Two-Bit's mother was sitting on the couch, knitting, and Rick was sitting in the armchair, going over some files when he stepped in the door. Rick glanced at his watch and gave Two-Bit a disapproving look. It was 2:00 in the morning.
"Hey, you said to come back when I was ready," Two-Bit said defensively.
"And are you?" Rick asked. He took off his reading glasses and set them on the table.
"What do you think?" Two-Bit grumbled. All he wanted to do was go to sleep. "How's Dally?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.
Mrs. Mathews let out a sigh. "He wouldn't eat. And he wouldn't talk. Not to me, anyway. If he did talk, he was rude and vulgar. But he's asleep now."
That's about what Two-Bit had expected. Dally wasn't one to forgive and forget, and his mother was definitely on his grudge list. "What about you?" Two-Bit asked Rick. "Would he talk to you?"
Rick shook his head. "I talked. He listened. I tried to tell him that we were on his side and that we wanted him to get better, but I get the feeling he has trouble trusting anyone. Rightfully so," he added.
Mrs. Mathews yawned and set her knitting down in the basket underneath the coffee table. "I'm going to bed," she said, standing up. "Two-Bit, don't stay up too much longer. You've got school in the morning."
"But what about Dal?" he protested.
"I took the night shift the rest of the week at work. So I can be with him during the day."
"Oh, I'm sure that'll go well," Two-Bit said, rolling his eyes.
"It's going to have to do," his mother sighed. "You ain't missin' anymore school this week and Rick needs to work on that case." She kissed Two-Bit on top of the head on her way to bed. "Get to sleep soon, you two," she warned and disappeared down the hall.
"You okay, kid?" Rick asked as Two-Bit collapsed onto the couch. It had been a long day.
"Yeah, just tired, I guess," he mumbled. "You think Dally will sleep through the night?"
Rick sighed. "I hope so," he said. "He refused to eat, and as much as that concerns me, it also makes me think he won't get sick tonight. Whether or not he has a nightmare, that's a different story."
"That reminds me," Two-Bit said, reaching into his pocket to pull out the contact card. He handed it to Rick. "It's the number to a doctor that's been comin' to see Darry's little brother. He's been havin' nightmares too. It might be a long shot to get Dal to agree to this, but we can try, right?"
"Dallas doesn't have to agree to anything," Rick said, examining the card. "If I bring a doctor here, then he doesn't have much say in the matter, does he?"
Two-Bit smiled slightly. "I guess not."
"I'll give him a ring tomorrow," Rick assured Two-Bit. He stood up and started collecting the files he'd been going over. He tucked them under his arm. Then he turned to face Two-Bit, his fingers crossed. "Here's to hoping we all sleep through the night," he said. "G'Night, kid."
"'Night Rick. Thanks."
"Eat your toast, Winston," Two-Bit said, peering over the comics section of the newspaper at Dally's untouched plate of food.
"Don't want it."
"Then we ain't goin' down to the range."
Dally reluctantly picked up the toast and took a bite out of it. "You're a real pain in my ass, Mathews," he muttered.
"Yeah, well, right back at ya, big guy."
Things had been rocky between the two of them ever since Two-Bit told Rick the truth. Today was Saturday morning, and Two-Bit and Dally had barely spoken to each other over the past three days. When Two-Bit got home from school, Dally either holed up in Two-Bit's room, or the two of them would sit in silence while they watched TV. The two times Dally got sick at night, he refused help from both Two-Bit and Rick. He just locked himself in the bathroom and stayed there for hours. Two-Bit had a feeling that Dally wasn't mad so much as he was humiliated.
Last night, Dally emerged from the bathroom and came into the TV room to talk to Two-Bit. Two-Bit had only been half-asleep. He knew he wouldn't fully fall back asleep until Dally was back in bed.
"Mathews," Dally said hoarsely from the darkness.
Two-Bit sat up. "You alright, Dal?" he asked. He turned on the lamp on the end table.
Dally didn't bother answering him. He took a seat in the armchair. "I want to go riding."
Two-Bit tried to process what Dally had just said. He wiped the sleep from his eyes to take a better look at him. His face was ashen and he was drenched in sweat from being ill. "You want to go riding," Two-Bit repeated with raised eyebrows.
"That's what I said, ain't it?" Dally snapped. "Will you take me or not?"
Two-Bit hesitated. "Dal, I ain't so sure that's a good idea—"
"I need to get out of this damn house," Dally interrupted, and Two-Bit could hear wavering in his voice. "I can't handle this shit anymore, okay? I need out." Dally's voice was quickly rising to a panic.
"Okay, okay," Two-Bit said as gently as he could. "Don't get worked up, man." He bent forward and rested his elbows on his knees, mulling it over. He ran his hand through his hair. "I just don't think you're well enough," Two-Bit said timidly. "You could get hurt, Dal."
