Chapter Four:


"Hey."

I lifted my head as Soda lowered himself down beside me on the couch, a plate carrying two pieces of chocolate cake in his hand. "Hey," I replied quietly, reaching a hand up to run my fingers through my hair. "Darry finally go lay down?"

"Yeah," Soda replied, tearing off a small corner of his cake and popping it in his mouth. "It ain't likely that he'll actually get any sleep, but at least he's restin' now."

I nodded silently as I helped myself to the other piece of cake. I had fallen asleep sometime around five-thirty, unable to keep my eyes open any longer, and Soda had drifted off for an hour or so, but Darry had stayed up the entire night. I woke up once, right around dawn, only to find him still sitting in his armchair, staring at the door as if he expected Ponyboy to walk in at any minute.

And I couldn't help wondering why he hadn't, and every possible reason my panicking mind produced filled my head with terrible images. I hadn't slept well the night before, my sleep had been plagued by memories of the past, of the twisted metal and terrified screams, of waiting by the front door for parents who never came home...

"Ya reckon Pony's comin' back?" I asked at last, voicing the concern that had haunted my restless sleep during the night.

Soda blinked, startled. "Of course he's comin' back," he answered immediately. "He just got upset, that's all. Probably went back to the lot to find Johnny and decided to spend the night there, that's all. He'll be home soon, just wait and see."

I frowned, not missing the pleading undertone to his voice. He didn't really believe that anymore than I did, but he had to hold onto that thought, to that faith that Pony was alright and on his way back to them, because if he lost that...

"I hate this," I muttered. "I hate just sittin' here, no knowin'."

"I know," Soda said quietly, giving me a weak smile. "I hate it, too."

I opened my mouth to reply, when the sounds of footsteps climbing the front porch captured my attention. Soda heard it, too, and we were both on our feet and moving towards the door before the knock sounded. Soda swung open the door, and my blood ran cold at what we found waiting for us outside.

"Good morning, kids," the older of the two police officers said, tipping his hat slightly, his blue eyes serious and grim. "I'm Officer Hendricks, and this is my partner, Officer Jones. We'd like to have a word with you, if you don't mind."

Soda didn't reply right away, so I took the initiative and nodded, gesturing for them to come inside. "Of course," I said, as calmly as possible. I wasn't fond of the police, but they'd never scared me the way they did Soda and Ponyboy. I reckon that's partly because I'm a girl, and the fuzz tend to be nicer to the female population. "Can I get y'all some coffee or anythin'?"

Officer Jones, who didn't look much older than Darry, shook his head, removing his hat as he stepped into the house after his partner. "No, ma'am, but thank you," he said with a sincere smile. "We sure do appreciate the offer."

"What's goin' on?"

I looked up to see Darry emerging from his bedroom, a deep frown marring his face. "Darry," I said, trying to keep the tremble out of my voice. "These officers came by to speak to us."

"What about?" Darry asked, crossing his arms over his chest, his posture rigid and his face expressionless.

"It's about your brother," Officer Hendricks replied, and I just about lost the feeling in my legs. My hand went to the back of the couch to brace myself, and I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. Soda was looking like he'd just seen a ghost, his face pale and his eyes real wide. Only Darry looked in control, and I figure that's because he's real good at keeping his reactions hidden.

"What about him?" Darry asked, his voice rock steady, even though the tightness of his mouth betrayed his anxiety.

"Maybe we should sit down," Officer Hendricks said quietly, gesturing to the couch. Soda and I both sat wordlessly, and the cops joined us, but Darry remained standing, a hard look on his face that seemed to make Hendricks eager to get on with his job. "Late last night we got a call from a group of boys, saying there'd been an altercation down at the park."

My mouth went dry. Had Ponyboy been jumped again? Oh, Lord, what if he was hurt? What if he was dead?!

"An altercation?" Darry repeated.

"Yes, sir," Hendricks nodded. "Apparently these boys got in in their heads to be drinking, and they ended up out in the park, where they ran into your brother and a buddy of his."

"Johnny," I heard Soda murmur, but I didn't dare take my eyes off of Officer Hendricks.

"Somehow," he continued slowly. "In the fight that broke out between the boys, Mr. Jonathan Cade produced a knife."

My stomach went cold, and I swear I felt my heart stop. Pony and Johnny had been jumped by a bunch of Socs, and Johnny had gone for his blade. I couldn't help remembering when we'd found Johnny in the field all those months ago, lying broken and bleeding in a heap. I'd swung by the DX station on my way home from work, and since Ponyboy was there helping Soda and Steve with the cars, I stuck around for a little bit until they got done, and the four of us were walking back towards the house together when Steve spotted Johnny's jacket laying on the ground. When he went to pick it up, he noticed the blood staining the collar, and his face had gone white as a sheet.

By some miracle, Johnny wasn't dead, and we all heard him moan from across the field. Lord, I've never run so fast in my entire life. Soda got there first, and fell to his knees beside him, rolling him over onto his back as the rest of us reached them. For as long as I live, I won't ever forget what Johnny looked like that day, his swollen face a mess of bruises and cuts, the bloody gash running from his temple to his cheekbone, his white shirt dyed red with his own blood.

Steve had groaned, falling to his knees beside Soda, even as Pony and I stared in disbelief. I must have started to get hysterical, because the next thing I knew Darry was there, putting his arm around me, and Dally and Two-Bit were skidding to a halt at the edge of the scene, their faces etched with horror. None of us had ever seen Johnny that badly hurt, and he'd turned up on our doorstep after more than a few beatings from his father over the years.

