I opened my eyes and made a wish that the horrible night had all been just a dream. Slowly, I sat up and the strained and bruised muscles in my neck began to throb. There was no denying that every moment had been real. Distraught, I looked around the bedroom. I was in Darry's room where he should have been sleeping, but instead, Sodapop was sleeping to my right and Ponyboy was asleep to my left.
I hung my head and recollections of the night rushed back to me. The police had questioned all of us into the early morning hours. At the hospital, the doctors wouldn't let my brothers and I see Darry. They also wouldn't let us stay past in the hospital past visiting hours because we were minors. We had to leave Darry in the intensive care unit, but he wasn't alone. Kathryn agreed to stay at the hospital through the night. My brothers and I were apprehensive to leave our brother and go home. We worried that Darry wouldn't live through the night, and worse, that James might be waiting at our home to finish what he'd started. Two-Bit and Steve vowed they wouldn't let anything happen to any one of us. At home, they searched every room and closet in the house. Then Sodapop locked every door and window before we struggled to get some sleep. For our protection, Two-Bit slept in front of the back door on the hardwood floor in the hallway, his newest switchblade knife at the ready. Steve slept by the front door on the couch. Like a soldier, he left his shoes on so he would be ready in case of trouble.
I rubbed my forehead and the recollection faded. My fingers fell to my cheek and felt the swollen tissue. I decided to climb out of bed to get some ice to cool my throbbing pains. It was early, and we hadn't been asleep long, so I wanted to be sure not to wake my brothers. Carefully, I pulled my legs out from under the covers. I shimmied down between the two of them to the bottom of the bed, and I walked over to my mother's dresser. There, in the mirror, I stared at the black and blue bruise on my right cheek. Then I looked to my neck where the bruises left a lasting impression of exactly where James had placed his hands to quiet my screaming.
Disgusted with my appearance, I looked at the clock. It was just before eight in the morning and visiting hours wouldn't start for another hour. Quietly, I tip toed to the door and carefully turned the handle so it wouldn't make a sound. I knew Sodapop had lain down with a blade under his pillow incase he would need it to defend his siblings, and I didn't want him to hear the door open and think it was someone coming in and not someone going out. I pulled the door open, stepped out of the room, and nearly ran right into Two-Bit. His face looked weary as he whispered, "Are you okay?"
I frowned and nodded my head. "I was going to get some ice for my face." Two-Bit looked at the wound, sighed then escorted me into the kitchen. I grabbed a dingy kitchen towel, and Two-Bit put a handful of ice cubes into the middle of it. Looking down at the frozen water I sniffled twice and nearly cried when I asked, "Two-Bit, do… do you think Darry is dead?"
Two-Bit spoke in a voice more confident then I felt. "No, Scout."
"If something horrible had happened, Kathryn would have called, right?" I questioned.
"She would have let us know," Two-Bit assured me and folded the towel around the ice cubes for me.
"I'm really worried. I just got this bad feeling that things are fixin to get a whole lot worse." I put the ice to my cheek and flinched at the initial pain.
Two-Bit crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back against the counter and frowned. "That aint good." He shook his head. "Anytime you or Ponyboy get one of those 'feelings,' it aint ever good."
From the dining room doorway Steve peaked in on the two of us. "Is everything all right?"
"As good as they could be," Two-Bit told him.
Steve studied my face and frowned. In shame, I looked down to the floor. I knew it looked as bad as it felt. On the other side of the kitchen, Sodapop and Ponyboy emerged from the bedroom. Sodapop, still dressed from the night before, came straight towards me. His eyes fully of worry like Darry's had been a year ago when he suddenly, became 'man of the house'. "Baby girl, how are you feeling?"
"I'm okay." I said and turned my head away, so Sodapop couldn't see that I was lying.
"Want me to get you some aspirin?" Ponyboy asked from the doorway.
"Sure, that might do me some good."
Ponyboy headed to the bathroom. Sodapop grabbed a glass and filled it with water. Two-Bit, Steve and I headed out to the living room. I stopped at the dining room table to get the aspirin from my brother. He presented me with a handful of white pills. "Pony, I don't need that many. Two will be enough." My brother shrugged off my diagnosis and put the other four aspirins back in the bottle. Sodapop met up with us and handed me the glass of water.
Over by the sofa, Steve looked out the living room window. "What the…?" He questioned and leaned closer to the windowpane to better examine what was going on outside. "Soda, ya better check this out!"
Soda jogged over to the window. "What are they doing here?" Sodapop looked at Steve. "This can't be good, can it?"
Hearing the worrisome comment, Two-Bit, Ponyboy and I surrounded the two of them and stared out the window. Outside, two squad cars were parked on the street. We all leaned closer to the glass to see the activity unfold. Two officers stepped out of the cars along with Kathryn's father, Mr. Ottavi, and our social worker, Mrs. Dillard.
