Sodapop Patrick Curtis sat on the floor of the kitchen; his brown eyes were cast down as he stared at the tiled floor. He couldn't feel the tears running down the sides of his face as he hiccuped for breath. Soda didn't have to worry about his brother's coming home anytime soon, considering Ponyboy was at school till three and Darrel wouldn't be home till at least five. The clock in the kitchen said it was only an hour past noon; he listened to the seconds tick down. The golden-haired boy held the letter in his hand, the fact that he hadn't even gotten to say goodbye was haunting his mind. He was getting tired of this feeling of abandonment; he knew he had two more good hours to break before he'd have to muster up the strength to great his little brother. Only two more hours till he had to help Darry with dinner, and then keep him company while he finished the bills. He sighed as he kicked the cabinet across from him in anger, how could she do this to him? He didn't understand anything that she'd said to him, it didn't make sense he promised to help- unless. His eyes grew dark at sudden realization; finally her words were coming back to him in vivid definition.
"I can't, Sodapop. It's not your fault this happened." She had said.
He re-read the letter for the fifth time in the last two hours. "It's not your mistake. I'll miss you, I'm sorry."
He grasped at his head, trying to reason with himself. He got up, shakily almost. He made a run for the phone, nearly slipping twice. There was no rush, but for some reason he felt like he was in the biggest hurry of his life. He dialed Steve Randle's phone number, his best friend was sure to know something. He convinced himself to stop his ragged breathing before his friend answer.
"Hello, Steve?" Soda spoke quickly, his words nearly blending together.
"Sodapop? How's it goin'?" His accent was heavy as he answered the boy. They usually called for two reasons, it was an emergency or if they wanted to pal around for a while.
"Tell me what you know, Randle." Soda spoke harshly, his best friend dated one of the most 'in' girls in town, and he knew Evie would have told Steve something.
"I don't have any idea what you're talking about, Curtis?" He accentuated Sodapop's name, in a mocking tone.
"Damn it, Steve. Don't play dumb with me." His voice broke when he said me, he heard an audible sigh from his friend.
"I didn't want to tell you unless I knew for sure, ya' know how the gossip works. Evie heard a lot of rumors about Sandy cheating on you, I'm sorry buddy. I was hoping it wasn't true." Steve didn't get a reply, just the sound of the tone dialing.
If you enjoyed it let me know! - Review! I'm not completely 100% where I'm going with this story, but I kind of see Sodapop breaking. Advice is always welcomed, thanks!