I opened the cabinet and pulled out some dishes laying them on the table. Usually Mary would set the table as she cooked, and I would just be in the way, but I figured if I got it done before she came home, she would appreciate it.
"Need help?" Johnny asked from the couch.
"You wanna set the table while I wash these?" I raised my eyebrow. Johnny didn't speak, but he started laying out the plates and silverware the same way they are every night.
"Where's Mary?" He finally asked me.
"Beats me," I shrugged. I thought for a second before I started talking. "Mary, got really mad at Curly today over her job or something. Apparently he got her fired." I tried to make sense of it.
"Why would he do that?" Johnny looked at me from the table.
"I don't know, but they caused quite a raucous. A teacher dragged Curly out, Mary ran off. No one's seen her since."
"Man, that's messed up. He's sure been out to get her a lot lately it seems." Johnny said what I was thinking earlier. "It's weird because Mary and Tim are such good friends."
Our family and the Shepard's family use to be close. Mary and Angela were friends, Darry and Tim, and me and Curley; but then times changed. First it happened with their family then ours.
"Hey Johnny, when are you gonna come back to school?" I asked what everyone had been thinking about for a while.
"I don't know man," he answered me with a shake of his head. He almost looked ashamed.
"It's really calmed down. We haven't had a problem with any of the soc's since. I hate seeing you cooped up in here." I was being honest. There hadn't been any problems recently, not with the soc's anyway.
"Yeah, I know." He muttered, so I let it go right as Darry walked in.
"Hey guys," he greeted walking in the door. He looked like he had a good day.
"You like the new job?" I smiled a little thinking about how much he loved football. I watched him pull of his shoes, drop his keys in the dish on the table, and let out a painful moan as he collapsed on the couch like he usually did.
"Mary's on her way," He told us as he pulled off his shirt. I wasn't going to tell him, but he smelled kind of bad.
He was right, Mary walked in right after him. She let the door slam behind her making Darry look over, but he didn't say anything, and neither did she.
"Hey Pony, Johnny." She walked over to both of us. "Thanks for doing this," she smiled and gave me hug from behind. She put her hand on top of Johnny's as he was drying dished, "You doing okay?" She asked casually. He paused washing dishes and leaned into her gently, almost as if he was relaxing. She had a way of doing that. She could ask how someone was with out making it awkward. I noticed Darry watching her from the couch, I wondered if Darry knew about what happened at school.
"Is Soda and Steve here?" She asked both of us, but it also caught Darry's attention. The way his eye's lit up it seemed as if he had forgotten.
"Yeah, they're in our room." I answered. She nodded her head washing her hands in the sink before opening the fridge. Then she went to work, like she always did. Darry disappeared into the bathroom, but not before asking me if I had done my homework. Mary gave me a slight nudge reminding me to answer nicely, I assumed.
"I've done everything I can, there is some I still can't figure out." I admitted.
"Well go get it, I'll look at it after I shower," Darry told me as he walked out of the room. I rolled my eyes at Mary and she gave me a half sympathetic smile.
"Buddy the work only gets worse from here!" Darry nagged his voice drifted off as he walked away.
"Hey Mary, are you okay?" I asked her before I turned the corner to go to my room.
"Yeah, Pone, don't worry," she gave me this reassuring look that made me believe her. She always looked fine.
I opened the door to my room to see Steve sitting on the floor and Soda laying on the bed. They weren't doing much, just talking a little. Soda looked better, well not better, but considering everything he didn't look too bad.
"Hey, Pony!" Soda sat up and motioned for me to sit beside him. I laid down and he draped his arm over my shoulder.
"How are you doing pal? We haven't talked in a while, what's new?" The way Soda asked me made me feel weird. I looked to Steve who gave me a weird look in return.
"Pretty good Soda." I answered tentatively because we talked almost every night before we went to bed. Not as much recently because he would be up later than me. Darry had really been on my lately to get more sleep. I didn't know why, I would usually wake up screaming, and not remembering why I was screaming!
"How's school, are you doing good in school?" He asked my least favorite question.
"It's okay Soda." I still had no idea what was going on.
"Pony, study hard- you know why?" He patted my chest. "So you can get the hell out of Tulsa- there is bigger and better out of here." When he said that it kind of scared me.
"Soda, I want to be with you, I'm not leaving you." I couldn't imagine being separated from Soda.
"Thanks little buddy." He grabbed me into a big hug right as Two-bit and Dally walk in.
