Chapter Nine:


It was late when Darry got home.

I was sitting on the front steps waiting on him. Soda had finally fallen asleep, exhausted after the stress of the emotional day, and I had decided to go outside to get some fresh air. It was a fairly warm evening, and the sky overhead was clear and the stars burned bright and strong, but I barely noticed.

I felt numb. Soda was suffering and I didn't know how to make his pain go away. Ponyboy was gone, and I had no idea where he was or if he was okay. Mom and Dad were dead, and I couldn't bring them back. How many more times was our family going to suffer?

I watched as he parked the truck and got out of the driver's seat, the gravel of the driveway crunching under the tread of his worn boots. He was wearing dark jeans and a gray wife-beater tank top under an opened red and black checkered shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He looked tired and sweaty and dusty, like he'd just worked himself to the bone.

Knowing Darry he probably had.

He started towards the house, and I saw a flicker of surprise when he saw me, and he frowned worriedly as he came to stop in front of me. "What's goin' on?" he asked without preamble.

"It's Soda," I replied, so he could let go of the fear I knew he was experiencing at the thought that I had some grim news about Ponyboy.

"What about him?" Darry asked, shifting his construction belt over his shoulder and giving me a look that was so like Mom it was scary.

"Sandy left town," I said quietly, lowering my eyes to the ground. Better to get it all out at once. "She's pregnant with another boy's child, and her parents are shippin' her down to live with her grandmother. Soda wanted to marry her anyway, but she didn't want to marry him."

There was a long silence, and so I lifted my head to see Darry's face had gone blank, his eyes distant and hollow. He was absorbing what I'd said and, being Darry, showing absolutely no reaction to it at all. I waited patiently for him to say something, to tell me what to do to make things better.

"Go on into the kitchen and wait for me," he ordered softly after a few moments, starting up the steps. "I'll be right in."

I followed him back into the house and watched as he tossed his belt down on the couch, then headed for Soda's room. I almost told him that he was sleeping, then thought better of it. If Darry wouldn't wake him unless he really needed to.

Instead, I turned and made my way into the kitchen, pulling out a chair and seating myself at the table. I sat there for a few moments, drumming my fingers on the table-a habit my brothers and I inherited from Dad-before letting my thoughts wander away from Soda and Sandy.

I thought about Ponyboy and Johnny on the run from the law, I thought about how much easier everything was back when Mom and Dad were still alive, but mostly I thought about Steve. I couldn't help it, really, he'd been consuming my thoughts a lot lately, because of that damn kiss.

What the hell had he been thinking?! He had a girlfriend, and I was his best friend's little sister! If Evie didn't kill him, Soda sure as hell would. I should want to kill him, too, for pulling a stunt like that, but for some reason I didn't.

Good Lord, I thought with a groan. That boy is goin' to be the death of me.

A few minutes later Darry came into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of chocolate milk before taking a seat beside me at the table. He looked, if possible, even more exhausted than he had when he'd first gotten home.

"How's he doin'?" I asked softly.

"Not too good," Darry replied grimly. "If she wasn't a lady, I'd ring Sandy's neck for what she did to him."

"She's no lady," I scowled. "And hell, I'll ring her neck myself if I get half the chance."

Darry smiled faintly as he took a gulp of his milk. "I reckon you would. You're a feisty little thing, you know that? Got a real fiery temper on you, that's for sure."

"And?" I asked, not sure where he was going with this.

"That ain't always a bad thing," he stated evenly. "It's gotten you out of a scrap or two before, and it tends to keep trouble at a distance most of the time, but it can be a real hassle, too, Lizzie."

"For you, you mean," I finished knowingly.

"Yeah," Darry nodded. "For me, and for Soda and Pony. For the whole gang, really. Whenever anybody tries to help you, you lash out at 'em like they just walloped you good."

"You've been talkin' to Steve, haven't you?" I demanded, gritting my teeth.

"No," Darry said slowly, giving me a puzzled look. "Two-Bit told me that you got a bit angry with ol' Steve for backin' you in a scuffle with a couple of Socs yesterday, though."

"Two-Bit ought to learn to keep his trap shut," I muttered darkly.

"Like that'll ever happen," Darry said wryly. He frowned, giving me an appraising look. "You get into a tiff with Steve about somethin' other than him steppin' in durin' that fight?"

For a moment I had the insane notion that somehow Darry knew about the kiss, but it passed as quickly as it came. I hadn't told anyone but Emma and Tessa about that, and there was no way in hell Steve would have told Darry. He might be stupid, but he didn't have a death wish.

"When am I not worked up about somethin' against him?" I retorted, and Darry nodded his agreement, writing it off as just another one of our little spats.

"What I was tryin' to say, though, Lizzie, is that things are real rough right now," Darry explained. "In order to make things work we're goin' to all have to make some sacrifices."

"And you think me not lettin' my temper get the best of me so much will help?" I concluded.

"Yeah, I do," Darry said. "Look, I don't expect you and Steve to quit your squabblin', ya'll have been that way for as long as I can remeber, but it's be nice if you could try not to snap at the rest of us so much, especially me and Soda and Pony. We're all hurtin', and anything we can do to make things easier, we need to do."

I raised an eyebrow curiously. "You gonna take your own advice?"

"If you mean am I gonna try to lighten up on you three, the answer is no." I opened my mouth to protest, but Darry silenced me with a look. "I reckon I can try to be more patient with you guys, though."

"And maybe not yell so much, huh?" I prompted.

Darry smiled. "Yeah, and maybe not yell so much."

"Sounds like a plan to me," I replied, flashing him a smile in return.

"Good," he said. "There's somethin' else I wanted to talk to you about, though. It's about work."

It took all of my composure not to flinch at that statement. Had he somehow found out that I'd been pulling doubles at the diner? Lord, I hoped not. For one thing I'd be in for it, but more importantly that money meant a lot to me. Not in the traditional sense, of having money to spend, though that would be nice, but in the sense that it represented a better future. Not just for me, but for my brothers.

"Oh?" I asked evenly.

"Yeah. I'm goin' to be workin' pretty late for the rest of the week to earn some extra cash," Darry informed me. "I reckon we're goin' to need it if we're gonna straighten out this mess with Ponyboy once we find him."

I bit my lip, surprised to hear him talking like that. Ever since th epolice had shown up on Sunday morning, he'd been avoiding talking about Pony when he could, and when he couldn't all he'd done was mutter about how it was his fault.

Maybe seein' Soda hurtin' gave him a good shakin' in more way than one, I thought.

"So I'm gonna need you to take care of dinner until the weekend, okay?"

"Sure thing," I nodded. "I'll make sure there's enough cake for breakfast, too."

"Thanks, sweetheart," Darry said with a relieved sigh. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem," I assured him, pushing to my feet to head back to my room and finish up my homework. I kissed his cheek, earning a smile in return, then slipped out of the kitchen, leaving Darry to himself.

As I opened my bedroom door I paused, glancing back at him, and found him leaning back in his chair, shoulders slumped in exhaustion, and my heart went out to him.

Don't worry, Darry, I thought determinedly. We'll keep this family together, no matter what.