Warning: Graphic descriptions of violence! Very dark! 

This chapter is not for the faint of heart! Be warned!

Splash

My eyes shoot open after being splashed in the face with water. One of the first things I notice, is that my arms and legs are tied down to the chair I'm sitting in. I try to wriggle my wrists out of the ropes, but to no avail. Looking up, I see a young man, maybe about 20 years old, standing in the shadows. There's maybe 3 other men in the room, too.

"Pl- please... Let me go. I won't tell anyone what happened, I just wanna go home," I whimper. The young man chuckles with a sinister tone and walks up to me. I feel a hand on my cheek, so I jerk my head away in an instant.

"You're Y/n Sullivan, correct?" The man asks with a thick Brooklyn accent, one that sounds oddly familiar. I decide it's best not to tell him, and shake my head.

"No, my name's Ash Kelly. I think you got the wrong person. But if you let me go, I won't tell anyone," I say. He scoffs and dramatically walks around the room.

"Yeah, yeah. And you're brudda's name is Jack Kelly, too. I do have tah say, lovely choice on an alias. I would have nevah guessed it was you, even though we have met before," he says with a smirk.

"Okay, one, who are you? Two, how do you know my name? And three, what do you want?" I ask. He simply tisks and walks up to me, pulling my face up so that I'm looking directly at him.

"So many questions, which is funny because you'se in no position to be asking 'em. But, I guess I shoulds explain it to ya, darlin'. I know ya name because I have been soiching for you since you've been in the Refuge. What do I want? Well, let's just say that your brudda took what was closest to me, so I'm here to retoin the favah. And who am I? Darling, I'm surprised you couldn't tell just by lookin' at me," he says. After taking in his appearance for a minute, I realize who he is.

Luis. The very person who had hurt me all that time ago. He must see my expression, because he starts chuckling.

"Ah, so you do remembah me. Then do you remembah what your stupid brudda did tah me?" He asks, pushing back the chair I'm in. I shake my head. "Well, he took my little brudda! He's about three years younga than me. I miss him more than I've missed anyone. And now he works a fuckin' newsie! I can't believe you don't remembah Francis breaking both a yis outta da Refuge."

Him saying that brings back a lost memory of mine, one of not just Jackie and I breaking out of The Refuge, but another person too. I don't remember knowing the person very well, but Jackie did, as they both were newsies at the time.

"Luis, p-please, I don't want any trouble. I just wanna go-" I begin to say, but get returned with a slap to my face.

"If ya don't want any trouble, then don't speak! You'se gonna pay fah what Francis did tah me!" He yells. I spit in his face.

"If you have any trouble with my brother, go to him directly! He's very good at dealing with issues! But don't come to me, thinking that kidnapping me will suddenly fix all of your problems! I don't know who your brother is, but if he's one of our newsies, then he'll probably never want to see you!" I yell. Luis holds his arm up again to slap me. "They know what you did to me! All of them! And they all hate you for what you did!"

I see his expression drop into that of fear. Fear of having his brother hate him. That's the expression I always see on my face.

"It's just because he doesn't know dat I'se his brudda," he says, trying to deny the truth. But I shake my head.

"That would probably make it worse for him. He'd have to live with the knowledge that a family member raped one of his best friends," I say, trying to let him know what will happen. "But, if you let me go, I won't tell anyone anything. I can maybe even find a way to get you to see your brother again."

He stands there for a moment, thinking it over. I start to feel a moment of optimism, getting an idea of him letting me go. But before anything else happens, I feel his fist meet my face, knocking over the chair with me in it.

"Shuddup. Sean would nevah hate me. He was always such an amazin' bruddah. I'm sure dat he prolly knows it was me and doesn't care," he says. I feel my eyes go wide as I cough out blood from just hearing his name. I had heard Jack call Spot Conlon Sean one day before the strike every happened, but told me to never call him that. Holy fuck.

My mind is brought back to that moment again, back in the Refuge.

"Hey! Be quiet, (Y/n). Just let this happen."

"Stop! Please-" I feel a sharp slap to my cheek.

"Shhh... Francis doesn't need to know. Now keep your pretty mouth quiet..."

I look around the room for someone to help me, there's a boy around 15 who's awake and looking. I look him in his eyes as a plea for help. He looks away, seemingly scared of what's happening.

