Soda glanced from Dolly to Two-Bit, then burst out laughing. "I didn't know you were an uncle," he said between fits of giggles. Everybody else was still kind of... shocked.
Two-Bit wiped off the beer on his chin with a sleeve and replied swiftly, "I'm not; she's my cousin, but she thinks of me as an uncle." He looked her up and down and continued with a more crossed tone, "And she should be in Sapulpa..."
"I ran off from Rosie and Michael yesterday morning," Dolly said stepping into the house. "Nice place ya got here."
Ponyboy started to compare them both. When he thought of their smiles, they were almost identical. She had his sense of humor, his hair, and his smoking, too. It was extremely possible they were related. "And since she ran off," he said, "she has no place to stay. So I took her here."
"And you couldn't have checked with us first, Pone?" Darry said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I mean, it's a nine year old girl you found on the streets-"
"I'm ten!" Dolly interrupted.
Darry ignored her comment and continued, "-and she ran away from her parents. We could get in serious trouble."
"Two-Bit could take her back to his place," Pony suggested quietly and plopped himself into a chair.
The mentioned teen looked over at Pony sharply. "Are you kidding me?" he asked. "My mom hates the kid, and would twist my neck if I brought her in like a lost dog." Dolly glared at him.
"I think I should get going," Steve suddenly said with a sheepish grin, then left without another word. Nobody really noticed, and Steve was glad.
"Then I guess we should keep her here until her parents find out she's in Tulsa," Darry said. He glanced over to Two-Bit. "But you have to help out. She's your niece, after all." He smirked.
Two-But got up and began to take his leave, ignoring the puddle of beer on the table. "I'll come tomorrow morning, I guess," he said. "Just don't tell the police she's here."
Soda pulled in Dolly by her arm and ruffled her hair with a hand. "No problem. She'll be just fine here, right Darry?" He smiled, but Darry didn't reply. Dolly stuck out her tongue at Soda.
"Bye, Uncle Keith!" she said in an overly polite tone as he left. Soda had to contain his laughter at that name.
Pony stood up and made his way into the kitchen. "So, where's the kid gonna crash?"
"The couch," Darry said bluntly.
Dolly cast her eyes to the rough looking couch and groaned, "Seriously?"
Darry didn't answer and just went to his own bedroom. "You deal with her," he called, then his door creaked shut.
The two younger Curtis brothers shared a look. "Did Darry leave us with an irritating child?" Pony asked.
"Yeah…"
Dolly grinned a Two-Bit grin and said, "Get me a blanket."