"Excuse us, we should have knocked." Two-bit joked grabbing the both of us.
"I would ask what's going on, but I'm not sure I want to know." Darry batted Soda's feet off the bed so he could sit at the bottom.
"Ya'll staying for supper?" Mary stuck her head in.
"The last time I ate something you prepared it just about killed me." Dally remembered the time in the diner right after he got out.
"Make that be a lesson to you all, don't mess with me," she half joked pointing at Dally.
"Nah, I already ate Mar bear!" Two-bit sang.
"It smells great Mar," I pulled back from Two-bit's grip. Steve mocked me from across the room, but I didn't care, or I didn't care as much as I use to at least.
"You've survived the first night man, your on your way," Dally looked at Soda before lighting a smoke. I knew the second Darry smelt that he would have a field day. Soda gave Dally a weak smile, about the time Mary called everyone to dinner.
"There's plenty," she backed up and let Soda, Steve, Darry, Johnny, and I sit at the table.
"You not eating Mar?" I asked.
Xxxxxxx
"I ate a little earlier, I've got some work to do," I patted Pony's head as my eyes met Soda's, but I quickly looked away.
I could see that Darry thought about saying something, but I interrupted him.
"Are your dirty clothes in your room?" I asked him as I rinsed a dish in the sink. He nodded his head at me.
"Where are your DX clothes?" I looked over to Soda, once again I was taking the high road. I considered not washing his clothes, but I realized that would be petty.
"I have no idea," he started to get up.
"No, I'll find them." I knew Pony's clothes were already in a pile he always left them in the same spot.
"I need a Mary in my life," Two-bit smirked from the couch.
"You do, lazy bum, you live with your mom," I smacked him on the back of the head as I walked by. The other guys laughed at him, and I did a little bit too.
I went about the house picking up dirty clothes and throwing them in the washer before I went to my room to look at some homework while there was peace. Darry and Pony studying together never went well, especially when there were distractions such as Dally and Two-bit.
I picked up my pen and started taking notes, I didn't know what I was writing, but I figured it was a start. I was undisturbed for about an hour when I heard a wrestling match break out. I could tell because first I heard friendly shouts and harmless threats followed by the coffee table being pushed across the floor. I couldn't help but go watch. That was a huge part of our family: spontaneous wrestling matches.
This one was between Steve and Two-bit, everyone else in the room was cheering for one person. Even Darry was picking a side. I started to wash the dishes in the sink as the fight started to settle, Steve was running his mouth about how Two-bit cheated. I expected him to storm out like usual, but I guess the Soda situation kept him from straying off.
"Oh don't be a baby Stevie! Anyone could beat you!" Two-bit ragged on him.
"That's not true!" He paused. I'm sure he was trying to think of someone he could beat. "I bet I could beat Travis!" When he said that I just about dropped the plate I was washing. Successfully I played it off like it slipped.
"I bet not!" Dally disagreed with a snort.
"What are you on! Yes, I could!" Steve defended himself. They were all joking and laughing, but sometimes it was hard to tell when they were no longer joking. When that happened they would start to beat on each other.
"He's in the army, he'd kill you dumb ass," Dally said through laughter.
"Army, Travis?" Darry started and then stopped. " I guess I can see it. He has a military hair cut, he called me sir, offered to help out when he was over here, it all screams army now that I think about it." Darry added in.
"He told me yesterday in the car on the way to the track," Pony included himself in the conversation.
"Car mechanic my ass! What is he doing in Tulsa?" Steve was having a hard time registering it all.
No one seemed to have an answer to that, and neither did I. I kept washing the dishes pretending that I wasn't listening to them.
"Blondie, did you know that?" Two-bit blew my cover.
"Yeah, I did." I answered plainly.
"Why is he here?" Steve asked.
"I don't know." I tried to keep my tone flat, and not to let them know they were bothering me. I wondered what all he told Pony the other night.
"How don't you know? Isn't he your new best friend?" Dally piped in.
"Don't you live with him?" I rolled my eyes. Steve and Two-bit got a kick out of that, but I didn't pay too much attention I was finishing off the dishes and moving to change the laundry.
"She's feisty!" Dally kept talking.
"Come on Dal, leave her be." Pony encouraged. I appreciated that he felt like he needed to protect me, but I was use to ass holes. I dealt with them at the diner, and I could deal with them at home if I needed to.
