Chapter 10

I found out later why Steve was with Darry when they found me. As it turns out, he was outside of the DX smoking one of his stolen cigarettes when a strange black Chrysler pulled up in front of him at a traffic light. The car looked completely out of place in our neighborhood and he'd never seen the three men inside it before. When he noticed me in the back seat he tossed his cigarette away and called the cops. Then he went to find Darry, who was working on the roof of a shopping center about ten blocks away.

After I passed out, Darry and Steve carried me back to the truck. Darry says that I was stone cold and almost as white as my t-shirt. The entire way to the hospital Darry kept making Steve check to see if I was breathing. I didn't really wake up until they got me to the hospital, and I don't remember much about that either. I was in shock and my side had started bleeding again. There were chunks of gravel imbedded in my feet, and it hurt something awful when the nurses dug them out. I have a pretty clear memory of that part, but not much else.

I had to get stitches in my chin and it turned out that I was right, I had cracked some ribs. My wrists were torn up too. I'd done a lot of damage to myself trying to get away.

Darry was with me most of the time I was in the hospital. When Darry wasn't there Two-Bit was. I even remember once waking up in the middle of the night and seeing Steve sitting by the light of a desk lamp, reading a newspaper. I thought that was weird because visiting hours were over. I must have said something along those lines because I remember him telling me to be quiet and go back to sleep. He said it gently, though, and I did. When I woke up next it was light out, and Steve was gone.

The doctors sent a cop in to interview me before I was released from the hospital. I think I frustrated him more than anything. He already had Steve's description of the men and the car, and I couldn't provide them with much more information, except that they were from Chicago. I didn't tell the cop their names. I'm not sure why. Frank had said I could tell the police anything I wanted. It wouldn't matter. So I supposed it wouldn't matter if I kept their names to myself. The cop left shaking his head, doubtful that he would get any help from the cops in Chicago. I doubted it too.

I was well enough to be released from the hospital, but I didn't want to go home with Darry. I worried about what would happen of Frank and his guys came back. I didn't want Darry or anybody else to get hurt because of something I'd done. I tried arguing with him, tried convincing him that I should leave town even though I wasn't in any kind of shape to be on my own. My brother listened patiently while I rambled on feverishly, and when I finally ran out of breath Darry looked me in the eye and he said, "Ponyboy, I worry about a lot of things, but what I worry most about is you. I worry about you lying dead in a ditch somewhere. That's what keeps me up at night."

Now that I was off the heavier pain meds I noticed the dark circles under his eyes. He looked a lot closer to forty than thirty, all because of me. I thought of all of the times I'd made him angry or scared or worried. I wished I could take them all back.

"If anything happened to you, it would kill me," he said. "It would just kill me."

I knew he was telling the truth. I can't imagine what it did to Darry to lose one younger brother. I could see that just the thought of losing both of us was more than he could take.

"Same goes for you," I said, and I meant it.

Sometimes it's a lot easier to be by yourself than it is to have someone who cares about you. 'Easier' isn't always better, though. I was glad that Darry and I had each other to care about.

In the end I let my brother take me home. I hadn't done more than walk to and from the john in three days. Just getting from the hospital entrance to Darry's waiting truck was a hassle.

"I'll try not to worry you anymore," I promised as we drove away from the hospital.

He told me, "Ponyboy, I'd worry about you no matter what."

I guess that's just part of being a parent.

Continued in Chapter 11…