruffled his hair affectionately.

After Albert was able to convince the boy to let go, Gretchen and Race guided him to his bunk. He stretched out on it with a content sigh.

"The mattress may not be as nice as the one at the hospital, but I missed it," he said, smiling.

Gretchen smiled, too. "I'm just glad you're home. And you're alright."

"Oh, I'm more than alright." Albert grinned even wider. "I survived a stab wound. An' I got a battle scar ta' prove it." He lifted his shirt slightly, peering down at the wound. It was bandaged still, but he pulled the bandage back slightly. Gretchen cringed and looked away from the sight, but Albert kept grinning.

"Yeah," he said to himself. "Now I should be more intimidatin'. I lived through an attack." He laughed softly. Gretchen was glad that he seemed to be back to his normal self. She missed seeing him joke around with the other boys or play with the younger newsies. Now he was home, safe, and back to normal. She couldn't ask for anything else.

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one chapter left!
thank you for reading!! I've been putting off updating because I don't want this to end yet...