I folded some clothes and dropped them off in everyone's room, before returning to the kitchen to make lunches for tomorrow. We were running low on sandwich meat, and I wasn't going to get any more paychecks, so I was going to have to find another job fast, before people started to ask questions.
Everyone except Darry was crowded around the T.V. I didn't know where he was.
I put them in the fridge like I did most days in the same order. Darry's was first , followed by Soda's, and then Pony's on the bottom shelf. Every once in a while one of them would grab the wrong sandwich and I would hear about the next day, but not too often.
"So Mary, what was that all about today in the cafeteria? Curly got his sorry ass suspended." Dally asked walking by me to get a beer out of the fridge. I gave him a look, but I didn't respond.
"Here, you need this more than me." He held out the beer. "You know, Princess, tomorrow morning at school they will suspend you too. I'm surprised they haven't called here!" Dally wasn't exactly being quiet, but it wasn't like the guys in the other room could hear me.
"What, are you trying to do? Are you trying to look out for me now or something?" I didn't exactly know what he was getting at. Neither did I want to think about tomorrow, but I did take the beer.
"I guess someone has too look out for you, hell no one else is." Dally caught me off guard, and when I didn't respond right away he followed it up with, "Don't flatter yourself," and that same cold stare with icy eyes returned to Dally's face.
I thought about what he was saying as I walked back to my room. I sat down on my bed and I thought about what I was going to do next. I started to think about work. Was I going to tell Darry, or was I going to try to find a new job? I didn't really know where to look to get an other job.
I then moved on and thought about Angela. What was I going to do about her? Was I going to tell Tim? As Angela's best friend I shouldn't, but as Tim's- what was I to Tim?
I started to think about Travis. I knew he didn't tell me the truth about being in the army, but he didn't really lie. So why was I so mad at him?
Then I thought about Soda. I worried about him because I knew he was in a world of pain, and I didn't know what he was going to do about the whole Sandy being in Florida thing, and I was sorry for him about that. But, I also worried that Soda and I would never be the same again, at least not for a long time.
I felt my heart racing, and I started to get stressed, so I did the only think I knew how to do. I left. I closed the door to my room, opened the window, and I packed a bag. I packed my books and a change of clothes. I put the bottle in my mouth as I reached my foot out the window. There was a crack in the bricks I would step into giving me enough support to lower myself down, but this time it did not go as smoothly. My foot slipped out of the ditch and my left leg slid across the bricks as I fell onto the ground taking a huge chunk of skin off . On top of that I dropped my beer. Getting up, I brushed off the dirt, and threw my bottle onto the ground. With a smile I walked around to the back of the truck, threw my bag in and then backed out of the driveway. I didn't even notice the blood running down my leg.
Xxxxxxxxxx
I heard the truck crank outside about the same time I heard the phone ring, I pushed open the blinds to see it backing out, but before I could ask I saw Two-bit scrambling to get to the phone, but somehow Darry beat him to it. Dally and Two-bit exchanged a look before he took a long swig of his drink
Everyone was watching Darry, and I had no idea what was going on.
"Hello?" Clearly Darry did not know what was going on either.
"Yes, this is Darrell Junior."
"Shit," Two-bit mumbled under his breath.
"What's going on?" I whispered to Steve.
"Mary and Curly caused quite a scene today in the cafeteria. He got suspended, she just left in a huff." Steve answered.
"Why didn't you tell me this?" I asked Steve.
"She was upset, I guess I thought it'd be better to let it die down. She left awfully pissed." Steve threw his hands up.
"You woulda been proud, she has a tongue," Dally acted like that was a good thing. I would admit that I am glad she can defend herself, but I'm not quite sure how all of it would play out her getting in trouble at school. If it was Pony, he'd be in a whole different trouble than her, I'm sure. It's hard because Mary and Darry are so close in age, among other things. I also think that Darry remembers how he was a year or two ago, so he has a hard time with Mary.
"Oh yes Mr. Jones, how are you?" Darry turned at gave Pony look. I found a little bit of irony in the fact that this had absolutely nothing to do with Pony. Usually when Mr. Jones called it was me, when I was in school.
"Everything is going real good here sir, thanks for asking." Darry had on his best responsible voice, a completely different one than he used with us.
"With Mary? Everything is good, may I ask why?" Darry's soft look on his face turned harder by the second.
