Chapter 2 - Violation
Rae stepped outside, the backpack in her hand sagging to the ground as her cold, blue eyes swept over her house. It was dark and the nights were starting to get cool. The wind was rustling the dying leaves in the few trees that surrounded the yard and driveway. Her brother's cologne wafted up from the flannel shirt she'd swiped from his room and the tails whipped around her body. After pushing her dark hair out of her face, she turned her back on the house.
She slung the bag up, squared her shoulders, and lifted her head. This was the hardest thing she'd ever done. The fights she'd been in- hell, even living on the streets of New York- didn't compare to the ache she felt in her chest right now. She had a great family- well, they were friends, really, but they all treated her as a sister. She had a brother who kept her as safe as he could, even if he was in the Cooler more days lately than she could count. She inhaled the scent of his cologne again as she pulled the shirt closer around her body. She'd miss him the most.
After they'd moved to Tulsa and the Curtis outfit took them in, Dally had always encouraged her to hang with him (except at the rodeos, of course, since that's where he picked up most of his girls and he didn't want no kid sister annoying him while he'll did "an honest day's work"). He'd said the Curtis's were a "wholesome group of kids" and that she "needed wholesome in her life."
Well, as wholesome as you can get in the hood, she supposed. To their credit, Mr. and Mrs. Curtis did try to whip them into upstanding citizens before they passed.
She loved them all dearly, but she definitely idolized her brother, even if he was an awful influence, and she knew he loved her even if she the hell out of him sometimes. Only the thought of him angry stayed her feet. She didn't really want any of them to worry, but she couldn't stay. She couldn't handle this anymore. More importantly, she couldn't burden them with her problems. The Curtis brothers had too much on their plates with their parents gone and the eyes of the state constantly watching them. Her brother, too, had more than he could handle with the fuzz always on his tail.
Rae took a deep breath and steeled herself, lest all her courage evaporate. She took the first step off the porch.
Behind her, the door creaked open and she knew she'd stalled there too long.
"Where d'ya think you're goin', girl?" the slurred voice of her drunken father pierced her thoughts.
This was exactly why she couldn't stay. Her father's fist and the newest bruise on her side weighed heavily on her mind.
Rae's expression went dark, but she kept going. She heard him stumble down the front steps after her. "Get back in 'ere."
"Fuck you," she said, simply.
His pace quickened behind her. She shivered. Her father terrified her real good. When he was drunk, he was dangerous and he was almost always drunk. She had a bad feeling, but she always did before getting a sound beating. Rae gritted her teeth.
"I said stop, girl," he growled. She urged her feet to go faster but he was on the warpath and his quick but clumsy strides still outmatched hers. She took off running, trying to gain some distance between them but before she could get very far, she tripped over a stone buried in the dirt of the driveway.
He took the opportunity to grab ahold of the flying, loose strap of her bag and jerked her backwards before she could fall. She fell against him, but quickly freed herself of the other strap and lunged away. Her father reached out to grab her shoulder. He spun her around to face him and she lost her balance. He backhanded her across the cheek and she stumbled back, tripping over her own feet. She landed hard on the ground, the impact hard enough to send a shock of pain up her spine. The movement rustled up a cloud of dirt around her. He tossed her backpack to the ground, out of her reach. She saw the glint of her switchblade in the light of the porch, peeking its way out of the side pocket and cursed herself for not keeping it on her. Dally would sure ream her good for it later.
"Do what I tell ya to do, when I tell ya to do it, ya hear? We've been over this before, you little ingrate," he grunted and threw his beer bottle to the ground. It shattered, the stray pieces of glass and leftover liquid flying everywhere. "Or do ya want them little hood friends o' yers to have even more problems, huh?"
Rae covered her head to shield her face and as soon as she was clear, she turned to go for her backpack, but her father shoved his foot into her back and forced her down. She saw his shadow looming over her on the ground and panic started to rise in her chest. Desperately, she tried to crawl out from under him, but he pressed down harder on her spine. She clenched her teeth to keep from crying out.
Her father laughed at her struggle. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head and she slumped onto to dirt. Her ears started ringing. Everything went fuzzy, and then black.
It was real nice sorta black, too. No dreams, no nightmares. It was quiet and peaceful. She wished could've stayed there longer but-
"Get the fuck outta here!"
The sound of someone shouting threw Rae back into hectic reality. She had no idea how long she'd been out but she was lying on her back now. Her body shivered against the chill and her head was throbbing where she'd been struck. She heard feet moving around a lot, skidding around in the dirt; a fight- or a beating. Skin against skin. More shouting. The sound of solid wood connecting with skin and a loud grunt. Someone falling to the ground, and scrambling away. Hands slid under her back and lifted her into a sitting position. Barely conscious, she cried out and started fighting, thinking it might be her father again.
