Darry, Steve, and Soda climbed into Darry's truck. Steve felt his nerves rise at the idea of going back to his house. Darry hadn't gone into detail as to why they needed to bring Steve to collect his things. It's not like he had a lot to bring. He watched as Soda became uneasy in the truck. He sat in the middle seat and just looked down at his lap. Steve could tell Soda wanted to be his support system, but he also didn't want to go be a part of whatever this was. Something was distracting him.
"What happened?" Steve asked nervously. Darry had said he needed to talk to Steve about the visit to his house. That could mean a spectrum of things.
"We weren't able to get your things," Darry said.
Steve swallowed, "It's not a big deal Darry." He didn't want to imagine what could have taken place between his father and Darry, Soda, and Two-Bit. He didn't want to care. He didn't need his stuff. He was a greaser, he'd be just fine. He could tough it out.
"No, you don't understand. It wasn't really your dad that stopped us."
Darry stopped the truck in front of Steve's house. Steve was leaning his head against the car door. He just looked out the window, into the street, avoiding his house. He didn't want to do this. He was over everything. He didn't want to do anything anymore. He just wanted everything to be over.
"Steve," Soda put his hand on Steve's shoulder and gave it a squeeze, "It's okay. Really."
"What are you talking about?" Steve asked.
"We just ran into another problem," Darry said, "Soda and I are going to have to bring you there and show you."
Steve looked up, "Darry, you're scaring me."
Steve slowly turned his head and looked towards his house. His car was in the driveway by itself. "Well, at least he's gone right now," Steve said feeling some hope that this wasn't about to turn ugly.
"Yeah," Soda sighed, "That does help."
Darry slowly pulled his keys out of the ignition, "Let's go." The three boys stepped out of the truck. Steve could sense how uneasy Darry and Soda were. It was making him nervous. He didn't want to ask though. His father wasn't home, so he figured that was good enough. Maybe they were uneasy from what happened earlier. Maybe what happened earlier was the reason his father wasn't home right now. Whatever had happened, Steve's confidence wasn't feeling so high as he watched his best friend hang his head low.
At the front door, Darry and Soda paused for a moment. Steve just looked down. He felt himself becoming on edge. He was near the idea of just turning around and leaving, not wanting to find out what was going on. He wanted to speak up and say he didn't care for his belongings. Just leave it behind and let him be. Deep down, Steve was starting to think this wasn't only about retrieving his things though, and that was an even scarier thought.
Darry grabbed the doorknob, and let the door slide open. He turned back and saw Steve refusing to look up. "Come on Steve." Grabbing Steve by the arm, he slowly lead him inside with Soda following behind.
Steve slowly lifted his head, and wasn't immediately sure what he was suppose to be seeing. The living room looked a little cleaned up and organized, but nothing seemed different. The boys walked a little further through the house and entered the kitchen. Looking out of the corner of his eye, Steve looked towards the table. He could tell his father had attempted to clean the table. It even appeared to have been scrubbed down. Regardless of the effort put into it, Steve could still see traces of the blood from his face being smashed against it. Closing his eyes tight for a second, Steve shoved the vision away. The stain was never going to be gone.
Making his way past the table and deeper into the kitchen, Steve opened the fridge. That was a habit when his father was unexpectedly gone. He looked closely and saw some food was gone and his father's beer was gone. "He must have went to a friends place," Steve commented. When his father went on his disappearing moments, he'd make sure to take all of his alcohol with him. That wasn't unusual. That's how Steve knew it could be a few days before his father returned.
"Should we go upstairs then?" Soda asked.
"Sure," Steve closed the fridge, "It looks like we're safe to take our time if he left for a couple of days. He must have bounced thinking Darry was going to send the fuzz or something."
"That'd be ironic, huh?" Soda asked following Steve up the stairs. A flash of a couple days ago stopped Steve at his bedroom door. He was getting hit hard with the last time he was there. Forced to his bed, no freedom, no sign of ever being let go.
"It's okay buddy," Soda placed a hand on his shoulder.
Steve turned to face the brothers, "Soda, you don't even know what Darry walked into a couple days ago."
"What do you mean?" Soda asked, looking over at Darry.
"I didn't have time to tell you the exact details little buddy," Darry sighed, "I was in a rush to get you all out of the house."
"I can barely remember it," Steve said as he stared past the brothers and towards the wall, "It all just seems so unreal now. Like there's no way that could have happened."
Soda noticed Steve's voice dropping as he spoke. "You don't have to tell me right now. Let's just get your things."
"He handcuffed me Soda," Steve blurted without a second thought, "He just kept me locked to my bed. When Darry got here, my dad ended up cutting me while he threatened me, didn't want me to make a single sound."