"I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand. She had an argument with Curly Sheppard? Yes, I knew that he had been giving her a hard time a week ago, but I didn't know it was a disruption." He paused and I assumed he was listening to the principal. Darry was curling the cord around his finger.
"Again? What do you mean look the other way, again? This has happened before?" Darry face was red, this was not going to go well.
"A guidance counselor?" Darry pulled the phone away from his ear. "You want to make it mandatory? Uh… I don't know about that."
"I think we better beat it," Two-bit grabbed his keys and Dally stood up as well.
"I don't think so!" Darry pulled the phone away from his ear. I knew that Two-bit and Dally could leave if they wanted to, but I think out of some kind of respect they didn't.
"Tomorrow, yes sir, tomorrow I'll make sure she's there. You too," he hung the phone up and turned around to all of us as fast as a heart beat.
"Was anyone going to tell me what happened today? Darry looked at each of us. I knew something was going on. I could feel it!
"I guess we were all hoping you wouldn't find out," Pony shrugged his shoulders.
"It wasn't as big of a deal as dip stick Jones is making it sound. Curly was nagging on her, and I guess she decided it was time she stood up for her self! You oughtta be proud of her Curly was being a prick." Two-bit tried to make Darry lighten up, it didn't work out.
"Why didn't any of you guys stand up to Curly? What did he do to cause this?" Darry was desperately trying to put the pieces together. I kind of felt the same way.
No one answered right away, and Darry slammed his hand down on the coffee table making both Johnny and Pony jump.
"I knew I'd have to watch out for Pony, and recently Soda, but I never thought I would have to watch Mary!" I knew Darry was speaking out of frustration and maybe in a little bit of fear and disappointment, but his remark kind of stung.
He pulled on his hair let out an exhale before walking back towards Mary's room.
"Look's like Princess might actually be in trouble," Darry smirked.
"Maybe, but she just backed out of the driveway," I pointed out the window and they all looked to the empty spot.
"I didn't even see her walk out," Steve sat back down.
"This is going to be interesting," Two-bit said out loud as we heard Darry knock on Mary's door.
"Do we have a plan for this?" Pony almost whispered.
"Just keep your trap shut, and head down. That's what I always do with my old man." Steve might have been trying to be helpful, but I knew that Pony did not think that that was a helpful comment.
"Maybe, you guys oughtta leave before he comes back. Johnny maybe you should go too?" I suggested as I heard Darry open Mary's door.
"You'll let us know if you need help tracking her down?" Two-bit asked draping his arm over Johnny. Johnny didn't even object he just followed them out. I was surprised.
"Why don't you go take a shower Pone?" I saw Darry out of the corner of my eye. I knew he wasn't going to do anything too stupid, but I didn't really know what I thought he was going to do. Pony reluctantly did what I asked. Steve was sitting on the couch watching Darry the same I was.
"Where is she?" Darry came back out.
"I saw her back out of the driveway, I didn't know or I would have talked to her." I said looking out the window as if I expected her to be back. Darry walked out on the porch, and I started to follow, but Steve stopped me.
"I don't think you can say anything he wants to hear right now, you know? I think he's just worried." I knew Steve was right, but I wish I could fix it. I knew Mary was mad at me right now for lashing out at her, and I knew she would tell me that she forgave me when I ask for it, but she would never really forgive me. She's like Darry in the way that betrayal is the worst possible thing. And to her I had betrayed her by accusing her, but in my defense love makes you blind.
Xxxxxxxxx
I sat on the front porch for close to an hour before I saw Two-bit approaching.
"Any sign of our little sneak?" Two-bit smiled, but I didn't.
"Dar, she's tough in all, but she too has a breaking point, and I believe Curly pushed her over hers today. Don't worry, she'll be back," Two-bit lit a smoke and sat in a chair behind me.
"I've been told it is different for girls. When they get pushed too far they can't just have a rumble, that they have other ways. But never thought Mary needed one she's always so collected. She was the strong one. I thought she was holding the pieces together, and then I find out she's skipping class, making D's, and causing a scene in the cafeteria! The principal recommends required counseling." I kept looking at the same spot on the ground.
"She's just trying to get her footing again Dar, you have to cut her a break. She's not invincible. Don't start doubting her just because the principal calls and starts telling you there's a problem. You're just gonna have to trust her to tell you herself. There's a lot that you don't know." Two-bit gave me a bad feeling in my gut. What did I know? Why didn't I know it?
