AUTHOR'S NOTE: I want to thank CuteCarly and SodasGurl for the reviews.
Unfortunately, at this time I'm running incredibly low on ideas. I have
some ideas, mostly for the end, but I want to have an appropriate climb to
the climax. Translation: I do have an idea about how this story ends, but
I have no idea how I want to get there. Confusing, huh? I could actually
write the climax right now, but I don't feel it fits properly with the flow
of the story, especially since its probably going to be my first and only
"Outsiders" story. Thank you for putting up with how long the chapters
are. This one is kind of a breather chapter. I know I've repeated this
over and over again, but if anyone has even the smallest idea, please tell
me in the reviews or e-mail me because I could really use them! Thanks,
here's Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
DARRY
I awoke in the middle of the night to distant ringing. I flopped over in my bed and lazily hit the clock. It crashed to floor, and the arms, hanging only by a thread, read seventeen minutes after twelve. Dragging myself down the hallway and into the kitchen, I picked up the phone.
"'lo?" This had better be good. Occasionally, Steve and Anya would stop on by at odd times at night after Steve had gotten in a vicious brawl with his drunken father. Our door was open to those in our gang.
I heard sobbing on the other end. Intense crying. I instantly knew something wasn't right. "Hello Darry, it's me." I recognized her voice the instant I heard it.
"Kat, what's wrong?" I asked. The shrieking began all over again.
"He hit me, Darry." She was trying to sound calm, but her voice sounded like porcelain that would crack at the slightest drop.
"Who?" I asked, a mix of concern, fear and confusion in my voice.
"Julio!" she gasped. "He broke in about twenty minutes ago, swearing and drinking and in a foul mood. I tried to calm him down, but he wouldn't have it. Fists just kept flying, oh my God, he took it out on Cloud too! There's blood everywhere."
"Oh my God." I murmured. I could hear Cloud bawling in the background, and now yelling, probably from the neighbors, was beginning to make its way through the reception.
"And I got fired today! My boss just couldn't handle the complaints anymore, and the lost money and everything. And the social worker, she just stopped by a few minutes earlier and said that she didn't feel this was a proper place to raise Cloud!
"I don't know what to do." she sobbed. "I never wanted Cloud to see something like this, and I have no money anymore. I can't believe I'm being so invasive, but Darry you're the last person I know and I was wondering, just until I got back on my feet, oh please, Darry."
"Absolutely," I said.
It was if I had mended all her problems. "Thank you Darry! Thank you so much." And then the receiver went dead. I wanted to tell her I'd pick her up. I wanted Kat to be okay. What had Julio done? How bad was the damage he had caused? I threw on a T-shirt and a pair of jeans and hurried out to the porch. A million thoughts were racing through my head. What kind of sick bastard would hit the mother of his child and then his own child? My hands were sweaty, but that was the least of my problems at the moment. I knew I probably should have woken up Soda and Pony to tell them we were going to have two girls living with us, but I wasn't thinking clearly.
I saw a limping silhouette come walking down the north side of the street. On her hip was a smaller figure, and the silhouette was carrying a bag of something. It had to be Kat. She was limping, and I could hear Cloud whimpering. I ran over to her.
"Kat!" I shouted. I could hardly see her, but her hair was in curlers, and I saw a trail of blood behind her.
"Hi Darry," she said. "Guess this is a bad time to ask for a date, huh?" I would've normally laughed if the situation hadn't been so serious. I took Cloud in one arm and Kat's bag in the other and I ushered them up the stairs and into the house. It was when I flipped on the light I noticed how severe the damage was.
Kat had bruises up all her arms, and cuts on her legs. Her left eye was swollen shut and a sickly bluish black. Her lip had been cut open and blood was spilling from a nasty gash on her back. I couldn't believe that this had been the happy wild child I had taken out just last night.
To make matters worse, Cloud wasn't in much better shape. Blood caked her dark brown hair, and she had bruises on her face as well. The marks left by the chains were bright red. Her cheeks were stained by the trails of her tears. I was sick to my stomach, and I had seen a lot in my twenty years.
"I need to put Cloud to bed," Kat murmured. It was hard to hear her speak since her lip was cut up.
"Here, you can have my room," I said. I led Kat and Cloud into my bedroom. I cleaned up a bit and laid Cloud down to rest. She fell fast asleep, her eyes fluttering. Kat and I quietly closed the door and sat back down in the armchair.
