Newsies everlasting

Chapter 6

"It's all going to be okay. You had no other choice, and your family will not be disappointed, considering your mother did the exact same thing for me, remember. She killed the man in the yellow suit to protect me. And we all still love her. Just as we'll all still love you. I love you. Just don't do anything stupid, beating yourself won't fix anything." Winnie's voice resembled a mixture of calmness and severity at the same time, a weird talent she had. Jesse's breathing had finally returned to a steady rate, as his face lost some of it's colour.
"Thank you" he relied, grateful for the fact that she didn't hate him, even if he hated himself.
"Now, get some sleep, you've got papers to sell in the morning!" She scoffed, before thinking things through - he probably wasn't ready to face the boys again.
"There's a couch in my room, if you're not ready to go back yet. You can spend the night here if you want. Don't don't let aunt Medda see you, she'll probably jump to other conclusions if she does" Winnie laughed, finally bringing a small smile back to Jesse's face.
"If ya sure ya don't mind" he replied, thankful for the offer "I don't wanna intrude".
"It's fine. Let's get you cleaned up first. Hey, I can tell you're a little better, there was a hint of new York back in your voice" she smiled.
"Sorry, it's confusing having two voices" He laughed, returning back to his normal accent.

Once they climbed back through the window, Winnie lead Jesse to the bathroom so they could clean him up. Besides the blood and dirt on him after the fight, Winnie could tell that he hadn't had a proper wash in a while, as a result of sharing a tiny bathroom with over 20 other boys. She instantly began to run a bath, deciding that Medda's room was far enough away that she wouldn't hear the running water or any talking in general.
While the tub filled with warm soapy water, Jesse removed his shirt to reveal cuts and bruises of which were already very quickly disappearing, while Winnie tended to them with a sponge. She winced as she counted each of his injuries, even though she knew he couldn't feel them. While she gave him a quick examination, she looked up at his face as he stared at the wall. Jesse's eyes were bloodshot, drowning in dark circles that enveloped them. His lips were cracked, after spending years of his life dehydrated while shrieking headlines. Though he wasn't ageing, he still looked tired, his expression mirroring his 108 years of age upon his 17 year old face. What happened to the bubbly, bright eyed boy she'd met 6 years ago?

"Jesse, are you happy here?" She asked, breaking him from his daydream. He paused a few seconds to contemplate his answer.
"Honestly, yes. I know I don't look it, and while there's so much here that I hate, I love the boys. They are my family. And to be honest, though he comes with his struggles, I love being Crutchie. He doesn't have to live forever. People actually like Crutchie." He responded, sighing.
"Would you like me to call you Crutchie from now on?" She asked, satisfied with his response- at least he had some happiness in his life.
"You can call me either" He laughed, smiling down at her, "I respond to both I guess".
"Okay, Crutchie!" Winnie said while continuing to dab at his wounds.

"Thank you for doing this," Jesse said, as Winnie went to turn off the bath taps, now that the tub was completely filled, "I really appreciate it".
"No problem," she replied handing him a towel, "I'll wait outside while you're, well you know..."
"Naked?" He joked, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Well, yes. Okay I'm going!" She giggled before running out the door.

Jesse emerged from the bathroom 40 minutes later, wrapped in a towel, peeking his head around the door.
"Hey Winnie, could ya see if there are any spare clothes in the wardrobe that I could wear? I think Medda may have bought some spare shirts and stuff after I did my leg in. Is that okay?"
"No problem, let's see what we have here, what about this?" She pulled out a large, teal, sequinned gown, definitely one of Medda's many costumes.
"Are ya kidding me?" Jesse chuckled, leaning against the door frame with nothing other than a towel wrapped around his waist. Winnie could feel her cheeks beginning to blush, so quickly turned back to the extravagant collection of outfits.
"Okay, how about this then?" She laughed, producing a giant hat covered in bright purple feathers.
"Hmm, I think it might clash with my crutch. Purple and dirt just do not match!" He laughed, before wandering over to the wardrobe himself to find a clean pair of trousers, a shirt, a waistcoat, and undershirt, and socks and underwear.
"This will do I think" he smiled. Winnie noticed the muscles spread out across his arms and his back as he rummaged for an outfit. When he wasn't hidden in a mask of filth, Jesse was actually quite attractive.
"See you in a minute" he said before returning back to the bathroom. While she waited, Winnie looked over at the clock on the wall, and realised to her horror that it was four in the morning! At least her aunt said she didn't have to get up early, but what about Jesse? Surely he couldn't cope with selling papers on near to no sleep.
"Jesse, it's four in the morning! Get you're ass into bed!" She hissed through the door, desperate for him to get some sleep.
"Oh, do I get to be in ya bed now?" He mocked, clearly only joking, but still causing Winnie to blush uncontrollably.
"Jesse Tuck! How dare you," She laughed, as she began clearing away all the clothes "act your age!"
"Well, if I did that, I'd be wrinkly, oh, and dead, so I think I'd rather pass on that thanks" he called through the door.
"Shh, Aunt Medda's gonna hear you!" Winnie warned, suddenly remembering that her aunt was only a few doors away.
"Oh, like she'd be disappointed ya have a boy in ya room. Honestly, that woman's  been trying to set me up with girls since I moved here. She does it to all of us" Jesse finally reappeared from the bathroom, filling his newspaper bag with his dirty clothes, "and I only get like three hours of sleep per night anyway, so I'll be fine".
"Even so, you still need to sleep. You've had a rough night, and we both know tomorrow's going to be a tough one. I can only hope that that Morris you told me about knows to keep his mouth shut" Winnie instantly regretted mentioning the Delancey brothers, as Jesse's face dropped at the very mention of them. For a few bliss minutes, he had finally forgotten about the murder, allowing his funny, sarcastic self to make a reappearance, but remembering why he was in Winnie's room in the first place extinguished that spark instantly.
"I'm sorry, but it's true, Jesse, tomorrow ain't gonna be easy. But it ain't tomorrow just yet. Right now, it's just us, you're safe here. Now, go to sleep. I mean, you can sleep in the bed if you want to, but that's all it will be, sleeping."
"I know, Winnie, I'm not that much of an idiot. Let's just go to sleep," he agreed, and they both crawled under the covers - while they could have easily stayed 3 feet apart due to the grand size of the bed while still being comfortable, Jesse wrapped him arm around Winnie, and she responded in the same way, hugging him closely.
"Until tomorrow" she said, looking up at him.
"Until tomorrow" he repeated, before they both fell into the deepest, most comfortable sleep either of them had had in years.