"She use to talk to me," I exhaled, "How am I suppose to know what'd going on when she acts like everything is perfect all the time?" I grumbled. Maybe I was being dramatic, but I just found out that we had even bigger families.
"She did not use to talk to you! Maybe more than she does now, but no one ever knows what's going on with Mary! She's probably more talkative now than she ever was. Yeah, maybe she talked to your dad, but even then it was short and sweet. Like that time she failed math! Your parents weren't even mad that she failed they were mad she didn't tell them." I remembered what Two-bit was talking about, they were mad for most of the summer. She didn't even tell them, they found out when the report card came in the mail. When they asked her about it she didn't seem surprised or anything she just told them what the report card said, that she would have to retake it.
"What am I even suppose to do right now? She's not like Pony! I can't ground her. She works, and does a million things, so grounding her would hurt us. Plus, she'll be an adult in a matter of months anyway!" I put my head in my hands.
"Just let things play out. She'll talk to Jones tomorrow; just let her put everything back in place. Like Pony said, she didn't think you would ever find out. She's been pretty good about not letting you know anything until now. Don't you kind of appreciate that a little? You do have enough to worry about as is." Two-bit was right, but he was also wrong. It wasn't that I didn't have time for Mary's problems, I just didn't know she had any! But, I guess it was a little true that I have known for a little while that something was going on, but she didn't tell me and I didn't really want to have to think about anything else.
"I don't want her to be out in there with the weight of the world on her shoulders because she won't let anyone in."I sighed.
"Have you told her that?"
"When did you grow up?" I looked back and grinned.
"You better not tell anyone!" Two-bit nudged me.
"Now what?" I asked him after a little bit of silence.
"If it were my sister I would try to find her. But, Mary is nothing like my sister, so I don't know what to tell you." I knew Two-bit had a sister, but I guess I had briefly forgotten.
"I guess I could call Linda, from Mary's work, or maybe even Angela." Two-bit squinted up his face and I looked over to him. "Just say it," I sighed.
"I would start with Travis." He said, but then he looked like he had something else to say.
"Yeah, I guess they are pretty good friends." I agreed, but he still had a look on his face.
"Damn it, Two-bit!" I didn't mean to snap, but I didn't even feel bad about it.
"You could try Tim." He looked at me as if he expected me to over react. I didn't. I nodded my head and stood up going back towards the house.
"Darry," Two-bit caught my attention. I stopped, but I didn't turn back around. "Have a little faith. She is the strong one."
I walked in the house, and was greeted by Steve and Soda on the couch. I thought about saying something, but I didn't know what to say.
"What are you doing Dar?" Soda spoke as I pulled out numbers in a drawer under the phone looking for Buck's.
"I'm going to call Travis." I answered. No one said anything, which was probably wise. I could tell Soda was trying to think of something to say.
"Buck, it's Darrel Curtis. Is Travis around?" I paused as he put the phone down to go find him. I didn't even know what I thought Travis was going to do. Why would he know where she was, weren't they in a fight?
"Hey, Darry is everything okay?" Travis picked up the phone. I could hear the concern in his voice. I wondered if mine sounded like anger or fear. I guess it could be a combination.
"Not really, Mary uh." I started and then paused. How was I suppose to explain Mary. "She left-" I stopped talking again.
"What do you mean she's gone?" Travis didn't understand.
Soda reached over and took the phone, "Travis, she left like an hour ago. She had a pretty bad day. Do you know where she might have gone to?" At first I was annoyed that he grabbed the phone, but in hind sight it was a pretty good thing he did just then.
Soda and Travis talked for an other minute or two, but he then hung up. "He has a couple places he can look. He suggested calling Tim." Soda looked at me waiting for directions.
"Call Tim." I said apathetically.
"Tim, it's Soda. You seen Mary?" Soda cut right to the chase.
"Not recently, but maybe she's with Angela? I haven't seen Angela since she left this morning." I could hear Tim talking to Soda on the phone; he was loud.
"Oh, okay, well will you give us a call if either of them show up?" Soda spoke very well on the phone. I wondered if he had to talk on the phone much at work.
"He said-" Soda started.
"Yeah, I heard him." I cut in sitting down.
"What do you want to do?" Steve asked nobly.
"I want to know what's going on," I said with a hint of hostility. I waited until they started talking.
Xxxxx
Mary wasn't at Buck's, I assume she wasn't at Tim's, but I had a couple other guesses. I put the car in reverse and drove to her parents' graveyard. I never like graveyards. I understood why she never went to visit; it was an especially creepy graveyard.