"Fuckin' Christ, quit it!" a rough, familiar voice commanded, a strong hand grabbed both of hers. Rae forced her eyes opened. Dally's face filled her vision. He was the one who was holding her. Not their father. Relief washed over her and she tightly curled her shaking hands around his.
Darrel Curtis stood a few feet back with a baseball bat in hand, watching the woods behind the house. She was still shivering, but she couldn't tell if it was because she was cold, scared, or both. Her eyes burned and a few tears leaked from her eyes before she could stop them. She blinked a few times, trying to clear her vision.
"D-Dally?" Rae said between shivers. His face held an expression of barely-concealed rage, his ice blue eyes blazing, as he took in the sight of his kid sister. She thought maybe there was something else there too. Was it...fear? Dally tore the leather jacket off his back and laid it over her. It was the fur-lined one, and it was warm.
"Yeah, sis, it's me. He's gone," her older brother nearly whispered. To anyone else, it might have sounded endearing. But to Rae, he looked like a bomb and if he'd spoken any louder, he would have probably blown. Despite the hardness in his voice, he gently brushed the tears from her cheeks and pushed the stray hair out of her face.
"What-what happened?" Rae stuttered, teeth chattering. Dally stared at her in silence for a few moments, the cogs whirring in his head. She watched his face, his haunted eyes rimmed with red. He eventually lifted his jacket for her to see under it. He chewed on the inside of his mouth and looked away as she peered down. Her jeans and underwear were tugged halfway down her legs. Her eyes glazed over and she looked away as well, anger and dread pooling in the pit of her stomach.
"Rae, I'm-" There was an unmistakable, but damn near imperceptible quiver in his voice.
"Come on, guys. We need to go," Darry said, quietly. Dallas took his sister's hands again and lifted her to her feet. Everything hurt and she staggered. He grabbed her before she fell, and his jacket dropped to the ground. He held her steady as she pulled her pants back up.
"We can't call the cops" Dally decided, not taking his eyes off of Rae. She winced as she bent over to pick up the jacket, gripping his arm for balance. "Can she stay with you tonight? I'll-I'll figure out what to do later."
"Yeah, of course."
"Rae, let's go get you some clothes." He started leading her back to the house. She took a few steps out of the way to grab her backpack and silently followed him.
"I'll wait out here," their friend offered, clutching the baseball bat tight in one hand, "and make sure that he doesn't come back."
"Thanks, man," He opened the door to the house and went straight to her room. There wasn't much besides a bed and a dresser. Dally went about searching through her closet. He took one of her jackets off a hanger and threw it behind him. It landed on her bed. "Grab some clothes and do it quickly. Where's your backpack?" Rae set his leather jacket down and dropped her bag on top of it. He went to her dresser and opened the top drawer, a look of confusion spreading over his features at how barren it was.
"Here," she answered and a long moment of silence between them commenced. She stared down at it and started dusting it off. He watched the dirt fall onto the covers of her bed. "Clothes are already in the bag." She unbuttoned her dust-covered shirt and shoved it into his arms, then pulled on one of the few a plain t-shirts left in her chest of drawers and slipped into the fraying jean jacket Dally had grabbed. He threw the shirt to the floor and grabbed her by the collar, murder in his eyes and a hint of panic in his voice. Rae swore if Dally had been any more pissed, she'd probably be able to see steam coming out his ears. She braced herself for the reaming of the century.
"What did ya think you were doin' out there this late? And where was your knife? Didn't I teach you anythin'? You know how he gets." She tried to push his hand away but he wouldn't budge. She mirrored his glare and he shoved her down onto the bed. "What the hell is that look for?"
"Since you were in jail again and weren't here to get knocked around no more, he thought it was my turn," she answered, resentment lacing her tone, but decided to give it to him straight. She never could lie to him. "You've saved me from it for fifteen years but I just couldn't…I don't know how you…I had it in my mind to run away, but I don't think I really could've." With a sigh, she reached over and pulled the switchblade out of the side pocket of her backpack. She held it up to show him. His expression darkened.
"Why the fuck wasn't that in your pocket? Why didn't you just go to Two-Bit's or Darry's? Hell, even Shepard's would've done. However much I hate that stupid kid, Curly wouldn't say no to you." His voice started rising, the time bomb ticking again. He wiped his hand down his face, frustrated. "I never thought my own sister could be this stupid." The anger in her own gut started ballooning. Like brother, like sister.
"He caught on and threatened to report Darry as unfit. He didn't care if you didn't come home anymore, but he sure as hell did if I didn't." She was sure she heard her own voice wavering.
Dally was shocked for a few seconds, his breath cut short. His face betrayed nothing, but she could tell. She knew him well enough. He backed off and crossed his arms over is chest.
"Why didn't you come and tell me?"
