Okey dokey.
So, some of you may be curious and you can see the story if you type in "Golden Girl Outsiders Fan" on Google. The first link should do it.
Now, the story. I'm sorry to the review that called Ch. 17 a 'cliffy'! I had no idea it was and just realized it kind of is. I write faster than I update, so I'm not always on the same page as you guys :) So this chapter is kind of the last speed bump before the ending of the story. this chapter is like the really last mountain. Unless I decide to stick with my original ending - the one that I had in mind from the very beginning. But that ending is really iqryenalvkjncx,vz;alwfzcxnv and it will not please a lot of you guys. So I'm still conflicted. Anyhoo...this chapter. I want to tell you something, but there is a Chapter 19 you know. All I can say is, if you want to quit reading after you finish this chapter, please reconsider. But that doesn't mean anything.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders. really.
We've been together for a while now
we're growing stronger everyday now
It feels so good and there's no doubt
I will stay with you as each morning brings sunrise
and the flowers bloom in springtime
on my love you can rely
and I'll stay with you
-Stay With You, by John Legend
Chapter Eighteen (Soda's P.O.V.)
"What do you mean she kidnapped Lorraine?" I hollered angrily, kicking another Brumly boy on the side as he tried to scramble away.
"Soda! She had a gun, and she was crazy! She could have killed Lorraine!" Ponyboy told me.
"Calm down, kiddo. You're not going to help-" I interrupted Darry's strained plea.
"Calm down? Lorraine is somewhere with Sandy and that Collin, plus Sandy has a gun and we don't know what she's going to do to my girlfriend! Or what she's already done!"
I got down on my knees and punched the crap out of a Brumly boy, even though the consciousness was draining away from him already. Steve had to pull me up and pin my arms back with the help of Dally. I wanted to beat everyone up.
Lorraine Winston...where was that girl. She was scaring me half to death. I knew something was really wrong when she walked out of the house last night. Glory, I could've already told that something was amiss in the kitchen that morning. I shouldn't of have let her walk away. I shouldn't of had not talked to her and avoid looking at her. It was all my fault.
"Look, Soda. It's not your fault. We're going to find her." Ponyboy was pleading me to calm down; I think I was scaring the kid a bit.
I couldn't stop myself though - there was blood on the cement. Lorraine's blood. Sandy had taken a knife on her, and she had a gun, too. Two-Bit stepped up quickly, and I turned to him as the boy he was questioning pushed himself against a wall, far away from me as possible.
"They took Lorraine to 8302 Kaster Street. It's an old warehouse, deserted, and Sandy didn't say what she would do with the girl there, but we need to get there fast." Two-Bit told me hurriedly.
We all got into the car quickly. I knew where Lorraine was now, and part of the weight on my chest seemed to lift...but only for a moment as tons of steel came crashing down. Lorraine had better be alright. If she wasn't...I wouldn't let Sandy get away with this.
The car ride was long, and the entire time I blocked out everyone's voices. I knew I shouldn't of have yelled at Lorraine like that two nights ago. She'd been crying before dinner, I knew. I could see the pain in her eyes every time she glanced at me and I pretended I was looking elsewhere. I shouldn't of have done that. Gods, I was a horrid, horrid boyfriend.
Son of a bitch, Lorraine's hurt all because of you.
Regret was washing over me, as I tried to picture Lorraine in my head. I couldn't though - every time I tried, all I could see was her on the ground, bloody or eyes closed. My hands clenched the armrests so tightly they turned white, then the veins bulged a bit.
No, no, nonononono. She's not dead. Lorraine's okay.
We finally got the warehouse, and I ran out of the car. I was even faster than Ponyboy. We dashed through an open door, calling out for Lorraine. I searched frantically in the dark building, brushing aside cobwebs and kicking aside old wooden boards that littered the cold stone ground.
And that was when I heard the scream. I'd never heard Lorraine scream until then, and the sound of it was so terrible it made my blood run cold.
"Lorraine!" I yelled out.
She didn't answer, but let out another scream. I heard a high, thin laugh and goose bumps crept up my neck. That had to be Sandy...but it didn't sound like the Sandy I'd known back then.
I ran towards the muffled sobs as the screaming stopped, the others' footsteps echoing behind me. Unsure of what I would find, I tried to prepare for the worst scenario I could come up with in my mind. But when the boys and I found Lorraine, Sandy, and Collin, my mind was wiped blank with horror.
Lorraine was tied to an empty metal shelf, and the side of her head was bleeding, a lot. It was as if someone had taken the end of a pickax or something and tried to knock her out. She had a few small gashes from the knife, and numerous swells all over, some gushing blood and some not. Lorraine was whimpering, her eyes fluttering. I didn't know if she could see me or not. My eyes flicked to Collin, who was holding a hammer in his hand. Sandy still had the gun in her grasp. Then I spied the shirt on the floor. Lorraine was only wearing her shorts and a tank top. Collin was grinning.
