My eyes seemed all fuzzy as I looked around the white room, I could tell it was night time because the lights inside were very dull. It took me a few minutes to fully come round and realise I must be in hospital. I couldn't remember how I got here though.
I couldn't feel much and my brain felt really fuzzy, my chest felt funny then I realised I had an oxygen tube in my nose. I looked down and noticed my left arm was bandaged and when I felt my stomach I noticed the bandage around there as well and when I prodded my left ribs there was a sharp pain. It seemed that the bandages continued down my left leg as well. I wondered what had happened, that's when I remembered the smoke and the boys, the church fire!
I looked around and found the little button which called for the nurse and hammered it. I needed to know how they were. Within a couple of seconds a lovely young nurse came running into my room.
"Miss Curits? You're awake?"
"What happened to the others?" I croaked.
"The others?"
"My brother and friends? I was with them, there was a fire."
"Oh yes, well you're brother is fine and he's gone home, the other two are still in here. Mr Cade is in a critical condition."
I sighed, poor Johnny. "What about Dallas?"
"Mr Winston is ok, we're keeping him in for observation, he has some smoke inhalation and a few minor burns."
"Oh, can I see him?"
"Not now, in the morning possibly. You have quite a few burns and are being treated for smoke inhalation as well. You and Mr Cade seemed to be stuck in the fire for a bit longer, so you received quite a few burns and inhaled a lot of smoke."
I coughed just as she said that. "But I'll be ok?"
"In a few days. We just want to make sure everything's ok. The doctor will explain more in the morning, but try and get some more rest. I'll push some more sedatives and painkillers in for you, it'll help you sleep."
"Where are my brothers?"
"Hopefully asleep, it's 3:30am, but they'll be back in the morning. We pretty much had to throw them out."
I smiled as best I could. She wished me a good night and put some more of the sedatives in and my eyes slowly closed again.
xxxx xxxx
"Finally! We've been waitin' half the day for ya!" Pony was right in my face as I slowly came to again. I coughed slightly as I tried to say hello back. Two-Bit was right behind him, looking relieved.
"Hey Pony, how are ya?"
"I'm fine; it's you guys I'm worried about." He looked concerned.
"How are the others?"
"We just saw them, you were still asleep so we went to go and see what they were up to. Johnny's pretty bad." He looked down at the floor.
"Oh. What about Dally?"
"He's fine, usual self really. Pissed off 'bout missin' the rumble tonight."
"I want to see him."
"I'll find out if ya can." Two-Bit made his way outside.
"He's pretty messed up Cassi. I'd leave it a bit." Pony was still looking at his shoes.
"How do you mean?"
"I dunno, he's just being weird."
I rolled my eyes. What a great description. I needed Ange and Evie to come down here. "So when did they say I can leave?"
"Tomorrow possibly if all goes well."
Pony started telling me everything that happened yesterday. Apparently I'd gotten stuck inside the church and Johnny stopped to help me, he passed out after Dally pulled him out but apparently Dally had jumped in and dragged Johnny and me out.
Two-Bit made his way back into the room. "Uh, he can't see ya now."
"'course he can. Why doesn't he just come down?"
"Dunno, can't right now." Two-Bit was looking shifty. Pony gave him a knowing glance and turned back to me.
This was weird; if he wanted to see me he'd have found a way, so it was obvious he didn't want to see me. I was pretty worried, remembering our little tiff at the Dairy Queen. But I thought we'd made up after that, maybe something else happened, I don't know, everything was really fuzzy still from yesterday.
"Look we gotta make a move, the rumble is on tonight, but we'll come back and see ya in the morning."
"Yeah sure, thanks. Just if ya see Dal, tell him he needs to come see me." Pony nodded in return. "And good luck tonight guys."
"Thanks, it'll be fine, we'll give 'em hell." Two-Bit winked and they made their way off.
The rest of the afternoon passed slowly, I had nothing to do and was really bored. The nurse had brought me a newspaper, which we were on the front page of. I read the article about a hundred times, but it had lost its appeal now. Apparently we were heroes for saving those kids, which the author was surprised at given the fact that we were Greasers, with records. I had started off pretty proud of the article but the more I read it the more I despised it.
As time drew nearer to the rumble I became more agitated, I hated not being there. I wanted to know what would happen. I was never allowed to fight in them, girls didn't fight in rumbles, but I was always nearby and knew what was happening. The not-knowing was killing me the most.
I had almost decided to sneak off up to Dally's room, I could walk a little bit like to the toilet and back, so I'd be slow going up a floor to his room. I was just about to slide off my bed when the devil himself showed up at my door.
He looked rough, his hair was a mess, he had only his jeans and denim jacket on, bandage around his arm where he'd been burnt.
"Hey I was just 'bout to sneak off and find ya." I sat on the edge of the bed.
"I can't stay long, doin' some sneakin' myself."
"To the rumble?"
"Yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck.
"C'mere."
He sighed and obliged, standing in between my legs.
"I'm sorry 'bout yesterday."
"Yeah."