From that day on, Johnny Cade never went anywhere without a blade, or without the guts to use it.

"One of the young men, a senior by the name of Robert Sheldon," Hendricks explained. "Was killed in the scuffle."

Oh Lord, did it make me a bad person if I was relieved? If I was grateful that it was this Sheldon kid instead of Ponyboy or Johnny?

"Johnny..." Soda said in a shaky tone, shaking his head in disbelief. "Johnny killed somebody?"

Hendricks nodded. "Yes, son," he answered grimly. "He did."

"What does this have to do with Ponyboy?" I asked, not understanding what they wanted from us.

The two police officers exchanged a glance, and it was Officer Jones who answered, giving me a gentle look as he leaned forward, clasping his hands. "Well, it seems that Ponyboy and Johnny took off after the boys ran. We're here to see if y'all might have any idea where we should start looking."

"No," Darry answered softly. "No, we don't have any idea where they might be headed. They didn't come back here, and Johnny's never even been outside of the neighborhood. I don't reckon they'd have any place to go."

Hendricks frowned, obviously not pleased with his answer. "You're sure? You can't think of any relatives, friends, acquaintances, that they might go to for shelter?"

"We don't have any relatives," Darry responded. "It's just the four of us. And I don't know that either of them knows anyone outside of the city."

"Do you have any idea what Ponyboy was doing out so late?" Jones asked, but there wasn't anything accusatory in his tone.

"We had a fight," I replied before Darry or Soda could, being as vague as possible in my answer. "Ponyboy got upset so he went out for a walk, to cool down for a bit." I lowered my eyes, fidgeting with my hands. "He never came back."

There was a long moment of silence, and then Jones looked at his partner. "I think we've done enough here," he said. "We ought to head back to the station and see what the boys got out of that Winston kid."

We were all real careful about keeping our expression neutral, but my heart skipped a beat at the mention of Dally getting hauled in, and I saw my brother's tense up a little.

Hendricks nodded, and both men rose to their feet. "Well, thank y'all for your help. We appreciate your cooperation on this."

"Not at all," Darry said, moving towards the door to open it for them.

"If you think of anything, anything at all," Jones said, his gaze lingering on me. "Give us a call."

"We will," Darry promised as they slipped outside, and he closed the door behind them. No one moved until we heard the sound of the police car pulling out of the drive, and then we just sat there in shocked silence, letting everything sink in.

"Glory hallelujah," Soda murmured, running a hand through his hair. "Li'l ol' Johnny... he really killed somebody, didn't he?"

"Yeah," Darry agreed quietly. "I reckon he did."

"Dammit," I cursed, closing my eyes tightly, as if that could make it all go away. As if I could open my eyes again to find Ponyboy and Johnny sitting in front of the television, eating cake and drinking Pepsi, watching Mickey Mouse cartoons with Two-Bit.

No one spoke for a few minutes, and I didn't open my eyes again until I heard the door opening. I looked up to see Two-Bit and Steve coming into the living room, their brows furrowed. "We saw the cop car in the drive," Two-Bit explained as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket. "What's goin' on?"

"Ponyboy and I had a fight last night," Darry answered, his eyes flickering with guilt. "He got upset and ran off to find Johnny. They must have gotten jumped, 'cause the cops say that Johnny killed a Soc with his blade."

Steve's eyes widened, and Two-Bit's unlit cigarette fell from his lips. "Jesus," he cursed under his breath.

"The fuzz are lookin' for them, but they must have cut town," Soda added, looking younger than he was all of the sudden. "Dallas has been hauled in to the station for questionin'."

"Like always," Two-Bit muttered, and I silently agreed with him. It seemed like Dally was always been hauled in for everything that happened in our side of town, whether he had anything to do with it or not.

Steve placed a hand on Soda's shoulder, talking quietly to him, his head lowered so that he could look him in the eye. Soda was nodding absently, only half-listening. Two-Bit and Darry were talking about something to do with Dally, but I couldn't seem to get my mind to focus on anything in particular, so I just stared at nothing, trying not to think about what the police had revealed.

I felt a hand touch my knee and blinked, startled to see Steve kneeling in front of me, looking at me with concern in his dark eyes. "You okay, kid?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, nodding quickly. "I'm okay."

He didn't look like he believed me, but he didn't press it. He just squeezed my knee once then stood, turning his attention to the conversation between Two-Bit and Darry. I got up from the couch and headed back towards my bedroom, keeping my eyes to the floor.

"Where are you going, princess?" Darry asked.

"Got some readin' to do for school," I replied without breaking my stride. "I need to finish it before class."

No one objected, but I could feel their eyes watching me. When I got to my room I shut the door and sat down on my bed, taking a few deep breaths to calm the shaking of my hands. I reached over to my nightstand and lifted my book, running my fingers over the cover in silence. I hadn't lied when I said that I had reading to do, there was still a whole chapter I had to read by tomorrow.

I sat there like that for a long while, but the book remained unopened.

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A/N:
Just a quick note- the weight was a mistake in the last chapter, as some of you may have noticed. It was supposed to say one hundred and fifteen pounds, not one hundred. He he, if she was 100 lbs she'd look like Callista Flockhart, now wouldn't she?