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Skittery was panicking, the kid he’d vowed to look after, was nowhere to be found. Shit, thought Skittery, What if they took him to an orphanage? This panic continued until late into the night when Tumbler came walking by with Racetrack Higgins. Tumbler saw Skittery and grinned before running over, hugging the older boy tightly.
“Heya Skits!” he yelled, as if he hadn’t been missing for over six hours.
Skittery hugged Tumbler back, “Where the hell have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
Tumbler pulled away from the hug, “Race took me to Brooklyn with him so I could see the horses!” the boy exclaimed excitedly.
Skittery glared at Race over Tumbler’s head, “Oh, he took you to Brooklyn? You know you ain’t supposed to go to Brooklyn.”
Tumbler nodded then yawned, “I’m ready to go home.”
Skittery knelt down, “Get on my back, if you’ve been to Brooklyn and back, you’ve walked enough today.” Tumbler scrambled onto his back and almost immediately fell asleep. Skittery glared at Race once again, “Meet me on the lodging house roof.” With that, he went off in the direction of the lodging house to get his kid to bed.
About an hour and a half later, Skittery was on the roof, smoking a cigarette he’d gotten from Blink with the promise of sharing one from his next box. Waiting for Racetrack to come up onto the roof, Skittery looked over the city, trying to figure out exactly why Race hated him so much. Then the door leading up to the roof opened, showing Race.
“You wanted to see me?” Race lit a cigar and leaned against the half wall on the roof, looking at Skittery.
Skittery laughed dryly, “You took my kid to Brooklyn without saying anything. Why the fuck would you do that?”
Race shrugged, “It's not like he was in danger, he stayed with me the whole time.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?! Brooklyn is the most dangerous part of the city! I've told him not to go there for a reason!”
Race held his hands up, defensively, “Woah, calm down. I just wanted to show the kid the racetrack.”
Skittery turned his back to Race, dropped his cigarette on the roof, putting it out with his foot, “Why do you hate me so fucking much?”
Race looked to see if anyone else was on the roof, “Me? I don't hate you. You may be kinda glum sometimes but you're still my friend.”
Skittery turned to face Race, “Are you fucking kidding me? You think we're friends? After everything you've said and done? After all the times you've called me dumb and glum? After all the times you've walked away just as I was walking over to join a conversation? After all the times you've stolen my cigarettes? After all that you still think we're friends? If that's the case you're a pretty shitty friend!”
Race took a step back, “Shit, I didn't realize that all that stuff hurt you. I wasn't trying to, honest.”
Skittery scoffed, “Sure. Whatever.” He turned and left the roof, getting ready for bed, leaving Race to think about what had been said. I guess I should try to be a better friend.