Ponyboy and I slowed the pace of our walk as we approached the DX gas station where our brother worked. From a distance, we watched him grin and lean up against the side of the pole that held the large awning overhead. We still hadn't decided who would be the one to break the news to him. My lingering affection towards Casey dwindled further. I hated Casey for putting the two of us into this predicament.
Sodapop finished filling the gas tank and put the hose back into the pump. He collected the cash from the customer and looked our way. "Hey, you two! Where are you headed from?" Ponyboy and I looked at each other and simultaneously our hearts began to race with nervousness. We looked back to see Sodapop walking towards us. The wide smile on his face only made the information we had to tell him that much more painful to say. "Does Darry know you two are out walking around?"
"Yeah, he knows." I said uneasily as we stopped in front of the open garage door. Ponyboy and I glanced at each other again. My twin slumped his posture and stared at the ground as a way to say he wasn't going to speak up. Our brother noticed.
"What gives?" Sodapop questioned and stuffed the dirty rag he was holding half into his front pocket. I didn't speak. Ponyboy refused to look up. After a long pause, Sodapop began to guess. "Did you two get into some kind of trouble or something?"
Before we could answer, Steve walked out of the open garage stall door. "Hey, Hobos! Don't be looking to bum a ride home off your brother. Evie's coming by in a little bit and the three of us are going over to have Casey serve us dinner. Soda here says he'll save us some money by tipping her later." The two friends elbowed each other and laughed.
Ponyboy and I didn't laugh.
Sodapop stopped. "Seriously, what is bothering the two of you?"
I frowned hard and felt hot tears of frustration well up in my eyes. "Sodapop, I'm sorry…" My words were cut short as a car rapidly pulled into parking lot and squealed its tires to a stop. Casey emerged from the passenger's side of the car.
Sodapop beamed with affection. "Hey, we were just talking about you."
Casey shot a look of contempt at Ponyboy and I then she turned her red and swollen eyes to our brother. She figured from his cheerful demeanor that we hadn't told him what we had seen. "Soda, I didn't want it to happen this way. I wanted to tell you…" Casey began to cry. When our brother tried to wrap her in a comforting hug, she pushed him away. "No. No you can't. I just have to tell you something and then I'll be gone."
"Gone? What are you talking about? What is going on around here?" Sodapop questioned and looked to everyone for some sort of answer to his confusion.
Casey struggled to take a deep breath then her voice cracked. "I don't love you anymore."
A stunned Sodapop searched for clarification. "What are you talking about?"
"I just wanted to be the one to tell you. Goodbye, Sodapop."
Casey tried to leave, but Sodapop grabbed a hold of her arm to stop her. "Is this because of Darry and I fighting? I told you that is all over. If this is about that, I can fix it."
"No Soda. There's nothing to fix. I've felt this way for awhile, but I didn't know how to tell you," Casey cried out. "Please just let me go."
The pitch of Sodapop's voice raised and I knew he was close to tears as he pleaded. "What did I do wrong?"
"It's not you, it's me. I just…" Casey looked at me in anguish as she recalled getting caught not being faithful. "This isn't right anymore."
"It can still be right! It is still right. Please, Casey…." Sodapop implored to no avail.
Casey pulled loose. "I can't Soda. It's not who I am. I'm just not the kind of girl you need." With the last word, Casey ran to the waiting car, climbed in and the car squealed the tires as it pulled out of the parking lot. She didn't look back.
Beaten down by the news, Sodapop struggled to suppress his sorrow. Ponyboy and I stood in shock like idiots. We hadn't ever anticipated Casey rushing in at the last second and telling Sodapop she didn't love him. Angered by our lack of response, Steve swooped his buddy into a one arm hug and pulled him into the garage where he could regain his composure.
Dumbfounded, Ponyboy and I waited outside a few minutes to give the friends a moment to talk. When we walked into the garage to join them we heard Steve talking caringly to his best friend. "Buddy, I am sorry. Don't worry about it though. Maybe she's right. Maybe she ain't the right girl for you."
"You think?" Sodapop tearfully questioned. "We always got along fine."
"Sure, Soda. Ya'll got along fine, but it was more like brother and sister than boyfriend and girlfriend. Besides, if she had been the right girl, none of this would have happened," Steve answered matter-of-factly.
"I'm gonna get her back." Sodapop wiped the tears from his eyes. "I'm going to find out what I did wrong and she'll be mine again."
Steve didn't agree, but he was Sodapop's best friend so he said what a best buddy should. "Yeah… you do that, Soda."
Ponyboy stepped toward our brother and questioned, "Soda, you going to be all right?"
"I'd be doing a lot better if the women that I loved weren't always leaving me." Soda forced a smile and looked at me. "At least I still have you. Huh, Scout?"
