"Hey kid," Steve whispered from the couch, "What are they talking about?" Steve had gotten curious as Darry and Soda's voices got lower.
Ponyboy got up from the couch and walked near the doorway to the kitchen. He stood for only a moment and caught a few words of their conversation before returning to the couch. He didn't want to tell Steve what he heard though. After his conversation with Darry about what had been going on, he knew Steve wouldn't react well.
"Well?" Steve asked with little patience. He already assumed Darry and Soda couldn't be talking about anything good, but he was desperate to know anyway.
Pony looked at Steve, "Um, you-you're dad is coming."
Steve's eyes widened. He felt that urgency to go look out the window. As he got up from the couch, he moved too fast and collapsed to the floor. Darry and Soda hurried in after hearing the thud.
"Steve!" Soda gasped as him and Darry helped him up, "What's going on?"
Steve groaned as he was helped back onto the couch. He was getting more irritated at his body. All he wanted to do was go look out the window, but his back still couldn't handle quick, sudden movements. "Is it true?"
"What?" Darry asked.
Steve felt tears form in his eyes as fear overcame the anger. He shot a look at Ponyboy and yelled, "Kid, go upstairs now!" Pony jumped, not expecting Steve to suddenly bark at him. He got up from the couch and hurried upstairs. Steve didn't want Pony to see him suddenly become weak and lose it. He knew Pony had seen a lot already, but Steve refused to let him see much more. The second Ponyboy was out of sight, tears fell down Steve's face. "Is my dad really coming?"
Soda cursed under his breath. He didn't need his best friend panicking over this.
Darry sighed, "We don't know. He may have said that to Soda, but we don't really know if he will or not."
Steve swallowed back any cries, "No, you guys can't let him take me home. You just can't. I won't be able to leave! I can't go with him. Please Darry, please!"
"Steve, listen to me," Darry sat down on the couch and put an arm around Steve, "First, you need to breathe. You're practically hyperventilating and I don't want you to aggravate your back. Breathe." Steve took in a deep breath and slowly released it. He felt his chest get tight and his stomach do flips. Darry was right, he was about to go crazy and he'd feel the physical burden of that later. "Now listen, I will not let you leave this house. I will do everything I can to make that happen. You will not go home with him."
Glancing over at Soda, Darry could see the relief in his little brother's eyes at those words. Steve fell into Darry and cried. He trusted Darry, but couldn't help and still feel scared.
"How about you and Soda go upstairs and relax? Just to be safe," Darry suggested, "I will watch out for anything."
Soda nodded. He helped Steve get up and they both went upstairs. They went into Pony's room and sat on the bed. "I think I'll go get some cards," Soda said leaving the room.
As Steve felt a little more relaxed, he looked over at Ponyboy, "Hey kid, I'm sorry I snapped down there."
"It's okay," Pony shrugged as he was doodling inside a journal.
"I felt like I was going to lose it down there and I just didn't want you to see me like that," Steve admitted, "I don't like anyone seeing me like that honestly."
"Really, it's okay," Pony assured him, "I know a lot is going on." There was silence for a moment before Ponyboy spoke up again. "Are you scared?"
Steve looked up at the younger greaser, "Yeah."
"What happened?" Pony asked.
Steve looked over at the wall and shook his head, "No one's told you huh?"
"No. I wasn't really sure if I wanted to know actually, but seeing you like this...something must be really wrong and I kind of want to help."
Steve sighed, "My dad did some bad things to me, and I don't know why he's doing it."
"Is he saying things to you too? Like bad things?" Pony asked, remembering how Darry had mentioned Terrence possibly brainwashing Steve.
Steve took a minute to answer that question. He wasn't sure how much Pony had heard from his brothers or maybe just figured out on his own. He knew Pony was a smart one. "Yeah, yeah he is."
"I'm sorry. I really am."
"Thanks, Ponyboy."
