Undisclosed Desires by Bridget Kathleen (websites to read books for free txt) 📖

a fun game to play with cards and dices. David and Less, the two brothers with the loving family. It made Sophia miss hers even more. Mush, Kid Blink, Skittery, Pie eater, Crutchy, she missed them all and wished she could see them again.

After selling all of her scraps of metal, Sophia slowly walked back to the tenement. Her breath made a smoky fog whenever she breathed out. her cheeks were numb with cold and her teeth chattered. Her hands were blue and her toes poked out from the top of her shoes. As she was making her way back she passed the start of the Brooklyn bridge only to see two little boys, maybe ten to twelve years old, playing on the ice a little ways from the Brooklyn bridge. She gasped. She felt scared for the boys. Was no one else seeing this?

"Hey!" she called out to them, but they didn't seem to hear her. "Hey!" she yelled louder this time, her voice cracking because of the cold. The boy continued to play on the ice, throwing snowballs at each other. Sophia instantly felt responsible for them and walked down by the ice. "Hey boys, get off of the ice." This time one of the boys did hear her and motioned the other boy to stop. They looked back at her, waiting for her to speak again. "Get back on land. It's too dangerous out there on the ice. Please come back!"

As the boys slowly started making their way back one of them stopped. His foot quickly went under and soon his whole body. The boy left standing screamed and tried reaching for his friend. Sophia's heart stopped for a moment and then started to beat rapidly. She hurried as fast as she could on the ice towards the boy trying to help his friend. Sophia could feel the ice beneath her feet starting to give way. Please, give me more time. She begged to God.

As Spot started heading on home he wrapped his coat around him for more warmth, his cane hooked to his side by the belt loop. He then started to hear distant screams and a swarm of people over to one side on the Brooklyn bridge. He ran over to see whatever was happening and peered down at the river.

"Somebody help them!" a person cried.

"Where are the police?" cried another.

Spot looked at the two struggling figures below and strained to see that one of the people on the ice was Sophia. How could he mistake that ribbon in her hair? He instantly went down the sloop and on to the side, first slipping a little and then regaining his balance. As he tried to make his way over to Sophia and to what looked like a little boy, he too could feel the ice breaking beneath him and knew, without a doubt, that the ice under Sophia would eventually give way. How he managed to make it to her in this time was far from his understanding.

Oh fuck it! Spot cursed to himself and slid on his tummy the rest of the way to Sophia. He could feel the ice burn him and knew that he would have bloody marks on his stomach after this. But he reached her just in time as the ice started to break. The water stung Sophia because it was so cold. It felt like a thousand needles being stuck into her body at the same time. She could only imagine how the little boy was feeling being completely under and feeling useless. Sophia struggled to stay afloat while still holding on to the boy and with her other hand she tried to pulling herself up but the current underneath the water was too strong. Her hand flopped helplessly on the surface and suddenly, a warm hand grabbed hers. She opened her eyes realized that she had them closed the whole time because of fear. When she looked to see her savor water filled her lungs as she started to sink, too tired to fight the current any longer she coughed up water while struggling to say his name: "SPOT!"
Chapter Twenty-two: A promise kept.

The water pierced Sophia's lungs like a thousand needles as she continued to cough up more water. She could hear Spot's voice calling out to her, but it was muffled by the sound of her head going under and the pain stricken cold that had suddenly consumed her whole being. She held on tight to Spot's hand and tried her best to keep a strong hold on the little boy. Suddenly the little grasp of his fingers slipped. Sophia waved her hand around in the water trying to find the boy, but he was gone and Sophia now felt worthless.

As Spot tried to fight the current that grew ever stronger in swiping Sophia away from him, he could feel the ice beneath him getting weaker. It would not be able to hold his weight for long. Finally, an older man, perhaps stronger even, pulled Spot up from his suspenders and with him, Sophia. The man quickly helped them get back to land whilst Spot carried an unconscious Sophia in his arms. He placed her carefully on the ground, looking at her damp figure.

