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Chapter 24
(Skye's POV)
Darry is such a liar. But, you know, I didn't really care all that much. I had the house all to myself, something that doesn't happen very often. Not only are there five of us, there's four others who frequently find our house a place of entertainment. Which, isn't bad, but it's hard to get time all to yourself. That's when I leave and don't come back for a few hours and then someone decides to notice and I get my ear chewed off. It's amazing what people notice when you aren't around, but when you're right in their face trying to get their attention they can't see what's in front of them.
Soda never came home. Dally left before Darry did, and didn't come back after his little escapade. Come to think of it, I hope that's not because he got caught. I couldn't stand it if he got himself jailed again. Then we'd have to go and bail him out and then there would be a huge mess of how he'd pay us back and how it was hard because we didn't have the money in the first place, and none of us need to go through that. Then there was Pony, Two-Bit, and Johnny. They were at school and wouldn't get out for another few hours. Steve was there too, but I don't think I could care any less if he was around or not. It's not like we'd talk or anything. He would do whatever it took to stay away if I was alone.
My abilities to entertain myself fell short when I realized that I couldn't walk around for more than five minutes at a time. It wouldn't do me any good to walk to the lot and sit there for the whole world to see. Since I look so great and all according to Darry. So, I was literally confined to the house. Which, you know, was doing me so much good since I couldn't find my medications or anything to eat. I thought Reesa went grocery shopping the other day. Whatever, there was a couple of things to eat, like ice cream and beer. Shoot, I don't even know why we had the beer in the first place. It was probably Two-Bit's. No one hardly ever drinks in our family and when they did, it wasn't at home. I had had beer before and it tasted like bitter apple juice, no kidding. I threw it up no more than ten minutes later and Darry found out, naturally. He said I was hopeless and told Two-Bit he wasn't allowed to bring anymore over, which didn't last for long. Two-Bit always has some sort of alcohol on him. It didn't matter anyway, I was pretty positive that I wouldn't ever drink it again, not unless they improved the taste and the look. It looked like pee.
So, I was sitting on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket, and eating rocky road ice cream. It wasn't helping my condition any, but it tasted good and the show was okay. I don't know what it was, but it was interesting. The acting was so incredibly cheesy it was funny. But soon it was over and the news started up. What did that mean? It was like two or something? Oh, hell, why not watch it anyway.
"...And in local news, there have been several police reports of stolen car parts in Tulsa. None of the locals were able to give a clear description of the culprit, however he is believed to be about a six foot four Hispanic male, in his later twenties or early thirties, and wearing a red leather jacket. If anyone out there has any information regarding this man, please contact the Tulsa Police Department at 1(456) 555-3789. And now to Polly Stewart for a weather update..."
I started to laugh. That was a huge relief. They had a completely opposite description in every way possible. Good job, Dal! I don't know how he pulled it off, but I'm very impressed. Not only did he fool them; they have a total contradictory description. I'm not sure I've ever seen a six foot four Mexican. I don't know if that's even possible. Very, very impressive. I'd have to remind myself to congratulate him later.
A few minutes later I heard the truck pull up to the house. Its about time Soda came home. I've been bored out of my mind. Not that I was all that excited to strike up a conversation with him. Not after the way he yelled at me last night. He didn't even take the time to hear my side of the story! I really hate when people do that. And Soda of all people should've known better than to jump to conclusions. But like Darry he probably thinks I'm a brat, too. Shoot, I'm not a brat! Watch, next they'll be calling me spoiled. Yeah, right.
"Skye? What are you doing out of bed?"
Ah, damn it. It wasn't Soda. It was Darry. Let's see how this works out, why don't we.
"Watching TV," I said and turned the volume up. He wasn't going to interrupt me. Even if it was the news.
"The news?" he asked, incredulously. Hey, I can change my tastes in what I watch. I haven't, but I can. He shouldn't act so shocked.
"Yeah, Dally was on." Way to distract him, eh?
"Oh no." He sat down near me. "They caught him?" He started to get a little panicky. Obviously he can't read people well, because he should know I'd be upset if Dally went to the slammer. Hehe. How long can we make this last?
