Chapter 7 (Keep the reviews coming!)
Walking home alone, in the darkness, I realize then how deep a love goes when there's an addict on one side of the relationship. But there wasn't one addict, there were two. And I was one of them. Me. I was an addict. God, that was so hard to believe, almost impossible.
I open the front door. The light's on and Darry and Soda are sitting up, talking. Darry looks at me. "Where'd ya go? Huh? We thought about following you, but Soda didn't know when you left. He just woke up and you weren't there. Where in Hell did you go?"
"I went to see Kayla but-" Darry interrupts me, "You're not allowed to see Kayla, Ponyboy! You're not because you can't handle the freedom of being able to."
He gets up, gets right into my face and in as calm a voice as he can, says, "You've got to stop this, Pony, you've GOT to! You're ruining your life, not to mention mine and Soda's and you've got to stop."
"I went to see Kayla, but she was with someone else. She just decided I wasn't good enough anymore and left me. She just left me--- me and my addiction. I only ever started for her, and I didn't mean shit to her. I've lost the girl I love, but I'm left with this damn addiction. Lucky me."
I run out of the room, into the bedroom and bury my head in a pillow. I can hear Darry and Soda talking in the living room. "What are we going to do with him?" They're saying. "Do you think he's too far gone?"
No, I'm not too far gone. I know now that I DO need help. I've got to find a way to get some serious help. I can't let my life go on like this, living one day after another, always hoping to find a way out of the grounding I've been in.
I decide now's as good a time as any. I make myself get up, force myself to go into the living room and tell them that I, Ponyboy, strait A student, star of the track team and a real good writer, that I need help because I can't do this alone. I know that I need someone to help me fight or I'll lose. And I can't lose, not this battle.
Walking home alone, in the darkness, I realize then how deep a love goes when there's an addict on one side of the relationship. But there wasn't one addict, there were two. And I was one of them. Me. I was an addict. God, that was so hard to believe, almost impossible.
I open the front door. The light's on and Darry and Soda are sitting up, talking. Darry looks at me. "Where'd ya go? Huh? We thought about following you, but Soda didn't know when you left. He just woke up and you weren't there. Where in Hell did you go?"
"I went to see Kayla but-" Darry interrupts me, "You're not allowed to see Kayla, Ponyboy! You're not because you can't handle the freedom of being able to."
He gets up, gets right into my face and in as calm a voice as he can, says, "You've got to stop this, Pony, you've GOT to! You're ruining your life, not to mention mine and Soda's and you've got to stop."
"I went to see Kayla, but she was with someone else. She just decided I wasn't good enough anymore and left me. She just left me--- me and my addiction. I only ever started for her, and I didn't mean shit to her. I've lost the girl I love, but I'm left with this damn addiction. Lucky me."
I run out of the room, into the bedroom and bury my head in a pillow. I can hear Darry and Soda talking in the living room. "What are we going to do with him?" They're saying. "Do you think he's too far gone?"
No, I'm not too far gone. I know now that I DO need help. I've got to find a way to get some serious help. I can't let my life go on like this, living one day after another, always hoping to find a way out of the grounding I've been in.
I decide now's as good a time as any. I make myself get up, force myself to go into the living room and tell them that I, Ponyboy, strait A student, star of the track team and a real good writer, that I need help because I can't do this alone. I know that I need someone to help me fight or I'll lose. And I can't lose, not this battle.