"Where you been, Son?" Nicholas asked, when he saw Steve come into the living room.
"Hanging out with TwoBit. Hey, what did you cook?" Steve wondered. "I smell something."
"Oh! It's pizza. I ordered it earlier. Have a slice. Box is on the table."
Steve grabbed a slice of pizza and settled next to his dad. "What are you watching?" he asked.
"The news was just on. They were talking about some family dispute on the other side of town. Woman took off after a big fight."
"Hmm." Steve took another bite of pizza, realizing it no longer tasted right.
"Sounded pretty crazy. Anyway, Son, can I talk to you about something?" Nicholas asked, turning off the TV.
"Sure, Dad."
"I've been thinking a lot, and well, I realized something."
"I hope this isn't about what I think it is because I can't do it right now," Steve said, feeling a wave of nausea, as he stood and threw the last of his slice of pizza in the trash.
"Are you feeling sick?"
"A little, but that's not what I mean. I just mean I don't want to talk about anything to do with her or that right now, okay?"
"All right. I guess I'll tell you later then. I did a lot of thinking last night. Don't worry though. It's nothing bad."
Steve lowered himself into a chair and closed his eyes for a moment.
Clara stood in front of Steve. "I'll tell your dad all about last night," she said.
Steve opened his eyes and shook his head, trying to focus on his dad.
"What's wrong?" Nicholas asked, standing up and drawing closer.
Clara lie next to Steve, and he felt her hands touching him. "How dare you say such a thing!" she said.
"Oh my gosh. Please stop," Steve whispered. "Nothing, Dad. I just-"
Steve sat on his bed crying, Nicholas trying to comfort him. "She's crazy. Don't worry. It's over," his dad said.
"Steve, what is it?" Nicholas asked.
"Nothing! I just have too much in my head," Steve said, as he stood up and felt himself shake.
"Okay. Is it-"
"Yes! Of course it is! Isn't it always?" Steve yelled.
"All right, Son. It's okay. Just calm down."
"Dad, you don't get it! But I know you can't. This is more than memories. It feels real!"
"I know. You've told me," Nicholas gently took Steve's arm and guided him to sit down.
"I thought my memories were strong before, and they were, but this that's been happening? It's something else. To say I'm reliving what she did to me isn't even enough."
Nicholas rubbed Steve's back, feeling the tension in his son. "Steve, I hate seeing you hurt like this. I hope you know I'd do anything to help."
"I'm not sure how much you can do. Just weeks ago, I was remembering things, but I don't know. It wasn't like this. This is like a time machine. I don't just feel like I'm hearing Clara and feeling her touch me. I really am. And it keeps happening!" Steve felt tears prick his eyes. "I hope that would stop after we talked so much."
"We're going to get a handle on this, Steve."
"I'm sorry, Dad. I just can't be here right now." Steve could feel his heart pound.
"Where are you going?"
"Not sure. I just can't talk right now."
"We don't have to talk. You can stay, and we can-" Nicholas started to say, as he reached for Steve's arm.
"No! I can't be here. I need to go." Steve pulled away from his dad and quickly walked toward the front door.
"Be careful please, Son!" Nicholas yelled after him, as he heard the door slam and collapsed onto the couch, his head in his hands.
"Those girls sure were ogling us, weren't they?" Soda asked Pony, as they stepped inside the house.
"Mostly you, Sodapop. You're the one they all like so much," Pony said.
"Aw, come on, we're brothers." Soda smiled and slung an arm over Pony's shoulders. "You're starting to look a lot like me now. The ladies notice." He winked at Pony, who rolled his eyes.
"Hey, what happened to Steve?" Pony asked, looking toward the couch.
The smile slipped from Soda's face, as he saw Steve fast asleep on their couch. He had a bruise on his cheek and a swollen lip. Soda also saw that his hands looked rather swollen. A small bag of nearly melted ice lay next to it.
Soda went to Darry's room and found his older brother looking through bills and punching numbers into a calculator.
"Darry, did Steve get in a fight or something?"