"No, not yet, but they gave out a description of him. I'm sure they'll be tracking him down any minute now." I tried my best to sound worried. I can act if I wanna.
"Was it an accurate description?"
"More or less."
"What does that mean?"
"Well...It was accurate if you were looking for a giant Costa Rican with really bad taste in clothes."
"So, they don't know who it was? They don't know what he really looks like?"
"Don't sound so happy. Things always come back to haunt him, don't they? He'll get caught sooner or later." It was the sad truth. Once it took them two months before they traced him down as the person who broke into a cigar shop. He was in jail for three months and got to leave on probation. Man, with as much probation as he's been on, and is still on, he's lucky he ain't in the penitentiary for good.
"Don't jinks him. If anything, act like nothing happened."
"Okay." Easy enough. That was like asking me to borrow the truck at two in the morning for a late night party run. I do it all the time.
"Now, get back in bed. You know you aren't supposed to be out." He turned stern again. He stood up and waited for me to follow his lead. Yeah right. I don't think so. I'm perfectly fine where I am.
"I ain't hurting myself by watching TV."
"That's arguable."
"Darry, I'm fine. Look, I – I," – I paused, feeling my face pale and the glands in my throat swell up slightly – "I can sit on the couch and not die. Lemme do something productive with my time instead of sleeping all day."
"Productive? Skye, if you want to do something productive, do your homework. But since we all know that won't happen until the last week of the term, do something else like read a book or write a letter to Reesa thanking her for what she did." Oh my God. He did not just bring Reesa into this.
"No, that's boring," I said. Jeez, first he won't talk to me, now he won't leave me alone. What is his problem? He was the one who said I was capable of taking care of myself. "I wanna watch TV." Great, I think he was right. My stomach was starting to churn.
"No – are you okay?" He stopped his lecturing temporarily to notice my groaning. "What – did you eat ice cream, Skye?"
"Just a little..." It looked so good. I couldn't pass it up. Like he even cared. He was gone all morning. I can make my own decisions can't I? Okay, maybe this wasn't the best one, but I could've drunk the beer instead. "It was better than the beer."
"You drank beer too?" He was getting angry again, and he was twisting my words to what he wanted to hear. I can't do anything right, I swear. Not even talking works for me.
"No! Just the ice cream."
"God, now you're going to get even more sick. Do I have to watch you all the time? If you're allergic to nuts, you don't eat them! And not rocky road!" Well, duh, I knew that. But you can't not have any nuts all the time.
"Yeah, well, that's not fair. You guys get to eat it, why shouldn't I?" I pouted. He can't be all that mad. Besides, I think I had a good point. I should get to enjoy the simple things in life like him.
"Because, you swell up like a balloon and get all stiff. God. Get in bed, now!" He pointed in the direction of my room. He couldn't tell me what to do. "Now! Before I have to kick your ass in there."
"You can't do that to me. Leave me alone," I threw back in his face. I pulled my legs up under me and buried my face in the thick of my blanket. Yeah, he was right. I could feel myself begin to expand, but I wouldn't let him know that. "Go away."
"Skye, I'm serious, get in bed. You're going to regret it when you can't move off the couch. You're gonna get stiff from sitting there in the same position all day. And I'm not going to help you." Like I wanted him to. If I was already going to be stiff, what was the point of moving? At least out here I get to talk to people. I'm not all by myself when people are around.
"...Darry," I whined. Why was he such a control freak? What did I ever do to him?
"Do it or you'll make up all the math from this term. Tonight." Man, he didn't have to threaten me. It wasn't like he wouldn't make me do it anyway, come a couple of weeks.
"No you won't," I moaned. God, why did he have to right? I hated that. Every time I'm looking to be right, I'm not.
"You wanna bet?" he challenged me. Ah, that's when you start to listen. You can argue all you want when he's being demanding, but when he starts to challenge you, then you know to get your ass moving.
"Fine." I stood up abruptly. Ouch. That could've been handled better. Now, my legs were ringing with stinging pain, like I had landed on them when I jumped, or they were asleep. Oh, great. They probably were. This was going to be exciting. Not to mention that my joints were now like blocks of wood. Okay, let's move this leg in front of this one, and pick up this leg and... ah crap. This wasn't working. My legs began to shake and I fell to my knees. Ooh, that felt good. Not.