"Is she alive? Is she alright?" voiced stirred in the back ground as Spot placed his lips to hers and then pressed down on her chest. He did this a few times and nothing was helping.

"Oh no!" cried a woman. "That poor girl drowned!" SHUT UP! Spot thought. He didn't want to believe that Sophia was dead. That his Smalls, his girl, was dead. Her body looked lifeless. Her cheeks blue and lips almost as white as the snow around her. Spot placed a warm hand on her cheek and stroked it. She was cold. So deathly cold.

An idea then came to mind and Spot ripped open her shirt. Woman gasped and men looked confused. Spot had good reason to be doing this though. A purpose. He grabbed out a pocket knife and sliced her corset open. A fountain of water came out of her mouth. She coughed. She breathed. She was alive. Spot was overcome with joy and relief that he pulled her in for a hug. Her cold body pressed against his. Suddenly a flash of light sparked through the crowd of people and people applauded Spot for saving Sophia's life.

"Take this." said a young woman. Probably not much older than Sophia, handing Spot a black shawl. Spot immediately wrapped her in it and picked her up. "Will she be alright?" The woman asked.
Spot nodded. "I'se jus' need to get her home."
"No doctor?" said man.

Spot shook his. "No, Sir. No money. Please, jus' let me go." Spot awkwardly left his and Sophia's own scene, but there was nothing he could do about it. All he knew was that he needed to get Sophia back to the tenement and as fast as possible.

When he got inside he quickly placed her on the bed and wrapped her up in their blanket. She was still shivering though. Still cold. Spot felt her head. She was running a fever. He tried rubbing her hands and feet and placing a wet cloth on her forehead, but nothing seemed to be working. She mumbled and stirred; her eyes flickered opened every now and then, but it was not long enough for Spot to be satisfied that she was ok. Spot then quickly stood up. He slipped off his suspenders and then took off his shirt. He was right; he did have a bloody scratch marks from the ice, but that didn't matter anymore. He undid his pants, took off those and then his underwear. He then slipped off Sophia's clothes and placed himself on top of her. Her whole body was like an icicle. A giant icicle.

Spot wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead and nuzzled his nose against hers and then kissed her lips, her neck and then her right shoulder. He didn't know how long he laid there with her, tangled up in that blanket on the bed, but the next thing he knew Sophia was opening her eyes and keeping them open this time. She groaned in pain. "Spot...?" her soft, little voice said to him.

Spot picked up his head and looked down at her. "Smalls?"
She squeezed her eyes shut and furrowed her brows, but then looked back up him after a few moments. "What happened?" she asked him.

Spot stroked a few strands of hair out of her face and kissed her forehead. "Ya damn silly goil. Gettin' ya self almost killed. That's what happened."

Sophia moaned. "...Little boys. There were little boys...what happened to them." a tear fell from one of her eyes.

Spot looked at her with sad eyes. "Soph'...there weren't no lil boys anywhere."

Sophia started to whimper, but Spot quickly comforted her and calmed her down. "What's gonna happen to us, Spot?" Sophia asked.

Spot thought for a moment but found no answer to her question and placed his head down next to hers. "Sophia...I'se made a promise. To Tommy. I'se promised him that I would take good care of ya. And I plan on doin' jus' that. A promise Soph'. A promise. And I'se intend on keepin' it." Spot kissed her again. "Ya stuck with me now goily, whether ya like it or not."

Chapter Twenty-three: An unexpected surprise.

Spot awoke that morning before Sophia. She was fast to sleep in the bed all curled up. She had stolen most of the blanket last night, but Spot didn't mind all too much. He threw his legs to the side of the bed and grabbed for his pants. When he put those on he reached for his shoes and tied them tight. He then grabbed for his undershirt and slipped that one and then a long sleeved blue shirt. He put on his suspenders and quietly walked out of the room. When he intered the kitchen he took out his coat from the small closet and put it on. He looked around the room and smiled to himself. He never saw himself at a stage like this in his life. He had always had