Twisted Virtue - Jack Dawkins

Prize has been won

Days, hours, minutes, seconds were fleeting. Her birthday was drawing ever nearer and the pair couldn't quite wrap their heads around the fact these moments they'd share alone together would be gone in a matter of days. Dodger awoke the next morning with a warm feeling flowing through his body, there wasn't the sense of existential dread that had been looming in his mind for the past fortnight, this was a sense of triumph and lust and adoration for Nancy. He was proud of himself for just biting the bullet and going for it, because he had never felt as alive as he did when they shared that kiss. He looked to his left and the girl with brunette waves and a freckled button nose was breathing slowly, mouth slightly ajar as she slept. He manoeuvred himself onto his feet so as to not disturb her. As he sat on the bench at the table all the boys eyes were on him as if they had been conspiring something the night prior behind his back. Their eyes were scattered around the room , skimming from one person to the next clearly trying to allocate a speaker for whatever they were trying to express to Dodge. Finally all their eyes locked on George ( one of the kid who was recruited two years back, the brains if you will. A smart kid of 14, had a way with words.) he rolled his own eyes and edged closer to Dodger. "What was you and Nance arguin' about last night." Dodgers eyes moved from each boy to the next and he sat back in his chair and sniffed. " None of your business you nosy gits." The lads decided that they weren't going to let go of what they heard that easily, so George continued " Why did Nancy say you'll have to start doing things without her? And why did you take Charlie on a job instead of Nance? And why are you two so annoyed with each other all the time at the minute. And why..." The boy continued to trail off but Jack couldn't be bothered with their digging this early in the morning so decided that this would be the best time to clear up any speculation that the boys had.

He looked over his shoulder to check if Nancy was still sound asleep in his bed and she was. Then he stuck his head into the lounge and Fagin was still piggishly snoring in his armchair with his owl perched on a hat hanger. So he resided back to the lads at the table and uttered in a low threatening voice " Right I'll tell ya what's going on lads, but I swear if any of you freak out or raise your voice or let onto Fagin OR Nancy that you know , I'll drown you all in the bloody Thames. That clear?..." All boys solemnly nodded in unison so Dodger whispered. " Right so course we all know that ugly brute Bill Sykes has been coming round all the time, and we keep getting sent on jobs or told to piss off by Fagin. It's because Fagin's in debt to him and instead of doing what any normal bloke would do, he decided to compensate him by giving him Nancy..." The lads were all so engaged in the story and audibly gasped at this revelation. "But he only agreed to let him have her after she turns 16 so that she's not underage. So yeah , once she turns 16 Sykes will be round here to claim her for good." Dodger let out a deflated sigh as he recounted the events that had been tormenting him for the past few years, and his story gained multiple different reactions from the lads: an array of gasps, a muffled cry, some just sat in pure shock.

The morning dawned on and Nancy was up and awake but in a perpetual sense of denial and was ultimately too numb to process that today would be the day she leaves for good. She would smile at the boys and the atmosphere in the room was enough to tell her that she knew that they knew. However she was in not fit mood to challenge Dodger over telling them, she just let it be. Dodger had made breakfast and even offered her his sausages as well as her own portion which was larger than normal , but she didn't eat a single mouthful. Her stomach was in knots, her head ached and her entire body was shaking. Fagin came into the dining room, kissed her head, wished her happy birthday but didn't dare discuss the inevitable events of later that day. Dodger noticed how tense the girl was and ran to her aid and began to rub her shoulders to try and decrease her stress but it came to no avail. Suddenly there was a loud banging sound on the door and Fagin scarpers to answer it. Jack was sat back down next to Nancy at this point and even though her eyes were fixed on the door, the moment she heard the banging, her hand was straight into Dodgers grasp out of sheer terror. He held it gently, his thumb rubbing circles around her shaky palm to try and soothe her anxiety. 

The brutish figure of Sykes stepped through the door, wearing his signature trench coat, buckled boots and hat. He was accompanied by his scruffy bull terrier Bullseye who lazily lingered by his side. He had a victorious smirk plastered on his face as he knew today was the day he had been waiting for, for many years. " Where's my prize Fagin." Nancy courteously stood up, her legs nearly buckling on the way up from her chair. She knew that there was no way out now. Fagin held her shoulders and led her towards Bill. " Here she is Bill. All yours." He let go of her and lightly shoved her even closer to him. Bill took a firm grip of her arm and pulled her towards him, he grabbed her face and shoved it from side to side humming to himself in satisfaction before turning to her and commanding " Go and get your stuff then and say your goodbyes." She locked eyes with him and gave him a fiery stare before turning away and grabbing her pre packed bag and coat off of the coat rack. She turned to say goodbye to everyone, the boys all surrounded her with hugs, kisses, tears and well wishes. After many minutes of goodbyes she noticed that one boy hadn't come to say goodbye. It was Dodger. He stayed put at the dinner table, staring into his lap, sniffing and bouncing his knee. She didn't want to force him, she would let him come to her when he was ready .Fagin took her to one side before she finally departed with Bill. He held her shoulder and spoke down to her with a fatherly tone of validation." Good Girl Nance. I knew I could count on you. I hope you come to see me My Dear, Id loose my head if it was just Dodger round here." He was obviously trying to lighten the mood as tears had began to well up in his eyes. " I'll miss you my dear girl." He hugged her and she began to silently sob, her chest retracting and her nose quietly sniffing. She kissed his cheek and simply replied " I'll miss you Fagin." She retreated back to Bill who nodded to Fagin, placed his hat back on his head and began to walk out of the door with his prize. Nancy tearily turned too and Bill was already nearly down all of the outdoor steps and onto the bridge. She was just about out of the door when a hand pulled her back inside and pulled her close to him as he whispered in her ear " Don't forget me, you'll be mine forever. One day we'll be happy." Tears began to fall rapidly from her eyes as she kissed his cheek. " I love you Dodge." " I love you too Nance." With that she turned and fled down the stairs to catch up to her new brutish companion.