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Katherine watched with a feeling of dread as the Delancey brothers dragged Jack out of the room and down to the cellar. She deserved it, of course she did, but she still couldn’t get Jack’s look of betrayal out of her mind. She wished it were different. She wished that she actually was Katherine Plummer; the Pulitzer name brought her too much pain. And now to Jack, too.
She felt for Jack, she really did. Crutchie had once told her before that Jack almost rarely slept because he had such bad nightmares from the refuge. From Snyder. And after today, she wouldn’t doubt it.
The pure anger he had when her father mentioned his brother in the refuge was enough to scare her.
Then the raw fear that flashed in his eyes when Snyder was revealed told her everything she needed to know. She had no idea what the refuge was like, or hell, even where it was located, but just based off the fear that almost brought the seemingly fearless newsboys leader to his knees, she knew it had to of been bad. What does Snyder do to those poor kids? What did he do to Jack?
Then to make her feel even worse, the fear turned into panic when the Delanceys held him back and wrenched one of his arms behind his back.
Jack thought he was tough to read, but she could see straight through every facade that he tried so hard to protect. Jack knew he was trapped and knew that only pain would follow and frankly it broke her heart. Sure Jack was a little rough around the edges and put up an arrogant front, but she knew that he really was just a boy who was forced to grow up way to fast.
Katherine thought back to his interactions with the boys.
How he sells double what the others do and spends less than half of his earnings on himself.
How every morning he wraps Crutchie’s bad leg and ties his shoes.
How he stays up all night talking with Romeo during a storm, because Jack knows how scared he is of lightning.
Jack stole and yes it’s wrong. Yes, it’s illegal. But Katherine knows that he wouldn’t of done it if they boys didn’t need it. Everyone of them worked their asses off and got next to nothing in return, so what else was Jack supposed to do? He did what he had to, to keep his boys safe. And to Katherine, that’s not illegal or wrong. That’s love. Jack loves those boys with all his heart and would do anything for them. And that’s when she realized that he was going to take the deal. He was gonna betray them all, let them hate him, because that's what he had to do to keep them safe.
That night, Katherine laid restless in her bed. The only thing on her mind was Jack, locked down in that horrible cellar. So she got up, threw on her robe and made her way down the 3 flights of stairs to the place where Jack was being held. There was a window in the back of the room, for what she wasn’t sure.
Katherine slowly and as quietly as possible, leaned down next to the window, peering in as her eyes adjusted to the darkness.
“Jack.” She whispered, praying he’d respond, “Jack!”
“Hm?” She heard him stir and slowly make his way towards her, “Katherine? Whatca doin here?”
“I live here”
“Oh. Yeah.”
Jack finally reached the window and Katherine gasped. He already had a black eye from the strike but now he looked downright awful. A still bleeding cut was above his eyebrow and the entire right side of his face was swollen. His jaw was badly bruised. She wondered what other damage she couldn’t see.
“Oh my God Jack,” Katherine put her hands through the bars and held his face in her hands, “You look like hell.”
“Gee- thanks Ace,” he responded jokingly, the smile not quite reaching his eyes, “Yous real good at complimentin’ a guy.”
A few minutes of comfortable silence followed, as Jack leaned his head against the bars, Katherine reaching out to grab his hand.
“What are you going to do?” She asked hesitantly, already knowing what his answer is going to be.
He sighed, pulling their linked hands closer to him, “I’m not what else I can do but just give in. The boys don’t deserve- they can’t go to the refuge. I won’t let that happen.”
Katherine gave him a sad smile, before mimicking him by pulling their hands closer to her this time. “You don’t deserve it either you know.”
He looked at her with a sad disbelief.
“Listen,” She started, practically hugging his arm at this point, “I don’t know the first thing about the refuge or what you went through, but I know enough to say that you, Jack Kelly, do not belong there.”
Silence fell between them once again before Jack quietly, almost hesitantly spoke up, “Theys gonna hate me.”
“Jack,” Katherine said, squeezing his hand, “They might be a little mad, but they love you. They always will.”
“I’s betrayin’ em.” He said, eyes downcast. “Listen Ace,” she smiled at the nickname, “Whys you doin’ this? Why yous going against your father?”
Katherine sometimes wondered the same thing. Is this all worth it? She started to frequently ask herself. Then her eyes met the boy’s in front of her. The battered and bruised, homeless, orphaned boy who, despite everything, is easily the strongest person she’s ever met. Because she is here, in her satin and silk pajamas, with her fancy bed and servants who would bring her anything if she asked. And he is here too, but locked in the dirt-filled old cellar, wearing clothes that apparently had since he was 13 (according to Davey). The world was so cruel. What had she done to deserve everything? More importantly, what had he done to deserve nothing?
“Jack,” Katherine began, worried he’d actually fallen asleep leaning against the bars, “It’s not going to be easy, but.” She paused, “Whatever you choose, I’m there by your side. Yeah? You’re not going to be alone in this. I promise.”
He gave a tired smile and shy, “Thanks Ace. Yous the best.”
His eyes closed again and Katherine took this as her cue to go back up to her bed. But Jack stopped her before she could.
“Ace,” He started, sounding embarrassed, “Can yous stay for just a little while? This place- kinda reminds me of the refuge ya know? And- And yous… yous makes it better.”
Katherine really beamed now, sitting back down and grabbing his hand again. He pulled their hands closer to him and he resumed his position against the bars.
“Of course Jack.” Katherine said softly. “Of course.”
Less than 10 minutes later, and they were both fast asleep, on this dirty basement floor. Together.