One Step At A Time
Summary: When he was only two, a car accident took his leg, and his mother. Now, Ponyboy must learn to deal with life as a fourteen year old with only one leg. With the help six brothers and dad, he's just going to have to take it one step at a time. (Mr. Curtis is alive!)
Disclaimer: No, silly, I never have nor will I ever own The Outsiders. S.E. Hinton owns The Outsiders. *sighs* :( I simply borrow them for my own creative enjoyment purposes.
White collar black wolf: I'm so glad that you enjoyed the last chapter! Thank you so much for your review.
Kas3y: Thank you so much, dear!
HappierThanMost: You very much deserved it, I would not have been able to write that chapter without your help and allowing me to voice my opinions to someone and get feedback. I tried to make the chapter more lighthearted and fluffy as a break from the more angsty side the other chapters are. Thank you so much, Happier, for everyone that you do. :)
Candymouse22: Right! But it was something I could very well see him doing! xD Thank you so much for your review!
Chapter 9: Two Generations, Two Broken Hearts
~ Wednesday, October 19, 1966 ~
Darry turned the gold handle of his apartment door, the hinges squeaking softly in protest as he did so. He slipped off his muddy boots with his feet before walking into the living room. He was exhausted, having gotten up at five am to take his Chemistry exam, and all he wanted to do was take a nice, relaxing power nap before he started his shift at four p.m. that afternoon. However, as he laid eyes on two people making out passionately on the couch, he knew that wasn't going to happen and he had to resist the urge to roll his eyes as it would further worsen his already pounding head.
"Get a room-" Darry was stopped cold as the two people broke apart quickly, haven been spooked by the fact that there was someone in the apartment. The girl his roommate had been making out with stared at Darry, like a deer caught in headlights, her familiar hazel eyes wide and scared.
"R-Rebecca?... What the...?" Darry fumbled for words. What was he supposed to say? His girlfriend of eleven months broke eye contact and refused to look back at Darry. Her brunette bangs fell into her eyes, giving her a shield.
"Rebecca..."
"Darry, man, I'm so s-" Thomas stared.
"I think you need to leave," Darry interrupted, his voice monotone. Wordlessly, Thomas nodded. He had been friends with Darry long enough to know if Darry got mad enough to start swinging, he was in for a beating. Not even the captain of the swim team could take on an angry Darrel Curtis.
Rebecca silently slipped out behind Thomas, eager to leave the unpleasant situation. Darry numbly sat down on the couch, too tired to even think, his mind slowly working through everything he had seen. He stared blankly at the empty wall across from him, a million questions swirling through his head but his heart too broke to answer them.
As he sat there, Darry was shocked when he suddenly felt something wet slip down his cheek. Giving in, he let the rest fall silently, betrayal fueling their creation as he felt the world that he thought he had built far away from the pressures and stereotypes that plagued him in Tulsa suddenly crumbled right in front of his eyes.
~ Monday, October 31, 1966 ~
Ponyboy woke up early Monday morning, a cold weight sitting heavily in the pit of his stomach. The pictures of his mother that hung on one of the living room walls seemed to stare at him, a reminder, as he trudged slowly and tiredly into the bathroom to take a shower before he had to leave for school.
As he washed his hands, he looked at himself in the mirror. Were the green-grey eyes that stared back at him the ones that stared at him as he walked the hallways of his house? Were the curls that began to take to his hair when it grew out too long the product of his mother's blonde, curly hair? The unanswered questions rang in his mind, along with knowing his mother could be sitting in the kitchen making pancakes, sending him off to school with one of her famous, warm smiles, if it wasn't for what happened twelve years ago.
Ponyboy splashed a shot of cold water on his face, trying to flush his thoughts down the drain. He didn't want to think anymore, the twinge in his heart was enough to tell him he wasn't ready. He didn't think that he would ever be ready. He missed the woman he would never know too much.
OoOoOoO
Darrel found himself distracted all day at work, on top of a house in the middle class neighborhood. His mind was elsewhere, thinking about his wife, causing him to hammer his thumb more than once.
He could remember that faithful day like it was yesterday. Although he never woke up screaming like Ponyboy, the image of his beautiful wife bloodied and broken, lying dead in the middle of the street was something he would never forget, and it often haunted his dreams.
Darrel sat in his car a few extra minutes after he pulled into the driveway that night. This day was a day he often felt like retreating into a hole and just sleeping the day away, forgetting it all, or maybe grabbing a friend and heading over to a local bar to get so wasted he would forget, but he knew neither one of those things were options that were available to him when he had two boys that needed him.
Finally, Darrel pushed open the screen door, ready to face two moody and grieving boys. But oddly enough, he found something that didn't often happen. Most Halloweens, Darrel would come home and find his three boys in one of three moods: crying and talking about their mom with Darry recanting the stories he remembered, or moody and angry, getting into more fights with each other than they ever would normally, or lastly, staring blankly at an empty wall, too emotionally exhausted to cry or fight.
But today, he found that the gang was over, distracting the boys from their pain. They were playing cards, and Darrel was surprised when he heard the sound of both of his boys laughing. He smiled to himself. He would always miss his wife, but maybe, maybe things weren't as bad as he thought. He would never have his wife, and his boys would never have their mother again, but they had the gang and Darrel had his kids and he knew he would be okay. Not perfect, but they would be okay. Twelve years ago the world he had built in Tulsa had crumbled, but today he realized that maybe the world he had put back together wasn't so bad.
A/N: Good, not so good? I'm kind of iffy on this chapter...
Stay Gold,
~ Alee XxX
