a change of heart | e.k

Chapter Thirteen

Lane was practically trembling when she'd finally come to a stop in front of the lodging house, unsure of how to proceed. Which was becoming quite common as of late. When she was finally able to get herself together, she approached the door and gave it a soft knock. "It's me," she said, her voice sounding defeated to even her own ears.

She counted ten seconds before the door creaked open, and even then, there was hardly a crack between. The person on the other side must've recognized her, because next thing she knew a hand was shooting out and pulling her in. She turned just as Jack shut the door behind them, studying the man. Jack did the same, watching her with apprehension and perhaps a little concern. Finally, he placed his hands on her shoulders, staring her down. "Are you... okay?"

She nodded numbly. She had to be okay, because to not be okay meant something was wrong. And she couldn't think about what was wrong. After another moment of trying to determine if she was telling the truth, he nodded and squeezed her shoulders. "It's good ta have you back."

"Lane?" Finch suddenly appeared in the room, eyes wide. When he spotted her, he was running, and she let herself be swept up in his arms. "Oh, Lane." After a moment, he pulled back. "You're so cold."

She didn't say anything.

He led her to the bedroom where he tore off a blanket from one of the mattresses, wrapping it around her. He went to step away, but she followed, resting her head against his chest. Slowly, his arms came to embrace her again. "What's wrong?"

She squeezed her eyes shut. "Jus hold me."

And so he did. More of the newsies came down to see what the noise was all about, only to see Lane cocooned in Finch's arms with an enormous blanket wrapped around her. No one dared approach, no one but Albert, and Race, and Crutchie, and only when she was surrounded by the four of them did she let herself break, crying openly into Finch's shoulder as he rocked her back and forth.

"I found him," she said, hardly able to get the words out. "I found him, and he disappointed more than I've ever been disappointed. More than I thought I could even be disappointed."

"Yer faddah?" Finch asked softly.

She nodded. "He's tha leader, Finch. He's tha one behind all dis."

They all tensed. Albert began muttering something underneath his breath that she couldn't quite make out. And then he was pulling her away from Finch and into his own arms, squeezing her tight. "Lane, Ise... so sorry. I..."

She just shook her head, and he stopped. He knew a lot about her past, she supposed, which was the reason they were both taking this so hard. Her father had been her life. When he had faked his death, she felt she'd died right along with him. There wasn't a world without Kyle Delancey.

Until there was, and it wasn't pretty.

"How can we help?" Crutchie asked.

She sighed and wiped her eyes. "You can't. There's nothin' dat could make dis any better."

Crutchie pursed his lips together but nodded, leaning heavily on his crutch.

Race, in turn, snuffed out his cigar and rubbed her arm comfortingly. His eyes were full of sympathy, and for once, she wasn't all that mad about it. She could use some sympathy. It meant people cared, and she needed people who cared.

Just then, the door opened, and in came Dipper who gasped and slapped her hands over her mouth upon seeing her. Initially, it seemed like she was frozen, unable to move. That was until she steeled herself, marching over determinedly and taking her from whoever's arms she'd been wrapped into in order to hug the girl herself.