"Where are you Mar?" I asked myself. I was afraid of what she was doing or thinking right now, especially if she was alone. When she was alone she didn't have anyone to be responsible for, so she just did what ever the hell she wanted. I guess when you become a head of a house at 17 when your parents' die you do get to do what you want sometimes.
Finally it dawned on me, I knew where she was. I kicked myself for not thinking about it sooner. With a sigh of relief I pulled over at the next gas station I saw to get a few necessary items.
Once I got to the parking lot I physically held my breath as I turned the corner. I hoped with all my might that Mary's truck was going to be here. Luckily, it was. I parked beside hers and opened the gym door.
My heart stopped when I didn't see her right away. I opened the door farther and walked in. There she was, hanging by her knees on the uneven bars. I stopped and looked to see if she was crying, or if she looked mad. I just wanted a heads up on what to expect.
"Mary," I spoke through a voice crack. She flipped down and looked at me faster than a hiccup.
"What are you doing here?" She asked not even surprised to see me.
"I wanted to find you." I walked a little closer.
"Find me? I was never lost." She didn't walk toward me.
"I know you're mad at me, but I brought a peace offering." I placed two cases of beer on the balance beam.
"Why, Travis, why did you want to find me?" She didn't seem like she was mad, or even upset. She honestly just seemed like she didn't care. She looked like I had lost her trust, like the whole world had lost her trust.
"You want to know why I keep telling you to trust me or why I never told you the reason I could be gone at any second?" I opened two beers and handed her one. She took it watching me. "You, Mary Curtis, are my person."
"What is that suppose to mean?" She took long sips of the beer.
"It means that when I'm around you I feel better. It means that when I'm not with you I'm thinking about you! It means I care about you for reasons I cannot explain. Mary, there's no one like you in this world! I love you, but not in a passionate kind of way , but also not as a sister kind of way, but as a you are my person kind of way. When you hurt, I hurt." I opened a second beer and handed it to her, and she looked at me.
"If I have to sit here all night in silence because you still hate me I will, but I'm not going to leave. That was a mistake I will not make again. You can fight or push me away, but I won't leave. Mary, as long as I am able to stay, I will not let you down." As I talked I saw tears well up in her eyes. Of course, she turned away, but I grabbed her shoulder. She drank the rest of her second beer with out coming up for air.
"I over reacted, you didn't lie, you just didn't tell me the truth. It just ended the image I had of you in my head," she put her hand on my arm.
"What image?"
"The image of you being the one person in this world who hadn't hurt me," her bottom lip quivered, but she was a fighter and she fought the tears opening a third beer. Her words hurt. I felt horribly about hurting her.
"Mary, give me an other chance," I got down on my knees and begged. Her next move was unexpected.
"Will you give me an other chance?" She asked me the same question on her knees as well.
"Always, I will always give you as many chances as you need." I pulled her into a hug as she started to cry. It was a soft cry , it might not have even been a cry. She stood up and walked around as she drank her beer.
"What happened today? What caused this?" By this I meant her literally drinking her weight.
"Curly Sheppard got me fired from my job," she finished the third drink and put her for arms on the balance beam catching her breath.
"He told me at school and I pretty much flipped a shit, cool and collected Mary no more!" She held the empty bottle in the air. "The principle suspended Curly. I just left that hell hole before they even had a chance to suspend me, which probably made things worse," she squinted one eye and pointed her finger at me as if she was thinking.
"Does Darry know?" This must have been why Darry seemed so frustrated on the phone. He seemed more than frustrated. I was pretty sure a word had not yet been invented to explain how Darry sounded.
"By now, I'm sure. I left before the principal called," She reached for an other drink, but sat on the ground in the process.
"Mary, I'm so sorry," I draped my arm over her. I didn't even know what else to say.
"I don't even know if I'm afraid of Darry being mad, or if I'm afraid that I let him down. Shit, I let him down everyday he just doesn't know it. There's no way to hide this!" She pulled away from my arm. She never like people touching her, that was not anything new.
"You ready for some twisted bull?" She drank first. "I'm sleeping with my best friends brother, whose other brother is trying to ruin my life. But, Angela and Curly don't know that I'm sleeping with Tim, and Tim and Curly don't know that Angela's pregnant. So, all three will soon hate me when they all find out eachothers secrets." Mary was starting to slur her words.