"Yeah Soda…you got me, babe," I said and forced a smile of my own as thoughts of the academy flew through my mind.
"You wouldn't lie to me, would you?" Sodapop asked.
I hesitated before answering. "No, I wouldn't lie."
Seeing trouble brewing, Steve spoke up. "Why don't you cut out of here a little early?" Steve graciously offered. "I'll punch you out."
"Yeah, I think I'll do that." Soda said and looked at his dirty hands and then to Pony and me. "Why don't you two head on out to the truck and I'll meet you out there after I wash up." We quietly agreed and headed out to the parking lot as Sodapop left to wash his hands.
Once Sodapop was out of earshot, Steve walked up behind Ponyboy and I and threw his greasy hands onto our shoulders. He squeezed hard in frustration. "Okay you two, spill it"
"Spill what?" Ponyboy said convincingly.
"You know what. You two knew Casey was coming here to break up with him. I saw Sissy welling up with tears before that car even pulled into the station! So spill it."
Neither one of us could bear to tell Steve what we saw. Besides, if he knew the truth Steve may have half a mind to track Casey down and tell her off. Or worse, he might tell Sodapop everything. Ponyboy and I exchanged another glance swearing to withhold the truth from both of them. Steve noticed.
"I hope you two Bobbsey twins are happy with yourselves! It ain't right not to tell Soda the truth, whatever that is." Pissed off, Steve turned and headed back to the garage and yelled out once more. "It ain't right!"
My brother and I walked across the DX lot to the truck. Pony opened the door. I climbed in and he followed. Upset, I started to bawl. "I'm not leaving, Ponyboy. I can't go. It's not fair to Sodapop. We're not being fair to Sodapop. I know Darry is going to be livid, but I can't be one of the girls that Soda loved who left him. I can't have that on my conscience. You know?"
"I know. I heard him." Ponyboy said with disappointment in his voice. He rubbed hard at his forehead. Pony knew there wasn't much he could say to make things better for me. Either choice I made was going to have a negative impact on me. "I wish I had the right answer for you, Scout. I really do, but there is no way you can make your decision without someone getting hurt."
"I know, and that is the most frustrating part."
Ponyboy looked out the back window of the truck and saw our brother coming. "Hush your crying. Soda's coming and he doesn't need to be hearing it."
I did my best to sit up straight and repress my sorrow and fears. I looked away as Soda climbed into the truck. He slammed the car door shut and stared straight forward. He didn't put the key into the ignition. Ponyboy looked out the passenger window and nudged me slightly. We were trapped, Soda was furious and we all knew it. A silent minute passed before Sodapop spoke up in disappointment. "I thought of all the people in the world you two would at least be truthful with me." My twin and I swallowed hard. "Steve told me he told you two to spill what you knew and you wouldn't. Now I'm telling you to spill it!"
I looked at Ponyboy sitting by the door. He kept his gaze fixated on something outside of the truck.
Sodapop startled us both as he slammed his hands against the steering wheel and yelled, "Damn it! Just tell me what in the hell you two were going to tell me when you showed up here!"
The boisterous voice out of Soda's mouth startled us both. He rarely yelled. His anger resonated in the thick air.
Ponyboy muttered, "She was with another guy."
"What?" Sodapop questioned in disbelief.
"We went to see her at the restaurant and we found her in the back alley with another guy."
"Who?" Soda yelled the question. His hands began to tremble with rage.
Ponyboy and I shared a look and planned to keep the identity a secret.
"Who was she with?" Sodapop yelled in insistence, but Pony and I refused to divulge the truth. Soda waited longer than he wanted to, then his frustration erupted. I watched as he turned the key and revved the engine. Without warning, he slammed the truck into reverse, squealed the tires and backed out into the street. Furious he shifted the truck into gear and recklessly sped down the street.
My heart began to pound in fear as the truck bounced over pot holes and whizzed by people and buildings. Worried, I grabbed the back of the truck seat with one hand and braced myself against the dashboard with the other. "Sodapop, would you please slow down?"
Soda didn't answer and Ponyboy reissued the request. "Slow down, Soda!"
"Not until you tell me who." Sodapop insisted as his eyes leaked tears of pain. He yanked at the wheel and forced the truck around the corner at a high rate of speed. The cab of the truck tilted as it balanced on two wheels and the tires screamed around the corner.
"Slow down! You're gonna kill us!" I cried out.
"Tell me who he was!" Sodapop screamed.
Ponyboy looked over at our brother in distress. "Slow down before someone gets hurt."
"Tell me who!" Our brother screamed back.
Fearing the upcoming corner, I disregarded my vow of secrecy and shrieked,
"Buck Merrill!"