Steve turned his attention to his friend. Without a word, the two of them hustled to the front door. Soda pulled it open and watched and two police officers approach the house with Mr. Ottavi and Mrs. Dillard in tow. Nervous, my brother stepped out onto the porch to greet the small crowd. "Mrs. Dillard? Mr. Ottavi, is everything all right?"
The short, chubby woman forced a smile onto her face. "Sodapop, I heard about what happened to Scout and Darry. Come along inside. We need to talk?"
My heart began to pound in my chest when I heard her words. Ponyboy grabbed my hand in fear, and we sat together on the couch. Two-Bit sat on the arm of the couch as Sodapop and Steve walked in with the adult authority figures. The two officers opted to stay outside and wait on the front porch.
My hands began to tremble as I studied the solemn look on Mr. Ottavi's face. I looked to Two-Bit. He read my face and whispered, "No, Kathryn would have called you."
I whispered back, "What if she sent her father to tell us." My lower lip began to quiver.
Mr. Ottavi walked into the dining room. He looked around at the inside of the home. He had a file folder in his hand.
Mrs. Dillard noticed the sick look on everyone's faces. She put out her chubby hands in a gesture to calm everyone's anxiety a little. "For starters, I have been to the hospital and I spoke with Darry's doctors early this morning. He was unconscious through the night, but doing as well as can be expected. He is still in critical care and the reality of the situation is that he will be there for quite some time. The doctors explained to me that they plan to keep him in a deep sleep for at least a week. With his injury being life-threatening they want to make sure he doesn't have a chance to move until everything has a chance to begin to heal."
Two-Bit's round eyes showed severe concern. "So, he's going to be okay?"
"I'm sorry Keith, but no one knows that answer just yet. All we know is that the doctors are doing their best." Mrs. Dillard frowned and looked at Sodapop who was standing by the front door. "Soda, I think it'd be best if you had a seat on the couch with the other children while I explain the rest of the reason why Mr. Ottavi and I have come this morning."
The look on Soda's face grew suspicious, but he heeded the woman's suggestion and sat down on the couch next to Ponyboy. Steve sat by the front door in my mother's chair. Mrs. Dillard took in a deep breath and her eyes grew moist. "Mr. Ottavi called me very early this morning to tell me of the tragedy. The two of us met with Judge Carlson before the sun came up. He had great concerns about what would happen to you children without Darry to care for you."
Two-Bit stood up to take over the role as patriarch of our family. "What are you saying?"
Mr. Ottavi tossed his file folder onto the dining room table and stepped into the conversation. "What she is saying is that with Darry unconscious in the hospital the children don't have a guardian. We had a long discussion with Judge Carlson to convince him it's best for the family to stay together at a time like this. He didn't agree."
"What's it matter if he didn't agree?" Steve asked.
Mr. Ottavi sighed hard and looked at Mrs. Dillard. A wide frown filled her face. Mr. Ottavi cleared his throat. He turned his tall body toward us and shoved his hands into the pocket of his suit pants. "You know I really think you are all swell kids, and you need to know that Mrs. Dillard and I fought as hard as we could for all of you, but ultimately Judge Carlson has the final say in all of this." Mr. Ottavi looked at my oldest brother. "Soda, Mrs. Dillard and I were able to convince the judge that you should stay here to take care of the house and keep working full time. We identified Keith as a possibility to be your temporary guardian if he is willing to move in here and look after you until Darry can come home."
"Sure!" Two-Bit spoke up, "I'd be happy to watch over all of them."
"I'm afraid that just not possible." Mrs. Dillard joined the conversation. "Ponyboy and Scout, I'm sorry, but you aren't going to be able to stay home while Darry is in the hospital and out of work."
My jaw and Ponyboy's jaw dropped open in shock and disbelief. Sodapop angrily stood up in our defense. "What do you mean, they can't stay here. This is their home! Where are they supposed to go?"
Our social worker took a sure stance in order to calm our brother down. "Sodapop, you need to understand that we have a very serious situation here. Mr. Ottavi and I have spent the morning hours with Judge Carlson trying to make the best decision possible for all three of you."
Mr Ottavi interrupted. "We presented the Judge with a lot possibilities. Mrs. Ottavi and I even offered our home to Scout and Ponyboy, but Judge Carlson wouldn't have it."
"Why not?" Sodapop barked and nervously shifted his stance.
"Considering all of the problems your family has had in the past year the Judge decided it was his turn to decide what would be best for Ponyboy and Scout," Mr. Ottavi said.
Two-Bit asked. "What did he decide would be best?"
