Misssing Days
Chapter 4
Downtown
XXX
Forms. Always forms. Of all the forms Darry had ever had to fill out as the legal guardian of Sodapop and Ponyboy, this had to be the worst yet.
Name of Missing..... Age....... Description...... Last Seen Wearing..... Date Last Seen...... Cause or Reason for Disappearance.....
It was that last one that rattled Darry. There was no good, logical answer. How do you fill in this very large question in a word or two? Before he realized it, a tear slipped and fell on the form. Darry quickly wiped it away and took a breath. The receptionist watching them finally called them over.
"Yeah, uh, I need to see Officer Morgan..." Darry started, reading the name off the card given to him earlier in the night. Just as the receptionist started to call into the workroom, a familiar voice could be heard coming down the hallway. Both Soda and Darry looked up and saw Dallas. He was in handcuffs, being led forcefully down the corridor toward a room marked "Interrogation." Soda and Darry looked at each other and then back at Dally being led away. Their stunned silence was not lost on the receptionist.
"We see a lot of that in here," she said dryly. She had no clue Dally was their friend, as well as someone who could possibly unlock the mystery of the missing boys.
"You can go in now, Officer Morgan is waiting for you." She unlocked the one-way gate and let them pass, following the directions she'd pointed out as they made their way through the station. Near the back by the water cooler, they saw Officer Morgan, relieved slightly that he was the friendlier one of the two who had come to the house earlier. Darry finished the forms and handed them to the officer, who gestured to the empty chairs by his desk.
"I take it he hasn't made it home yet?" Officer Morgan asked.
"No." Darry said, the disappointment obvious. "I was wondering what was going on? That kid in the park... how is Ponyboy involved?"
"You'd have to know him to understand," Sodapop implored. "Pony's not the type..."
Officer Morgan sighed, shaking his head slightly and raised his hand to stop Sodapop before he could say more. "I appreciate your coming down to see me and give me this, but I don't have any information I can give you. We're still collecting evidence, processing witness statements. Your brother's name has come up a few times, but until we can get all the information together, discern fact from fiction, there's really not much I can say. Technically, Ponyboy is only wanted for questioning - nothing more. Until he shows up, we have to go on the information the other witnesses have given us. As this is an ongoing case, I can't give you any further details. Sorry fellas. Go on home and when your brother shows up, give me a call."
Feeling defeated, they got up and retraced their steps back to the front.
"Wonder how long they're gonna keep Dally?" Soda whispered once back at the doors.
"This is Dallas were talking about here, Soda. He loves to dick around with them. It could be hours, knowing him."
"I bet he knows something." Soda murmured.
Darry fingered the truck keys in his pocket. "I have a feeling you're right, but whatever he knows, he ain't gonna cough up here. Come on, lets go." Turning around, they left the station and headed for home.
The gang wasn't there when they pulled up. It was getting late and the house was so quiet, almost foreign to them. Darry set about cleaning. While the two of them were at the station, it looked like Steve and Two-Bit had raided their fridge. Seemed no one could remember to wash their dirty dishes, let alone put them in the sink. Usually it bothered Darry to have such inconsiderate buddies hanging around messing up the place, but this time it didn't bother him as much. He needed something to keep him busy, something to keep his mind on something else besides the welfare of his youngest charge. Something to take away the constant gnaw in his head that he'd caused this the moment he'd struck his brother.
Soda, however, went to his room. He looked around and saw the place the way a stranger would see it. The unmade bed, Pony's track shoes laying in a jumble under his desk, books - lots and lots of books in crumbling stacks under the window. Drawings and sketches littered the floor around Pony's side of the bed mixed in with discarded items of clothing that needed to get washed. Ponyboy's presence was everywhere. Suddenly, Soda's stomach turned and he fled down the hall, vomiting into the toilet.
Come back, Ponyboy, he thought to himself. Come back to us. Please!
And so when the long, impossible day became reality and set her sun on the horizon, Soda sat alone on the front porch steps looking off in the direction he had last seen his brother tearing off into, smoking his third stick of the hour and deep in thought. He regretted not being able to run faster after his brother, regretted not being able to foresee the obvious tirade that Darry would have at Pony's absentminded behavior. Afterall, he too had been miffed when Pony'd blurted out that he'd fallen asleep outside - not a hundred yards from his own bed. Not only was Soda alone on the porch, he felt alone, as if the worlds population had disappeared, wiped clean off the planet. Yeah, he had Darry, but Darry wasn't Ponyboy. He felt sick knowing Ponyboy was out there: probably with Johnny, yet possibly not. There was no way to know for sure. He could be alone, and that scared him. Soda was sure Pony was cold, hungry and without cash. As he went inside to bed, he pulled Pony's pillow to his face and breathed in the scent of his brother. Tears fell and he didn't wipe them away or try to stifle the anguish he had. His brother had been by his side since a baby, and now he was gone. The emptiness surrounded Soda, and he finally drifted off to sleep.
XXX
Calla Lily Rose