Steve was able to relax while him, Soda, and Ponyboy played cards. After some time passed, they heard the rest of the gang arrive to hang out, and they went back downstairs. It was a nice night out, so the greasers passed the football around and shot some basketball. Steve sat on the porch steps, but he was feeling relaxed knowing everyone was there just having a good time together. It made his problems diminish.
At one point, Dally joined Steve on the steps. "What's up, Dal?" Steve asked taking a sip of beer.
"How's it going?" he asked.
"It's going," Steve muttered.
"Are you staying?"
"Staying here?" Dally nodded. "Yeah, I can't really go anywhere."
"Don't be stupid and go crawling back home, or I will hurt you," Dally said.
Steve chuckled, "I know you would too. Don't worry, I don't want to go back."
"Good."
The boys eventually made their way back inside and just goofed off while watching TV. Steve was glad to be part of another night with his friends. He really needed it.
Terrence never showed up.
"Steve...Steve...wake up." Steve stirred at the voice. His eyes blinked a few times to get a clearer view of the figure above him. "Steve, come on, let's go." The voice became sharp, and Steve's eyes flew open.
"No," Steve muttered, "No, how did you..."
Terrence grabbed Steve by the arms and pulled him up from the bed. "It's time to go home. You've disrupted this family long enough over your nonsense."
"No, let me go," Steve felt tears in his eyes as he pleaded to his father, "Put me down, please. Darry! Soda! Please help me!"
"They aren't here to help you," Terrence said in a strangely calm tone, "I am here to take you home now, Steve." As Terrence tightened his grip, Steve put his hands up and tried shoving him away.
Steve felt an eruption of pain in his back and let out a scream. His eyes opened and he was on the floor in the bedroom. He searched around the room for his father, but didn't seem him anywhere. Steve panicked as he tried to make sense of what was going on. He noticed the room was lighter than he had just experienced. Steve realized it was just a nightmare. It had seemed so real though that Steve had fallen out of the bed from trying to shove his father and he landed right on his back. He squirmed around as his lower back screamed.
"Steve?" Pony asked walking in the room, "Oh my God, are you okay?" Pony got to the floor and helped Steve sit up. Steve screamed at the pain. "What happened?"
"It was...just a nightmare," Steve said with heavy breaths.
"You are drenched in sweat," Pony commented.
Steve tried to slow his breathing, but his back pain wouldn't subside at all, "Where's Soda?"
"Him and Darry are at work," Pony sighed, "Should I help you get back in the bed?"
Steve nodded, "Yeah, yeah."
As Pony prepared to aid in Steve's weight, he let out a scream. Pony let go as Steve sat there holding his lower back, slightly swinging back and forth from the pain. He felt a little scared seeing Steve like that, unsure what him falling out of bed may have caused. "Wh-What should I do?"
Steve shook his head, "I...I don't know." Steve lowered himself to the floor, feeling defeated.
"I'll call Soda," Pony said. He got up and headed downstairs to the kitchen phone.
Steve stayed on the floor, still not feeling any relief from the pain. The nightmare had terrified him, so he could only imagine how hard he may have fallen to the floor. "He doesn't have to even be here to attack me," Steve said to himself, "Why did you have to do this to me?"
Soda rushed through the front door. The living room was empty, so he headed upstairs. He found Steve laying on the floor and Pony sitting next to him.
"Oh Steve," Soda got down to the floor and began looking over his best friend, "Have you gotten up at all?"
Steve shook his head, "It hurts too much." As Soda prepared to help his best friend, the three boys jumped as they heard the front door open and shut. Steve felt his heart drop and his nightmare suddenly flashed in his mind, "Oh no, it's happening."
"Hello, anyone home?" a voice called from downstairs.
Soda let out a sigh of relief, "We're up here, Two-Bit!"
The boys heard footsteps and Two-Bit appeared in the doorway.
"What's going on?" he asked as he saw everyone on the floor.
"Steve's hurt," Soda simply said, "Want to help me try and get him up? We have to be really careful."
