"What's that?" Darry asked. He was just passing by the doorframe when he saw his brother scrolling through his 'dock'.
Ponyboy closed the laptop and turned around.
"It's nothin'." He promised.
"Don't you lie to me, Ponyboy. What was that?" Darry pressed.
"It's nothin', Dar. I swear it." He defended himself though his heart was racing. Why it was such a big deal about Darry finding out was beyond him, but it still got the blood rushing through him.
"Pony, what was that site that you were on? I hate it when you lie to me, but I 'specially hate it when it's somethin' on the internet." Darry's eyes widened as his mind hatched an idea. "Are you watchin' porn on there, young man?!" He screamed.
Ponyboy shook his head fervently, his palms pressed down on his closed laptop as if the truth would reveal itself. "N-No!" He cried.
"Good, cuz I was just 'bout to die of a heart attack an' then kill ya." Darry joked. "Just…" He sighed, knowing that he couldn't keep his brother away from what dangers lay on the World Wide Web forever. "Be careful, okay?"
Pony just nodded.
"I love you. Lights out soon." He reminded. "Now would be a good time to hop in the shower…" Darry suggested. Ponyboy took the longest so he'd have just enough time to sneak a look at what his baby brother was doing.
"I'll let Soda go first." He said, turning back to his desk.
"Pony…" Darry said in a warning tone. Pony sighed, closed his laptop and went to go take a shower. Darry waited until he was out of the room and flipped open his baby brother's laptop. He looked at the webpage.
Prattlr? He thought to himself, scrolling through it. It didn't look harmful… well, not until he saw an answered message about telling somebody to 'go die'. The answer was 'alright…'
He looked closer at the boy's icon. It was Ponyboy's school picture! Someone was telling his baby brother to go die.
And what upset him the most was that Ponyboy said 'alright', like he was actually considering doing it.
Darry slammed the laptop shut in rage and got up, pacing the room. He ran his fingers through his hair. He was so pissed. He didn't know whether to yell at Ponyboy first or pull him into a big, bear hug.
Pony got out of the shower a few minutes later. He opened the door and found Darry standing there.
"Darry?" Ponyboy asked, tightening his towel around his waist.
"What is this, Ponyboy?" Darry asked, pulling his laptop open.
Pony inspected the laptop closer. "What's what?" He asked.
"Prattlr! And who the hell is tellin' you to go die?!" He asked, opening up the question on Ponyboy's profile. Ponyboy pulled his lip between his teeth.
"Ponyboy Michael Curtis, you better answer me!"
"Darry, I-"
"Is it someone in school?"
"No-"
"Don't you lie to me! Do you know who it is?"
"D-"
"Is it someone from school? I swear to God, I'm gonna come up there with my old bat and I swear I'm gonna-"
"Darry!" Ponyboy shouted. He sat on his bed and sighed, clutching at the hem of his towel.
"I-I don't know who it is."
"What the hell d'ya mean you don't know who it is?!" Darry shouted.
"It's anonymous! Meanin' no one knows who the person is!" Pony shouted back, sounding close to tears.
"Well, there's gotta be somethin' we can do to hunt down this son of a-"
"Darry! Cut it out!" Ponyboy cried out. He was sick and tired of everyone throwing a fit. He'd deal with it himself. He was a big boy. He didn't need someone to defend him against a pack of girls.
"Don't you talk back to me!" Darry yelled. Soon, they heard a scream. It sounded like Mackenzie.
Darry was the first out of the room.
"Baby?" He called, in a bit of a panic. Mackenzie was kneeling on the floor, clutching her stomach. Beneath her, a puddle of blood formed.
Darry didn't know what to do. She was sobbing. The minute he tried grabbing her and helping her up, she hissed in pain and tore her arm away.
"Baby, what's the matter? Is it the baby? We gotta get ya off the floor, darlin'!" He was rambling frantically. Mackenzie fought him.
"Please, Darry! I can't get up." She cried as he tried again to help her to her feet.
"Why not?"
"It hurts too much!"
