A/N: I figured, since I took the day off from school, I owed you guys something, and here it is! Your second chapter of the day. The beginning drags a bit, and I'm really sorry if you don't really like it. The end is really important. Please when you read it, don't think Kat is a Mary-Sue. That's not the reason I wrote it. It's really important. I want to thank everyone who's subscribed, and added my story to alerts and favorites.
The rest of the day passed painfully, painfully slow for Kat. She'd been sitting on the couch all day, watching the boys. Soda and Steve played cards and got into several fights in the two hours before they had to go to work. She was quite pleased when they left. Her head was still throbbing a bit, and their constant yelling had not been doing it any good. She'd taken a short nap against Pony's shoulder. He'd probably been a bit too freaked out to wake her up and make her move. He was too quiet that kid. He'd been really quiet since his best friend; Johnny had died the year before. She felt bad for Pony. He'd lost two of his friends in one night. Everyone in her brother's gang had, but Pony had been really close to Johnny. She'd been in the same grade as Pony and Johnny. All the Greasers had it bad in school, but it seemed especially bad for Johnny. Just a few months before he'd died, he'd been beast up pretty badly by some soc, and he'd gotten a huge scar up his face. That was one of the few moments that Katherine had ever felt sympathy.
Pony spent most of the day reading and working on homework, much to Darry's approval, and Two-Bit's dismay. Two-Bit seemed to take particular interest in putting Pony in constant headlocks. Darry spent probably twenty minutes reading every single article in the paper. He was weird. Two-Bit spent this time drinking, watching the TV, and being generally annoying. After awhile, Two-Bit and Darry started playing cards, and Kat stretched out on the couch. Mickey Mouse was still on the TV, and she was too lazy to change it. She yawned, wishing she were anywhere else but here. She was rather worried about how Dave was going to react the next time she saw him, but she wasn't going to tell Two-Bit that. He was already in over protective mode. She didn't think telling him that her boyfriend beat on her would be a good idea. She was still amazed that she'd managed to keep it from everyone for four months. She kind of wished someone would figure it out, and save her. She wasn't brave enough to leave him. She was also a bit scared to think about what would happen if she tried. She would have left him long ago. She'd thought the first time he'd hit her had been an accident. They'd both been drunk. She'd quickly learned that accident it was not. She'd never said anything about it to anyone though.
Pony must have wandered back out at some point, and she must have had a weird look on her face, because he was suddenly standing over her. "You all right?" he asked, looking at her nervously. She just nodded, and moved her feet so he could sit. He did, and looked at her. "You sure you're okay?" She nodded again. He let the subject drop after that, and picked up his book. She let her eyes shut again, and went back to thinking. Everything was blurring together in her mind, and she really wished she had a beer, or even just a cigarette. Anything at all that would calm her nerves down was good in her book. She chewed her lip, and propped her head up on her arm. She took a deep breath and listened to everything around her. Darry and Two-Bit were talking over their game of cards. She couldn't make out what they were saying. She was sure it was about her though. It was one of those feelings. She could hear the hum from the muted TV, and the pages of Pony's rustle as he turned them. She could hear her own steady breathing, and the distant din of junior Greasers playing down the block. It was amazing everything you could hear when you really listened. She tuned out all of the noise and listening to the beat of her heart.
She must have fallen asleep at some point because the next thing she knew, Two-Bit was shaking her arm. "Come on Kat. We're gonna head home now."
"What time is it?" she mumbled sleepily, sitting up, and waiting for the world to adjust itself.
"It's five. You slept all day fat ass," he answered her as she stood up, and rubbed her eyes. They were seemingly the only two left in the house.
"Where is everyone?" she asked, stifling a yawn.
"Soda and Steve are still at work. Darry's at work, and Pony's in his room. Now come on," he said, slinging his arm around her shoulder, and dragging her towards the door. She followed him to his car, and got in, this time closing the door gently. She woke up more as they drove back towards their house.
"I'm gonna go upstairs," she said as they entered the house. Her hair was a mess, and she desperately needed to fix it. He nodded at her, shutting the door behind him. He disappeared into the living room, and soon cheered. She was guessing the Mickey Mouse marathon was still on. She made her way slowly up the stairs. She was still shaking the remains of sleep from her head as she pushed open her door. She flipped the light on, and headed to the dresser. She touched up her makeup and brushed her hair, pulling it up into a high ponytail. She turned around and that was when she saw the note on her bed. She looked at it quizzically for a moment before walking over towards it and picking it up.
'I want you in the park by six thirty.'
There was no doubting whom it was from. She looked around her room nervously, then at the clock on her bedside table. It was six fifteen! Shit! She headed out of her room and down the stairs, shrugging a sweater on. She stopped by the living room doorway. "Hey Two-Bit. I'm gonna go for a short walk. I'll be back, alright?"
Two-Bit looked up at her from his chair. "I want you home within an hour, or I will come find you," he said, watching her face, trying to see if she was telling the truth.
She smiled at him. "Alright. I don't think I should be that long." She hurried out the door before he could say more to her. Now that she was away from prying eyes, she ran. The last thing she wanted to do was be late when she knew Dave was going to be angry. She ran the eight blocks to the park, not stopping once. She collapsed onto a swing when she got there. She looked around, not seeing Dave anywhere. "Dave?" she called tentatively, almost hoping he wouldn't answer.
"Yes?" he asked, appearing from behind a tree. She stood up, and walked towards him, still panting lightly.
"I'm here. Just like you asked me," she said, giving him a small smile, as she got close. He didn't return the smile. His hands locked around her upper arms, squeezing them tightly. She flinched.
"You left me last night," he said, his voice low and threatening. He was not failing at scaring her this time.
"Two-Bit dragged me out. I tried to come back. I really did." She was pleading with him now. She knew what was coming next, and she was going to try as hard as she could to get away from it without actually running away. Running away would make it a thousand times worse.
"I'm sure you did," he growled, squeezing her arms tighter before releasing them as he shoved her to the ground.
"I'm sorry Dave. I should have tried harder." She was groveling at this point. She shakily got to her feet. She wasn't up long. She felt a fist connect solidly with her stomach, and she was back on the ground, dry heaving and gasping for breath. Dave grabbed her, and pulled her back to her feet, and held her arm tight.
"I can't be with a girl who won't even stick with me." He said letting go of her so she swayed on her feet. Kat brought her eyes up to look at him, and wished she hadn't. His fist connected with her jaw, and she fell again, slamming into the ground. "Good-bye Katherine," he said simply, turning and walking away.
And that was when everything when black.