"Hurry," Darry called from the kitchen. I hadn't even realized he left. Well, at least he didn't see my little mishap. "I'm only here for about five more minutes and then I'm going to work."
"Thank the Lord," I muttered. "Why did you come back in the first place?" I asked as I struggled to stand back up. My arms weren't that much of a help anymore. This was fun stuff, let me tell you.
"Because, I wanted to eat something before I went over. I can't work on an empty stomach. Not with what I do."
"Oh..." That would make sense.
"Are you making any progress in there?" he called as he slammed the refrigerator door shut and turned on the stove.
"Depends."
"On what?"
"Umm... what you call progress, I guess." Hey, he can't complain anymore. I'm moving ain't I?
He poked his head out the kitchen doorway, only to see that I was about ten feet from the couch. "Well, hurry. I ain't got all day."
Haha. Like he was helping me or that it mattered. He didn't care. "Shut up, Darry."
He just laughed. God, I hate that! Whenever I try and do something that'll hurt him he laughs. Do I have no effect on him whatsoever? It's irritating; it really is. That sounded mean, but when I want to make an impact, I want to be able to do it damn it.
By the time I made it back to my bed, I was feeling sick to my stomach again and my eyes felt swollen as if I had been crying. Damn it. What's wrong with me? I fell face first onto my pillow and groaned against the pain.
He's so mean. Just when I thought that we might have connected in someway, he had to go and do this. I really can't do anything right. I mean, I think I do something that'll keep him off my back and he somehow finds a way to make it bad or wrong. I'm not surprised or anything. It's always been like that. Even before mom and dad died, he would tattle on me for the stupidest reasons known to mankind. And now he just tattles to himself. It went from, 'Mom! She used my razor to shave her legs!' and 'Dad, I saw her! She just went in my room and stole my wallet. Make her give it back!' and then I'd get into trouble (Shoot, I never stole anything. I borrowed with the intention of giving it back some day.) Now it's just at – 'I saw you! Don't lie!' or 'If you miss curfew one more time, I swear you'll be grounded until you go crazy. You'll really regret this.' Dad never accused me of lying, even when I had, or grounded me. Mom might have been a different story, but she's a special case. She's mom.
"Are you in there?" he called.
"Yes!" I snapped. He didn't get it. He really didn't get me. Thank God for Soda. And even Ponyboy was better than Darry.
"Good. I'm leaving."
"Good!"
"See you." The door shut quietly behind him and he was gone. Well, that was really worth my time. And he thinks that I can be more productive doing other things. Shoot, it's not like he isn't on paid leave. He doesn't have to go to work. His boss isn't making him. Man, I wouldn't! I'm not that daft... Haha... I know a big word.
(Darry's POV)
I did get a chance to go to work for little while on Tuesday. Although, it wasn't until later in the afternoon. I had smoothed things over with Reesa and she was doing better. Soda had called in sick to work again, considering the fact that he hadnt gotten any sleep, so he went home and stayed with Skye for the day, getting his much needed sleep while Steve stuck around the hospital with Reesa. She was doing better, but that didn't mean I didn't want someone there. Not that Steve could do much if anything went to wrong, but he knew her and he could get her to calm down and stuff. She just needed someone she knew well to be there with her.
I took the opportunity to go to work and get in a few hours, sure I was getting paid for it, but I hated special treatment, it made me feel guilty. So I was going to do as much as I could.
I got to the work site after going home, changing, and grabbing a small bite to eat on the way out. I really wasn't to hungry. I hadn't been, but I had to eat a little to keep my strength up. You cant go and roof houses on an empty stomach.
I walked up to the house, fastening my tool belt around my waist and looking around for Dean. He was on the roof, helping out a new kid. Figures, he was one of the few bosses that actually worked with the crews.
I climbed up the ladder quickly, wanting to talk to Dean before I got going on the work. I could only be there a few hours, or Steve would get real impatient and be late for work, so I had to tell Dean that.