"Or something," Darry said, shrugging. "He didn't tell me a lot. Just said something about Buck's. I guess he went there. It looks like somebody hit him, and he hit something with that hand. I made him ice it since it looks a little busted up."
"I wonder what happened. He usually doesn't hang out at Buck's." Soda settled next to his brother.
"Don't worry too much, little buddy. Steve's had worse. We all have."
"You know that's not really what I'm worried about, Dar. I've never seen Steve so up and down."
"He's hanging in there though. His dad called earlier to see if he was here." Darry put the bills and calculator into his nightstand drawer.
"Did he say anything?"
"Just that he was worried, and Steve left earlier, saying he couldn't be home right now."
Soda sighed, as he stretched his arms. "I'm going to get ready for bed. Me and Pony had fun tonight. It was nice to hang out just the two of us."
"I'm sure, little buddy. Good night," Darry said, as Soda left, closing the door behind him.
Soda lie awake, as Pony slept. He was too curious about Steve to do anything besides doze off once in a while. Deciding to give up for now, Soda stood and made his way to the living room. He noticed Steve wasn't on the couch and peaked into the kitchen.
"Hey, I didn't know you were up," Soda said, as he filled a glass with water and took the chair next to his friend.
"Yeah. Just sitting here. I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep," Steve said, yawning.
"So what happened tonight?" Soda eyed Steve's swollen hand.
"Some jerk at Buck's made a smart ass comment. I don't even remember why now. I punched him right in the face."
"Since when do you hang out at Buck's place?"
"I don't. It's just I know no one there would know me. I had a couple of beers, but I swear that was all. Anyway, that guy got in a couple of good hits himself before Buck pulled us apart." Steve shook his head. "So I turned right around and punched the wall. That's how this happened." He held up his swollen and sore hand.
"Ouch."
"I just- I couldn't be around my dad tonight."
"Did he do something?" Soda wondered, taking a swallow of water.
"No. I just had to get away."
"Nothing happened at all?" Soda stared at Steve.
"All right. It was all in my head though. These damn memories got too real again. And my dad... he's part of them sometimes. I didn't tell him that, but I did tell him it's like a time machine gets me. But even that isn't enough to explain it." Steve sighed, rubbing his sore hand.
"So you just left after... Well, after it stopped, I guess?"
"Yeah. Man, it's like I'm fighting something that's alive. My dad was talking to me, and at least this time, I knew he was there. I wasn't totally out of it."
"That has to be a good sign. I know when I saw you get like that, you really were somewhere else for a minute there."
"But then, I just got too frustrated and had to get away. After I got here, Darry didn't ask too many questions. He tossed me a blanket and a pillow and practically demanded I put ice on my hand and this bruise on my face."
Soda chuckled. "I'm not surprised."
"I told him I was fine, but he nearly threw the ice pack at me."
"Yeah, Darry wasn't going to buy that. So you feel any better after you punched the guy?"
"A little." Steve shrugged. "At least after I punched the wall, I just thought of that pain and not anything else!" He cracked a grin.
"Well, I'm glad he didn't knock you out. I don't have time to break in a new best friend." Soda smiled at Steve then yawned, as he got to his feet. "I think I'm going to head back to bed."
"Night, man."
"Night."
"Dad, have you seen my DX shirt?" Steve yelled from his bedroom.
Nicholas grabbed the shirt from the pile of laundry on top of the dryer and went down the hall. "It's right here," he said, as he threw the shirt to his son. "When did you get home?"
"Just a few minutes ago. Thanks, Dad," Steve said, as he slipped the shirt on, then started buttoning it up.
"What happened to you?" Nicholas asked, seeing Steve's face.
"Just got in a little scuffle when I was out last night. No big deal. See you later, Dad." Steve hurried out of the house.
Nicholas turned his gaze to the telephone. He knew it was early, but he picked up the receiver and dialed. Maybe someone would be at Laura Avery's office.
"What are you doing here, Dad?" Steve asked, as Nicholas walked past the gas pumps and stopped near where Steve was sitting on the sidewalk near the DX station's door.
"Just came to see you for a minute. You on your break?" Nicholas asked.