"Ponyboy, call an ambulance!" Darry screamed. Pony obeyed him and grabbed the phone, dialing 911.
"It's okay, Ms. Jones, you're going to be alright. The baby's coming, though, so we need to get you to a hospital quickly." The EMT said, putting Mackenzie on a stretcher and loading her into the back of the ambulance.
Darry and his brothers followed after the ambulance, Darry worried sick, Sodapop scared, and Ponyboy anxious. Darry, Sodapop and Ponyboy sat in the waiting room for a half hour, Sodapop slumped against a seat, attempting to get at least a little shut-eye, Ponyboy next to him, biting his nails down to the quick, and Darry pacing the floors.
Soon, the wailing of a baby was heard in the next room. Darry's eyes went wide and his heart skipped a beat as the doctor that helped wheel Mackenzie away emerged from that very room.
"You guys can come in now." Darry nodded and walked into the room, smiling as he saw Mackenzie. He rushed over and sat on the edge of her bed, in front of her. She had something tiny wrapped in a blanket and her eyes were wet with tears.
"What's wrong, babe?" Darry asked nervously.
"It's all my fault." She said, peering down at the tiny infant in her arms.
"What is?" Darry questioned.
"She can't breathe well, Dar. Just look." She said, holding the baby up for them to see. Her eyes were shut tight and her chest was rising and falling quickly, her breaths ragged and shaky. "They'll have to take her soon, but I just wanted a minute…"
"Oh, well, she'll be alright… I promise… she's gonna be strong if she's anythin' like her daddy." Darry chuckled.
Mackenzie nodded, wiping a tear from her face as she handed the nurse their baby. The nurse smiled at Mackenzie apologetically and wheeled the baby out of the room. Mackenzie shrunk back in her seat, out of fear and exhaustion.
"What if it isn't okay, Darry? What if she isn't okay?" She asked frantically, smoothing down her bed sheets to busy herself.
Darry shook his head and placed his large hand on top of her small one.
"You're shakin', darlin'." He said, his eyes holding concern as he looked up into hers.
"It's all my fault…" Mackenzie muttered sadly.
Darry shook his head and pressed his forehead against hers.
"Mackenzie, this is not your fault."
"Then whose fault is it?" Mackenzie asked softly, tears streaming down her face.
Before Darry could answer, the door opened and a nurse wheeled in a little incubator.
Ponyboy and Sodapop's faces pressed against it once it was right next to her bed. The nurse reminded them they had to be careful and they apologized before taking a giant step back in the fear of already harming their tiny niece.
"She's beautiful, isn't she, boys?" Mackenzie whispered. Pony and Soda nodded, smiling.
"She's breathtakin', just like her mom." Darry said, wrapping his strong arms around Mackenzie and kissing her temple. Pony brought his laptop, which he had grabbed accidentally, out of a bag and opened it up.
"Pony, put that away." Darry scolded, still seething about what he saw on his younger brother's laptop. He was seriously considering taking it away.
"I'm bored, though…"
"Darry, c'mon, babe, let him use it for a while." Mackenzie said. Darry rolled his eyes and sat back, arms crossed in defeat. Sodapop grinned at his brother as he loaded up the Prattlr webpage.
Pony turned his body so his brother couldn't see. A little '1' showed up on the side of the 'Friend Requests' button. Cocking an eyebrow, he clicked it.
Chloe's name displayed along with the buttons 'Accept' and 'Decline' showed up. Ponyboy's mouse hovered over the 'Decline' button. He bit his lip. Maybe she's changed. Maybe she wants to talk things out.
Pony clicked on the 'Accept' button, thinking that Chloe had changed. Unfortunately, things hadn't. Lies were posted on the girl's page, stating that he had 'tried to kill her'. He didn't know how to react.
He tried to ignore the posts, biting his lip. "Somethin' wrong, Pony?" Soda asked. The 14 year old shook his head, closing his laptop.
"Ya sure?" Mackenzie asked, taking her tiny daughter out of the incubator and holding her close.
"I'm sure." He responded, nodding. He brushed off the negative posts, hoping it wouldn't escalate.