A/N: I'm so sorry it's been so long since I updated! Thank you to all the kind reviews that I received. I really can't say enough how much I appreciate all the thoughtful words that has been said about my story. I never would have made it this far if it wasn't for all the wonderful people who enjoy my writing. The best is yet to come!
I told Soda and Pony that I was working a late shift at the warehouse, but I was actually going to go meet with the lawyer about the upcoming court case. It was coming up next week, and I am a little nervous about how this was going to go. The last time I was in court was the custody hearing after the events with Johnny, and I wasn't exactly itching to go back.
As I entered the office building, a bored looking secretary gave me a look from head to toe that said 'you don't belong here.' I went home and changed into a nicer shirt and jeans, but I still wasn't looking like a typical client that this law firm saw.
"I have an appointment with Frank Martin," I told the woman, so she would stop giving me a weird look.
"Are you Darrel Curtis?" she said, as she lazily flipped through the appointment book.
When I nodded, she told me to wait in the seating area, and she would go and tell him I was here. As she left the room, I had a few minutes to reflect on the choices that led me here. I never thought that any lawyer would be interested in working with me, a poor Greaser from the wrong side of town, but Frank Martin was different. When I met with him the first time, he didn't care that I made a measly income or wasn't in the best social standing. He saw an opportunity for a winning case. It didn't bother me if Frank cared about me or not; I was here to get justice for my brothers.
"Mr. Curtis?" Frank called, as he poked his head out into the waiting room. I followed him back into his office, and noticed that he already had all the details of my case displayed out on his desk.
"Let's go over the details of the upcoming trial," Frank said, after he offered me a cup of coffee. "I wrote out the complaint that states the basic facts of the case, the names of the people involved, and what we want the outcome to be. If I'm correct, you want all of your brother's hospital bills and the damages on your truck to be paid, as well as an additional $10,000."
"Yes, that's correct."
"And both parties aren't willing to dispute the case outside of the court room, so we have to head to trial. I have all the facts prepared here for you to look over one last time before trial," Frank said, as he handed me the document. It was nothing new to me, just the basic facts of what happened that awful night.
"If all the facts look accurate to you, then I'll explain how the trial will work," Frank said, as he proceeded to tell me how the opening statements and cross-examinations will work.
After he was done, he stood up and shook my hand, and showed me to the door. He assured me that the trial will most likely go in our favor, but I couldn't be sure until the whole thing was over.
There was only thing I had to do before the trial next week, which I have been dreading to do. I had to tell Ponyboy.
I pulled my truck into the driveway, and saw the reflection of my two brothers sitting in the living room eating dinner. When my Mom was alive, she made it a rule that none of us were allowed to eat in the living room. I tried to honor my Mom's memory by enforcing that rule, but Soda and Pony didn't really listen to me.
"Hey Darry," Soda said, once I entered the door. "We left you some pasta. It's in the pot on the stove."
"Thanks," I mumbled, heading to get some pasta. The kitchen was spotless when I entered it. The floor was shining, the oven was impeccable, and there was not one dirty dish in sight. It hasn't looked this good since before my Mom died.
"Soda?" I asked. "Did you clean the kitchen?"
"Yeah, Pony and I did it," Soda said, in between bites of food.
"You shouldn't have done that, you two," I said, joining them to have dinner. "You are supposed to rest and regain your strength."
"I know that Dare, but I feel all helpless sittin' around the house all day," Soda countered, with a flash of his signature smile.
I decided to drop the issue. Soda was the type of person who needed to be active. There was not one day where Soda didn't leave the house, so I know that this was hard on him. He couldn't just sit on the couch and read a book all day like Ponyboy.
I chewed on my pasta silently, until Pony noticed that something was up with me. "Where were you Darry?" he asked.
"I had to run an errand."
"Since when do you run errands in pressed jeans and a button down shirt?" Pony refuted.
I set my plate down on the coffee table and sighed. Pony was smart, he would see through me if I tried to lie to him. Now was as good as time as any to tell him about my upcoming motives.
"Pony, there's going to be no easy way to say this, but I want you to listen to what I have to say before you get upset," I started. "I was meeting with a lawyer who is suing the other driver for the accident that he caused. The trial is in three days, and I'm going to need you and Soda to testify."
Pony's face went blank, just like I had expected. His green eyes went wide and his eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. "Soda, did you know about this?" he questioned.
"Yeah, Pone, I did," Soda admitted, his tone filled with guilt. "Darry and I decided that it would be best not to tell you about the trial until we absolutely had to. Don't be mad at Darry. He's just doing what's best for us. He wouldn't make you do something that you didn't want to do unless he knew that it was necessary. He's not the bad guy here, so don't be mad at him."
"But why Darry?" Pony asked. "Isn't it enough that Soda and I went through it? I don't want to talk about the accident anymore. I can't talk about it. I know you're just trying to look out for Soda and I, but I don't think I can talk about. I just can't." He looked away quickly, with tears starting to form in his eyes.
I immediately felt like a punch just landed to my stomach. Was I making the best decision by having Pony and Soda testify at the trial? I don't know anymore. I always try to keep their best interest in mind, but I can't help but feel like I failed again. "I'm sorry Pony, I really am," I said lamely. "When someone hurts my family, I feel like I need to make them pay for the wrongs that they did. I'm trying to look out for you two. Like Soda said, I wouldn't make you do anything you wouldn't want to do. If you don't want to testify at the trial, I understand."
"No, I'll do it," Pony said quickly. "It's fine, Dare. I get why you did it, but I just wish this accident could be put behind us."
"Thank you Pony, for understanding. This mess will be over with soon enough," I said, noticing that there was something else brewing in Pony's mind that he wasn't telling me. I'll admit that I wasn't the best at observing people's feelings, but even I couldn't miss that something was bothering Pony. I made a mental note to get to the bottom of it, sooner rather than later.
