After the Fire
I don't own The Outsiders or the lyrics….they belong to Susie and Van Morrison, respectively….
Take away my trouble…take away my grief…
One ambulance carted Dally's dead body away and another took Ponyboy's passed out one to the hospital with Darry and Soda in tow. Two-Bit and I just stood there not knowing what to do.
This had to be the most awful night I have ever had. How could we have lost two of our gang in one night? Two guys we had grown up with who were like brothers to us? And now Ponyboy, after having already put us all through the ringer running away last week with Johnny, was passing out in the street and who knows what was wrong with him?
"Come on, Steve;" Two-Bit said quietly as he put his hand on my shoulder, leading me away from this scene.
We walked back to Soda's without a word. Two-Bit grabbed two beers from the fridge and handed me one. We both sat on the couch and drank them slowly, not saying a word, both of us hoping to numb this pain.
I stood up finally and looked at Two-Bit who had his head lying on the back of the couch, staring at the ceiling. "I'm gonna go, man."
He looked up at me. "Where you goin?"
"I just have have to go. I just…I can't be here right now."
He just nodded slowly, understanding. "Awright. Well, be careful out there."
I closed the door behind me pausing before I walked down the steps of my friends' house. Where was I going? I didn't want to go home. The old man and me were avoiding each other lately and that made life bearable but if he was in a bad mood, well, I just couldn't deal with that tonight.