Lady of the Bronx- Newsies

Chapter Twenty

Pov: Bambina

For the first time in five years, I'm having girl talk. The thought makes me snort. Never did I ever think that I could have time for that again.

"I've only met him a few times, Katherine." I start, a bit uncertain.

"Well tell me about him! How did you guys meet!" She says hopefully.

I laugh, then shake my head. 

"Oh come on!" She insists, "That's not a hard question!" The way Katherine emphasizes on the 'not' is good enough for me to know that there will be some harder questions coming up. 

I roll my eyes, "Mi ha salvato la vita." I say in Italian to avoid the question.

"Deer!" Katherine chides, a exasperated look on her face. 

"Fine, fine! He saved my life." I force out. She looks at me, wide eyed.

"That's quite romantic."

I bark out a laugh, "One would think. Remember how I told you about being a girl newsie? About how it's supposed to be a secret?"

"Yes, of course." She says.

"Other than the Bronx newsies, for the first time people found out, last week."

Her brow furrows, "How?"

"I was walking home with Smalls a few days ago. And at one point of time, I had to stop at the store. I let him go ahead without me, practically told him to, saying I'd be right behind him. But," I sigh, pulling my collar down so she can see my stitches.

"I was mugged. Then stabbed." Right after I say it, Katherine gasps.

"This was how long ago?!"

"A week, not even.

"I was able to escape them, but, obviously, not unscathed. They chased me for a while, and once I finally lost them, I was too tired to move. I was half passed out in an alleyway near Brooklyn when Spot found me. Jack had sent out an alert beforehand, saying one of his Newsies was missing. At first, Spot thought I was said newsie. Before fully passing out, I was terrified. The fact that I'm a girl could get me in the orphanage, and damage the Bronx's reputation.

"Once he finally was able to start helping me, Spot noticed I wasn't a boy. He kept my secret, telling everyone to stay out of his room while he treated me. After giving me stitches, he went downstairs to talk to Jack and his boys. And, one of them happened to be Riccardo- my brother. Who at the time I hadn't seen in five years.

"One thing led to another, and I woke up. I panicked, and tried to escape right away- and then Spot came in."

"What did you do?" Katherine asks, completely involved in my 'story'.

"I yelled at him in Italian."

Katherine starts laughing until she's gasping for air. "Oh my god Deer! He saved your life and you yelled at him? What did the 'King of Brooklyn' do in response?"

"Said 'sorry.' In italian.I think I scared him a bit." I say, laughing a little. Katherine smiles at me. "And then?" She questions.

"Then I ran out. And after a while Jack, Riccardo, Spot, and another Newsie Chased me. When I found out who Riccardo was well, that's a story for another day."

"Have you seen him sense?" She asks, I nod.

"The lot of them came to the Bronx. Spot flirted with me the whole time. And before he left, he told me to meet him on the Brooklyn bridge the next day."