(At the Curtis House)
(1:30 P.M)
Darry and Soda pulled up in front of their house. Ponyboy had fallen asleep shortly before they left but started to stir when they stopped. He opened his glassy, bloodshot eyes and looked around. He looked around as if he didn't know where he was for a moment.
"It's alright, Pony. It's alright. We're home." Sodapop assured, rubbing his younger brother's back. He noticed that Bexley wasn't with us and he started to panic slightly. "Where's Bex?" he asked, his bloodshot eyes darting back and forth.
"She's still at school. She'll be home soon." Soda assured, picking him up bridal style as they stepped out of the truck. Darry walked ahead to unlock the house so they could get inside. "Soda, get him into the bedroom and get him into bed. I'll get the thermometer and some medicine." Darry ordered, walking inside the house.
"Okay, Dar." Soda complied, bringing their little brother into their shared bedroom. After getting him in bed, he removed Ponyboy's jeans and threw them aside on the floor but left his shirt on. Afterward, Soda tucked him into bed to which the younger boy gratefully snuggled into. He was looking forward to being in his bed again.
Soda sat down in the desk chair and he scooted up next to the bed to keep a better eye on his kid brother. He leaned over and ran his fingers through Ponyboy's hair in such a loving way.
"Pony, honey, how come you didn't tell us that you weren't feeling good?" Soda asked. Ponyboy opened his eyes for a second before shutting them again. Bexley had suspected that he was sick; she had almost caught him when they woke up that morning.
"You and Darry had to work. I didn't want Bex to worry for me. I knew she would." Ponyboy sighed, leaning on Soda's hand. Soda couldn't help but smile at Ponyboy's silly response. This young boy didn't realize just how important he and Bexley were to Darry and Soda. They would do anything to keep them safe.
Meanwhile, Darry was finding everything he needed to help Ponyboy while he was sick. Just as he went into the bathroom to get some medicine, the sound of loud, wet coughing came from the bedroom.
As he came back to the bedroom, he saw that Ponyboy was sitting up in bed while coughing. Soda was patting Ponyboy on the back to help him catch his breath. Darry even saw that each cough was causing the young boy immense pain.
"Darry… Soda… make it stop." he whimpered, leaning against Soda after finally catching his breath. Darry came over and set the medicine down on the desk that was beside the bed. "What hurts, Pone?" the eldest Curtis asked, sitting on the bed.
"My throat… my chest… my head. I feel so dizzy that I can't see straight." Ponyboy explained, uncontrollably shaking as if he was freezing. Darry and Soda glanced at each other. They felt worried for their baby brother. He was worse than they thought.
It even made them nervous of how Bexley was gonna be when she sees him. This wasn't the first time that either of them had been sick since their parents died but it wasn't usually this bad. Bexley did tell them that his fever was pretty high.
They had to get his temperature down because both knew that the hospital was far too expensive for them to afford. Darry wanted to avoid that at any cost. If that meant helping his younger siblings on his own, then so be it. Darry wasn't going to let the state get involved in this matter.
"Pony, we need to take your temperature then you need to take some medicine to help you feel better." Darry said. Ponyboy couldn't do it on his own so Soda had to help him. Darry reached over to get the thermometer. He put it in Ponyboy's mouth and waited for the mercury bar to stop climbing.
When it stopped, he pulled it out and read it. The temperature went up to 102.3, which worried the older brothers even more. If they didn't get some medicine in him, Ponyboy would only get worse.
"He's gotta take some medicine then we gotta get his temperature down." Darry says. Soda nodded in agreement. The only medicine they could use was the liquid since he wouldn't be able to take pills in his state. It was the kind of medicine that Ponyboy and Bexley hated taking.
Darry poured the liquid into a table spoon and set the medicine aside. He brought it up to Ponyboy's mouth, but the boy caught one whiff of it and turned his head away with a moan.
"Pony, you need to take this so you'll feel better." Darry says. "Mm-mmm." Ponyboy muttered, shaking his head. Sometimes he'd act more like a 5-year-old as opposed to a 14-year-old. "Let me do it, Dar. Maybe I can get him to comply." Soda offered.
Darry nodded and passed the medicine to the middle Curtis. "Pony, you have to take this. The pain will go away and help you sleep. Can you do that for me?" Soda asked in a gentle tone. He ran his hand through Ponyboy's bleach blonde hair.
And with that, Ponyboy complied and took the medicine hesitantly. Ponyboy had to force the medicine down his throat, making a disgusted expression the whole time. "There, that wasn't so bad now, was it?" Soda asked.
"Tasted awful," Ponyboy muttered. Luckily, there was a glass of water that Darry had brought just in case Ponyboy wouldn't like it. Ponyboy took the glass with both hands and drank half of the glass before pushing it back.
"There you go, kiddo. It'll be here if you want it again." Soda said, pressing his lips to Pony's forehead. After washing his scalding forehead down with a cold washcloth, Ponyboy soon went to sleep thanks to the medicine.