"It's not that bad," Kat said optimistically. "I mean, Julio could have done a lot worst, he was just angry."
"Miserable bastard," I murmured.
Kat sighed, and then whispered, "How bad is it?" What was I supposed to tell her? Was I to lie and tell her that it was a few scratches and bruises? Or was I to tell her the grisly truth?
"It's bad," I decided. That was a normal medium between the door.
Kat nodded, and then covered her gaping mouth. She looked like she was going to burst into hysteric tears at any moment. Her voice crackled, "I never wanted to raise my daughter like this. Not like this." She looked around. Blood was dripping onto my T-shirt, but I couldn't care less. I gathered her up in my arms, and felt her shaking body.
"Why her?" she sobbed softly. "I could've taken it, but to hurt his own daughter." I couldn't understand the rest, but the two of us just sat there, Kat in my lap, just holding one another. I don't know how long we sat there in that armchair, nor do I particularly care. I could hear her whispering "I'm sorry," over and over again, until she had cried herself out. By then, we had fallen asleep together, afraid that if we didn't we'd disappear forever.
PONY
There is no day quite like the first day of summer vacation. And here I was, spending it awakening to a vacant lot. I trotted back to my house. How was I going to tell Darry that I stayed up nearly the entire night? Maybe I didn't have to.
I stealthily crept up the stairs and opened the porch door. I was a little more then just surprised to see what I saw in the living room. Darry was sitting in the armchair, arms wrapped around that girl he'd met, Kat. However, she looked really banged up. I had just noticed the drops of blood imprinted onto the ground. Darry looked so peaceful sleeping, not stern and tough like I was used to.
I was about to make my escape when I heard Darry say, "Nice try, kiddo." I turned on my heel to see Darry yawn and wake up.
"How the hell do you do that?"
"The powers of being the eldest," Darry replied sleepily. "Come. Sit. How come you are just entering the house?"
"Um.Two-Bit needed to pick up some cigarettes, so he stopped by and I was the only one up."
"Try again," Darry said sternly.
I saw Kat nuzzle her face into Darry's chest, "Darry, go easy on the kid."
Darry sighed, tired from whatever happened last night, and nodded, "Don't pull a stunt like that again, got that?"
"Of course not," I nodded eagerly. I had no idea what Kat was doing over at our house, but I was really going to need to thank her at some point. I slipped into the bedroom that Soda and I were forced to share, changed out of my clothes, and then jumped on the bed, waking up the sleeping Soda.
He grabbed my by the collar of my shirt, "You pull something like that again and I'll make mincemeat out of you!"
I laughed, "Get up, Soda."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I've got work," he grumbled. He then trudged off towards the direction of the bathroom to take a shower. Soda was by far not a morning person. Neither was I, to an extent. I hurried back into the kitchen. Kat and Darry were now somewhat awake, and I could hear Darry's voice, "Are you sure you're going to be alright?"
"Yeah, I'll help out around here. I'll see if I can stop by the unemployment office or somethin'," Kat said. God, she looked like she had taken a bad beating. Who would beat up her though?
"I just hope your brothers take this well, I can understand them being angry with someone invading their house," continued Kat, sounding generally happy considering how miserable she looked.
"They better take it well," Darry replied sternly. He kissed Kat on the forehead, "I'll call to check up on you, alright?"
"Okay," nodded Kat. It was just then that Steve, Anya and Two-Bit burst into the house. Two-Bit and Steve both fought over who could raid our refrigerator first.
"I'll cook something for you guys," Kat murmured, clutching her forehead. She noticed the shocked stares from Steve and Two-Bit, and she immediately slipped on sunglasses.
"Is this Darry's girlfriend everyone was talking about?" asked Two- Bit.
"Yeah," smiled Kat softly. I think Two-Bit saw the sadness in her face, but Kat quickly tried to mask it, "Katerina, but you guys can call me Kat."
"Hey, Keith Mathews, but everyone calls me Two-Bit," Two-Bit said, attempting to sound serious. I knew he felt awkward doing so.
"Steve," nodded Steve. He tilted his head towards Anya, "This is my cousin, Anya."
"Hi," replied Anya sweetly.
"So are you two living together or something?" asked Two-Bit. He pointed to Darry and then Kat.
"Yes." began Kat. "Oh, wait, no, not like that. I just had some." she coughed, "problems I needed to sort out. Don't worry, I'll be out of your hair in no time."