Dally took in a couple deep breaths to regain his composure. "Two-Bit, I ain't askin' for your permission," he said firmly. "I'm goin' riding tomorrow. Now you can either strap on a pair and come with me, or I can hitchhike there. Your call."
Two-Bit sighed. "You're serious?"
Dally nodded. Once Dallas Winston makes up his mind, there's no changing it.
"Okay, I'll take you," Two-Bit gave in wearily. "Go back to bed, man. You look exhausted."
Dally had a slight smirk on his face as he carefully made his way back down the hall to Two-Bit's room. Two-Bit flipped off the light and pulled his blankets over his head.
He really didn't like the idea of Dally riding. At all. Some of those horses could get pretty wild. Usually, Dally was one of the best and toughest riders. In fact, he was the only one that could handle Rocco, a beautiful, light brown quarter horse that had quite a fiery temper. But Two-Bit knew Dally wouldn't be able to handle much more than a tame mare with the state he was in now. The only reason he agreed to take Dally was so he could keep an eye on him. He certainly didn't want him going to the range alone.
Two-Bit pulled up next to the pasture. He could see Ken, the owner, tending to his horses. Sodapop used to work for him, cleaning stables and things like that. It was Soda who'd introduced Ken to everyone in the gang and he said they were welcome to come ride any time. He was always looking for someone to exercise his horses for him, especially now that he was reaching an old age. Ken tipped his hat and waved to them as Two-Bit parked the car.
"You sure you're up for this?" Two-Bit asked cautiously. Dally was resting his head against the window. He still looked pretty beat from last night.
"Yeah," he answered, lifting his head to face to Two-Bit.
"He'll be fine, Two-Bit," Liz said from the backseat. When she'd found out they were going to the range, she decided to tag along. She loved horses almost as much as Sodapop did. "We're just gonna ride around for a bit."
Two-Bit sighed. "Just promise me you won't ride Rocco today, Dal," he said.
"Fine, if it'll get you to relax, I won't ride him." Dally said. "You gonna ride today, Mathews?"
Two-Bit shook his head. He had never been a big fan of horses. For starters, they made him sneeze. He was allergic to them. So he never liked riding all that much because he'd get allergens all over his clothes. He liked going to rodeos though. "Look, we ain't stayin' longer than an hour, okay?" Two-Bit said as they got out of the car. "I ain't hangin' around here all day."
Ken greeted them with open arms, saying he was happy they'd come today. Sasha, a black mare, had recently given birth to a baby colt and Ken was looking for someone to show him off to. "He's a beaut, ain't he?" he asked, as they approached the newborn's stall.
He really was. He wasn't much older than 2 weeks, but still stood sturdily beside his mom. And the way the sun hit his hair made him look shiny and sleek.
Two-Bit reached his hand out to pet him, but the colt quickly ducked away.
Ken laughed. "He's still pretty shy," he said.
But then Dally reached his hand out and the young horse came right up to him.
"If that doesn't make you feel like shit, I don't know what will," Liz said, chuckling at Two-Bit.
Two-Bit rolled his eyes. "Dal's just some sort of horse whisperer," he said, shrugging. "I ain't got his powers."
"You got a name for this little guy?" Liz asked Ken as she reached her arm out to pat the colt's head.
"That's Mr. Presley, himself," Ken answered with a wink. "I named him Elvis."
"That's a stupid name," Dally muttered under his breath to Two-Bit. They started making their way down the line to the stalls of other horses. "You know who he reminds me of?"
Two-Bit frowned. "Ken?"
"No, the colt," Dally answered.
"I don't know. Who?"
"Johnny. They've got the same scared eyes."
Dally ended up not lasting much longer than half an hour before he asked to head home. Two-Bit had remained by the stables, smoking a couple cigarettes, and watching him and Liz ride around on their horses of choice. Dally had gone with Buttercup, a golden, Akhal Teke horse who had retired from racing several years ago. Liz went with Theo, a young, brown Saddlebred.
Two-Bit tried to focus on how happy Dally looked while riding Buttercup, instead of how skinny and frail he looked. Gosh, he was thin. With each trot Buttercup took, it looked like Dally's torso would break in half.
When he brought Buttercup back in, Two-Bit assumed he wanted to take another horse out. "Who're you goin' with this time, Winston?" he asked as Dally led Buttercup back into her stall.
"Nobody. I'm done," he answered. "Let's get outta here."
Two-Bit put out the cigarette he was smoking. "You okay?" he asked.
"Fine, Mathews," Dally said tiredly. "I'm just ready to head back."
So Two-Bit whistled for Liz to bring Theo in, and they headed home.
On the drive home, Dally immediately fell asleep, and Two-Bit wondered if he'd done the right thing by bringing him out to the range. It was obvious this trip had taken a lot out of him. But as Two-Bit glanced at Dally, and saw the slight smile on his lips, he decided it was worth it. Maybe tonight, instead of prison and bull queers, Dally would dream about horses.
Just maybe.