That's it. The reason that I remembered this when Spot scared me on the docks that day. It was him, the boy who looked away from what was happening. That's why Spot seemed so familiar at first. He was the only person who could have stopped this from happening, but he looked away.

No! That's not Spot! Or at least, it isn't anymore. He would never let this have happened if he was here. He wouldn't look away

"Sean? As in Sean Conlon?" I ask. He nods. "Holy fuck, Spot, the leader of the Brooklyn newsies is related to you? I hate to say this, buddy, but not even being his brother will get you anywhere. He's my boyfriend, so he told me all about his home life, how you and the rest of his family died from poisoning. Said that you were a living sociopath. I never knew that he once was in the Refuge, though. He said that when he was the second in command to the leader of Brooklyn, that when he heard that his family died, he eventually got over it and had a new brother, who was the leader of the Brooklyn boys," I say, recalling everything Spot had said.

There's then a sharp kick to my stomach, making me cough up more blood.

"Shuddup! Shuddup! Shuddup! Sean loves me! Youse just a liah! I'll make sure tah screw you up woise than last time!" He yells at me, with every other word, kicking me again. "C'mon, boys, let's go. And for the record, Y/n, mom tried to kill us. She failed."

They all clear out of the room in an instant. I start sobbing from the pain, and I can't stop. I cry for maybe 10 minutes, before I finally stop. Taking in my surroundings, I notice that I'm most likely in a basement.

"Hello?" I hear the voice of a little kid ask. I look up to the door, seeing a little boy standing there with the door slightly ajar. The boy looks really young, maybe four or five. He has black hair and light brown eyes, with freckles dotted over his nose.

"Hi, there. What's your name?" I ask them little boy with the most gentle voice I can muster up. 

"My name's Leo. Are you okay, miss?" He asks. I shake my head.

"No. That boy, Luis, really hurt me and made sure that I can't leave," I say. The boy then fully walks into the room.

"Yeah, my brotha's a total jewk," he says. I go wide eyed.

"He's your brother?" I ask, he nods. "I... I know your other brother." He suddenly smiles.

"Sean! He's awive?!" He yells, I shush him.

"Yes, he's alive. But I need to get out of here to see him and my brother," I say. 

"Okie dokie, I'll untie you," he says. He then walks behind me and I feel the rope on my wrists slowly get looser.

"How old are you, Leo?" I ask him.

"Uh, I five years owd," he says. Suddenly, I feel that my hands are freed. I then go to untying my feet from the chair. I then stand up and go to the door, looking around for anyone else in the staircase. "Awe you leaving?" He asks, I nod with a hum. "Can I go wit' you? Luis is a total meanie and like huwting people."

"Of course. I'm Ash by the way," I say. He nods.

"I know who you awe. He would always talk about how you and your brotha made him sad. But I don't believe him, because all he does is make othews sad," he says. I decide to give him a piggy back ride out of there.

"You're a very smart kid, Leo. Don't change that," I say. I feel him resting his head on my back.

I start walking up the stairs, keeping an eye out for anyone who might see me. I see a front door, but there's someone standing right next to it, looking in a different direction. I suddenly get an idea and whisper it to Leo. He nods and gets off my back, walking over to the guard.

"Hi! I left my stuffy in my woom, could you please gwab it for me?" He asks with the cutest puppy eyes I've ever seen. The man nods and starts walking up another staircase. Leo then looks around and waves for me to come over.

I walk up to the door, opening it to see a familiar street in the morning time. I then take Leo's hand and we start running. I put him on my back again, helping us to run faster.

I recognize every street in Manhattan because of my month of working as a newsie. We continue to run, occasionally having to stop to catch my breath. Leo keeps an eye out behind us for anyone following.

After about 30 minutes of running, we finally reach the World Lodging house. I charge in through the door, gaining the attention of everyone, who all run over and pull me into a big hug.

"Ash! You're alive!" "What happened to ya face?!" "We was worried sick!" "Where was ya?!" I get bombarded. I place my hand up, getting everyone to be quiet. I turn to Race.

"I was kidnapped by Spot's brother, who's also the man who raped me in the Refuge," I say. There's murmurs across everyone about literally everything I said. I notice Leo hiding behind me, so I move him forward, showing him to everyone.

"Guys, this is Spot's little brother, he helped me escape," I say. Racetrack picks him up and hugs him tightly, and some other boys join in.

