Jack was just placing his hands on the ladder to the penthouse when he heard Mush yelling his name. He turned around, becoming face to face with Mush. He was out of breath from running up flights of stairs, his hat in his hand. "Outside. Race." Was all he had to say in order for Jack to rush down the stairs.
He quickly burst through the doors, scaring a few newsies that were still outside. He scanned the area, before landing on Racetrack and Ruth. Ruth was taking off her light jacket to place around his shivering body. He coughed weakly, trying to swat her away.
"Jack!" Ruth yelled as she spotted him.
He ran over, getting on his knees.
"He has a fever, I don't know what to do.." Ruth said quickly, her voice panicked. "I don't know why I didn't notice earlier, I-"
Jack cut her off, "it's okay. Help me get 'im upstairs." Jack put his arm under Racetrack's arms and hoisted him up to his feet.
"I'm fineee." Race said, his voice nasally.
"Stop lyin'." Jack scoffed, as he began to pull him towards the lodge.
Ruth rushed after them, and pushed to door open as they got to it. Jack and Ruth slowly made their way up to the bunks. Mush volunteered to let Racetrack sleep on his bottom bunk, this saving Jack and Ruth the struggle of throwing Racetrack to the top bunk.
Ruth grabbed any extra blankets she could find, and piled them on top of Racetrack until he stopped shivering.
Jack made sure he was feeling better, before saying he was going to find some water and medicine.
Ruth sat on the floor by the head of the bed, hugging her legs to her chest. "How long have been feeling sick?" Ruth asked. She felt scared, but angry, she knew he had been hiding all of this from her for a while, and tonight just became too much.
"I didn't wanna botha ya." He mumbled, turning his head to face her.
She snapped, "how long?"
"A week." He said finally. He heard her sigh, and began to feel horrible for hiding it from her.
"Why? You knew I could've helped. I could've got some medicine. I could've-" She rambled.
"Stop, Ruthie." He said, he pushed his hand out from under the blankets and held it out to her. She grabbed his hand, lacing her fingers with his.
"I just want you to be okay." She said, leaning her head onto the bunk.
Jack came back with a glass of water and an old bottle of some type of medicine that claimed to reduce fever like symptoms.
Ruth took the bottle and smelled it. She cringed as the tart smell met her nose. "This isn't going to taste good..." Ruth held it up to Racetrack's lips, and poured a few teaspoons into his mouth. He quickly swallowed the foul tasting liquid, and grabbed the cup of water and chugged it quickly.
"That was awful." He cried, putting the cup on the ground and retreating back into his blankets.
Ruth kept her grip on his hand.
"It's gettin' late, Ruthie. Want someone to bring ya home?" Jack asked. Katherine would kill him if something were to happen to Ruth. He knew how close the two of them were, and he had gotten to know the blonde better these past few months.
Ruth looked out the window and saw how dark it was getting. The whole ordeal had made her forget about going home. She looked at Racetrack who had closed his eyes, but wasn't asleep yet. He shifted around slightly, trying to get more comfortable.
"I'll be here first thing in the morning." Ruth said to both of them, before letting go of Racetrack's hand and standing up. She brushed off the dirt from her dress, and looked back at Racetrack one more time.
Jack and Ruth walked towards her apartment building in silence. The two had never hung out alone before, so the atmosphere was tense and unsure.
"Thank you." Ruth said simply.
"Huh?" Jack turned to look at her, "Oh yeah, sure, sure." He nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets.
"I really mean it. I wasn't exactly calm..." Ruth chuckled tiredly.
"We is all family, Ruthie. No big deal."
The rest of the walk was quiet, with small chit-chat about their lives. They finally got to her building, and he bid her a goodnight. She promised to check in on Racetrack, as Jack said he would do everything to keep Racetrack from selling papers.
The minute Ruth pushed open the apartment door, she was greeted with the relieved face of her mother.
"My God, Ruth!" Her mother said, taking her into a hug. "It's getting late!"
"Mom, I wasn't out that long..." Ruth said.
"It nearly ten o'clock!" Her mom read the clock that was near the door.
"I didn't realize I took so long to get home." Ruth admitted taking a seat on the sofa. Her mother sat next to her, wanting an explanation.
"Where were you? I called your father and he said he saw you at seven, leaving the office. No one saw you since." Her mother explained. It was in times of stress that Mary Davis seemed to age thirty years. Ruth noticed the creases between her eyebrows, and the small lines that appeared on the sides of her tired eyes.
Ruth said slowly, "I went to go see Racetrack at the lodge." Her mother waited patiently for her to continue. "He's really sick, Mama..." Ruth hadn't called her mother "mama" since she was a young girl. As she grew up, and grew less dependent on her mother, the nickname began to fade away.
Mary enveloped her daughter in a hug, letting her cry. "I didn't know what to do. I was scared..."
"It's okay, baby." She soothed. "Let's get you to bed."
-
The next morning, Ruth prepared a bowl of soup and some crackers to bring over. She got dressed in a light blue and white dress, and put her messy blonde hair back in a ponytail. She applied a fresh layer of makeup to hide the lack of sleep from the night before. Her mother packed the soup in a container and placed around half of their medicine cabinet into her small bag. She gave her a few words of encouragement before sending her out so she could
Ruth held the bag that contained the soup and crackers tightly. She knew they path to the lodge by heart, not even needing to think as she turned
corners and walked down streets.She had somehow blanked out, and found herself walking up the stairs in the now silent lodge. It wasn't rare that Ruth visited, but she had always seen the place when everyone was running and yelling. Seeing the usually lively place completely silent made her anxious.
She knocked on the door to the room with all the bunks, getting no answer. She held the door handle and pushed the heavy wooden door open, being greeted with a complete mess. Sleeping shirts and pants were lying around on the bunks or floor, shoes strewn about. The beds were left in a disaster that would easily make Mary Davis cringe.
She spotted only one form still wrapped up in blankets, on a bunk on the far right of the room.
"Race?"
YOU ARE READING
My Sweetheart -Newsies Racetrack Higgins-
FanfictionRuth Davis is far from the perfect girl. She isn't as beautiful as her friend, as poise as he mother, as funny as her sisters, or as smart as her father. But when she meets a certain Newsie with a love for races, she falls head over heels. But what...