Darry grabbed the last basket of laundry and walked into the living room where I was waiting on the couch for him to be ready to go. I could tell by his tense posture he was more worried about the discussion over dinner concerning James' behavior than he let on. He piled a second basket of laundry onto his other loaded basket and paused by the front door for me. "Let's go, Sissy." He commanded as if it were him waiting on me.
Obediently, I grabbed one more basket of laundry and followed him out to the black sedan. We put the laundry into the trunk and climbed into the car. We traveled the first few blocks in silence then I looked over at Darry. A tiny grin tried to escape from his lips, but he worked hard to keep it to himself. The expression was in contrast to the way he presented himself over the past few hours. I couldn't help but grin myself and ask,. "Why the smile?"
Darry let the smile stay on his face. "I called Kathryn today over my lunch hour."
"You did? What did she say?"
Darry laughed a little. "Nothing, she wasn't home. But! I called her and followed through with my end of the bargain. Now you need to do yours and give some real hard thought to going to Ashford Academy."
I sighed and looked out the window. "I will and I am. I just need a little more time."
Darry accepted my answer. Because he didn't push the issue, I elaborated and told him what Owen had said about the school and the opportunities it could afford me. I told him that Sodapop thought it was a good idea and Ponyboy was on the fence about whether or not I should go. With all that support, it should seem easy to make the decision to go, but I still had hesitation. Darry understood.
A few hours later, I looked up from the book that I was reading to watch the last lady leave the Laundry mat with her clothes clean and folded. Night had fallen, and outside it was cool and dark. Inside, the lights were bright and the air was warm from the clothing dryers that had been running most of the day. I studied how the every glass window and glass door was covered in a dense fog from the floor to the ceiling. I liked the seclusion of the laundry mat, and now it was just Darry and I inside. I looked over at my brother who was leaning against a large folding table watching the clothes in the dryer turn over and over and over.
The sight was humorous. I giggled, "What are you doing, Darry?"
He smiled back. "Just taking sometime to myself. Lost in my thoughts."
"I'd give you a penny for your thoughts, but I'm broke."
Darry looked over at me with a wide grin. "That's exactly why you need to say yes to Ashford Academy."
His point made me think. It would be nice to someday afford a house in a nice neighborhood with a washing machine and dryer to do my laundry. I looked back to the words in my book and spoke. "I told you I would think about it."
"Think harder!" He said amusingly.
I ignored him then the strand of jingle bells that were tied to the Laundry mat doors chimed to signal someone coming inside. I looked up to see who our company would be for the next hour as our clothes finished drying and we folded everything. I nearly screamed, "Kathryn!"
The beautiful young lady walked into the Laundry mat with a gracious smile on her face. She weaved through the rows of washing machines and joined me in a hug. "Scout, you have grown prettier and prettier. It is so nice to see you again."
I was so excited I could barely think. "I am so glad to see you too!" I looked to Darry hoping Kathryn's gaze would follow mine. Her attention was headed there with out my assistance.
"Darry, Sodapop told me you would be here. I hope you don't mind my stopping by unannounced." She walked towards my brother who seemed uncomfortable in his skin with her around. I was sure he was nervous.
"No, not at all." He rambled, "I am glad you came by. I called you today. I was hoping we could talk about a few things."
Kathryn eyed the bright lights of the Laundry mat then peeked over her shoulder at me. She looked back to Darry and made a suggestion. "Why don't we go and talk in my car for privacy?"
"Sure." Darry agreed and assigned me a chore. "Scout, keep an eye on things, and start folding the clothes when the first dryer is done."
"I will, Darry." I said and offered up a facial expression of excitement. "You two take all the time you need. I've got everything here under control." The two of them walked outside and the bells chimed again. Knowing they may need a little assistance to tell each other how they truly felt, I offered up a prayer to my mom and dad. I wanted Darry's life to make a change for the better and in my opinion, Kathryn was just the right thing for him.
I poked my nose back into my book and lost track of time till the door bells chimed again. This time the sound came from the door on the far side of the laundry mat, so I knew Darry and Kathryn were still sitting in her car and chatting. I looked towards the door they left, but I couldn't see them through the condensation on the windowpanes. I closed my eyes for a moment and hoped they were doing more than talking. Perhaps a kiss or two would be in their plans. I smiled at the thought and turned my head to see the patron who had entered the building from the far door.
Those familiar green eyes and dimples shocked every last nerve in my body. I jumped off the folding table where I had been sitting and let my book fall closed. His arrival wasn't a coincidence. I noticed he had come into the laundry mat, empty handed. "James!"
"Hello, Baby. Did you miss me?" He hissed in a sarcastic tone. "'Cause I missed you."
