***Sodapop's POV***
"Pony?" I said softly, shaking his arm. He didn't move so I knew he was asleep. I sighed contently and looked up at the guys. "He's asleep."
"For real this time?" Two-Bit asked, raising his eyebrow. I nodded. "He seems odd."
"Odd how?"
"I dunno. Unaware?"
"He lived in a basement for so many years. Can't expect him to come out knowin' everythin'," Darry said and I looked at him. He had so many emotions in his eyes yet his face looked hard as always.
"How'd they catch the guy?" Dallas asked. "Ya know...the one who took him. How many were there again? Three?"
"They found three but they think there were more than that," I sighed. I couldn't imagine three people hurting my baby brother. Imagining more people made it nearly unbearable to think about.
"The guy who owned the house had a warrant. Searchin' for somethin', I dunno. Then they found Ponyboy...chained. In the basement," Darry went on.
"Pony didn't wanta leave. He was sayin' those guys hadn't hurt 'im," I continued.
"What? Why'd he say that?" Two-Bit questioned, disbelief evident in his voice.
"Police and docs said that's normal. He grew up there. That's the only place he knows," Darry said. I glanced down at Ponyboy. His breathing was slow and heavy and his body, which had been tense, was relaxed. He looked peaceful. I smiled weakly at him.
"Lemme get this straight," Dallas began. "He didn't wanta leave because that's the place he grew up so he thought it was okay?"
"That's what the docs and fuzz said," Darry confirmed.
"I'm gonna take 'im to his room," I said, standing up. I picked Ponyboy up and frowned. "He weighs like nothin'..." I walked to his room and laid him in his bed. I pulled off his sunglasses just to see him looking at me. "Pony?"
"Soda?" he whispered sleepily.
"Yeah, it's me, honey," I said, stroking his hair again. He just gave me a blank look. "Are you sleepin', Pone?"
"I'm cold," he mumbled, eyes drooping.
I pulled the blanket up around him. "Go to sleep, kiddo," I said gently. He nodded and closed his eyes. I kissed his forehead before going back to the living room, shutting the door behind me as I left.
"Why the sunglasses?" Two-Bit asked, looking between me and Darry as I sat down.
"Basements are dark," Darry said simply.
"He looked at me," I said, "but he was asleep."
"That's creepy," Two-Bit chuckled. I knew he didn't mean it seriously.
"I don't care. I'm just happy he's home..."
"Gotta show the kid how to be a greaser!" Two-Bit shouted a little too loudly.
"Give it time and we will," Steve agreed.
"Guys," I hissed in a hushed tone, "be quiet or you'll wake him."
"Whatcha thinkin' 'bout, Johnnycake?" Dally asked suddenly and everybody's attention turned to Johnny.
"Ponyboy," he admitted. We all probably were thinking about him. We talked about him a lot while he was missing. I cried to them sometimes. Darry expressed his worry. Steve took part of the missing him. Everybody else was there for support but we could tell they were worried, too, and missed him even if they didn't know them. Dallas had taken a particular interest in Ponyboy. He said that when he was found, he'd make it his personal mission to protect him. Nobody said anything but everybody shared a look. None of us believed we'd find him alive. "I wanna know what's goin' through his head."
"Don't we all," Steve sighed.
"Well," I said, stifling a yawn. I was tired but I mainly just wanted to be with Ponyboy. "I'm gonna crash for the night. Y'all stayin'?"
"Nah, I'm gonna head out," Two-Bit said. Dally also was leaving but Steve and Johnny were staying. I felt bad for them. They had it rough at home. Johnny's father beat him and his mother ignored him for the most part but when she'd yell, it was scary. We all knew how much he hated it. We did our best to protect him. I watched out for him almost as much as Dallas did. I wanted to protect him since I couldn't protect Ponyboy. I didn't want something to happen to him, too. Dallas was a tough hood but he had a soft spot for the gang's pet, which was Johnny. Apparently Ponyboy, too. Steve's mom wasn't around and his dad would fight with him every few days and kick him out. Sure, he tried to make up for it when he sobered up, but the damage was done. Steve was a hateful person because of his father. Steve wasn't hateful towards the gang, though. We were his family and he was ours. We all were family.
"See y'all in the mornin'," I said, walking down the hall after snapping myself out of my thoughts. Everybody had a rough time at home but even so everybody seemed to worry about Ponyboy. Just like I did, but I didn't have a hard home life, not anymore. Not ever, I guess. My home problems wasn't anything like theirs. Mine and Darry's home life was full of love and compassion. The problem was Ponyboy missing. We were grateful, though. With the pain our parents held, they never turned to drugs or alcohol and they did everything they could to keep us safe and happy. They were the best people.
Darry said his goodnights to Steve and Johnny before following me down the hall to the bedrooms. All four bedrooms were down the same hallway. First was mine, then Ponyboy's, then Darry's, and then our parents were at the end of the hallway. I stopped outside of Ponyboy's room. I had slept with Ponyboy a lot when he was young, like when he was sad or scared. It's something I never really got over. I was seven when I last saw Ponyboy. I thought of him every single day since then. I slept in his bed half the time just to feel closer to him. I cried myself to sleep more than I'd like to admit.
"Go," Darry said gently, appearing by my side. He must've saw my inner conflict. I was standing outside of Ponyboy's room, wanting to go in but also being too nervous to do so.
"What if he doesn't like that?"
"Then you'll know not to do it again," he said before opening the door for me. I nodded and slowly walked over to the bed. I crawled in next to him and he stirred. Light sleeper, I thought. I couldn't blame him with what he's been through. I wondered if I'd be able to sleep at all if that was me.
"Who's there?" he asked, his voice sounding awake. I noticed how tense his body was.
"It's just me, kiddo," I said, reaching up to stroke his hair. "It's Sodapop."
"Hi, Soda," he said, his voice already sounding more groggy. He turned to face me. His face looked softer. More afraid, but there was less of a wall surrounding his emotions. I guess that made him vulnerable. That's probably why kept that wall up.
"Mind if I bunk with you?"
"Sure," he said as he laid his head back down near mine.
"Remember how we shared a bed a lot as a kid?" I asked and he nodded. "Are you okay with this?"
"Yeah," he whispered, smiling sleepily at me. "I missed this."
I smiled when he said that and threw my arm across his chest. Almost instantly, he moved closer so his head was on my shoulder. Seeing him come into me like that made me smile more. After all that time, he still trusted me. He seemed unsure about everybody else but he was acting somewhat normal with me. I kissed his forehead and watched him smile. "G'night, honey."
"Night," he mumbled, half asleep. I pulled him closer to me and for the first time in nine years, I relaxed knowing my baby brother was safe.