"Sure, sure," Two-Bit got down to the floor.
"Okay, I know this is going to hurt, buddy, but let's just get it done," Soda commented.
"To the bed?" Two-Bit asked.
Soda nodded, "But get him on his stomach. I want to check on his back."
It was a long process of trying to be careful, and it didn't help listening to Steve whimper and yell no matter how slow they did it. On the bed, Steve rolled himself to his stomach while Two-Bit tried to support him.
"Did the pain get worse?" Soda asked.
Steve slowly nodded, "It hasn't stopped."
"What exactly happened?"
"I...I was having a nightmare...about my dad, and I guess when I shoved him in my dream I pushed myself off the bed. I landed right on my back," Steve said.
"I'm going to go downstairs," Pony spoke up, slowly leaving the room.
"Is he okay?" Two-Bit asked standing next to Soda.
"I probably scared him a little," Steve commented.
"He'll be fine," Soda said, "Let's look at what happened here."
Two-Bit watched as Soda lifted Steve's shirt. Steve didn't like hearing both the greasers gasp. That didn't mean any good news.
"Oh no..." Soda mumbled.
"Steve, you need to go to a doctor," Two-Bit said.
"What?" Steve asked.
"Steve," Soda swallowed, "Your lower back is completely bruised."
"Something must be injured awful," Two-Bit said.
"When Darry gets home, he can look at it and we can bring you to the doctor," Soda said hurrying Steve's shirt back down, "I-I'll be right back." Soda hurried out of the room.
"I better go after him," Two-Bit said, "Just hang on Steve." Two-Bit followed Soda downstairs and out to the front porch. "Soda, are you okay?"
Soda sat himself on the porch swing and buried his face in his hands. "I'm so worried about him," Soda said, "Two-Bit this has gotten bad. I thought he was safe here from his dad's abuse."
"Soda, what are you talking about? He is safe here."
"Maybe in person, yes. But if Steve has nightmares, then he's still going to be hurting and scared. I can't keep seeing him like this, Two-Bit. All I'm doing is worrying about him," Soda said.
"We all are," Two-Bit agreed, "We'll get him to a doctor and get him checked out."
"You saw his back."
"I know, I know," Two-Bit nodded, "It looked really...really bad."
"What could it be?"
Two-Bit shrugged, "I don't really know. I can't imagine anything good."
Soda shook his head, "You know whatever it is, it was his dad that caused it."
"Well yeah, we all know that."
"So are we just not going to do anything about it?"
"Soda, what are you talking about? What can we really do? This isn't some Soc. Steve is here and safe, isn't that all you wanted?"
Soda jumped to his feet, "Steve is obviously hurt, seriously hurt. And if something is seriously wrong with him...something has to be done."
"Soda, what are you..."
"Terrence doesn't deserve to get away with this."
Later that afternoon, Darry and Soda found themselves at the doctor with Steve while Two-Bit stayed at the house with Ponyboy. They were waiting in one of the exam rooms when Darry excused himself to the bathroom. Soda felt on edge to find out what was going on with Steve's injuries. Two-Bit tried calming him down before Darry got home, but it didn't work much. Soda was getting fed up with all of this. Sure, at first Soda just wanted Steve to stay at the house and never go home. It was different now. Steve was getting effected by a nightmare now. Soda didn't want Terrence to simply get away with all of this tormenting he was causing Steve.
"Soda," Steve said from the examining table, "I need to talk to you."
"What's going on?" Soda asked, turning his attention from his angry thoughts.
"I need to get something off my chest. Something that is bothering me."
"What about?" Soda asked confused.
"Some things my dad said," Steve looked down at his hands, "I told Darry some of it, but I feel like I should tell you."
"If you want to."
"He told me things about your parents and when I was younger."
"What about it?" Soda asked.