I didn't answer. My eyes scanned the inside of the laundry mat. Every window was completely clouded over so no one could see in and no one could see out. I was trapped in the back of the room with rows of folding tables and washing machines blocking my escape. I was stunned and didn't move.
James slithered his way through the remaining washing machines that separated us. He paused on the other side of the large heavy folding table I had been sitting on. "I can't believe you would do this to me. I told you that I loved you. I gave you a ring to prove it."
"I never said anything about the stolen ring." I quickly defended myself hoping he wasn't mad because he thought I had ratted him out to the cops, and helped to send him off to the reformatory school.
His words came out of his mouth devious tone. "I know you didn't. Why would you? That was back when you actually cared about me. Not anymore though. Now all you care about is cruising around with your rich boyfriend in his expensive car thinking your better than everyone else."
I shook my head and could barely speak as fear tightened my throat. "I don't think that."
"It doesn't matter what you say. I'm not here for you. I'm here for me."
I backed up a step and kept my eyes locked with his. I tried to determine what his next move would be. "What do you mean?"
"I told you. I always get what I want, and I want you." His devilish grin graced his face.
My sight danced around the inside of the secluded business. My ears heard only the rumble of the dryers. I looked once more at James eyes hoping his words were all a bluff.
"Make your move." James amused himself by tempting me to play his game. Then he reached behind himself into his back pocket.
Switchblade! I screamed inside my head. I had no choice but to run. Buzzzzzzz! The loud sound of the one of the dryers coming to a stop drew his attention away from me for a second. I seized the opportunity and bolted to the right to head out the door that Darry had left through. James used his strong arms to push himself up and over the folding table in one quick motion. He scampered across the table top, jumped from the table, and tackled my body to the floor. I let out a terrified scream. "No! Darry! Darry!" My voice trembled as I screamed for help.
I tried to wiggle loose, but James pinned my thin body to the floor. He cupped his left hand over my mouth to silence my screams. With his right hand he opened his switchblade. "Not another word from you or I'll shut you up for good," James threatened and pressed the cold steel blade against the side of my neck. I swallowed hard and felt helpless as he took his hand off of my mouth and ripped open my blouse. A few of the buttons flew across the room. James ran his hand down my body, over my breasts, across my naval and down my leg. His hand stopped at my knee and retreated back up my leg and under my skirt. I wiggled my hips and knees hoping to stall his actions.
"Hold still." James hissed and pressed the flat part of his blade harder against my neck.
Tears streamed down my face. I tried to wiggle less, but my survival instincts wouldn't let me hold completely still. James reached all the way up my skirt, grabbed my undergarment and pulled hard. My panties slid down to my knees where I was able to trap them and further complicated my attacker's plan. "Damn it, you little witch!" He screamed and pulled the knife away from my neck so he could get a better grip on my panties. Seizing the moment , I began to flail my fists and legs in desperation. "Damn it!" James screamed in frustration. "Hold still!" I managed to get one hard strike against his jaw.
Needing his other hand to control me, James put the knife on the floor beside him. He pulled my panties off of my legs and climbed on top of me again. I struggled harder and hit the blade of the knife with my knee sending it across the floor and out of his reach. Angered, he pulled back his fist and punched me in the cheek. The pain was excruciating, but I knew my chances to end my horror were growing slim. I screamed as loud as my lungs would let me, "Darry! Darry help!"
"Shut up!" James yelled.
I was able to scream for my brother one more time before James wrapped his strong hands around my neck and began to squeeze. I tried to inhale, but no air entered my lungs. My eyes met looked directly into James' cold, deadly stare. My final burst of panic filed my body. I grabbed at his wrists and tried to lift his hands from my neck. The jingling of bells could be heard in the distance.
"Scout!" Darry demanded my attention, but I couldn't give it to him.
"Scout?" Kathryn's sweet voice called out for me in question.
I used the last of my strength to kick my feet against the floor. I could only hope one of them would hear my signal over the rumble of the dryers. I looked up at James and notice him glance over his shoulder. Relief entered my thoughts. Superman is coming!
My assailant released his grip from my throat. Nearly, out of energy, I rolled to my side to gasp for a welcome breath. My cloudy eyes looked ahead and noticed James scrambling for an item on the floor. I rolled over to my back and saw James charge towards my brother. Darry reached for the boy, then set him free without confrontation. I blinked to clear my sight and watched James leap across another folding table, and scurry out the door. The bells chimed one more time to signal my safety. I looked to Darry in relief.
There before me, my pillar of strength stood with a pale, desperate look on his face. His hands pressed against his abdomen and framed an item that protruded from his gut. The switchblade! He had been stabbed! I wiped more tears from my eyes and focused enough to see the blood begin to drip from the wound as Darry stood before me in shock.
