Fifteen

"Ma, look, he's awake."

My sister's voice drifts through the air, as someone grabs at my hand.

Try to turn my head, to locate them. But I'm flat on my back, can't seem to move.

All I can see is the ceiling.

The lights are too bright, stinging my eyes.

Maybe I'll go back to sleep...for a few more minutes.

~oOo~

"Hey, Curly. Wake up."

A hand presses against my shoulder, rough, shaking me.

Angela.

Want her to stop. Try to brush her hand away, but she don't stop. The whole bed is moving, like I'm bobbing about in the swimming baths or something. My stomach is queasy, churning. I feel sick.

"Shit, Ange. Quit it will ya?" I mutter, my voice strangely hoarse. Barely more than a whisper. Don't even sound like me.

My sister leans forward, looming over me. Her bright smile doing nothing to hide the dark circles under her eyes, the smudged mess of her make-up. "So you can speak then? Thought you'd lost your voice or something."

"Where am I?"

"Hospital."

"How?"

"Don't know exactly. Someone saw a fight going down, found you left lying in the gutter. Unconscious. So they called an ambulance. And the hospital called Ma. That was three days ago."

"Shit." I try to push myself a little more upright. Wires and tubes tangle around my arms though and the blankets feel like lead pressing my legs down into the mattress. "Three days, huh? You gotta be kidding me?"

"No. It's the god honest truth, Curly." Ange frowns. Places a small plastic beaker of water into the shaky hand of my one good arm. "I ain't winding you up. Promise."

Slowly raise the cup to my dry lips, clutching it tight like a little kid, as I try to keep it steady, sip at it.

"Nurse said to take it slow. Don't gulp at it."

"I ain't," I snap back, scowling as some of the ice cold liquid spills down the front of my hospital gown. Ange grabs it back, starts dabbing at me with a tissue. Wish she'd stop fussing, but I don't have the strength to brush her away. Let myself slump back against my pillows. "So where's Ma? She doing alright?"

"Ma? Yeah. Well, she ain't too bad, all things considered. You know how she is." Angela frowns. "Not like that first night, when they first brought you here. Think she thought you might not..." Ange claps a hand over her mouth. "Sorry. Only it was bad, Curly. Real bad. Worse than that time Tim got cut up. Remember?"

"Yeah. I remember. So is she here?"

"Outside. The doctor wanted to talk to her again."

"Why?"

"Don't know, maybe they're gonna finally explain to her why you're such an idiot." And just like that my sister's back to her normal annoying self. Grinning at me like a Cheshire Cat. "Probably realised its 'cause she dropped you on your head when you were a baby or something."

"Yeah hilarious." My eyes are heavy. "Wake me up when she gets back, yeah?"

~oOo~

October 1966

"Hey, buddy." Curtis grins at me as he stands on the front step. "Figured you might like some company. Fancy coming down The Ribbon for a bit? Darry actually let me borrow the truck, so we don't even have to walk there."

I glance down the hall. Ma's quiet, settled in the kitchen, and there's no one else around.

"Sure." I pull the door shut behind me, follow him down the path.

"So how you doing, Curly?"

"Oh, fantastic." I smirk at him. "Been going stir crazy, cooped up in the house all the time though. So it's good to get out."

"But you're feeling okay now?" he asks, as the engine roars into life.

"Sure. You got a smoke? Ange was supposed to be getting me some, but she ain't got home from school yet. And she'll most likely forget, anyways."

Pony nods, slides the pack out of his jacket pocket, hands me a smoke, followed by a tatty matchbook. Takes me what feels like forever to light the damn thing. What with this dumb ass cast still on my arm. Can feel his eyes boring into me as he watches. But I ain't gonna ask him for help. Not with this. Not with anything.

"So how's school?" I ask.

"Oh you know, same old shit." Pony shrugs. "You coming back soon?"

My turn to shrug. "Sure. Monday probably. Keep Ma happy at least." Don't need to admit to him how it's bad enough being put in the same grade as Ange as it is; how I'd never live it down if she ends up passing this year and I don't. If they make me sit through it a third time. How even going to school has to be better than sitting around the house staring at the same four walls like I've been doing this past two weeks since I got home.