"Actually," admitted Anya, "it's kinda nice having another girl around the house."
"Thanks," said Kat appreciatively. "I'll cook you guys some breakfast." Just then, a cute little toddler, roughly two years of age, came hobbling into the living room. Unfortunately, the little girl wasn't in any better shape then Kat, but she looked like she was healing. She sniffled a little bit before holding out her arms and crying, "Momma!"
"I'm here, baby," said Kat, lifting the girl into her arms and hurrying back into the kitchen. If I had been surprised before, I wasn't as surprised as I was now. Now there was a kid added to the mix?
"She's got a kid?" I whispered to Darry.
"Yeah, but she feels lousy, so leave her alone and be nice," whispered Darry back. He hollered, "Sodapop Curtis, you better hurry in here if you want your breakfast!"
Soda strolled in, tossing his DX cap to Anya, who caught it with both her hands. She hurried over to him and gave him a kiss on the lips. She dangled her arms around his neck.
"Heya, beautiful," laughed Soda.
Anya giggled, "I think I could get used to this for the rest of my life."
"You betta," replied Steve seriously. I remembered that last night, Soda and Anya had announced they were getting married. It was a good choice for them, but I remembered how gung ho Soda was to marry Sandy as well.
Soda nodded to Kat, "Hey Kat." Shrugging when he saw Kat holding her child, he seemed the most accepting out of all of us to the idea that Kat had a child.
"Hey Soda," Kat said back.
"Soda Soda!" called Kat's daughter. She giggled.
"What's the kid's name?" Soda asked.
"Cloud," Kat said. She held up Cloud's hand as if to make her wave, "Say hi to Soda."
Cloud began to fuss, "Ride! Darry!"
"Sure, kiddo," said Darry. He took Kat from Cloud's arms and swung her around. Cloud giggled happily. I had never seen Darry been so carefree since Mom and Dad died. Something in Kat had to have brought that out of him.
"I'm making pancakes," called Kat from the kitchen. "I'd cook something better, but I know you guys are in a hurry."
"No sweat, Kat," Soda replied. He tackled Anya and the two fell backwards over the couch, lying upside down across the couch. Two-Bit decided to join in on the mayhem and took Cloud from Darry, swinging her around and laughing hysterically. His work done, Darry walked over to Kat and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her neck softly. She giggled quietly.
"Boom!" shouted Two-Bit, crash-landing Cloud on top of Soda, who was cradling Anya. Anya shrieked with excitement, and Cloud snatched Soda's hat and began to gnaw on the bill.
"Hey!" laughed Soda. I sort of stood away from all the mayhem, watching silently and observing. My eyes had bags under them because I was tired. Sleeping in a lot is hardly the most comfortable experience. Two-Bit solved my problem of keeping distant by tackling me to the ground, complete with headlock.
"Breakfast!" called Kat. The five of us, with tagalong Cloud hot on our trails, tromped into the kitchen. She served us roughly three (five for Two-Bit) pancakes. We devoured them in minutes.
"I have to head to work," Darry said, kissing Kat on the forehead.
"Yeah, see ya, Kat," Soda said, patting his stomach happily. He, Steve, Anya and Darry headed for the door, leaving Two-Bit and I alone with Kat and her daughter.
"So, little lady, any plans for today?" asked Two-Bit, hands placed on the back of his head, leaning back in his chair cockily.
Kat placed the finished dishes in the sink and shrugged as she ran hot water threw them, "I'm up for suggestions. I figure we can goof off today before I actually have to go back to working."
"Sister," Two-Bit replied, striking a match against the table and lighting his cigarette, "you dig okay."
SODA
After Darry dropped Steve, Anya and I off at the DX and took off, customers began to line up, mostly girls baring little clothing to do the humidity. Steve and I talked Cherry and Marcia, the two real nice Socy girls, who had stopped by. They were now dating two brothers from Oklahoma City and seemed generally happy. The other girls at the DX, however, got real jealous and by the end of our talk were practically dragging Cherry and Marcia out of the DX. I wasn't paying too much attention to them, however; I had a job to get done, and that was to ask my boss for a raise.
Most people hate their bosses, but ours isn't too bad. A hefty woman with freckles covering her face, Diane had curly orangey-red hair and a tattoo of a snake on her left arm. She swore like a soldier and was proud of the fact she could spit a distance of two feet. However, she rarely stopped by, only to check up on us and see if Anya and I weren't spending too much time together.