"That your parents were trying to keep me from him. That my dad tried getting his life together, but your parents wouldn't let him really try to be a dad to me. I told Darry about it all, and he told me that was bullshit. He told me the only reason your parents kept me from him was because he was having a drinking problem and wasn't really fixing anything. My dad said your mom was being selfish and just wanted me to be another kid of hers, so she kept me from him," Steve explained.
Soda tried his hardest not to get angry, at least not in front of Steve. He ran a hand over his face, trying to hide any frustration, "Why are you telling me this?"
"I guess I wanted you to know that I don't believe it," Steve said, "I'm sorry, because for some time I did believe it. I just wanted a relationship with my dad for years, it's all I wanted. And I guess hearing my dad tell me all of that gave me hope that he really did want that with me too. But, I think that fantasy is starting to go away. I'm realizing what is true and what isn't. I'm sorry I ever doubted your parents and what they wanted for me."
Soda sighed, "Well, I'm glad Darry talked you out of that shit."
Steve looked over at Soda, "Are you mad at me?"
Soda shook his head, "No."
"Soda, I am sorry. You deserved to know, and I wanted you to know. I wanted to be able to talk to you about it. I didn't mean to make you mad."
"You didn't make me mad," Soda said. Steve wasn't sure what to make of that as Soda emphasized the word 'you,' but he had to stop the conversation as Darry and the doctor returned.
"Hey Two-Bit, want to come out for a cigarette?" Soda asked. After the boys returned from the doctor and Steve got settled on the couch, Two-Bit followed Soda outside.
"What happened at the doctor?" Two-Bit asked while lighting up.
"Well, I think we'll have to take him to the hospital to get a scan done," Soda began as he took a drag off a cigarette, "The doctor said it looked rough. Parts of his back are getting infected from open wounds and shit. But his lower back looked really damaged to the doctor."
Two-Bit sighed, "Gees, did the doctor say what it could be?"
Soda swallowed hard, "A bruised kidney."
"What, um," Two-Bit began feeling uneasy, "What does that mean?"
"It really just depends if that's what it is, how bad, and if it's effecting anything else. He did give Steve something for the infection though and for the pain," Soda explained.
"So when does Steve go to the hospital?" Two-Bit asked.
Soda shrugged, "The doctor told us there were some symptoms we could look for to determine if it's a bruised kidney and how serious. So, we might just see what happens. I don't know."
Two-Bit threw his cigarette on the ground and stomped it out, "So, how are you doing? You kind of worried me from talking earlier."
"Can you blame me for being so mad?" Soda threw his arms in the air.
"No, I'm not saying that," Two-Bit said, "I'm just saying you were kind of getting me worried about things."
Soda rolled his eyes, "Do you want to know what Terrence told Steve?"
"What do you mean? Told Steve when?"
"While he was beating him up," Soda replied with a scoff, "He was telling Steve that my parents were keeping Steve from him."
"Keeping him from Terrence? What do you mean by that?"
"He tried turning Steve against us. He told Steve my parents weren't trying to help him or Steve, my mom just wanted to keep Steve for herself as part of the family. That's such shit! He was an alcoholic, Two-Bit! He was a bad parent. He would've just left Steve by himself if my mom wasn't there! Steve wouldn't be taken care of, damnit! That asshole didn't care about Steve, he never did!"
"Soda, calm down," Two-Bit walked over to Soda and placed a hand on his back, "Relax. I know you're super mad about all of this. We all are. None of us want to see him going through this or being told some bull like that."
"I can't believe him," Soda said slamming his hands against the porch railing.
"Just listen to me, okay? We can't change that. We cannot do anything about what Terrence said or what he even thinks. Right now, all we can do is be there for Steve." When Soda stayed silent and just stared forward, Two-Bit continued, "I bet you anything Steve doesn't want to see you like this. He doesn't want you to risk anything by confronting Terrence. He just wants you to be here and helping him."
Soda looked over at Two-Bit. He turned and walked down the porch. "I need to go clear my head."