Chapter 6
It dawned rainy, and dark, weather to match her mood. She hadn't told Lia what had happened when she finally found the other girl, and the two of them made their way to the fire escape behind the rooming house, sneaking into the bunkrooms in time to get about two hours worth of sleep before they were woken up again. Both got the scolding they occasionally got from Mrs. Bulger about staying out late, and then the little old lady wandered back into her rooming house.
Other than being slightly hungover seeming, and the fact that he and his selling partner seemed to not be on speaking terms, Jack didn't act any different, and he didn't make any move to speak to her, although he did smirk slightly when their eyes met for just a moment through the crowd. She flushed, and quickly ducked her head, ignoring Lia's questions, trying to go about her day without thinking about what he'd said to her.
She knew what he was suggesting. He wanted part of what she made in exchange for keeping her safe, and if she agreed to it, she knew he'd try it with the others. She wasn't sure she wanted that- in the first place, getting by was hard enough without splitting the money she made with anyone else.
She had to wonder how many of the others had ever seen this side of their fearless leader. He acted so noble, so kind around everyone else. An honorable guy, who just wanted to fight for what was good in the world. And she knew better, she'd seen the face he didn't show them. But some of them had known him for ages, they had to have seen the uglier side of him. And they just ignored it? Or had they just forgotten about it? Or did they think he'd changed? She knew the other girls, the ones in love with him, wouldn't want to believe it. And while she had to honestly consider his offer- after all, it really wasn't all that safe on her own and she'd only been lucky up until now- she knew the others would blame her if they found out. They'd say it was her idea, she knew the way they thought.
She was damned no matter what she did, and as she went about her day, trying to hawk newspapers, and not freeze to death at the same time, it gnawed at her. It made her feel miserable- a feeling she was gaining a wealth of experience with. It must have showed through on her face, although she tried to hide it, because as the sun started to set, she still had a small armload of newspapers nobody seemed to want to buy from her.
"Someone other than Race should have shown you how to sell papes, Goldilocks." Jack's voice came out of nowhere, from behind her, making her twitch, already on edge from overthinking and nerves. When she spun to face him, he was leaning against a brick wall, casual as you please, smirking at her. "If I hadn't been so busy with Sarah, I would have taken you on myself."
The way he said it made it sound dirty, and she flushed a little, backing up, almost into the street just to give her a bit of distance. "When you found me, on those steps at the church, and you said you wanted to help me, was that all an act?"
The smirk faded from his face a bit, his eyes clouding, and he pushed off of the wall, leaning in, closer to her, forcing her to take another, halting step back. "It wasn't an act. I actually thought I was that person. Union leader, good guy, Jack Kelly. I thought I had a happily ever after, you know. Perfect girl, bright future. Except that guy isn't me. Never was. I don't give a shit about unions, or workers rights. I care about me. And my perfect girl don't like that much. Neither does her family. My father always told me faking it made it real, if you faked it for long enough. Except it doesn't."
"So, what, now you're...giving up on being a good guy?" She frowned at him, backing up again, into the street, his frustration almost palpable. She had the distinct impression he hadn't voiced this to anyone, and she had no idea why he was telling her, except that he probably realized she couldn't, or wouldn't say anything to anyone.
"No. I'm still a good guy. They all think I'm a good guy." His head tilted a bit and he took yet another step forward, reaching out to catch a thick strand of her hair, twirling it around his fingers. "I'm such a good guy, I'm offering to look out for you, when you go out at night. Like tonight. You've barely sold your papers, and I'm willing to bet you haven't even eaten. You can go out tonight, or you can starve. And I'd hate to have something happen to you while you're just trying to make ends meet, Goldilocks. After I've looked out for you, and everything."
She was about to take another step back when a carriage rumbled past, and she jumped forward, right up against him, to avoid it, gasping, and then gasping again when his arm encircled her waist. "I...I don't need your help, Jack, I'm fine on my own. And the last thing I want is Sarah killing me because of this."
"Sarah? Yeah, about Sarah..." He tugged her back with him, away from the edge of the street. "She's beautiful, and she's smart, and she's mad at me. I'm working on her, but that's not the point. She's never going to hear about this. You're not going to tell her, are you? Because then Race would have to hear about this, and I'm pretty sure you're already going to break his heart, Goldilocks."
She winced, trying to disentangle herself from him, and somehow, she only managed to push him a bit towards the alley behind him, his grip on her waist pulling her with him. "I'm not trying to hurt him, and there is no this, Jack, I'm not interested in your help, I can manage on my own."
Jack twisted around to press her against the cold brick of the alley wall, shaking his head with a laugh. "Of course there is. I felt the way you kissed me back. You want this, you couldn't say no to me if you tried. Go on, then, try."
"I..." Flushed, she tried to at least look away, but when Jack's fingers caught her chin and tugged her face back, she gave up, leaning up to kiss him, disgusted with herself, fully aware she was destroying everything good she'd managed to gather together since she'd lost her family.
When he finally pulled away, he smirked down at her, dark, and slightly crooked, his hands settling at her hips for just a moment. “That’s what I thought. So tonight. I’ll meet you out at that bar I found you in last night. See if we can’t line both of our pockets a bit. I’ve got a trick or two I could teach you. Men aren’t usually that careful with the contents of their pockets when they’re picking up girls in pubs.”
She flushed, squirming a bit. “I couldn’t steal from them, they’d know, and then they really would kill me, or turn me into the police.” She tried to work her hips away from his hands, but that just made him chuckle, pushing back against her.
“I’ll teach you how to not get caught, Goldilocks.” His lips nuzzled against her throat as he pinned her a bit harder, making her whimper faintly. “I’ll teach you later.” There was a tone in his voice that made it clear he was done talking for the moment, and she fell silent, not sure she was actually happy about any of this, but not completely sure she could manage to say no. She wanted him, she knew that was true, the way she was reacting to him, he knew it too, but she also knew he was just using her, and it killed her. She felt completely trapped, and filthy, more miserable still than she’d already been feeling all day, and something told her it was only going to get worse.