The week Darry had to be in bed was the hardest on all of us. Soda hated leaving him alone, and I had to deal with him when I got home. We had Two-Bit come and "baby sit" him because Two-Bit is strong enough to pin him to the couch, unlike me. I was happy that school was starting again. Summers bore me after a while.
We were all relieved when Darry was allowed to move around again. I think he was the most, but I came in a very close second. The only other hard part was keeping him from over-doing it. He still wanted to work more than he should be, and it was hard stopping him.
I came home from school one day, and he wasn't in the arm chair, like he usually was.
"Darry!" I called. When I received no answer, I got worried.
I ran around the house, and when I got to his room, I found him, collapsed on the floor.
"Darry!" I cried in alarm.
He moaned, and I took it as a good sign.
"I'll call the hospital." I said, reaching for the phone.
He reached out and grabbed my hand.
"No." He said through gritted teeth.
"Darry, you're hurt. You need to go to the hospital."
"NO, I DON'T!" He hollered.
I flinched at his anger.
"But-" I started.
"I'm fine. I just fell, that's all."
"Darry! You were unconscious!"
"I'm okay."
"No, you're not okay. I'll call Soda."
"DON'T YOU DARE! I'M FINE! I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF! I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING, SO JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"
I backed up from him, for fear he'd hit me. He'd done it before, but it wasn't his fault. He was just worried about me.
I stood up. "Give me your hand." I said, holding mine out to him.
"No."
"Come on, Superman. At least let me help you up." I said, trying to be gentle.
He accepted my offer with a grunt. It was harder than I expected. He was a pretty big guy.
When I finally got him standing, he leaned on his good foot while I picked up his crutches.
"Here you go." I said quietly, and then turned and walked to the door.
"Pony. . ." Darry said in a quiet voice.
"Yeah, Darry?"
"Um. . .thanks. I'm sorry I yelled. I just don't like being the one taken care of. I guess I'm not used to it. I'm usually the one taking care of other people. Not the other way around."
"Maybe you should be taken care of more often." I whispered.
He smiled at me and said, "Come here."
He opened up his arms to me, and I walked into them. He hugged me tight and pushed my hair back.
"You're a good kid, Pony." He said.
"Thanks. I guess I get it from you." I grinned, playfully hitting his arm.
"Yeah. I guess so."
I turned and walked out the door. I guess I did get it from him. I sure didn't get it from Soda, I thought, laughing to myself.