"Hey Soda!" I heard Steve yell and I poked my head out from under the car I was working on. I squinted at Steve who was standing in the doorway of the garage.
"Yeah?" I called.
"Your brother's here," He answered, gesturing outside.
"You know I have two, right?" I said as I slid out from under the car. "Which one?"
"Ponyboy," Steve replied. "This stranger drove him here. He wants to talk to you."
I grabbed a rag to try to clean the oil off my hands. "Why?" I asked.
"I don't know," Steve shrugged. "But the kid looks thoroughly freaked out. I think something happened at work today." And he walked out. I followed and spotted my brother immediately. He didn't look too hot and I got a bit worried. Was he sick? He was leaning against the truck and breathing heavily looking pale. I turned to the stranger. I recognized him. He was Pony's boss.
"What happened?" I asked.
The man sighed and said, "The kid had a bit of a scare today. He took a bit of a spill and was dangling off the bridge. . ."
I could feel my eyes widen. I'd been down to that bridge before. It was tall enough to seriously injure anyone who fell off of it. I turned to Pony and grabbed him by the shoulders. His shirt was all torn up but other than that . . .
"Quit shakin' me, Soda. I'm fine." He said softly, though it sounded to me as if he were fighting the urge to get sick.
"We managed to pull him up before he fell. He seems a bit shaken up, though. So, one of the guys suggested I bring him over. Here's his days pay," He handed me a roll of bills. "A little extra for the scare. You coming to work tomorrow, kid?" He asked Pony, who just nodded, eyes still closed. "Alright, take it easy." And with that he climbed back in his truck and drove away.
With the support behind him rolling away, Ponyboy would have fallen backward had I not grabbed a hold of him in time. I put my arm around his shoulders and gulped as I realized how close we had come to losing him. He could have died and the last thing I'd have said was, "C'mon, kid, you gotta get to work. Darry's still pissed at you about that money." Well, he'd gotten enough money now. And Darry didn't even speak to him this morning. His last words to Pony would have been, "I'll tell the landlord I can't make the rent and that my brother's very sorry." Why was he so hard on him? Ponyboy's just a kid after all. I wondered how I would tell Darry we almost lost him today. I knew Darry loves us both so much but just can't show it. And he's scared of losing us. I could understand that. In that moment I was terrified to even let go of Pony for fear that if I look away for one second, he's gonna wander off and get himself killed.
"Soda, you okay? You looking as pale as the kid here," Two-bit's voice cut through my thoughts. Good. No more thinking about what could have happened. What did happen was Pony's workers managed to save him. That's what matters.
I looked at Two-bit wondering when he showed up. I could feel Ponyboy trembling under my arm.
"What happened to your shirt, kid? Hot date?" Two-bit chuckled. I glared.
"Not funny, Two-bit." I looked down at Pony. His shirt was torn up. "You should probably change that shirt, Pony."
He nodded and I led him through the bar to the back room, grabbing my spare DX shirt from Steve along the way.
"He okay?" Buck asked from behind the bar.
"What happened?" Steve asked, looking a bit concerned. Only a bit, though.
"He had a bit of a scare at work today. Almost fell off the bridge." Steve whistled.
"Good thing it was an 'almost'" He said as he walked out.
"Sure is," I said. Buck came over and put a shot glass in Pony's hand. "Oh, hell no." I said, pulling the shot away. I handed it back to Buck. "C'mon Pony."
We walked to the back room and I handed Ponyboy the shirt. "I'll wait for you outside," I said, when suddenly Darry slammed through the door and pushed me out. The door closed in my face and I could hear Darry yelling at Pony.
What's he done now? I wondered, inwardly groaning. Pony stormed out of the room, Darry following shortly behind.
"What did you say to him?" I asked angrily.
"Forget it, let him go." Darry answered.
"You don't understand, Darry," He started to walk away but I followed him.
"He's a screwup, Soda, he can't be trusted," Darry answered, not bothering to even look at me.
"You got it all wrong," I said.
"Stop defending him," Darry sounded annoyed and I had enough of trying to put it to him gently.
"Darry, Pony was almost killed today," I hated how pleading my voice sounded, but Darry finally turned to face me and he looked about ready to pass out. He stared at me and his eyes grew wide. I hoped that this would make him realize he couldn't be so hard on him all the time. Life is precious. Why couldn't he see that after mom and dad? Or Johnny and Dally?
I knew that this made me reconsider the way I treat Pony. Everything I say to him could be the last words he ever heard from me. Glory, is life fragile.