A/N: Hi everyone! I'm sorry it took me a little bit longer than I intended but school is starting next week and I've been busy prepping everything! This is my first update of the day simply because this is one of my most favorite and most easy stories to write because I enjoy the Outsiders so much and want to give you long chapters! Warning: this chapter might be a little sad for those of you that are Soda and Darry and Pony fans. Trust me, I almost cried writing it! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Well, Sodapop couldn't join me today folks but he would like to say that I do not own The Outsiders in any way.
Darry POV: I don't know how long we all sat there. We had been sitting there for three hours straight now actually, but it felt like a lifetime overall. How long did it take to diagnose a person if the doctor was almost positive that either way that person would… well, you know what I mean.
The guys left us about fifteen minutes ago, saying that whether or not we were all extended family to one another they thought that this was a moment Soda and I just needed each other and no other distractions.
I still couldn't believe what my brother had told me. I didn't want to believe that Pony would never see daylight again, or have the chance to get married and have kids of his own one day. He deserved so much more than this out of life. He had had to experience the horrors of the world at just the tender age of thirteen. He lost his parents, got beat by some damn socs and had run off, seen accidental murder, and had to fend for himself at a young age. Nobody should have to do that.
Now, we had pulled ourselves together enough that nobody needed to notice. I was still crying and shaking as hard as ever, but I was doing it silently and Soda was doing the same. We didn't need any amount of pity from strangers.
"D-d-d-d=Darry?" Soda asked me in a small voice. He was still crying. Possibly, even harder than I was at the moment. It was understandable, of course, he was always closer to Pone than I ever was. I still regretted that. I should've been there for him more than I was or am now. I should've tried to understand him more. I should've… I should've… I should've…
"Dar?" Soda asked me again, his voice cracking horribly. I turned to him, a miserable look etched on to my face and muttered, "Hm?" was all I said for fear that if I tried to say anything else I would shatter even more completely if it were possible.
"D-Do you think he'll be alright? I mean the doctor said that he might make it, right? But what if he doesn't? What if he really does…" he had to swallow hard before finishing his sentence. "Die? I can't even imagine waking up without him next to me in the morning! I'll kill myself if he's gone, Darry!"
"Sodapop, listen here." I said firmly, taking him by the shoulders. "You can't talk like that. We can't afford to think that way. We have to trust that small possibility. We need to believe that he will be okay for our own sanity. We can't lose hope until anything happens. Do you understand?"
He nodded quickly and before anything else could be said, we heard footsteps walking swiftly down the hallway. Soda and I leaped to our feet, knowing exactly who was the one coming down the hall. Sure enough, Doctor Andrews came into the waiting room looking almost out of breath. "Darrel? Sodapop?" he asked motioning for the two of us to come over.
There was nobody else in the waiting room anymore other than the nurse at the front desk so he didn't invite us to go for a walk down the hall with him as he explained all of this to us. Once we got to him we saw that he was covered in a sheet of sweat and his eyes looked sad.
"What's the matter with him, doc?" Soda asked frantically. "Is he alright? Did you figure out why he passed out? Will he pull through?" the stream of questions flowed out of Soda's mouth at an astonishing rate before the doctor finally held up a hand to silence him. He finally shut up.
Doctor Andrews sighed heavily and began, "Boys, your brother isn't well at all. When he passed out we found out that his heart hasn't been functioning properly since we brought him in. It wasn't detectable at all before but now it's just spiraled completely out of control. The way it's going… I hate to have to tell you but… the chances of him making it through this are less than one out of a million. It's practically inevitable."
That was it. I felt my heart tear out of my chest and the tears build up and slightly fall from my eyelids. I could feel Sodapop's weight crash down against my shoulder and I knew he had broken completely. And so had I for that matter. But I knew I wasn't able to show it yet. Not with the doctor still here.
So I sucked in a large breath and nodded. "How long does he have left doctor?" I asked. He looked uneasy. "It's hard to say." He finally said. "But given the intensity of his condition, I would say at best three days. Soda was on his knees now, his entire body had given in to his sorrow.
For once, a doctor finally looked sad. "I am truly sorry, Darrel. But I assure you we will do everything we can to save him. And I have no doubt Ponyboy will do his darn best to pull through for you. He loves you both. He's a fighter." He managed a small attempted reassuring smile and walked off, most likely to attend to my… dying brother. There, I said it.
Now was the time. I broke down with my little brother praying that my baby brother would live.
A/N: Don't kill me! That isn't the end I promise Pony will fight for his life! But what do you guys think will happen next? And I'm sorry if this stinks because I'm getting over a block! Tell me what you guys thought about this chapter simply because I love to hear from you all! I love you guys very much!
Thanks a million for Reading!
-thewolfgurlgleek :) xoxoxoxoxo :D