They
were both quiet for a moment, then Niki spoke. "What were you
doing outside? You were supposed to be resting." She sounded
like a mother.
Soda swallowed. He hadn't been expecting her to ask
him that. "Oh, you know me." He said quickly and grinned.
"I hate to be couped up, bored, alone... did i mention
bored?"
Niki laughed a little, then her expression changed
and Soda thought she was going to start crying.
"Well, i hope
that fight cured your boredom." She said.
"Niki..."
She really looked like she was going to cry. "I didn't go
looking for a fight. I just went for a walk."
"Alone?
You know that's pretty much the same thing as going out to look for a
fight in this neighborhood."
"I don't need a lecture
from you, Niki."
Niki looked at Soda and they were both quiet
again.
"I was scared, when Darry was stitching you up. I was
scared that you might die, or maybe you'll get an infection. I just
don't like being scared. There are enough things around here to make
me a nervous wreck, you don't need to add on to the list." Niki
said truthfully.
"I'm sorry." Soda said and held out his
arms.
Niki lowered herself softly onto his chest and he wrapped
his arms around her.
She felt safe in his strong, warm arms.
All
he could think about was Sandy and the baby...
After just a few
moments, Soda fell asleep again, with Niki laying on his chest.
The
next time he woke, he found Pony sitting on the bed, reading a book
and smoking. Niki was no longer in the room. He had been woken by the
sound of Darry's voice.
"Pony! Put it out!" Darry's
voice came again.
Soda guessed Darry could smell the
cigarette.
"Hey, Soda." Pony smiled down at him. "How
you feelin'?"
Soda reached his hand up and took the cigarette
from Pony before he stubbed it out and took a long drag on it. It
seemed to make him feel a little calmer, but not much. He had never
been much of a smoker.
"Something bothering you?" Pony
asked as he took the cigarette back.
Soda shook his head. "More
than you know."
"Wanna talk about it?" Pony
offered.
Soda shook his head again.
pony shrugged and went back
to reading the book. Soda took the cigarette from him again and took
another drag.
"Damn it, Ponyboy! What have i told you about -
" Darry stopped midsentence when he spotted Soda was the one
holding the cigarette. He sighed at Soda but didn't say
anything.
"You feeling better, kiddo?" Darry asked.
Soda
took yet another drag on the cigarette. "That's some fancy
needlework you did, huh?" Soda said to Darry.
"My best
yet." Darry replied.
For the rest of the day Soda slept on
and off. He woke occassionally and found different people in the
room. One time he found Steve and Two-Bit in there and heard Darry
call them out, telling them to leave him to rest.
He didn't see
Niki again though.
One time he woke to find Pony returning a book
to his desk.
"Hey, Pony." Soda croaked, his throat
feeling a little dry.
Pony wipped around, surprised to hear Soda's
voice.
"Where's Niki?" Soda asked.
"She left."
Pony said. "After you fell asleep with her. She woke up and
left. Said she'd come by to check on you tomorrow."
"Oh."
Soda said and fell asleep again.
Soda slept the rest of that day
and didn't wake again until the next morning.
Pony was already up
and, looking at the clock, Soda guessed he had already gone to work.
Darry would be at work too, so once again, Soda was alone.
He
sighed heavily to himself, threw off the bed covers, inspected his
side, and decided to take a shower.
it stung when the warm water
hit his side, so he kept the wound away from the water. It also
slightly hurt when he bent in any direction, so he didn't get to have
much of a shower.
After he showered, bandaged his side, dressed,
and ate, he found himself bored, longing for something to do. He
switched on the radio and began playing cards.
After about an
hour, Niki walked in through the front door.
"Hey." She
smiled at Soda. "How are you feeling?"
Soda looked up.
"Hey, i'm fine." He said, then went back to his card game.