I screamed in sheer terror, "Darry! NO!"
Darry fell forward to his knees and wheezed, "Sissy." Then he crumpled to the floor in pain.
Kathryn came up behind my brother. She screamed and covered her face with her hands after witnessing the horror.
"Darry?" I franticly called out to him. He was unable to answer. I crawled to him to assess the situation. My brother lay on his side in paralyzed pain. I cradled his head in my lap. The sweaty skin on his cheeks felt clammy as he trembled in my arms. "No…no...no!" The strongest man I ever knew lay before me, helpless in a filling pool of blood, and it was all my fault. Tears streamed down my face as I tried to clear my thoughts and figure out what to do next. Kathryn came to Darry's side and knelt down next to us. Her body trembled. Before she could speak I looked up at her and demanded, "You need to call an ambulance! Please, you need to help him. We can't let him die!"
Kathryn looked at me, her eyes full of tears. She cried out, "I don't know where to go. Tell me where can I find a phone?"
I looked at her in frustration. It wasn't until that moment that I realized Kathryn couldn't possibly know that the laundry mat didn't have a pay phone. I shut my eyes and thought hard for a solution. Then I remembered where I was in my neighborhood. "Two-Bit!" I cried, "You have to go and get Two-Bit to help us. He works across the street at the grocery store. They have a phone there." I sobbed, "Please hurry! Hurry!"
Kathryn jumped to her feet and ran out the door.
I looked down at Darry, his eyes had fallen shut and his body had grown limp. I bowed my head and rested my forehead against his. I cried and pleaded with him. "Darry, you have to be strong, you can't leave me. I need you. We all need you. Please, please don't leave us here alone. Please, Darry." Then I squeezed him as tight at I could, crying so hard that my head pounded in pain.
The bells on the door rang again. Alone on the cold floor a panicked thought came to my mind. What if it was James? What if he was coming back to fulfill his promises? I looked around for any sort of weapon that wasn't lodged in my brother's abdomen.
"Sissy?" Two-Bit rounded the row of washing machines and slid to his knees beside Darry and me. A sour look swept across his face, then he barked out a question. "Who did this? Sissy, who stabbed him?"
I sobbed, "James."
Two-Bit looked up at me and noticed my torn blouse hanging loose from my body. Red bruises were beginning to appear on my face and neck. Two-Bit's wide eyes were already bloodshot from tears when he looked back into my eyes. "Sissy, did he? Were you?" He couldn't seem to find a way to ask if James had forced himself on me.
I sobbed harder and babbled. "Two-Bit, this is all my fault. My brother is going to die, and it's all my fault."
"Don't say that." Two-Bit cried hard and yelled at me. "He is not going to die, Sissy! He's not going to die. I won't let that happen to us again!" The sirens approached and Two-Bit left my side to meet the officers and paramedics at the door.
The first set of officers rushed into the building to assess the situation. A tall, dark haired officer knelt beside Darry and felt for a pulse. "He grabbed his radio, Car 59, we have 145 needing immediate attention." The man looked at me. "Possible 155 on premises, we will need a second ambulance."
Upon hearing the call for a second ambulance I realized my blouse was still wide open allowing everyone to see my brassiere. I looked at the officer, pulled my shirt shut with one hand, and cried. "Sir, he is my brother. You can't let him die. Please don't let him die."
The officer reached over and put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Sweetheart, do you know who did this?"
I tried to control my sobs. I knew that my poor choices had lead to this horrific scene. Chaos began to fill the room and I rambled in fear, "I did this. I caused this all to happen. It's my fault he is hurt. I should have let them give me up for adoption, I should have never dated until I was older, I should have told the police officer his name. I should have just made it easier on everyone and did what he told me."
The officer grabbed me by the arm and gently pulled me up to my feet so we could get out of the way of the paramedics who had arrived to take care of Darry. "Just calm down. I need you to stay calm and help me to figure out what happened here.
The officer looked at me with his dark brown eyes. "Tell me who stabbed that man."
I looked back at him, and my voice trembled out the answer that I should have given hours ago. "James Young."
The scenery began to swirl in my head, and the next hours had a chaotic familiarity to them. A warm blanket given to me to hide the damage. Answering the redundant questions delivered from different officers and paramedics. Nurses and doctors dressed in white. The smell of ammonia from the emergency room floor. Hearing bits and pieces of conversations, knowing they were about me, and wishing they weren't. Explaining that my mom wouldn't be coming soon to hold my hand. Waiting to see my brothers, wondering if they knew every aspect of the horror I had been through. Seeing their distraught faces as they held me in their arms again. Wishing I had made better choices.