"Yeah. I got another few minutes or so."
"I wanted to tell you I called Laura Avery's office earlier this morning. Turns out there was a cancellation, and she can see you tomorrow afternoon."
"Okay." Steve nodded and stood up.
"You going to stay and talk to her this time?" Nicholas met Steve's eyes with his own.
"I'll do my best. I mean, maybe it'll be better this time. See you at home." Steve opened the door to the DX. "And, Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for calling. I mean it." Steve went inside, letting the door close behind him.
Nicholas looked towards the parking lot and saw Darry's truck. He waved, and Darry waved back, as he came to a stop.
"Hey, have you seen Soda?" Darry called, after rolling down the window.
"No, I was just out here talking to Steve though," Nicholas said, walking over.
Darry glanced at his watch. "I am a little early. Soda asked me to come eat with him today." He looked at Nicholas. "You know, actually I've been wanting to talk to you anyway."
"Oh? What about?" Nicholas raised his eyebrows.
"Get in." Darry waited, while Nicholas climbed into the passenger seat. "I know you and me aren't close or anything like that, but you've known my family for a long time."
"Sure."
"And you know my parents really cared about Steve too."
"I do know that. They were always good to him. Where are you going with this?" Nicholas eyed Darry.
"So I'm not sure how to say this, but I know what Clara did. I know how she hurt Steve."
"Okay? I mean, that doesn't shock me. Soda and Steve are so close, and you're Soda's brother and his guardian so-"
"Hang on. I'm not there yet." Darry turned to meet Nicholas' eyes. "I'm not trying to pry or anything, but I'm sure you know how protective I am over my brothers. And Soda seems to remember quite a bit about Clara and that time in his childhood. He's been upset about it and real worried about Steve. My question is did my parents know about what happened? I overheard you talking to my dad once. You were kind of drunk, but you were talking about her."
Nicholas bit his lip and looked down at the floorboard. "What did you hear?"
"Enough to know she had died and how." Darry shrugged. "I was just a kid myself. I never said a thing about it to anyone. I didn't even tell Sodapop. Not until recently anyway."
"I mean, I don't know if he told your mom, but yeah, I told your dad. He was easy to talk to, you know? Well, that, and I remember things just kind of spilling out cause I was drinking a lot then. I remember telling him about her and what she did. I know I didn't say a whole lot, and maybe I shouldn't have said anything at all. I was just so overwhelmed and I didn't want Steve to-"
"Slow down." Darry held up a hand. "It's fine. I'm not saying it was wrong or anything like that. I just really wanted to know. That's all."
"Oh." Nicholas blinked. "I think part of me was wanting someone else to keep an eye on my son after everything cause I knew I hadn't done the best job."
"I bet you did the best you could with whatever you had at the time."
"Thanks. But I know I screwed up a lot. You can tell me. I'm sure you've heard."
"Well, you can bet your life that if anyone would've looked out for Steve, it was my parents."
They heard a knock on the window and looked over to see Soda standing next to the truck.
"Hey, here's my goofy kid brother now!" Darry said, smiling, as Nicholas opened the door and slid out of the truck.
"Since when do you two hang out?" Soda asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at his brother, then at Nicholas.
"We were just talking a bit, Sodapop. But you got a good brother here," Nicholas said, as he clapped Soda on the shoulder, then walked in the direction of the grocery store.
Soda turned back to Darry and hopped into the truck. "What was that about?" he asked.
"I'll tell you later, little buddy. So what do we want to eat?" Darry asked, as he drove the truck away from the DX.
Steve stared at the fish tank in the waiting room. He was nervous, fidgeting in his chair, as Nicholas glanced over at him.
"You'll do fine, Son," Nicholas encouraged, as he reached over and squeezed Steve's arm.
A door opened, and Laura Avery appeared. "Glad to see you, Steve," she said. "Come with me, and we'll talk."
Steve looked at Nicholas once more, as he took a deep breath and stood up.
"I'll be right here," Nicholas said.
Steve turned to Laura. "Okay," he said, following her into the next room.