You are the Key--A Newsies (Spot Conlon) Fan Fiction #2

Chapter 23

Mina stirred at the soft rapping on her bedroom door.  She was just in the early stages of sleep and the moon was not even high in the sky outside her window.

"Giggles, Giggles" she heard Spot's voice whisper.  "Mina, please open the door."

Missie's "rules" rushed through her head, but she didn't really care.  She knew Spot was not that kind of person the Missie warned her about.  If he really wanted to hurt her, he would have already done it; Spot was not one to pass up an advantageous situation.  Besides, she didn't want anyone to catch him in the hallway where there was no place to hide if someone woke up and investigated the noises.  She took slow steps towards the door and opened it a crack.

"Spot?" she asked.

"Please let me in," he said.

She couldn't make him out in the darkness, but she opened the door wider and he stumbled in.  She reached out to steady him.  His body twitched and he leaned heavily against her.  She was not expecting the weight and almost let out a cry, but she caught herself.

"Spot," she whispered.  "Are you okay?"

"I need to sit down," he said.

Spot voice sound slurred, but he wasn't drunk.  He smelled of sweat, metal, and a hint of sweetness.  His clothes felt crusty.  When she lit the lantern, Spot's bruised and bloody appearance became apparent.  He had a swollen nose caked in dry blood, a large gash on his forehead, a black eye, and a split lip that still appeared to be bleeding.  There was dried blood on the front of his shirt and on his sleeves.  When she looked at her white nightgown, she saw he had left rust colored hand prints on her waist and shoulders.

"What happened?" she whispered loudly.

Spot didn't respond.  His eyes just passed over her as if he were in some sort of a daze.  She didn't know what to do.

"Spot, you need to see a doctor," she said gently brushing his dirty hair out of his face.

"No," whispered Spot.  "Please just let me rest a minute."

"I'm going to help you clean up and then you can rest," Mina said.  She would not push him to the doctor, but she was not going to give up this battle.  Spot conceded.

With her help, she and Spot walked down the hallway to the bathroom.  It had to be early evening, but the house was already sleeping.  Her father's door was open and his room was empty.  Hopefully his evening card game would last long enough for Spot to clean up and then sneak back into her room.

"You have a shower?" whispered Spot.

"A canopy shower bath," said Mina.  "We had it imported from Europe and installed last summer."

Spot gave a sardonic laugh, "Well if that don't beat all."

"I want you to have a good soak in the tub.  I'll let you try the shower another day."

Spot sat on the toilet lid, slipped off his suspenders, and started unbuttoning his shirt.  Mina turned on the warm water to fill the tub and filled the sink with cold water.  Then she sat on the floor helped him undo his shoes and pull off his socks.  Spot's clumsy fingers were still stumbling over the buttons of his shirt.  After he peeled it off, Mina helped him stand up so he could take off his pants.

"I'll leave the rest on for now," said Spot.

"Roll the top of your long underwear down and I'll help wash your back," said Mina.  She rolled his bloody clothes into a ball and plunged them into the sink to soak.

Spot hesitated a moment but complied.  His back was covered in welts and bruises wrapped around his torso.  A couple spots seemed split open like the skin had disintegrated.  Mina knew she couldn't control her eye's reaction to his injuries, but she tried to remain calm.  She'd never had to deal with injuries so horrific before.  Spot wasn't looking at her.