"Hey, um, Diane," I said, approaching her. She was sitting on the curb, chain smoking and sharpening her knife by whittling away at a piece of wood.
"Oh, heya Sodapop," she replied. "Business going well?"
"Yeah, real well actually," I said. "Um, not too long ago I got engaged to my girlfriend."
"Anya? Good kid. Don't know why you kids classify her as a grease," Diane said. She slapped me roughly on the arm, "Good luck to that."
"Yeah, and I was wondering if I could have a raise?"
Diane's face darkened, and her face was in an emotional struggle, "Sodapop, you know how I think you're a good kid, and that Anya girl and you are going to be real happy. But I can't afford to pay you anymore then I'm already paying."
I nodded. I hated being mature. I knew Diane felt real bad about the fact that I was near broke and now trying to support another person. Still didn't make me feel any better. Sighing, I stood up and strolled towards Anya. Her face lit up when she saw me and she seemed real hopeful, but when I shook my head she sighed. I sat down beside her on the curb and rested my arm on her shoulder.
"W-w-w-hat are w-w-we going to do?" asked Anya.
I shrugged and blew a smoke ring from the cigarette I was smoking; "I have no idea. What I need right now is a some cold hard cash, and fast too." Anya's face was determined, and she had something on her mind.
She brushed my bangs out of my face, "Don't worry, Soda. We'll get money, and we'll live in a perfect little house with picket fences that's right across from Darry and Pony and everything will be wonderful, okay?" I glanced over at Anya and flashed her my famous grin. She smiled and kissed me gently on the forehead. I smudged my car grease stained fingerprint across her cheek, and she giggled happily.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Evie?!" Steve's voice ruined the moment. I saw Evie storm out of the convenience stand, her face flushed with anger, her fists clenched with rage. Steve came trailing after her.
"Evie.?" asked Anya, standing up. I stood up beside her and chucked my cigarette butt.
"Evie, baby, listen--"
"There's nothing to listen to!" snapped Evie, spinning around on her heels. "Steve, I can't take this anymore--"
"What anymore?!" shouted Steve. His voice was filled with rage.
"This!" she shouted. "Half the time we ever go out on our so-called "dates" they usually end up with you yelling at me for your own God damned problems and I can't take it anymore! It's not my fault that your father's a drunk and your mother's too damn cowardly to ever do anything about it--" By then, Steve had had it. He smacked Evie clear across the face.
"Don't you talk about my family ever the fuck again!" he shouted.
Evie spat, "Why? Everyone in the god damned town knows your father's the biggest drunk since Johnny Cade's--"
"Don't talk about Johnny either!"
"I can talk about whatever the hell I want to!" protested Evie. "You're gonna end up just like him if you don't clean your act up!"
"You are a fucking bitch, you know that?"
"Here, here's your god damned class ring, not that you need it ever since you dropped out of high school!" And Evie chucked the ring straight at Steve. It hit him hard in the forehead and collapsed to the ground. Evie then turned and stormed off.
Anya ran up to her, "Evie, stop, Steve will--"
"You stay out of this, Anya!" Evie yelled, "we all know you're only here 'cuz your mom's a hooker and your dad was a thug!" Evie had really crossed the line now. No one in the entire East Side talked trash about Steve's cousin because everyone liked her so much. And for the fact that Steve would come and punch the lights out of anyone who did. We all knew that her parents were crack addicts, that her mother was a prostitute and that her dad was shut up in a drive by shooting. Anya looked like she was about to burst into tears, considering the fact that her and Evie were best friends.
Steve did the first thing that came to mind, by hurling the shot glass of vodka he was carrying straight at Evie. Evie shrieked and dodged the flying projectile. It shattered into thousands of glass shards. He yelled, "Never talk trash about Anya ever the fuck again, you god damned bitch!"
I joined in, "Get the hell outta here, Evie!" Evie seemed more then obliged to, and joined her girlfriends in the car and sped off immediately. Anya had collapsed to her knees by now, and tears were streaming down her face. I knelt beside her, and Steve was glaring as Evie drove out.
"Forget about her, okay?" I assured her. "She doesn't know what the hell she's saying."
"But she's right!" cried Anya. "My mom is a whore and my dad was a thug.before he got blasted to shreds. I guess Dorothy was right, I'm really not in Kansas anymore."