I grabbed onto Ponyboy's hand with my other hand, and the two of us looked to Mr. Ottavi and Mrs. Dillard for their answer. We knew it couldn't be good based on the way the two adults were avoiding having to tell us. Mrs. Dillard and Mr. Ottavi shared an uneasy glance. Mr. Ottavi took in a deep breath then shared the bad news. "I want the two of you to know that this isn't a permanent arrangement. We discussed this issue with Judge Carlson and he has agreed that when Darry is back home and employed full time you two can come home too."
Ponyboy's voice cracked a little when he spoke. "Where are we going?"
Sodapop's eyes filled with tears when he looked at the two of us huddled together on the couch. "They're going to stay together, right?" Steve stood up next to his friend and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
Mr. Ottavi looked to Sodapop. "Ponyboy will be going to the Barrington Home for Boys."
"What? You can't put him in a boys' home!" Two-Bit yelled out in frustration.
Mr. Ottavi raised his hand to quiet Two-Bit's vocal protest. The attorney continued with his answer, "Scout, will be attending Ashford Academy."
"You can't split them up!" Steve protested. "They've been together their whole lives. You can't split them up now. There has got to be a better solution."
"I'll take care of them." Two-Bit promised. "I've got a full time job. Between Soda and me we can be sure they get to school and everything."
"I'm afraid this is out of our hands." Mrs. Dillard sighed.
Ponyboy cried out the next question. "When do we need to go?"
Mr. Ottavi cringed before he answered. "Now, the officers are waiting."
"Are you serious?" Sodapop yelled out. Ponyboy shook his head in disbelief and sobbed harder. I wrapped my arm around him as the tears streamed down my face.
Steve yelled in disbelief, "Now? Why now? Why can't they stay till the end of the day?"
Mrs. Dillard answered. "Judge Carlson has arranged transportation to the facilities for this morning. The officers outside will be taking the children to their new homes."
"Can I at least go with them?" Soda's voice was high pitched as he held back tears.
Mrs. Dillard frowned. "I'm sorry Sodapop. They are going in separate cars to separate cities. You can't ride with them both, and I know you could never choose between the two of them. Don't you worry though, Mr. Ottavi has volunteered to go with Ponyboy to Barrington, and I will be riding along with Scout to help her settle into her new school. We would never think of leaving the children to go by their lonesome."
Ponyboy grabbed his head with his hands and continued to sob, "Soda, I don't want to go to no boys home. What if I don't go? What about Darry? I want to be here with him."
Sodapop flopped down onto the couch and gathered his brother under his arm. Soda let a few tears loose and pleaded for a better solution. "What do we got to do so the two of them don't have to leave? I'll do whatever it takes!"
Mr. Ottavi spoke softly to calm my brothers, "I'm sorry, but at this point we have done all we can do."
Soda began to sob harder. "Maybe we have to get a lawyer or something?"
"Two-Bit spoke up, "Yeah, I can help you afford one."
"Me too." Steve said.
Mr. Ottavi furrowed his brow for a quick second, and then realized Sodapop hadn't understood all the man had done so far. "Sodapop, I am your attorney, and it isn't going to cost you a thing. It may not seem like it, but I have fought all morning alongside Mrs. Dillard for your family. Considering the options that Judge Carlson presented, this deal really isn't so bad."
Mrs. Dillard blotted the corner of her teary eye with her handkerchief and looked to Sodapop. "Mr. Ottavi has done a wonderful job. You should know the Judge's first decision was to send you to a boys' home and put the twins up for adoption. Plus, you all need to bear in mind that this arrangement is only temporary. It is only until Darry gets better."
Ponyboy bawled and nearly yelled out his question. "What if he doesn't get better?"
I watched the adults exchange a glance that told me they were hiding secrets from us.
They knew that if Darry died the last time the three of us would see each other would be at our brother's funeral. I began to feel like there was little hope for Darry and little hope for us. Guilt nearly choked me as I swallowed hard.
Mr. Ottavi spoke assuredly, "We are not going to worry about that. Darry is a strong young man. I am sure he will pull through. Scout and Ponyboy just need to be cooperative and stay out of trouble. As soon as Darry is back on his feet I'll talk to Judge Carlson about you two coming home again."
Mrs. Dillard reiterated her earlier statement. "I know it's hard, but with everything that has happened this arrangement really is for the best. Especially, for Scout. Until the authorities find that boy she could be in a great deal of danger."
A silent pause fell across the room. The truth was everyone could still be in danger as long as James was on the lam.
Through my tears, I peered at the solemn faces in the room. All of them were downtrodden and their eyes were red and weepy, even Steve's eyes showed the pain that I had caused. Sadly, it was my 'cross to bear' and there was nothing I could do to change that. Mournfully, I lowered my head in shame. My hands trembled as I wiped the tears from my cheeks and muttered, "I guess I'll go pack."
I stood up to leave the room and Two-Bit grabbed my arm. "Scout?" He questioned with a whimper, "Are you okay?"
I looked at the man with a blank stare and shrugged my shoulders. "It's for the best."