Chapter 2- Nightmares at the Curtis' Refuge
Two-Bit got up and ran toward the three of us. Sarah was still crying a river, but I had stopped. Mom's eyes were wide open. Her face gave a warning kind of expression.
"She's dead," Two-Bit started, "I'm sorry."
"There's no need for you to feel sorry, Bit," I said softly.
I looked up and saw one tear roll down his cheek. For the first time in my whole life living with Two-Bit (which has been about eight years) I've never seen him cry. I reached toward him to give him a hug. I don't consider him a step-brother. He is a real brother to me.
He got up and called 911. Fifteen minutes later, two cops and an ambulance took my mother away. Took our mother away.
Since it was 4AM, Sarah fell asleep. I didn't feel comfortable staying in the house, for fear that Stephen might return. None of us did. Two-Bit carried Sarah into his cheap oldcar and we drove off into the night.
"Where should we go?" I asked.
"The Curtis', I guess." The Curtis house was where we usually went when we had nowhere else to go. It was just like a refuge. I was afraid of bothering Darry, though. He's twenty and he looks after his two younger brothers Sodapop, who's sixteen going on seventeen real soon, and Ponyboy, who just turned fourteen. Their mom and dad died in an auto wreck a while back, so Darry takes care of them. If he can't take care of Ponyboy and Sodapop, then they'll have to go to a boy's home.
I walked upu to the door while Two-Bit was getting Sarah out of the car and rang the bell. Aftera few minutes, Ponyboy opened the door. He had a grey T-shirt on and his green and black plaid boxers. I'm guessing he washed his hair, because there was no grease in it. It was a long, brownish-red mess. Sodapop stood behind him. Instead of a T-shirt, he had on his favorite green and blue collared shirt and dark blue jeans. Even in the dark, his blonde hair was so radiant. If Soda hadn't met Sadny, his ex-girlfriend who moved to Florida, he would've had the hugest crush on me. This, I know, is a fact. But we're just friends.
"What's the matter?" Pony asked after a long yawn.
"I'll explain everything," I said as I walked in with Two-Bit. Sarah was still sleeping soundly in his arms. He and Soda when to tuck her in bed in his and Pony's room. They came back to the living room and sat on the couch next to Pony and I. Two-Bit and I took turns on telling then what happened. I didn't notice till the end of the story that Darrel was standing underneath the arc that leads to the kitchen.
He looked at the four of us with those icy eyes. He had the same look on his face from his parents' funeral. No tears, no frown. He just had a straight face that showed no emotion.
"Hey Dar," Two-Bit said weakly. "Is it okay if we crash here tonight?"
"Sure," he said. "I'll get you some blankets." Darry then walked out of the room.
I slept with Sarah in Pony's and Soda's room. I had a tough time sleeping soundly. I probably had a hundred nightmares, but i never woke up in between each one.