With everything off of my chest, I slept good at night. Well, except for one thing that still haunted my thoughts.

I was different. I didn't know how it happened, or what I did, but I'm a different person now. It's kind of like when Johnny got beat up by the Socs. After that, he was afraid of his own shadow. I'm not afraid of much, except getting taken away again, and I think that's what makes me different.

I knew Soda and Darry noticed the change in me, but they must have accepted it because they didn't bug me about it. I tried really hard to not fight with Darry, and get my homework done on time. I was never late coming home, and I watched less and less movies and read less books.

One time, Two-Bit came over to our house, and had to knock on the door because his hands were full. When I heard the knock, I flinched, expecting a social worker on the other side. But it was only Two-Bit.

When I had jumped, Soda and Darry looked at me strangely. Darry placed a hand on my shoulder before he went to open the door. I didn't know if he understood why I jumped, or if he was just comforting me.

Steve came over every now and then, and every time he did, he tried to get info on the boys' home out of me. He knew it bothered me, and he kept it up. Until one day, he went too far.

Soda and I were sitting on the couch in our living room, with Darry in the arm chair and Steve sitting in one of the chairs from our table. Two-Bit hadn't come by because he was off getting drunk somewhere.

Steve started talking to me, innocently enough. He just asked how I'd been doing and if school was okay.

We talked for a while, and then Soda and Darry got up to fix supper and set the table. When they would come back, I'd be a mess.

Steve and I sat in silence for a few minutes. Then, Steve broke it by saying, "I bet you liked being away from your brothers, huh?"

I looked at him blankly. Why would I like that?

"I mean, I know how much they bother you. They're always complaining to you about something. I bet you were glad you left. I bet you didn't even miss them, did you? Well, you know what? They didn't miss you, either. . ." He was about to continue, but I yelled, "Shut up!"

Then, I ran to my room. I grabbed one of my pillows and covered my face with it, crying into it.

Why would he say such awful things to me? What kind of a creep did he think I was?

I heard Darry and Soda ask Steve what happened. He said nothing, and then they both came into my room.

"Ponyboy, what happened?" Darry asked, clearly confused and concerned.

"Steve said. . ." I couldn't continue, because I was crying too hard.

"What did he say?" Soda asked me.

"He said that I was glad I got to go to the boys' home. I didn't miss you when I was away, and that you two didn't miss me either. I did, Darry. I swear. I missed you both. I never wanted to go away. Please, believe me."

Soda stroked my back gently as I cried into the pillow. I saw a fire in Darry's eyes, and he got up from my bed and stomped out of the room.

I heard Steve say, "What in the-" and then I heard a loud crash against the wall. The whole house shook.

Darry's voice echoed through the house as he yelled, "Don't you ever say that to my brother again, you hear me? You know how much Soda and I missed him, so just shut up! Get out of my house before I do it for you!"

A few seconds later, I heard the front door slam. Soda flinched when Darry screamed, but I had a feeling he wanted to do the same thing.

Darry came back to my room and sat down next to me as I whimpered under my pillow. He gently took the pillow out of my hand and looked into my tear-filled eyes.

"Pony, I hope you know better than to believe Steve. We missed you so much. I know you missed us, and that you didn't want to go away. Steve was just being a jerk, that's all. He paid for it, too."

"I-I kn-know." I stuttered.

"It's okay, baby. He didn't mean anything. It wasn't true."

"Thanks." I said, and wiped my eyes. Darry and Soda gave me a hug.

I got up and said, "I think I'll go for a little walk."

"Okay, but supper's almost done."

"Okay."

I acted pretty normal, right? Then why did I throw a lamp against the wall in that next few seconds?