I got to the top and walked over near Dean. The kid was sitting next to him, struggling to get his nail gun to work properly. I spotted the problem pretty quick and crouched down, taking it from him.
"It's a bit hard but..." I gritted my teeth as I pulled back the cock until it flipped over, "It works a lot faster if you un-cock it and reload." I finished up the job and handed it back to the kid.
Dean looked up from what he was doing, "You made it. Is everything going alright?"
"Yeah, I got things worked out. I have to leave in about two hours though. Sorry, I know it aint long but --"
"Hey, don't worry. Im surprised you're here at all, you sure you should be? Don't have anywhere else more important to be?"
"Not at this point."
"Okay, if you're sure."
I shrugged and left him to go to the other side of the roof. No one was working over there, so I thought I would. I didn't really want to talk to anyone. I was just there.
I set to work, working as quickly as my frazzled body and mind would allow. I wanted to get as much done as I could before I left, it was only fair. But I found myself having a hard time doing things right. That's how I always was when I had something on my mind, but I was trying real hard to do things right. I didn't want to cost Dean any more money, I was costing him enough already.
Pretty soon, I lost all track of time, concentrating only on the work at hand. But Dean came over and interupted me.
"You sure you're okay? You seem a little out of it, Dar."
I nodded. I was out of it, but I was fine. I glanced at my watch, I had to leave in twenty minutes. I stopped my work and looked up to Dean.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked. I had decided that he needed to know soon what had gone down and why I was so out of things. He had the right and I had to tell someone...someone that wouldn't flip out and freak on me, I needed to tell someone that could help me instead of having me help them. Dean was the guy for the job right then. I felt bad, because I felt like it would be a burden to him, but I had to tell someone, and he would be able to handle it and help me. That was one thing that I needed desperately.
"Sure." He sat next to me, his elbows resting on his knees as he sat with his feet to the bottom of the roof to keep him from falling. It was a normal position for all us roofers, one of the safest, probably. I stopped my work, set down my tools and got into the same position next to him, looking out to the city. It was a good view from that roof, not that it was too high up, but any roof was a good view of one thing or another.
"Dean, I need to tell you what's really going on here. It's only fair to you and...this isnt just gonna go away any time soon. I don't know that the next few weeks will be much better than it is now, and...they should be...but I really don't know, it just depends. I -- This is just crazy and I..."
My words and thoughts died out then. I didn't know what I was trying to tell him. Maybe it was that I had never lost my mind, but I was then. I couldn't take it, handle it any longer, everything was too crazy.
"So, what's going on?"
"No, I cant tell you here. Somewhere else...alone. Its too...I cant tell you in front of the guys. I trust that you wont tell anyone a word and I swear to god if you did --"
"I wont. If you don't want anyone to know...they wont find out from me. That's for sure. Is it really that bad?"
I nodded my head, "...Yeah, it is. It's...worse than...anything...anything that's ever happened in my family at least."
He gave me a look like, "That's gotta be bad then." I almost laughed, but I couldn't. If I hadnt been serious I think I might have. But I didn't say anything, I couldn't really. I had to agree that it sounded impossible, but it wasn't, obviously.
"Uh...okay. Then...when?" he asked.
"We should set a time, or it aint gonna happen, the way things are right now."
"Well, how about...breakfast tomorrow?"
I shook my head. I needed to get this off my chest before then, before the end of the night at the latest. And he needed to know before then too, "Can we do this tonight? I don't think this should wait and I really don't know what other time I can work it out to get away other than tonight."
"Uh..." he paused thinking about for a few seconds, "Alright. That'll be fine. My house for dinner, say...six o'clock? I'll have my wife make a nice meal."
I nodded, I could work that one out, only one problem, "Dean? Um...I don't think your wife should hear this...its...I mean, I don't know her, but...she might not take it well."
He nodded his head, not even questioning for a second, even if he did find it a little weird. "Whatever you think. I'm sure she'll be fine. You can come eat and then she'll clean up while we talk. Okay?"
"Yeah. Hey...thanks, Dean. Really, I know this is last second and I'm real sorry that I am being so difficult here, I'm just trying to do what's best, ya know?"