Instead, I take another drag on my smoke, happy that he's letting it drop. Though when he finally asks his next question I kinda wish he was still talking about school.

"So was it them? Tiber Street?"

"Why, what did you hear?"

Pony shakes his head. "Not much. Soda heard some talk how Ron was bragging about putting you out of action. So now Darry's worrying, thinks I'll be their next target."

"Yeah?" I toss the smoke out the truck window. "Well, he don't need to. I ain't a fucking snitch. Didn't mention your name so he don't need to be so uptight."

"I know. That's what I told him. But you know how he is, he's like an old fucking woman." Curtis grins at me. "Silver lining is he lets me take the truck way more than he used to though. Even if he is back to asking me where I'm going all the damn time. So, d'you wanna hit the bowling alley?"

"Yeah, right. Sure I do." I wave my plaster-clad arm at him, laughing. Wincing as a wave of pain shoots through my ribs again.

"Oh yeah. Well what do you wanna do then?"

I shrug. "Diner, maybe? Kinda fed up with having to eat Angela's attempts at cooking. She makes you seem like a gourmet chef."

"Jesus, she can't be that bad, surely?" Pony raises an eyebrow.

"You' be surprised. Just be thankful she ain't your sister, pair of you would starve if she was."

"So. Jay's then?" he asks, foot on the accelerator as he pulls away again.

"Nah. Let's go down the Double R." I raise my arm again in answer to his unspoken question. "Quieter in there." Like all I'm bothered about is getting jostled by the crowd, rather the fact I ain't keen for the whole world to see me looking this much of a mess. Like I can't handle myself. Like I'm just another useless loser.

Stepping inside, I point to an empty table over near the window, right behind some gaggle of hot broads that I half-recognise from school. Don't make it that far though as someone behind me calls out my name.

"Curly!" Leigh appears in front of me and hugs me, steps back, her hands still on my arms as she studies me. "How are you? My god, I heard you got beat up bad, but, Jesus. Are you sure you're feeling okay now?" She smiles at me.

"Yeah, I'm good. Be better when I get this damn thing off though." I raise my right arm slightly, pointing with my other hand at the grubby, itchy cast encasing it.

"It'll be gone before you know it. You go sit down, I'll bring you over some drinks."

Grinning at the girls as we pass by, we slide into the empty booth. I watch the girls, trying to think of something cool to say. But Pony barely glances at them. Instead, he fiddles with a napkin, folding it over and over before he starts shredding it.

"So Tiber street. What're we gonna do about 'em?" Pony says, elbows on the table.

"Us? Nothing. We're gonna do nothing."

"But you can't seriously be letting them get away with it?"

I fiddle with my straw. "And how in hell d'you suppose I'd do something like that, genius?"

"Well, Won't your gang want to get revenge? Wouldn't Tim want you to get even with them?"

"Don't matter does it, he ain't here. And the gang ain't no match for Tiber Street these days. Not without Tim." I go to take another sip of my shake, when I realise my glass is empty. But Leigh's clearly keeping her distance, hasn't been back near us since she delivered our drinks. She glances across, catches my eye, smiles at me. Maybe I ought to tell her. That I spoke to Tim. That he's okay. Although, it ain't like I can tell her he asked after her or nothing. So maybe not.

And I've given up trying to figure out what Tim might do, what'd be going on in his head. Whether he'd go slug it out with Ron one on one. Which I guess he might. If he was mad enough. Though knowing my brother, he'd more than likely come up with something a whole lot smarter than that. 'Cause Tim ain't nothing if not smart. And maybe it's time for me to start using my head, too.

"So you're really gonna let it lie? Do nothing?" Pony persists.

"Jees, Curtis. I'm hardly in any shape to go looking for a fight am I? Especially one I got no chance of winning. So for now, I'm gonna let it lie. Don't mean I'm forgetting it. Just that maybe I ain't quite as dumb as everyone seems to believe I am."

A/N: Thanks for reading.