"Thank yis so much fah savin' our Ash," Mush says, squeezing the little boy, who seems to enjoy the positive attention.

While that's happening, I'm being questioned about if he hurt me again.

"I'm fine. All that happened is he punched and kicked me a couple of times," I say calmly. Everyone's talking, but it quickly turns into silence.

I try to see why everyone's quiet, when Jackie walks through the crowd. He looks at me, while I look away. I'm about to apologize, when he pulls me into a tight bear hug. I quickly hug him back, starting to cry into his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Jackie! I shouldn't have disobeyed you," I cry out. I can feel him shaking his head.

"No. I should be the one tah apologize. I was in da wrong, tryin' tah control what ya do with your body. So I'se so sorry 'bout doin' dat," Jackie says. "But where did you go after I yelled at ya?"

"I guess I should probably tell you guys everything that happened," I say. We all decide to take a seat around my bunk. I begin in as much detail as possible, with Leo popping in every once in a while.

They all nod their heads at the things I say, some even shaking their heads at the things Luis had done. I even have to cover Leo's ears to make sure that he doesn't hear certain things I say.

"And then after that, Leo and I ran to here, and that's what happened," I finish. There's silence for a minute, before they all hug me. There's tears, and laughter from being ticked because of all the hugs and protective kisses from the boys who are all like my older brothers.

All of that ends quickly as the door is quickly kicked open. All of our attention is drawn to who did the kicking, and I'm shocked to see Luis standing there, with dozens of men standing behind him, holding bats, batons, and chains.

"Thank ya so much, Y/n, for leadin' us right to ya brudda. Now, I'll be takin' Leo, Sean, and then your brudda's life," Luis says. I can hear some of the boys mustering up curses.

The men suddenly run towards us. I manage to throw my body over Leo's to protect him from being whipped with a chain that ends up colliding with my back. I feel a warm liquid running down my back as Leo starts screaming.

Jackie picks me up, holding onto my shoulders.

"Ash! Take Leo and run! Get as fah away from 'ere as possible!" He yells. I shake my head.

"No! I'm not leaving you here!" I yell back. He then shakes me.

"You will die if you stay hea!"

"So will you! And I can't live without you! So I'm not going down without a fight!" I tell him, letting him know that I won't leave. He seems disappointed, but nods.

I ignore the pain in my back as I hide Leo under my bed and charge into the fight, helping the boys from getting hurt. Eventually, the fight gets dragged outside and onto the street, which is probably worse.

One man pushes me and sends me flying into Luis, who I try to run away from, but he pulls me by my waist, pressing my bloodied back against him. I try to kick at him, but he pulls a knife out from his pocket and holds it to my neck, causing me to freeze up. He notices this and brings his lips close to my ear, whispering to me.

"Is this what ya wanted, sweetheart? Ya wanted tah be a hero and take me otha brudda too?" He asks, gesturing his arm out to everything that's going on. I shake my head. I hear his sinister chuckle, and let out a sob. "You know, I don't regret what I did to yis back at the Refuge. Ya very beautiful, and I never stop thinkin' 'bout that day."

"Please-" I begin to beg, but he holds the knife closer to my neck, drawing a small amount of blood as more people take notice what he has in his arms. Me.

"You said dat Sean is now ya boyfriend? Well, maybe we could share ya, eh? How does dat sound? Does that sound nice?" He asks. I don't answer, only continue to sob. He doesn't like this and presses the knife even closer to my neck, drawing more blood. "Does it?!"

"Yes! Yes! Please, just move the knife!" I yell, begging for the pain to stop. He moves the knife away slightly, just enough to stop the constant feeling of metal in my flesh.

"Good. Now, get this to stop, now. Or you will die painfully, right here, right now, in front of everyone, including your brudda. And, your brudda will be tortured, mutilated. You don't want dat, do ya?" He asks, I shake my head. "Then get them tah stop fightin' back."

I wait for a moment, before opening my mouth.

"Everyone! Stop fighting!" I yell as loud as I can, getting everyone's attention. I can feel Luis smirk as he brings his mouth to my neck, showing off that he can touch me and no one can do anything about it.