"Evie isn't worth trash, Anya," Steve told her. "C'mon, I'll buy you guys a soda or something."
"No, forget about it," Anya mumbled. She wiped tears off and then kissed me on the lips, "I've got some business to take care of. I'll see you boys around." Before I could argue, she stood up and walked off.
CHAPTER SIX
DARRY
I awoke in the middle of the night to distant ringing. I flopped over in my bed and lazily hit the clock. It crashed to floor, and the arms, hanging only by a thread, read seventeen minutes after twelve. Dragging myself down the hallway and into the kitchen, I picked up the phone.
"'lo?" This had better be good. Occasionally, Steve and Anya would stop on by at odd times at night after Steve had gotten in a vicious brawl with his drunken father. Our door was open to those in our gang.
I heard sobbing on the other end. Intense crying. I instantly knew something wasn't right. "Hello Darry, it's me." I recognized her voice the instant I heard it.
"Kat, what's wrong?" I asked. The shrieking began all over again.
"He hit me, Darry." She was trying to sound calm, but her voice sounded like porcelain that would crack at the slightest drop.
"Who?" I asked, a mix of concern, fear and confusion in my voice.
"Julio!" she gasped. "He broke in about twenty minutes ago, swearing and drinking and in a foul mood. I tried to calm him down, but he wouldn't have it. Fists just kept flying, oh my God, he took it out on Cloud too! There's blood everywhere."
"Oh my God." I murmured. I could hear Cloud bawling in the background, and now yelling, probably from the neighbors, was beginning to make its way through the reception.
"And I got fired today! My boss just couldn't handle the complaints anymore, and the lost money and everything. And the social worker, she just stopped by a few minutes earlier and said that she didn't feel this was a proper place to raise Cloud!
"I don't know what to do." she sobbed. "I never wanted Cloud to see something like this, and I have no money anymore. I can't believe I'm being so invasive, but Darry you're the last person I know and I was wondering, just until I got back on my feet, oh please, Darry."
"Absolutely," I said.
It was if I had mended all her problems. "Thank you Darry! Thank you so much." And then the receiver went dead. I wanted to tell her I'd pick her up. I wanted Kat to be okay. What had Julio done? How bad was the damage he had caused? I threw on a T-shirt and a pair of jeans and hurried out to the porch. A million thoughts were racing through my head. What kind of sick bastard would hit the mother of his child and then his own child? My hands were sweaty, but that was the least of my problems at the moment. I knew I probably should have woken up Soda and Pony to tell them we were going to have two girls living with us, but I wasn't thinking clearly.
I saw a limping silhouette come walking down the north side of the street. On her hip was a smaller figure, and the silhouette was carrying a bag of something. It had to be Kat. She was limping, and I could hear Cloud whimpering. I ran over to her.
"Kat!" I shouted. I could hardly see her, but her hair was in curlers, and I saw a trail of blood behind her.
"Hi Darry," she said. "Guess this is a bad time to ask for a date, huh?" I would've normally laughed if the situation hadn't been so serious. I took Cloud in one arm and Kat's bag in the other and I ushered them up the stairs and into the house. It was when I flipped on the light I noticed how severe the damage was.
Kat had bruises up all her arms, and cuts on her legs. Her left eye was swollen shut and a sickly bluish black. Her lip had been cut open and blood was spilling from a nasty gash on her back. I couldn't believe that this had been the happy wild child I had taken out just last night.
To make matters worse, Cloud wasn't in much better shape. Blood caked her dark brown hair, and she had bruises on her face as well. The marks left by the chains were bright red. Her cheeks were stained by the trails of her tears. I was sick to my stomach, and I had seen a lot in my twenty years.
"I need to put Cloud to bed," Kat murmured. It was hard to hear her speak since her lip was cut up.
"Here, you can have my room," I said. I led Kat and Cloud into my bedroom. I cleaned up a bit and laid Cloud down to rest. She fell fast asleep, her eyes fluttering. Kat and I quietly closed the door and sat back down in the armchair.
"It's not that bad," Kat said optimistically. "I mean, Julio could have done a lot worst, he was just angry."
"Miserable bastard," I murmured.
Kat sighed, and then whispered, "How bad is it?" What was I supposed to tell her? Was I to lie and tell her that it was a few scratches and bruises? Or was I to tell her the grisly truth?
