Breaking His Walls- [Spot Conlon love story]

Chapter 17- The Infamous Refuge

POV Ciara

I wake up in a dark dusty cell with no furniture. I lug my body off the dirty floor and stare at the scrapes on my arms and legs.

What the hell happened to me last night? I hear heavy footsteps and I slowly crawl to the furthest corner from the door.

The door swings open and Snyder stands in the doorway. Oh my god, I'm in the Refuge.

His face looked at me stern and heartless expression.

"Get up and follow me." his voice booms.

I jump up and walk quickly towards him. We walk by and through dirty hallways that have "bedrooms". The rooms are stacked with many kids but have few beds.

Cramped is an understatement.

We approach a small room at the end of the hall way and Snyder slams the door shut once we are both inside. His office is small, but clean and very tidy.

"Sit," he instructs.

I sit in a comfy chair across from his office desk. He takes a seat and holds up a newspaper.

Oh. It's THE newspaper.

He points to me smiling proudly in the group photo with Spot's arm around me.

"Is this you?" he asks coldly.

I mean there's no point in lying. I am physically sitting right in front of him in those exact clothes.

"Yes." my voice cracks.

"How old are you?"

"18."

That's a lie. I'm 16 but a legal adult is 18. If I am 18 he'd be unable to keep me here.

"Don't lie to me!" he shouts.

"Fine, 16." I sigh.

"Where are your parents?"

"Back in Ireland. They didn't have the money for all of us to immigrate together."

Ok that's a good lie. Sounds pretty believable to me.

"Mmhm, right. So here's the deal, you are a minor committing illegal actiity which lands you a spot in the refuge. You are lucky that I know you aren't 18 because then, young lady, you would be sitting in a prison cell."

"Yeah well what do you call this?" I scoff.

His face contorts in anger as he leans forward on his desk. Probably, shouldn't of said that.

"Listen girl, you are looking at four months right now. Wanna make it five?" he snarls.

"4 is fine sir." I say quickly.

"Can I trust you enough to room with the other street rats?" he asks sitting back in the chair.

I nod. He stands up from his desk and escorts me out of his office. We walk back down the crusty hallways and into a tight room with four bunk beds and a tiny window with metal bars.

He pushes me into the room and slams the door shut. I fall to my knees and grit my teeth in pain.

My legs are bruised as is and this fall did not help.

"Looks like we's got anotha one boys." a boy with chocolate colored skin announces hopping off the top bunk.

I stand up quickly and scan the room. A boy sat near the window with his back to me with a crutch laying beside him.

"Crutchy?" I squeak out.

He turns around and his face lights up when he recognizes me. He hobbles towards me excitedly.

"Hiya Gutsy! How'd ya end up here?" he smiles.

Even in the must horrible situations, Crutchy still finds a way to smile.

"Snyder saw me in the papes just like he saw Jack. He grabbed me around midnight last night when I was walking back from Brooklyn. But like you, he can keep me here because apparently ripping newspapers in protest is illegal." I explain.

"Did yous say Brooklyn?" a burly boy with jet black hair asks.

He stands next to the darker boy and gawks at me.

"Yeah."

"Well, what was ya doin at Brooklyn at midnight? Yous lookin for trouble!" the dark haired boy continues.

Yeah. Got me there. Spot is nothing but trouble at this point.

"Da names Sparky, dis is Tucker. I's used ta be a Brooklyn newsie. Ya spoke of me borough... yous got me attention." he adds.

"Gutsy, Manhattan newsie. Nice to meet you both." I smile.

We spit shake and my smile becomes wider. It reminds me of business. Newsie business.

"So tell me, are yous involved with the strike like Crutchy?" Tucker speaks up.

I tell Tucker and Sparky about our protests and the rally we held. Crutchy listens intently as well since he was supposed to be doing all of this with us.

Crutchy is in complete shock when I tell him the rally landed us in court. He also tells me Jack was here for a little bit last night, but he was moved an taken elsewhere.

He knows just as much as we do. Although, I didn't mention anything about Spot.

Those details were irreverent to the strike anyways.

I talk to Sparky a little bit more. He's a really interesting guy. He tells me that he's been stuck at the refuge for almost a year.

He was put away after stealing a case of beer from a liquor store in Brooklyn. Classic Brooklynite.

"So if you're a Brooklyn newsie, you must know Spot Conlon." I start, playing dumb.

Sparky lets out a small chuckle but nods.

"Yeah, I's do. Me and Conlon have had some pretty fun times togetha." he tells me.

"Oh, yeah? Like what?"

"Like a year ago, Brooklyn and Harlem got into a war. It feels like so long ago, I's can't even tell ya what it was over. But ta settle it, I's gave Spot da crazy idea ta date Blair, the Harlem leader Checkers's sister. Da crazy kid went through with it. And if I's bein honest, I take full credit for it because it settled da war. But, when Spot finally broke up with her, she just kept coming back for more. Oh, it was ridiculous- and so annoying. Spot went nuts. But ta keep things civil, there isn't much he could really do." Sparky explains.

"By any chance can you describe Blair?"

"Uhh... sure. Fair skin, dark brown hair, light eyes. In conclusion, good looking." he recalls.

It had to be her. It had to be Blair. Spot was totally hooking up with Blair last night,

"Damn, I was just curious to know if I've seen her around or not. I don't think I have." I lie.