"Thank you, darlin'. Now, I find no point in having everyone get hoit. I only came fah Francis, or as I've hoid him called, Jack. So let's put an end tah this. She won't be hoit, you won't be hoit, all that needs tah happen is he comes wit' us, as well as Sean, Leo, and 'er. How does dat sound?"  He asks. No one answers, so he drags the knife across my neck, drawing a light amount of blood. "I asked ya a question!! Now answer! Does sound good?!"

"Yes!" I hear Jackie yell. He walks past the crowd of boys. All I can do is sob.

"Jackie! No! Stop!" I yell, not wanting him to die. One of Luis' men takes a bat and hits me directly in my stomach, making me cough up a large amount of blood. I start seeing light and dark spots in my vision.

"Jus' don't hoit her! She doesn't desoive this," Jackie whimpers out. I start to shake my head, trying to convince him to stop.

"You're right. But you deserve to feel the amount of sadness I felt once you took my brother away from me. Don't worry, I won't kill her, I might not even beat 'er. But I want you tah know dat I'se gonna redo the same thing I did 'bout two yeas ago. And I jus' want ya to know dat," Luis says, causing Jackie's eyes to go wide.

"You would nevah, Spot- Sean would nevah let you," Jackie says.

"Jackie boy's right, bro," a voice says from the rooftop of a building to my left. We all draw our attention to the voice, to see Spot Conlon standing there, slingshot in hand and everything. "If I could even call ya dat."

I feel myself smile, knowing that I might make it out alive. Luis presses the tip of his knife to the weakest part of my neck.

"Why would you say dat, bro? I mean, I have ya whore right 'ere ready to die fah me, literally, so why not jus' come wit' me?" He asks. Spot just chuckles, though I see the fear in his eyes. He brings one hand to his lips, creating a whistle. As soon as he whistles, the Brooklyn boys all pop up, slingshots in hand, ready to shoot.

"Let 'er go. Now. Or else ev'ryone of ya men gets hoit," Spot says. I can just hear Luis chuckle, starting to bite my ear in retaliation.

"Wow, bro. I gotta say, I'm proud ah ya. Fah one, you managed to put togetha an army, and you also managed to find such a sexy goil. I'm sure she's told ya about me, you know, the one who took 'er virginity back in da Refuge," he says. I can see the visible shock on Spot's face, and so can Luis. "We can both have 'er, ya know. Aftah all, she's prolly intah that kinda stuff, isn't she?"

He holds knife to my neck again. I feel the pain in every part of my body grow more extreme. I know if this doesn't end soon, I'm going to bleed out.

"Yes! I'm bleeding out, please help!" I cry, letting him know to just end this right now. Luis chuckles at Spot's angered expression.

"You hear dat, bro? She's dyin' from anticipation. Let's jus' end this now," Luis says. I look in Spots eyes, letting him know that I'm afraid as all hell.

"Yeah, let's," Spot says. He then turns to his boys and opens his mouth. "Fire!"

The zipping accuracy of the boys with their slingshots scares Luis enough to let me go. I stumble to the ground, trying to avoid being hit by the marbles. Taking a glance up, I see Luis ignoring them and heading straight toward Jackie, who's fighting off some of his men.

He wields his knife in the air, ready to strike Jack. Faster than I've ever moved in my life, I run to Jackie, pushing him out of the way. But I don't move as fast as I'd like and feel his knife pierce my shoulder.

I let out a blood curdling scream as I hit the floor, my vision starting to go white. All of the noises I hear start to get muffled by the loud ringing that's made home in my hears. I look down at my body, seeing the knife sticking out of my body, dug very deep.

I can only hear the screams of Jackie, as he rushes over to me, placing his hands on the knife, ready to pull it out.

But the screams of Spec's, telling him that it'll kill me stop him from doing so. I look directly at Jackie, seeing his worried eyes meet mine.

"You'll be okay, Ash. C'mon, Y/n, you can make it. Jus' stay awake, you'll be fine," I hear him yell, but it only comes out as a whisper.

There's a faint sound of sirens approaching, and the clopping of horses along the pavement. My eyelids feel so heavy, and everything hurts so much. I can't help but to let them close, even though I can hear Jackie yelling for me not to.

I try not to ignore his pleas, but my body does. I feel the pain start to subside, as a sudden wave of peace and warmth washes over me. The last thought that enters my mind before letting the warm beatitude take over, is,

"I'll finally see mom, again."