"It's bad," I decided. That was a normal medium between the door.
Kat nodded, and then covered her gaping mouth. She looked like she was going to burst into hysteric tears at any moment. Her voice crackled, "I never wanted to raise my daughter like this. Not like this." She looked around. Blood was dripping onto my T-shirt, but I couldn't care less. I gathered her up in my arms, and felt her shaking body.
"Why her?" she sobbed softly. "I could've taken it, but to hurt his own daughter." I couldn't understand the rest, but the two of us just sat there, Kat in my lap, just holding one another. I don't know how long we sat there in that armchair, nor do I particularly care. I could hear her whispering "I'm sorry," over and over again, until she had cried herself out. By then, we had fallen asleep together, afraid that if we didn't we'd disappear forever.
PONY
There is no day quite like the first day of summer vacation. And here I was, spending it awakening to a vacant lot. I trotted back to my house. How was I going to tell Darry that I stayed up nearly the entire night? Maybe I didn't have to.
I stealthily crept up the stairs and opened the porch door. I was a little more then just surprised to see what I saw in the living room. Darry was sitting in the armchair, arms wrapped around that girl he'd met, Kat. However, she looked really banged up. I had just noticed the drops of blood imprinted onto the ground. Darry looked so peaceful sleeping, not stern and tough like I was used to.
I was about to make my escape when I heard Darry say, "Nice try, kiddo." I turned on my heel to see Darry yawn and wake up.
"How the hell do you do that?"
"The powers of being the eldest," Darry replied sleepily. "Come. Sit. How come you are just entering the house?"
"Um.Two-Bit needed to pick up some cigarettes, so he stopped by and I was the only one up."
"Try again," Darry said sternly.
I saw Kat nuzzle her face into Darry's chest, "Darry, go easy on the kid."
Darry sighed, tired from whatever happened last night, and nodded, "Don't pull a stunt like that again, got that?"
"Of course not," I nodded eagerly. I had no idea what Kat was doing over at our house, but I was really going to need to thank her at some point. I slipped into the bedroom that Soda and I were forced to share, changed out of my clothes, and then jumped on the bed, waking up the sleeping Soda.
He grabbed my by the collar of my shirt, "You pull something like that again and I'll make mincemeat out of you!"
I laughed, "Get up, Soda."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I've got work," he grumbled. He then trudged off towards the direction of the bathroom to take a shower. Soda was by far not a morning person. Neither was I, to an extent. I hurried back into the kitchen. Kat and Darry were now somewhat awake, and I could hear Darry's voice, "Are you sure you're going to be alright?"
"Yeah, I'll help out around here. I'll see if I can stop by the unemployment office or somethin'," Kat said. God, she looked like she had taken a bad beating. Who would beat up her though?
"I just hope your brothers take this well, I can understand them being angry with someone invading their house," continued Kat, sounding generally happy considering how miserable she looked.
"They better take it well," Darry replied sternly. He kissed Kat on the forehead, "I'll call to check up on you, alright?"
"Okay," nodded Kat. It was just then that Steve, Anya and Two-Bit burst into the house. Two-Bit and Steve both fought over who could raid our refrigerator first.
"I'll cook something for you guys," Kat murmured, clutching her forehead. She noticed the shocked stares from Steve and Two-Bit, and she immediately slipped on sunglasses.
"Is this Darry's girlfriend everyone was talking about?" asked Two- Bit.
"Yeah," smiled Kat softly. I think Two-Bit saw the sadness in her face, but Kat quickly tried to mask it, "Katerina, but you guys can call me Kat."
"Hey, Keith Mathews, but everyone calls me Two-Bit," Two-Bit said, attempting to sound serious. I knew he felt awkward doing so.
"Steve," nodded Steve. He tilted his head towards Anya, "This is my cousin, Anya."
"Hi," replied Anya sweetly.
"So are you two living together or something?" asked Two-Bit. He pointed to Darry and then Kat.
"Yes." began Kat. "Oh, wait, no, not like that. I just had some." she coughed, "problems I needed to sort out. Don't worry, I'll be out of your hair in no time."
"Actually," admitted Anya, "it's kinda nice having another girl around the house."
"Thanks," said Kat appreciatively. "I'll cook you guys some breakfast." Just then, a cute little toddler, roughly two years of age, came hobbling into the living room. Unfortunately, the little girl wasn't in any better shape then Kat, but she looked like she was healing. She sniffled a little bit before holding out her arms and crying, "Momma!"