Soda put a hand over his mouth and shook his head, "Steve, I..."
"Don't say anything. Please. I just wanted you to understand." Steve turned, ending the conversation. The visual idea of his best friend chained to the bed made Soda sick. In an unsettling way, Terrence was constantly surprising him with the new ways he would torture Steve. He didn't realize he could create and hold so much anger inside. The idea of not being able to give Terrence a piece of his mind was upsetting Soda the most. He hated thinking Terrence was just going to get away with this.
Steve opened his bedroom door. He took a deep breath, wanting to get through this fast, and walked in. He avoided looking towards his bed as much as possible, not wanting to relive being forced to stay in his bed, away from society and any human rights. Something caught his eye rather quick though. He walked over to his dresser. His blade was there. The blade his father had took and ended up threatening him with. "Huh," he commented picking it up, "He left it here." He put it back down as it gave him chills. 'Might need to get a new one,' Steve thought to himself.
Turning around, he saw Soda and Darry were still standing at his doorway, just looking at him. "What?"
"You should see something before you pack up," Darry said. Steve got the hint that it wasn't about his blade or his room. He followed Darry towards the other end of the hallway, Soda staying behind him. They got to his father's bedroom. Steve got a flash of his father's words at the hospital.
"And then we are going to be with her again."
'He didn't," Steve thought to himself as he froze in front of the door. Darry stood right next to him.
"We are going to end this pain and go be with her again, forever."
Steve took a step back, shaking his head. "No..."
Soda put his hands on Steve's shoulders to stop him, "Steve, I promise, it's okay." Darry grabbed the doorknob and turned it. Steve felt his eyes slam shut, not wanting to know what was behind the door. He heard the door open up, and Darry didn't say anything. He waited patiently for Steve to look.
When Steve felt brave enough to, he opened his eyes a little and looked in. He could see the bed from the doorway, but no one was in it. He opened his eyes wider, hoping that was a good sign. Taking a couple steps, he walked past Darry and deeper into the room. He didn't see anyone. Looking over at his father's dresser, he saw the drawers unevenly opened. He walked over and opened them all further. They were all empty. Steve felt confusion come over him.
By instinct, he walked over to his father's closet and opened the doors. All of his father's clothes and belongings were gone. It was completely empty. Steve looked at Darry and Soda. Darry kept the most emotionless, straight face he could. Soda wasn't hiding much though. He could barely look at Steve as he kept his gaze to the floor. Steve could tell that if Soda were to look up, he'd lose it. What he couldn't quite tell is if he would lose it by being sad or angry.
"I don't get it," Steve said, hurrying out of the bedroom. He brushed past the brothers and went to the bathroom, opening the drawers. His father's toothbrush, comb, soap, shaving stuff, and all the towels were gone. He walked out of the bathroom and back into his father's room, going back to the closet. It was still empty.
"I don't get it," Steve repeated looking at Darry for an explanation. Before Darry could answer, Steve rushed out again and went back to his own bedroom. He grabbed his blade again and gave it a quick look over. He gripped it tight as he walked back to his father's room. He looked at the empty setting and looked back at Darry and Soda. "What's going on?"
Darry brought Steve to the bed and sat him down. "Steve, he's gone."
Steve looked up at Soda, who still refused to look anywhere but the floor. Looking to Darry, he asked with a shaky voice, "What do you mean? Gone how?"
"He just...left. He packed up his things and left."
"He...left?"
Darry slowly nodded, "He's gone. We don't know where he is or where he went, but he's gone. For good."
Steve didn't know what to say. His father just left? That was it? No word, or any form of showing he was getting out of his life? No idea once so ever of how he was moving on? Or where he was moving on to? "This doesn't make sense," Steve said getting up off the bed and leaving the room. He hurried downstairs and froze at the bottom of the stairs. He felt his chest tighten as he remembered getting kicked towards the stairs. He felt the humiliation in his face as he relived getting shoved time after time towards the floor. His hands clenched the stairwell as he felt his father shove him out of the chair. He bit his bottom lip as he saw the belt come across his back. He gasped for breath out loud feeling the grip pull his hair up. Tears began falling as he remembered the first smack across the face. The one time that started it all.
"Steve?"
Steve barely heard the voices behind him. It was all fuzzy. His legs grew weak as he sunk down to the floor.
'It was just a hit to the face,' Steve thought to himself, 'How could I have let it get this far?'
"Steve? Are you okay?"
'It was only a hit. It could have just been one time, but I let it get out of hand. It only had to be a hit. It only had to be one time.' Steve lay flat on the ground, laying his head on the floor, and cried the tears.