"No problem. See you then?"
"Yeah. I'm leaving here in a few minutes, so..."
"Alright. Thanks for coming by Curtis."
He stood up then and jumped down the ladder, making his rounds again, I assumed.
I was soo glad he had taken that well. Dean was really the only person I knew that I could tell and had an excuse to tell. Yeah, it was weird, but I felt guilty just thinking about telling someone. But Dean was okay to tell, he was together and understanding, and just all around cool about things. He was practical and logical, just what I needed, because I wasn't enough to keep me sane any longer.
A few minutes later I finished up and left, going straight to the hospital and calling Soda from there to work out plans for that night.
(Darry's POV)
I had to go home and spiff up a little before I went over to Deans, not that I was looking to impress anyone. But I did want to make a good impression on Deans wife. I had never met here face to face before, just heard about her. She sounded nice enough, but I also only heard about her from a slightly biased source, her one and only husband. That didn't make me too nervous though, considering that Dean was more sensible than most.
I threw on a nice shirt and combed through my hair again, checking on Skye on my way out. Then I made my way over to his house. It wasn't too far, although it was in a slightly nicer neighborhood than ours. It was a middle class area, farther from the hoodlums hang out. It was a fairly nice small house. It was older, but cute, with signs of a pretty yard in the warmer weather.
I walked up quickly, knocking quickly and a little harder than I had intended. I was nervous to be there, not because I was worried it was my bosses house or anything, but because of why I was there. I knew I had to tell him, but I wasn't great at spilling my guts, and especially about things like that. It was just a bit hard to think that I would have to do it, and I couldn't put it off any longer, it was just hitting me finally. I was gonna tell him.
Dean came to the door, opening it all the way.
"Hey, Darry. Come in." he looked over his shoulder, "Honey! Come meet Darrel." He called. He motioned to the right of the doorway, and told me to sit. That must have been their front room. Then there were two hallways, one to the left and one that led to the back of the house but it was off to the right of me, and both seemed to just end, run into a wall, from where I was standing. Weird, but I was sure they didn't.
"Dinner'll be ready in a few minutes." Dean sat across from me, both of us silent, waiting for his wife to come in.
It was pretty awkward, which is weird because I always feel pretty good around Dean, but I guess we were both dreading the upcoming conversation, although we both knew it had to be done. I tried to shake the feeling, knowing that thinking on it would only make things worse for me. I looked around in the front room, it was pretty normal. All the woods were dark, there was a coffee table in between the two sofas, one against the window that had normal white blinds in it and pulled back dark royal blue curtains that reached the floor. There was a nice chandleere type lamp hanging from the ceiling where a square in the middle was painted the same blue as the curtains. It looked really nice, sharp, much better than my house, at least.
It wasn't long before Deans wife walked in. She was pretty to say the least. She was pretty tall, although shorter than Dean and she had light golden brown hair that nearly went down to her waste. It was really curly, in ringlets. She had fair skin, and she was just...stunning. Quite a catch, I have to say.
"Well, hello Darrel." She smiled. It all looked and felt fake, it was like she was almost mad I was there, "Nice to meet you finally. I'm Michelle."
I stood up, taking her out reached hand, "Pleasure to meet you, Michelle. I guess you already know that I'm Darrel. Thank you for having me over, I really appreciate it."
"No Problem." Now that seemed really forced.
I sat back down just in time for her to go on, "How about you go back to the dining room, the food is on."
Dean led me back to the dining room and we sat down. Dinner was pretty normal aside from the fact that I was really antsy and found it hard to eat the food. It was good, really good, but I wasn't hungry and it was really hard for me to eat. Dean told me at one point that I had better eat my food or his wife would flip, of course in a much more polite way than that. Then there was the ever increasing antsiness. It didn't help that Michelle was sending me weird looks all the time, and Dean would glance over every once in a while as if to say, "You're freaking my wife out, man. Stop!" I tried to stop, I mean I didn't want to be doing that either, but it just couldn't be helped, I was a little nervous and ready to get it all done with.