"I'm here, baby," said Kat, lifting the girl into her arms and hurrying back into the kitchen. If I had been surprised before, I wasn't as surprised as I was now. Now there was a kid added to the mix?
"She's got a kid?" I whispered to Darry.
"Yeah, but she feels lousy, so leave her alone and be nice," whispered Darry back. He hollered, "Sodapop Curtis, you better hurry in here if you want your breakfast!"
Soda strolled in, tossing his DX cap to Anya, who caught it with both her hands. She hurried over to him and gave him a kiss on the lips. She dangled her arms around his neck.
"Heya, beautiful," laughed Soda.
Anya giggled, "I think I could get used to this for the rest of my life."
"You betta," replied Steve seriously. I remembered that last night, Soda and Anya had announced they were getting married. It was a good choice for them, but I remembered how gung ho Soda was to marry Sandy as well.
Soda nodded to Kat, "Hey Kat." Shrugging when he saw Kat holding her child, he seemed the most accepting out of all of us to the idea that Kat had a child.
"Hey Soda," Kat said back.
"Soda Soda!" called Kat's daughter. She giggled.
"What's the kid's name?" Soda asked.
"Cloud," Kat said. She held up Cloud's hand as if to make her wave, "Say hi to Soda."
Cloud began to fuss, "Ride! Darry!"
"Sure, kiddo," said Darry. He took Kat from Cloud's arms and swung her around. Cloud giggled happily. I had never seen Darry been so carefree since Mom and Dad died. Something in Kat had to have brought that out of him.
"I'm making pancakes," called Kat from the kitchen. "I'd cook something better, but I know you guys are in a hurry."
"No sweat, Kat," Soda replied. He tackled Anya and the two fell backwards over the couch, lying upside down across the couch. Two-Bit decided to join in on the mayhem and took Cloud from Darry, swinging her around and laughing hysterically. His work done, Darry walked over to Kat and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her neck softly. She giggled quietly.
"Boom!" shouted Two-Bit, crash-landing Cloud on top of Soda, who was cradling Anya. Anya shrieked with excitement, and Cloud snatched Soda's hat and began to gnaw on the bill.
"Hey!" laughed Soda. I sort of stood away from all the mayhem, watching silently and observing. My eyes had bags under them because I was tired. Sleeping in a lot is hardly the most comfortable experience. Two-Bit solved my problem of keeping distant by tackling me to the ground, complete with headlock.
"Breakfast!" called Kat. The five of us, with tagalong Cloud hot on our trails, tromped into the kitchen. She served us roughly three (five for Two-Bit) pancakes. We devoured them in minutes.
"I have to head to work," Darry said, kissing Kat on the forehead.
"Yeah, see ya, Kat," Soda said, patting his stomach happily. He, Steve, Anya and Darry headed for the door, leaving Two-Bit and I alone with Kat and her daughter.
"So, little lady, any plans for today?" asked Two-Bit, hands placed on the back of his head, leaning back in his chair cockily.
Kat placed the finished dishes in the sink and shrugged as she ran hot water threw them, "I'm up for suggestions. I figure we can goof off today before I actually have to go back to working."
"Sister," Two-Bit replied, striking a match against the table and lighting his cigarette, "you dig okay."
SODA
After Darry dropped Steve, Anya and I off at the DX and took off, customers began to line up, mostly girls baring little clothing to do the humidity. Steve and I talked Cherry and Marcia, the two real nice Socy girls, who had stopped by. They were now dating two brothers from Oklahoma City and seemed generally happy. The other girls at the DX, however, got real jealous and by the end of our talk were practically dragging Cherry and Marcia out of the DX. I wasn't paying too much attention to them, however; I had a job to get done, and that was to ask my boss for a raise.
Most people hate their bosses, but ours isn't too bad. A hefty woman with freckles covering her face, Diane had curly orangey-red hair and a tattoo of a snake on her left arm. She swore like a soldier and was proud of the fact she could spit a distance of two feet. However, she rarely stopped by, only to check up on us and see if Anya and I weren't spending too much time together.
"Hey, um, Diane," I said, approaching her. She was sitting on the curb, chain smoking and sharpening her knife by whittling away at a piece of wood.
"Oh, heya Sodapop," she replied. "Business going well?"