Instantly, Sodapop slammed on the brakes throwing Ponyboy and I forward into the dashboard. The truck idled in the middle of the road. Soda fumed. "How do you know that?" We didn't answer until Soda yelled again. "How do you know that?"
"We saw them together in his car." I answered meekly wishing I could have kept the secret.
"Get out of the truck!" Sodapop commanded as he stared straight forward.
I sat back on the seat and questioned. "What are you going to do?"
"Get out of the truck!" Sodapop growled and revved the engine to warn us that if we stayed we were along for the dangerous ride.
Ponyboy opened the metal door and stepped out of the truck. He stood in the street and held the door wide open for me. I took a moment to glance at my angry brother's profile. I knew the thoughts in his head were bound to be disastrous. I couldn't let him follow through with his dark thoughts. I took a deep breath. "I can't let you do this." As fast as possible, I pushed the gear shifter into neutral, turned the key backwards and snatched them from the ignition.
It took a second for Soda to realize his plans had been foiled. Then his rage surfaced. "Give me back those keys!"
In fright, I scrambled across the seat and out the passenger door with Sodapop grabbing at my back. I pulled loose from his grip and took off running across the park.
"Damn it, Scout! Get back here!" Sodapop snarled and he fell out of the truck onto the road.
Ponyboy watched in confusion as Sodapop scampered to his feet to chase after me. In my skirt and loafers, I wasn't able to pick up enough speed to outrun him. In seconds, Sodapop caught up to me and shoved me to the ground. I landed hard on the grass and Sodapop landed on top of me. I held the keys to the truck tight in my hand. Sodapop pulled at my sweater and arms trying to retrieve them. "Give 'em here! Just give them here and I'll let you go." Soda pressed his body against mine making it hard to breathe and even harder to keep the keys from him.
"Knock it off, Soda!" Ponyboy yelled and pulled Sodapop halfway off of me. Knowing I couldn't hide the keys any longer I used the short break to whip the keys over my head as far as I could. All three of us watched the shiny metal pieces fly a half a dozen feet through the air and land in the park fountain with a simple 'kerplunk.'
All three of us stared in disbelief. The keys were in the fountain - the very fountain where Ponyboy was nearly drowned. Our mouths hung open in unison as we sat together in a pile on the ground. The pounding of our hearts echoed in our ears and the only sound seemed to be the exhausted panting of our breath. Soda stood up first and wiped his dirty hands on his jeans before offering his hand to me and then to Ponyboy. Collectively, we stood another moment staring at the fountain.
Sodapop sniffled hard and wiped his nose. It was bleeding, but to him it wasn't the biggest problem we had. All three of us walked up to the edge of the fountain and stood in the very spot where Bob had laid dead for hours on that weekend night. The blood droplets from Soda's nose splattered on the ground leading us to recognize faint remnants of the bloodstain that had flooded the area.
Ponyboy's voice was apprehensive when he spoke. "Someone is going to have to go in there to get the keys." We looked at each other. No one moved.
I stared into the water. I hated the fountain and the devastating memories that it conquered in my mind. I exhaled, "I'll get them. I threw them in there." Sodapop and Ponyboy looked at me wide eyed. I could tell they both hated the ominous fountain too. I slid off my loafers, hiked up my skirt and climbed over the rim of the fountain. I flinched when my foot entered the cold water.
"Careful, Scout." Soda suggested quietly. All three of us acted as if the fountain were nothing more than a monster just waiting to claim its next victim.
Gingerly, I put my other foot in the water and waded through the fountain water to the middle where the keys laid at the bottom. The water was too deep for me to reach in without soaking the arm of my sweater, so I picked the keys up with my toes. As soon as I could grab them I held them tight in my hand.
"Come on Scout! Get out of there," Ponyboy yelled with concern.
My heart pounded as I turned to leave. I took a few steps, but then lost my footing on the painted, slippery surface below. Instantly, the water flooded above my head. I held tight to the keys with one hand and pushed myself out of the water with the other.
"Scout!" I heard Soda scream in fear as he climbed onto the rim of the fountain and reached out his hand to me. "Hurry up and get out of there!" I treaded through the freezing water and clambered over the edge with my brother's help.
"Are you okay?" Pony asked, concerned.
"Yes, I'm fine. I've got the keys." I said and stood dripping in the cool breeze. I opened my hand to reveal them.
No one grabbed for them. Instead we stood silently by the side of the fountain. I began to shiver and spoke for the group. "Divine intervention?"
"Yeah, something like that." Soda said softly. He threw his warm dry arm around my shoulder. "Come on, Sissy, let's get you home."
As a team, we walked back to the truck and Soda drove us home, slowly.