Darry and Soda ended up packing Steve's belongings. Steve stayed on the floor at the bottom of the stairs the entire time. He didn't talk to them. He simply cried. He tried processing everything, but he couldn't get his mind straight. When Darry and Soda were ready, they helped Steve up and back to the truck. They got back to the Curtis house in silence. Steve didn't go inside the house though, he sat down on the porch swing. Darry and Soda just went on inside, not bothering him.
Two-Bit and Pony were inside the house. Pony wasn't sure what had happened, but Darry assured him they would talk later. Right now, they just had to be there for Steve. That wasn't going to be easy as Steve wouldn't move from his spot. He let tears fall as many emotions came over him. He was sad, he was mad, and he was confused. Earlier that day, Steve was at some line of peace when he thought he just had to go back to Soda's house and not go back to his father. This was unexpected. Steve didn't imagine this to happen.
As time passed, Soda decided to go out and check on his best friend. He sat on the porch swing, and waited for Steve to say anything, as he wasn't sure what to say himself.
"Was it like that when you guys got there?" Steve asked.
"Yeah," Soda answered, "We got there and he was gone. Me and Darry were actually going to get your things, but Two-Bit was snooping around your dad's room and thought it was odd it was so empty. We all...put it together."
Steve bit his lip, trying to hold back the tears, "I just can't believe it. If I'm not available to what he wants out of me, he just doesn't want me at all."
Soda looked at his best friend, and couldn't hold back the frustration, "Steve, who cares if he left?"
Steve looked at Soda with his mouth hung open, unsure how to respond to his sudden anger.
"Do you see what he has done to you? I don't give a shit that he's gone! He needs to be gone, forever!"
The front door opened and Darry stepped outside, "What's going on guys?"
Soda stood up from the swing and looked down at Steve, "The only thing I wish I could have done before he left was beat his ass." Steve couldn't respond as Soda marched inside the house.
"Why is he mad at me?" Steve asked.
Darry sighed, "He's mad at Terrence, not at you. I'll go talk to him."
Darry followed Soda outside in the backyard. He watched Soda pace the backyard, throwing his hands in the air and shaking his head. "I don't get it Darry."
"Soda..."
"No!" Soda interrupted, pointing a finger at his older brother, "I don't fucking get it! That man beat him! That man injured him! He has a long road of recovery! It will be a long time before he can be just Steve again! That man chained him like a damn dog!"
"I know..."
"And he's having a breakdown over him leaving!" Soda yelled, "Why!"
"Soda, I know you have strong feelings towards Terrence right now. I do too."
Soda scoffed, "I hate him Darry. I hate every part of him!"
"I know Soda, but you have to understand what Steve is going through."
"He shouldn't be upset! He should be glad that that scum just booked it. He doesn't need him. Good riddance!" Soda yelled towards the sky.
"Soda," Darry walked over and put both hands on Soda's shoulders, "Just listen to me, please. You are right, absolutely right. I'm not taking that away from you. Steve doesn't need him anymore. But do you realize what he was just told by his dad packing up and leaving without a word?"
Soda shook his head as he looked to the ground, anger continuing to rise in him, "What?"
"That he didn't want Steve. Steve wasn't worth having around if he couldn't do those things to him, if he couldn't control and beat him. They didn't have that good of a relationship for years, I know, but they had something. They had their good days. And...out of nowhere, Terrence decided he didn't want that anymore. He wanted to change things and if he couldn't have it that way, Steve wasn't worth being in his life."
"But why Darry? Why did Terrence decide to change and be like this? Why was Steve only worth treating like an animal to him?" Soda asked, tears coming to his eyes.
Darry shook his head, "No one will be able to answer that. Soda, you have to realize something. I wasn't going to let Steve go back home, hell he knew he wasn't going to willingly go back, but at least he still had Terrence and his home to go back to if things ever turned around and went back to normal. He still had those pieces of his mom alive for him, that small possibility to return to those things. But with Terrence abandoning him like this, without a single word or reason...Steve's world has been turned completely upside down. And he has to try and figure it all out."
Soda looked up at Darry.
"He's not having a breakdown, because he wants Terrence back. He's having a breakdown, because he doesn't understand. He doesn't understand why Terrence did these things to him. A lot just got taken from him, without him having a chance to get some closure."
Soda slowly nodded, "I guess I get it. I just hate that he leaves and is out of our lives and we should be happy for that. But instead, he's causing Steve pain, again."
"I know little buddy, just give Steve time. Just be there for him. He'll come around."
Soda felt himself collapse into his older brother's chest, "I just want him to be Steve again."
"I do too," Darry rubbed Soda's head, "At least he can start his road to recovery. Now that his dad is gone."