"Yeah, real well actually," I said. "Um, not too long ago I got engaged to my girlfriend."
"Anya? Good kid. Don't know why you kids classify her as a grease," Diane said. She slapped me roughly on the arm, "Good luck to that."
"Yeah, and I was wondering if I could have a raise?"
Diane's face darkened, and her face was in an emotional struggle, "Sodapop, you know how I think you're a good kid, and that Anya girl and you are going to be real happy. But I can't afford to pay you anymore then I'm already paying."
I nodded. I hated being mature. I knew Diane felt real bad about the fact that I was near broke and now trying to support another person. Still didn't make me feel any better. Sighing, I stood up and strolled towards Anya. Her face lit up when she saw me and she seemed real hopeful, but when I shook my head she sighed. I sat down beside her on the curb and rested my arm on her shoulder.
"W-w-w-hat are w-w-we going to do?" asked Anya.
I shrugged and blew a smoke ring from the cigarette I was smoking; "I have no idea. What I need right now is a some cold hard cash, and fast too." Anya's face was determined, and she had something on her mind.
She brushed my bangs out of my face, "Don't worry, Soda. We'll get money, and we'll live in a perfect little house with picket fences that's right across from Darry and Pony and everything will be wonderful, okay?" I glanced over at Anya and flashed her my famous grin. She smiled and kissed me gently on the forehead. I smudged my car grease stained fingerprint across her cheek, and she giggled happily.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Evie?!" Steve's voice ruined the moment. I saw Evie storm out of the convenience stand, her face flushed with anger, her fists clenched with rage. Steve came trailing after her.
"Evie.?" asked Anya, standing up. I stood up beside her and chucked my cigarette butt.
"Evie, baby, listen--"
"There's nothing to listen to!" snapped Evie, spinning around on her heels. "Steve, I can't take this anymore--"
"What anymore?!" shouted Steve. His voice was filled with rage.
"This!" she shouted. "Half the time we ever go out on our so-called "dates" they usually end up with you yelling at me for your own God damned problems and I can't take it anymore! It's not my fault that your father's a drunk and your mother's too damn cowardly to ever do anything about it--" By then, Steve had had it. He smacked Evie clear across the face.
"Don't you talk about my family ever the fuck again!" he shouted.
Evie spat, "Why? Everyone in the god damned town knows your father's the biggest drunk since Johnny Cade's--"
"Don't talk about Johnny either!"
"I can talk about whatever the hell I want to!" protested Evie. "You're gonna end up just like him if you don't clean your act up!"
"You are a fucking bitch, you know that?"
"Here, here's your god damned class ring, not that you need it ever since you dropped out of high school!" And Evie chucked the ring straight at Steve. It hit him hard in the forehead and collapsed to the ground. Evie then turned and stormed off.
Anya ran up to her, "Evie, stop, Steve will--"
"You stay out of this, Anya!" Evie yelled, "we all know you're only here 'cuz your mom's a hooker and your dad was a thug!" Evie had really crossed the line now. No one in the entire East Side talked trash about Steve's cousin because everyone liked her so much. And for the fact that Steve would come and punch the lights out of anyone who did. We all knew that her parents were crack addicts, that her mother was a prostitute and that her dad was shut up in a drive by shooting. Anya looked like she was about to burst into tears, considering the fact that her and Evie were best friends.
Steve did the first thing that came to mind, by hurling the shot glass of vodka he was carrying straight at Evie. Evie shrieked and dodged the flying projectile. It shattered into thousands of glass shards. He yelled, "Never talk trash about Anya ever the fuck again, you god damned bitch!"
I joined in, "Get the hell outta here, Evie!" Evie seemed more then obliged to, and joined her girlfriends in the car and sped off immediately. Anya had collapsed to her knees by now, and tears were streaming down her face. I knelt beside her, and Steve was glaring as Evie drove out.
"Forget about her, okay?" I assured her. "She doesn't know what the hell she's saying."
"But she's right!" cried Anya. "My mom is a whore and my dad was a thug.before he got blasted to shreds. I guess Dorothy was right, I'm really not in Kansas anymore."
"Evie isn't worth trash, Anya," Steve told her. "C'mon, I'll buy you guys a soda or something."
"No, forget about it," Anya mumbled. She wiped tears off and then kissed me on the lips, "I've got some business to take care of. I'll see you boys around." Before I could argue, she stood up and walked off.