His Thing

Chapter 21

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.