Chapter 7: Two-bit
Riley seemed all right to me. Pretty tough for a chick. I followed her and Ponyboy to her house, unsure of what was going on, but I didn't ask. They were both silent on the walk, seemed a little tense. I made some jokes along the way trying to lighten the mood, but only Riley laughed and you could tell it was half ass. Halfway there, I realized we were getting closer to the South side and wondered where the hell this chick came from. As we past the park, I saw a mustang trailing us. After a loop past us, it came around again and pulled aside about 5 feet in front of us. Ponyboy and I stopped, but Riley kept walking, not paying attention to the car.
As Riley got to the backside door, the doors opened and 3 Socs walked out and one of them grabbed Riley's arm and pulled him to her. Ponyboy and I trotted up closer so that we could hear them talk.
"Been looking for ya..." The one holding her arm said in a scruff voiced. He was wearing a blue sweater and khakis. Riley seemed to know him, so Ponyboy and I just stood there watching.
"I ain't been hiding..." Riley said calmly, looking right into his eyes. "Stop and seen Earl lately?" I heard Ponyboy take a deep breath when she said that and I glanced at him, but he didn't move so I stayed.
"I've seen him around..." He glanced at Ponyboy and me then back at Riley. "Guess the rumors are true about who you're running with..."
"Watch it..." I snapped, glaring at him.
"Leave them out of this Davis...what do you want?"
"Just checking on my baby sister...shouldn't a big brother be worried?"
Riley laughed. "You ain't been worried yet, so don't start." She pushed him and he let go. Riley started to walk away and one of the Socs with Davis grabbed Riley and pinned her against the wall.
Ponyboy and I ran up. "Let her go!" Ponyboy yelled, as he grabbed the Socs and tried to pull him off.
I ran up to Davis and knocked him to the ground. "Lay off!" I yelled at him and punched him square in the jaw. He got up and ran into the car and the rest followed. The Socs holding Riley had dropped her and she sat on the ground, coughing slightly.
Ponyboy walked over to Riley. "You ok?"
She laughed. "I'm fine! Seriously, you guys shouldn't have started anything."
I watched to make sure they were driving off then turned to Riley. "Who was that?"
She got up and brushed herself off. "My half brother Davis...ain't seen him since we were kids...too bad he hasn't changed." She pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "Can we go please? I want to get back..."
We finished the walk in silence. Riley stayed ahead of Ponyboy and me. He was quiet, keeping his eye on Riley. I have to admit I couldn't help, but glance at her back end...she had a great ass. We got to small house on the outskirts of the south side and she stopped.
She turned to Ponyboy and me. "I'll go in… You guys wait here..."
"You sure about that Riley?" Ponyboy asked, looking concern.
She nodded. "His car isn't out front here...he shouldn't be home..." She turned and jogged inside.
I looked at Ponyboy. "Who's not home?"
He kept watching the door after Riley had walked in. "Her Dad...Earl..."
We stood outside waiting for what seemed like hours, when Riley finally walked out, carrying a duffle back. "Let's go…" She looked up, but didn't look at either of us and just started heading back towards the house. We were silent the whole way home. Riley seemed shook up and scared of her own shadow.
When we got back to the house, Ponyboy walked in and I held the door open for Riley, but she shook her head. "I want to sit out here for a bit…if that's ok?"
I shrugged. "Don't matter to me…" I walked inside and sat next to Ponyboy on the couch.
"Where's Riley?"
"Sitting outside on the porch, she seems kind of off…"
Ponyboy shrugged. "I think Davis just shook her up, she gets crap from her Dad and now her brother."
I smiled. "Kind of remind you of Johnnycake don't it?"
He nodded his head. "Yeah…if I didn't know better, I'd swear that was Johnny's little sister out there…"
I looked towards the door to make sure Riley wasn't coming in then looked at Ponyboy. "So what's the story with you two?"
Ponyboy laughed. "She's my friend…she wouldn't want to be with greaser like me…"
"Aww come on kid…you're cute in that little kid way ya know?" I pulled him into a headlock and messed up his hair.
"Hey stop!" He said pulling away, and then he glanced at the door. "You think she's ok?"
"Only one way to find out."