"Angela's pregnant?" I actually felt my mouth drop a little.
"She was raped."
"Did she call the police?" My heart was racing again.
"No, remember when she was at my house for a few days a few months ago. That's when it happened," Mary put her hand on her head.
"I do remember that now, man this is messed up." I understood Mary much better now.
"Yeah, that's an understatement." She grabbed an other drink.
"You know you're drinking too fast and you're going to throw all of that back up right?" She didn't even listen to what I was saying.
"Tell me Mary, why do you think drinking in stressful situations helps?"
"Because it helps me forgot all the bull shit. I can't tell my best friend I'm sleeping with her brother, or I can't tell the guy I'm sleeping with that his sister is having a baby that a rapist put inside of her. It helps me forget bullshit like, I can't tell my family that I'm unemployed, and not being able to contribute to my family, even though they might already know thanks to my melt down at school which caused bullshit like getting suspended from school. It helps me forget that my brother is hurting because his girlfriend is a whore, and that he's been hurtful It helps me forget that I've hurt so many people too. It just helps." Mary was still holding her head, I was just counting down until she puked.
"I'm going to get a trashcan." I told her. I was also going to call Darry, but I didn't know if it was a good idea that I told her.
"Darry, it's Travis." I had a feeling Darry would know it is me. I didn't know who else would call him at quarter till 12 on a work night. "I'm with Mary."
"Is she alright?" Darry asked. I knew he was worried about her.
"I think she will be. I'll make sure she gets to school tomorrow." I tried to underplay what was going on, I actually didn't know if she would be able to go to school. She was going to have a hell of a hang over.
"Are you brining her home?"
"No, were at a buddy of mine's place. I can't get her to go home." I hadn't really tried, but I was sure if I did she would object.
"Take care of her, Travis." Darry instructed.
"Yes sir," I hung up the phone and carried a trashcan back with me. Even drunk, I could tell Mary was in pain. She was laying on the ground, so I went over and sat beside her. I didn't know what to say, so I was glad she spoke first.
"I don't know why you'd want to be my person. You have such a respected title. You are a soldier. Why would you want to hang around a screw up like me," Mary leaned forward and threw up in the trash can.
"I'm not any more respected than you are a screw up," I told Mary as she put her head on my leg. I felt a tear on my leg. They became frequent, so I put my hand on her back only for her to throw up again.
"What am I going to do Travis?" She sobbed laying back down.
"Right now, you're going to sleep. Tomorrow, we'll worry about that later," I whispered in her ear. She didn't fall asleep for such a long time She cried for what seemed like forever, I'm sure she felt like death. She drank up wards of 6 bears in a small time period on an empty stomach. Not to mention the built up pain she seemed to burring constantly. She cried and cried and cried. I kept stroking her hair not knowing what to do. She was going to have to go to school in less than 4 hours, I didn't know what I was going to do if she was too hung over to go.
The way her head was on my leg made my toes fall asleep. Over time they started to pulse, but I was too afraid to move my leg and wake her up. I eventually fell asleep sitting in an upright position. I woke up a little before she needed to wake up for school. I thought about everything that had happened. I thought about what was going to happen next. Thirty minutes were gone before I knew it, and I shook her waking her up.
Her eyes opened immediately and she sat up looking around, "Where the hell?" She started looking at me.
"Were at the gym," I stood up and massaged my leg where head had been.
She didn't speak, I could almost see her mind working trying to put all of the pieces together.
"You have that meeting with Mr. Jones soon Mar." I reminded her.
"Shit," she muttered holding her head, I figured her head probably was hurting by now. "I've got to shower," she told me picking up a bag from the corner. I had not even realized it was there.
"I see you've done this before." I watched her walk into the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later she came back out dressed nicely, but you could see in her face that she wasn't feeling super great. The gym had one of those really long mirrors that she walked up to as she put on some eye make up.
"I guess you can't avoid the inevitable huh?" She gave me a smile as I opened the door for her.
"Can you drive?" I followed her to her truck.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm completely fine." Her words and her face told different stories.
"I'll follow you," I insisted.
"I really have to do this alone," she looked nervous. Her hands were even shaking a little.
"I get that. Mar, worst case scenario you get to see me instead of being in a classroom for a little while. Or even worse, you get to see Tim. He'll owe you too cause his kid brother got you in this mess. Think of that!" She smiled at me as she cranked the car and pulled out.