"What could you have done from jail?" she snapped. His eyes turned to fire. Her own anger evaporated into shame as she watched him and then lowered her eyes. It wasn't his fault he was picked up on a trumped-up charge. "Sorry." She stood up, quickly, and went to gather her things. "Let's just go." He grabbed her arm and swung her around. Rae's eyes widened and she tensed as her father's face flashed in the place of her brother's.
"Hey, I'm still talking to you-," he started, voice rising again, but was cut short by the look on her face. He took a steadying breath rested his arms over her shoulders. "Look, don't- don't apologize. It ain't your fault."
"It is my fault," she insisted, turning away from him again. Her insides were tying themselves in knots and her eyes were burning. She didn't want him to see. "You said it yourself! If I wasn't-"
"No, Rae, I was wrong. This is my fault for not bein' here when I knew…" His voice trailed off, strangling on the last few words. "That old fuck is sick. Always has been," Dally said, pulling his sister against his chest. Her back straightened against him. Was-was he hinting at something? Her stomach soured at the thought.
"Did he-"
"Forget it," he shushed her and wrapped his arms tightly around her shoulders. "I'm sorry, kid," he sighed. She tried to relax, breathing in the scent of his cigarettes and cologne.
"Dally, I feel so weak," she confessed. His arms tightened in response, but she felt his body go rigid behind her.
"Hurry up!" Darry shouted from outside. His voice made her jump and her brother released her. "We don't got all night."
"Yeah, yeah. We're comin'!" Dally called back, then looked back down at her. "Come on." Rae searched his face. His eyes were still hard and dangerous, but his other features had softened. She nodded and quickly wiped a tear away from her cheek, then went to running fingers through her hair to comb out the knots as he hoisted her backpack over his shoulder. They went back out to meet Darry and head to the Curtis house.
The walk over was mostly quiet. Dally and Darry talked quietly amongst themselves, but she didn't care to listen in and opted to stare at the ground. Eventually, her brother retracted in on himself, lost in thought as he smoked a cigarette. She noticed his hands visibly shaking- probably an after-effect of the adrenaline. Either that, or he was really spooked.
When they finally got to the house, both boys helped her inside. Dally sat her down on the couch while Darry shooed his brothers to their room.
"Darry will take care of you tonight, alright?"
"You're leaving again?" she asked, panic climbing up her throat. She gripped his arm, nails digging into the sleeve of his jacket. He hesitated for a moment before biting his lip and nodding.
"Relax. I'm just going to Buck's. He'll help me hunt that fucker down and beat the shit outta him. Maybe worse." She looked down at her lap and released his arm. He sat forward and took her hands. "I'll be back soon and we'll be together."
"Yeah, sure," Rae said, in a low voice.
"I will," he tried to assure her, flashing her a smile. "A drunk idiot like him can't be that hard to find. Don't ya trust me?" He stood back up.
"'Course I do." He ruffled her hair. Darry appeared, carrying a couple of pillows and a blanket. Her brother nodded in his direction, the smile replaced with something more serious, and was out the front door.
A small, terrible feeling started creeping through her body. She didn't want Dally to go. She never did. But, she really wanted her father to pay. Darry knelt in front of her and put a reassuring hand on her arm.
"He always comes back, right?" She was silent but nodded, sadly. "Are you alright?"
"I don't know," she replied. He watched her for a few seconds, concern in his eyes, as she tried to keep her expression neutral but her face was starting to crumble.
"Don't worry. You will be."
"I want Dally to-"
The two younger Curtis brothers came back into the room, halting her comment. Even dazed, she didn't miss the look of warning Darry gave them. It was easier to keep herself together with the others in the room.
"Hey, Rae," Sodapop said. "Haven't seen ya in a while. What's up?" They both took in the sight of her, completely covered in dirt.
"What happened? Are you alright?" the youngest, Ponyboy, asked. When she didn't answer, the two boys exchanged glances.
"Rae?" Soda asked.
"Sorry," she replied, quickly. "Been a long night. Just tired."
"Enough. You two get to bed. We'll have a chat in the mornin'," Darry suggested. Soda nodded, but Pony opened his mouth as if he wanted to argue.
"Night," Soda said, quickly, and dragged his younger brother out of the room by the arm. Darry set the bed clothes on the couch.
"If you need anythin' at all, come and wake me up, okay?" She nodded, but couldn't bring herself to make eye contact. "Goodnight, Rae."
She nodded again and he left for his own room, leaving her alone. Her eyes welled with tears and she took a deep breath, willing them away. Dally wouldn't want her to cry. She needed to be more like him- tough.
She closed her eyes and leaned forward, head in her hands, thoughts running wildly. She dug the heels of her palms in her eyes. After a few minutes of sitting silently, she got up and slowly began making her bed.