A/N: I thought I really needed one of these chapters. I apologize for neglecting the couple. I wanted to make sure the FanFic wasn't just about Soda and Reilly, and that there was other characters actually involved. Enjoy. Please Review!

Chapter 26-That was That

Reilly's POV

As soon as Reilly and Soda came into the Curtis house Reilly was heading right for the room she was staying in. Since staying the one day a few months ago, Reilly practically moved in with the brothers, and into Sodapop's old room. She didn't feel she had a right to live in their parent's room so she switched. Sitting down on the bed, Reilly left the door open a crack and lay down on her back. It seemed that this was starting to get worse then what was going on last year. Reilly couldn't help but wonder if anyone was going to end up dead by the end of this. She surly hoped not, but a soc took it too far today and it was definitely going to start something now that the result landed Dallas in the hospital.

Reilly leaned into the soft pillow and sighed lightly. When they had come into the house it was quiet. Like the quiet it was after the last rumble they had. That night Ponyboy walked in to announce Johnny passed away in the hospital, and Dallas blew up and nearly got himself dead. That was too much to bear. When they had come in, Darry had been sitting in his arm chair reading the paper like nothing was going on, but Reilly was sure he was fully aware of the situation. Steve and Two-bit must have went straight home, or out somewhere else right after arriving. And Chris most likely went to find Skylar to talk. Ponyboy had been at the kitchen table eating quietly. He seemed to be unnerved by the whole thing. Reilly wondered if Pony was feeling the same thing she was right now.

"Are you okay Riles?" Reilly hear Soda's familiar soft and caring voice from the door way. His head popped in through the crack in the door. He had a weak smile on his face, but it was easy to tell the happy-go-lucky Sodapop was still concerned.

Reilly merely nodded, but that wasn't enough to convince Soda. He walked in slowly; shutting the door back to the amount it was open once he was in the room. Normally Sodapop would leap onto the bed like a cat and nearly break the mattress, but instead he just crawled onto the bed and layed beside Reilly. He could easily sense the uneasiness and maybe even nervousness that filled the room.

"Come on…Riles. Please talk to me." Soda begged. He frowned and pulled her body closer to his. He didn't like to see Reilly in one of these moods. Sodapop was well prepared to listen to what she had to say. He just hoped that she would say what she wanted to say.

Reilly breathed lightly, pressing the side of her face into his neck. Her emotions were just bottled up. If she started this would probably go into things that were not involved with what happened, but yet could be somehow tied to it. "Right now, it would be easy to have what happened two years ago happen again."

Sodapop looked down at Reilly concerned. He slowly sat up a little, pulling Reilly with him. "You mean because that soc shot at your brother?" Soda asked trying to make sense of the situation. Reilly nodded slowly.

"Well…Chris was selling drugs for some reason. So some socs come looking for him. I mean I know he put it upon himself, but we could have easily lost someone today. My brother, Dallas, Two-bit, myself, or even your brother Soda. Do you blame me for being unnerved?" Reilly asked. She was beginning to speak quickly. This meant that she was getting into the conversation as well as her feelings.

Soda shook his head. "No I don't blame you. But no one got hurt though…this could easily just blow over and no one will remember it." Sodapop said quietly, trying to keep Reilly on a positive frame of mind.

"I know that." Reilly sighed leaning her head against the pillow and looking up at Sodapop's face. "But somehow I don't think this is the last we'll see of them. I don't know what it is…but they just give off the vibe that they'll be back. And even though I never saw them before… it feels that I know them somehow." Reilly said trailing off. She looked around the room feeling flustered and uncomfortable. It was just a feeling that she was getting, and it was making her uneasy.

Soda didn't know how to reply. He didn't want to say something stupid that would hurt Reilly's feelings or make her mad at him. But Sodapop wanted to do something to make her feel better. Anything to make Reilly feel better.

"The socs obviously haven't learned when Johnny killed Bob. And then when Johnny died…" Reilly started. "And the next thing you know…someone else will get hurt. It could be someone we are close with. Then what? It'll only make things even harder. First Johnny then someone else too?" Reilly turned over on her side. She wouldn't be able to take losing someone else she cared about, and she knew the others wouldn't be able to either. Had the socs honestly not learned? Have some at least? It appeared not. Reilly cleared her throat and asked, "Don't you remember what happened after all this happened?"

Soda stared at her. A lot of things had happened after all of that. Dallas tried numerous times to go on a riot in the south end of town. It was difficult to stop him. Every time it happened was a new challenge. Reilly didn't give him time to answer. She answered before he could. "I drank. And I Drank. And I Drank. And then I got raped." Reilly spat out, her voice cracked towards the end of the sentence.

It had been such a struggle to fix her drinking. She had made the mistake of drinking any chance she got. Reilly would have awful hangovers, and would sometimes end up drunk before it even hit lunch time. A few weeks before the night of the party, Reilly was sent to the hospital for drinking too much and having alcohol poisoning. Chris tried hard to convince Reilly to stop drinking, or at least stop as much, but Reilly wouldn't listen. This was her way of mourning over what had happened to Johnny Cade. Partying and excessive drinking. There was no end to it. After Reilly had gotten raped, she was terrified she wouldn't be able to be strong. That after she dropped it so quickly, the smallest thing would make her relapse. Reilly was a mess after it happened, and was still struggling once she began pulling herself together.

At this point Reilly was bawling her eyes out. The thoughts were overwhelming, the pain was hard, and she was scared that she wouldn't be strong enough to deal with any other tragedy that may happen. "Reilly don't cry…I'm right here." Soda said quickly pulling Reilly back into his arms. "Listen to me Reilly. You're one of the strongest people I know. You'll get through anything that comes your way. And if you need help, I'll be right there to help you. I love you, and I'll never let anything happen to you, and I'll never give up on you."

The couple lightly sobbed. Reilly only crying more after what Soda had said, "I love you too. But I'm surprised that you don't think I'm disgusting. That you even want to be with me after what that soc did. We never found him."

Soda looked down shocked. He frowned, hurt and made Reilly look up at him but pulling her chin up to look him in the eyes. "No. Never." Soda said. His face covered with concern and love. "It wasn't your fault. He had no right to take advantage of you. And if I ever find the bastard I'll kill him for hurting you like this. Nothing will ever change who you are to me. I love you and nothing will change that. I couldn't possibly not love you, Reilly."

"I-I'm sorry…for rambling and…" Reilly started. She could barely speak she was crying to hard. Reilly couldn't finish though because Sodapop put a finger over her mouth to stop her and began stroking her hair.

"Ssh…Riles. Calm down and don't apologize," Soda said smiling lightly, his face lit with the sense of love and affection. "You have every right to be emotional about this…it's hard for you. The others wouldn't understand what you're feeling. Not many can. And even though it was two years ago…it'll always affect you…" Soda paused and looked down at Reilly. She had stopped crying as much. Sodapop wiped away a tear. It would be a long time before they told and of the others about this. "Just promise me…that you'll let me be the one to make it stop hurting you. To make you heal from this, and not have to feel these emotions again."

Reilly looked up at him beginning to nod. She smiled through her tears, "I promise Soda. That's how I want it to be." And it was. Reilly knew as long as she was with Sodapop she'd be safe. She felt safer around him. Reilly acted strong but emotionally she wasn't. She would just pick and choose when to deal with it. This was obviously not in front of people she didn't want to see it. With Sodapop it was different. She knew she'd be safe. And that was that.