I pulled him in to kiss me, he didn't resist, but he didn't exactly get into it. So I let him go.
It was my turn to sigh. "Look, I know we haven't been datin' long, but I've known you for a couple of years now, and I feel like I know ya real well, y'know? Like we dig each other real good. And yesterday when I found out about Cherry I got real jealous, and today just thinkin' 'bout ya I just needed ya. An' I guess, what I'm tryin' to say is… I think… I think I love you Dallas."
He looked up to my eyes, a conflicted expression on his face. He looked away and stepped back, out of reach of my hands.
"Dallas?"
"Look, I came here to tell ya not to worry 'bout me. It's not gunna work." He shifted uneasily.
"What?! What the hell?" He was breaking up with me. "Why?"
"I can't do it. Yesterday when I thought I lost ya, I just can't take that. It ain't worth the risk. It's better we finish it now before it goes any further."
"You're such a jackass. I'm not worth the risk?"
"No." He was frustrated now. "No, just everythin'. I can't give ya what ya need, so it's not worth it."
"Get the fuck outta my room."
"I'm sorry."
"Whatever." I lay back down and rolled onto my right side, away from him and away from the door.
I heard him sigh, dither for a second, then bail. What the hell did he mean it wasn't worth it? He couldn't give me what I needed?
I lay there for a while swapping between crying and staring at the ceiling. The nurse came in to push some more painkillers in my IV. She asked me what was wrong, but I told her it was fine. She nodded and left, but I made up my mind. I was leaving. The rumble had long since started; I wanted to be home to find out what happened, to find Dally. They must be back at our place by now. There was no way I was letting this go. I'd only just figured out that I loved him. I wasn't letting him take the easy way out. He had to love me back, surely. Or have some feelings towards me, I know he did, he admitted it outside the Dairy Queen.
He was just scared, and I sure as hell wasn't letting him take the easy way out.
I set about unplugging my IV, it was so gross, I didn't mind needles and things like that, but having the little tubey thing in there was gross. I undid the connection of the saline bag that was connected to me so that my arm was free. I pulled the little oxygen tube from my nose and lay it back on the bed. My clothes must be around here somewhere. I found a bag under the bed with some bits and pieces in it. I thought my clothes from the other day would have been here, but it looked like Pony had brought me some fresh clothes. I'm guessing mine had been burnt too badly.
I took the bag and hobbled over to the toilet, luckily he'd packed me underwear and a bra along with the skirt and jumper. Weird combination but I wasn't complaining. I guess he didn't want my leg to get sore in jeans. The jumper was Soda's so it was way big on me. Which was good so it didn't hurt my arm. I don't think the burns were too serious, but they sure were sore, and itchy. I made my way back into the room and threw the couple of other little things into the bag, like the little Minnie Mouse teddy Two-Bit had swiped as a get well gift for me. I found some bandaids on the little table at the end of the bed, so I gently peeled off the tape and pulled the little tube and IV connection out of my hand and covered the little hole with a bandaid. So disgusting.
I was just about to leave when I heard someone run down the corridor, I was about to jump back in my bed, thinking it was a nurse but it was Ponyboy, a black and blue Ponyboy.
"Cassi! Its Dally, you gotta find him."
"Wow Pony slow down, why? What happened?"
"Johnny's bad, like real bad. We told him 'bout winnin' the rumble and he almost died. Dally ain't in a good place, he bailed. You gotta get him!"
"Ok show me where."
We ran down the corridor, sneaking out the back door so the nurses didn't see us. My leg hurt and I was finding it hard to breathe as I tried to run and keep up to Pony. We went out into the hospital car park, and made our way across to the road. There had been no sign of him so far and I was starting to panic, Pony told me he couldn't have gone far as he was in a bit of a state after the rumble.
We were about to turn around and make our way towards the hospital again, but I saw him down towards the end of the street slightly, he was looking in car windows.
"Pony, there!" I was sure it was him.
Pony nodded and took off ahead, as fast as his battered body could take him, I hobbled behind, just running through the pain, not caring that it felt like my lungs were about to burst.
By the time I made it to them, Pony was standing in front of the car Dally had just broken into, he was trying to hotwire it, yelling at Pony to get out of the way, I made my way round to the passenger side and threw my bag in, slamming myself on the seat next to him.
"I told you to go away kid!" He yelled just as he managed to get the car to rumble to life.
"I ain't goin' nowhere."
"Cassi?" He looked up from under the dash.
"What are ya doin'?"
"Leavin' this fucked up town. Get out."
"No, I told ya, I ain't leavin' ya, and you're not goin' anywhere without me."
"We're not together any more."
"I don't care."
He glared at me, the cuts on his face looked nasty, he was also pretty black and blue from the rumble. But I wasn't leaving him so I stared right back.
"Fine, but I ain't turnin' round once we leave."
"Good."
"Fine." He roared the engine and Pony jumped out the way.
I nodded at Pony and he gave me a wave acknowledging that I was ok, I could handle Dal.
We screeched down the street towards the highway.
