Chapter Three
Savannah
It was really weird, but I wasn't scared of this Two-Bit guy at all. I mean, he was a Greaser, aren't they supposed to be kind of bad? I kept on telling myself that this was stupid and dangerous, but then I would look at Two-Bit and decide that he was too sick to hurt me. I've always been kind of a bleeding heart; doing stuff like giving money to street people even though I knew they were going to use it to buy pot. This though was kind of extreme, even for me. What would my mother say?
My apartment is on the fifth floor, but the elevator is really slow, and it seemed like people got on at every floor. They all gave Two-Bit these strange and disapproving looks. If I had won the lottery, I couldn't have been happier than I was when the elevator got to my floor. Two-Bit shuffled along beside me as we walked down the hallway to my apartment. When we finally got there I hurried to unlock the door. I didn't need anyone seeing me and starting rumors. All the other tenants hate me enough as it is.
We were greeted by my ancient Chow, Sheba, when we walked in. She, like me, could sense that something was wrong with Two-Bit and instead of sniffing him like she does to everyone else, she started licking his hand. Two-Bit, who had been almost asleep sort of jumped and looked down at Sheba. He absently scratched her head and then looked at me. His eyes, which I could tell would normally be a really pretty grey, were bloodshot and it looked like he was fighting to keep them open. The look he gave me said 'I feel terrible'. Two-Bit sort of moaned and laid his head on my shoulder; he had a fever; his forehead was burning my shoulder.
"I feel awful," Two-Bit said.
Once again I tried to tell myself that this was stupid and dangerous, but Two-Bit looked at me with his grey bloodshot eyes, and I knew I was doing the right thing.
"Come on," I said softly, "Lets find you a place to lie down."
Two-Bit
A few minutes later, I was laying in Savannah's guest room with a mountain of blankets on me. Her dog was lying next to me looking at me worriedly. I wanted more blankets. God, how did I get so sick? I wasn't acting very tough either; I was a disgrace. What was wrong with me? To make matters even worse, my head was hurting more (if that was possible).
I heard the door open and I looked up to see Savannah. She sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Are you OK?" Savannah asked. I think she knew the answer.
For a second, I had this flashback to when I was a little kid. I was sick, and mom was holding me and telling me that everything would be OK. That was before my little sister was born, and before she had to get a job at a seedy bar to keep us all fed.
Suddenly, I wanted Savannah to hold me and make me feel better like my mom had. I didn't care if I hardly knew her. But the feeling quickly passed, I guess the fever had gotten the best of me for a minute. I realized that Savannah was staring at me.
"Are you OK?" she asked.
"No," I replied quietly. I just wanted to sleep.
Savannah put her hand on my forehead, "You have a really high fever," she said. I normally would have said something witty in return, but I just wasn't feeling up to it.
"How long have you been feeling bad?" Savannah asked.
"Since this morning," I mumbled. I wanted Savannah to leave me alone so I could sleep.
Savannah nodded and stood up. "I'll be up for a bit longer," she said. "Yell if you need anything."
I nodded. I didn't say that I didn't think I could yell if my life depended on it. It didn't really matter because I was just going to be asleep anyway.
But I couldn't get to sleep. My head was pounding and I was exhausted, but I just couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned for several hours. First I was too cold, then I was too hot, then I was too cold again. Savannah's dog was still looking at me with that same worried expression. I didn't even know dogs could be worried, maybe I was just seeing things.
I was too cold again, and I had curled up into a miserable, helpless ball in hopes of keeping warm. What if the gang saw me like this? Was this what Johnny felt like when he was dying? I hoped not, Johnny didn't deserve to be this cold and sick and miserable. What if I was dying? Savannah's words came back to me "Yell if you need anything."
"Savannah," I said. "I'm dying, come quick."
I knew she couldn't hear me. I laid there, miserable and shivering until morning.