"What did you do to her?" I growled.
"Oh, just a few hits here and there. I wanted to fix her up, you know. With a hammer," Sandy smiled her witchy sugar smile at me, and I wanted to hurl; "Oh, you're looking at the shirt. I let Collin do a little touchy-feely."
My stomach tightened at her words, and my hate for both Collin and Sandy reached new heights. Lorraine was mumbling now, and her chest was heaving rapidly. I could smell the blood in the air, mixing in with the dust, old wood, and cold stone flooring.
"Soda. Soda." Lorraine's voice was but a whisper, but it grew a little louder.
"Lorraine!" I yelled as I made move to run forward, but Steve held me back as Sandy cocked her gun and stepped closer to my girl.
"Sandy's...she's not okay...get out of here. Now...please..."
The desperation in Lorraine's completely exhausted voice killed something inside of me. This didn't sound like her at all. Lorraine was funny, and she had a sweet little voice. She got serious sometimes, and could sound tough - but right now, she sounded like she was at the gates of death.
"Lorraine's right. I don't think you want to see her die, either, but it's up to you." Sandy said, aloof.
"Stop it Sandy! Don't shoot her! I'll do anything, just don't kill her!" I yelled hysterically as Sandy pressed the gun to Lorraine's blood-coated forehead.
Sandy raised an eyebrow at me and grinned slyly,
"Finally. Well, Sodapop, marry me."
"No." was my immediate answer; I didn't even hesitate or try to think.
"If I can't have you, then neither can Lorraine. She's going to die, and you can live the rest of your life alone. That is, until you come to your senses and realize that I'm the only one for you. I was always your girl, Soda. I always will be. We were meant to be forever, and this bitch came along, screwing up everything. None if this would have happened if she'd just rotted away in New York on the streets like all the other scum she grew up with!" Sandy was talking mad; she was very mad herself.
If I wasn't so scared for Lorraine's life, angry, and flustered at the same time, I would have actually been a little fearful of Sandy's mental state. But at the moment, what mattered most was Lorraine's life. I couldn't let her die.
"Don't talk like that about her!" I snapped at Sandy, and broke free of Steve's grip.
I smacked Collin aside like a fly and tackled Sandy as a shot rang through the air. There was blood in the air, fresh new blood. I winced as a sharp pain in my side flared. Sandy was unconscious now, her head had met with the hard ground in an unfriendly way. I couldn't care less if she was dead, though. I ran for Lorraine, who was not breathing audibly.
"Lorraine! Talk to me!" I ordered as I undid the knots binding her to the metal shelf.
"Soda...You came." she whispered in my ear as her small body collapsed into my arms as she tumbled forward.
"No, no. You don't have to be sorry for anything. Just hang on, we're going to get you to a hospital and-"
Lorraine rested her head on my shoulder, and her small chest stopped rising.
Everything felt quiet in that moment - too quiet.
"No," I whispered, shaking her a little, "No, Lorraine. Don't do this to me."
"I'm so sorry, Sodapop. So sorry..." her small voice seemed to be drifting farther away with her faltering heartbeat - but she didn't look too bad, she was going to be okay. She had to be okay. Lorraine wasn't going to die, she wasn't dying, she was okay.
"I love you, Soda." she told me, her weak fingers brushing my hair with as much strength as a moth. A moth that had just flown too close to the flame and was twitching with the last of its life's energy, frail wings coming close to a stillness that would last for eternity.
Lorraine was that moth. And even though I had not been the flame, I was the thing that made the moth crave flames and light. Love. Lorraine had died because she loved me.
Okay, so the big question is... Is Lorraine really dead? That's for you all to decide. Do you think she is? Or is she going to go the hospital and they'll save her? Can you believe that this is really her death? Idk. Chapter 19 is already done, and I'm working on 20.
I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE Y'ALL A WARNING PLEASE READ EVEN THOUGH I PERSONALLY DON'T READ THESE THINGS USUALLY.
IF YOU CANNOT COPE WITH THIS CHAPTER, THEN I ADVISE NOT TO READ THE 20th CHAPTER OF THIS STORY NOT THAT SOMEONE WILL DIE BUT IT WILL BE VERY UPSETTING AND UNEXPECTED TO SOME OF YOU AND ALSO BECAUSE I'M A TERRIBLE WRITER FOR ENDINGS AND MY ENDING WILL MOST LIKELY BE THE WORST IN THE OUTSIDERS FANFICTION HISTORY OKAY.
Thank you... Please review if you can! :) Two chapterssss to gooo...