Finally the awkwardness ended and Dean and I made our way back to the front room. I had forced down most of the food, although it was hard and my stomach wasn't too happy with me at that point. Oh well...here we go anyway.
We sat silently for a minute, I wanted to start it, needed to, but it wasn't working out very well. Why was this soo hard? I couldn't even open my mouth.
"Darry, I'm sorry...I don't mean to rush you or be rude or abrupt...but you came here to tell me something?"
I nodded my head, "Yeah, I did. I'm sorry...this is harder than I thought it would be. This has been a disaster."
Okay, Darry get back on the subject, no more avoiding it...c'mon you idiot...Go on! Shit, you're making a fool of yourself!
"Alright...so on Sunday night, my youngest sister comes home having been..." I paused, trying to get the word out of my mouth. It had never en so hard for me to say. "...Raped by her boyfriend and his gang and...I knew what had happened because it happened to my other sister with the same people just a few years ago, hard to mistake right?"
By that point, Dean's eyes had gone wide, but he didn't say anything to stop me.
"So I take her to the hospital, but my other sister, Reesa, wasn't home yet. She was supposed to be home by two, but at three my brother, Soda, comes in all freaked out and shit and he says that the same thing has happened to Reesa, for the second time, but it was a lot worse. Well, it was the same people again, but it gets better..."
I was talking pretty fast by that time, I had to get it out, and the quicker it was done, the faster we could get to the easy stuff. I would give him time to sort it out after I had spilled my guts.
"Reesa's still in the hospital, the doctor wouldn't even tell me that she would be okay until last night. Before then no one knew if she would..." I couldn't say it, I think he got the point anyway. "Anyway, at least Skye's home, she went home on Monday, but it's hard to take care of them both. So, that's what's going on...basically."
"Whoa, both on the same night, same people?"
"Yeah...its just that now the state's looking into us, and the cops are involved, and then all the other things going on with the girls and...court dates...everything..."
"Yeah, I understand. But they are both going to be okay?"
"Looks like it, physically at least. I know Reesa can handle it and I think that Skye'll bounce back real quick, she always does, but I don't know...really."
He nodded. "Good. Can I do anything?"
"Nah, you just let me tell you everything, I think that that's enough. Thanks."
"Hey...take all the time you need, okay? How's the rest the family taking this?"
"Um...alright, I guess. Everyone's taking it differently, but it ain't like I need to worry too much except about Pony, but I think he's doing alright. Sunday and Monday were real hard for him...but Soda's fine and...yeah, we're fine."
He sat chewing his lip, just thinking I guess. I mean, it was hard to take, so I couldn't blame him. Finally he said something after a few minutes, "That everything, or is there more?"
"Nope, that's it...for now."
He half smiled, "Good. I don't want to hear no more, or I would have to make you stop working for a few weeks, and we all know that no one would want that."
I half chuckled at him. He was trying to break the ice again, which, oddly enough, I appreciated.
"Thanks for letting me know, Darry. Things do make a little more sense now, not that I didn't trust you, because I did...but it's important to know what's going on with my workers. I wouldn't want to do something wrong and make things worse."
"I don't think you could have made things much worse, Dean. No one could. Thanks for listen'n to me ramble on."
"Sure, now get outta here and go take care of your family...and yourself. Ya hear?"
I nodded my head, saying good bye, thanking Michelle for the food, and leaving to go back home for a little while. I was dead tired already, and the night was nowhere near finished.
Reviews!
Julie: Thanks. Yeah Thorpe was meant to be a completely idiot, I guess he's the epitome of every bad teacher any of us has ever had. Thanks. Hope you enjoyed this last chapter.
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Stephanie: Shoot, we deserve for you to be impatient with how bad we have been with this, I think it's been since the spring that we did anything on this story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was longer.
Tensleep: HAHAH, I could just see you and Jhon lighting into a teacher like that. I would in that position too. I mean, that's no ones business. But yeah, we had to put it in because, well, it's Thorpe. LOL.
Oblivious Misconception: Yeah, he sure can have a smart-ass mouth, huh? We love it. You like breaks from all the trauma? Well, here's yet another one before we get back to THAT. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks!
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