Chapter Three
I pulled up in front on Cherry's apartment building at about 8:30 in the morning. It had been about a year since he last saw her. The last time he came home for a visit. He remembered the night he asked her to be his girl. They had become really good friends his senior year. He had starting having feelings for her. He thought she felt the same way. He was wrong. When he asked her, she told him that it could never happen. She didn't feel that way about him. He knew the real reason. Her family and friends had been pressuring her to stay away from him; because he was a greaser and because of what had happened with Bob. They thought that it would hurt her reputation. So after that they hadn't really talked much.
He walked up to her door and knocked. "Coming," a voice yelled from inside. After a few seconds the door opened halfway because a chain was attached to it. "Ponyboy? Just a minute she shut the door and took the chain off. "Come in." she said standing back to let me in. "Sit down," she said walking to the couch. Would you like something to drink?" she asked.
"No thanks," I said. "How are things going?" I asked.
"Oh there going really good. I got new job. It's at a law office." She paused for a minute. "How are classes?"
"There good. Mid-terms are coming up."
"Ponyboy, what are doing here?" she asked suddenly.
"What do mean?" I asked.
"I mean you didn't drive all the way down here just to make small talk." She said getting up and waking to the kitchen. I got up and followed her. She poured herself a glass of water.
"Actually there was a reason I came. There's something I want to talk to you about."
"Sure. What is it?" she asked turning to face me. I paused for a moment before I spoke. "It's about the night Bob died." She looked away and took a sip of her water. "What about it?" she asked.
"Well I just wanted to talk to about it because. There are some things that I don't really remember."
"Like what?" she asked. "Well after they chased us I blacked out and I don't remember what happened. I just thought talking about might help me."
"Why do you want to remember? You know what happened as well as I does. They jumped you and tried to drown you and Johnny stabbed him. That's all there is to it." She said.
I could tell she was getting upset. I knew I should stop but something wouldn't let me. "Yeah, I know that but I just thought it would help if I could remember own my own."
"Well it doesn't help me to know." She was starting to yell. "It's not going to help you. It's not going to make things better. I mean I tried to stop him that night but-." She stopped abruptly.
"What did you say?" I demanded. She didn't answer. "What did you say?" I asked again.
"I knew." She whispered.
"You knew what?" I demanded. She bit her lip before answering. "I knew he was coming after you and Johnny that night."
"What! You knew. How?"
"He told me when he took me home. He said that he was going to make you and Johnny pay for what you did." she took a nervous sip of her water.
"You knew and you didn't do anything?" I yelled. "I did try." She said. "I tried to talk him out of it."
"Yeah, I bet you tried real hard." I said sarcastically.
"I did." She was near tears. "I told him it wasn't worth it. I tried to get him to stay with me. But he wouldn't listen. He was to drunk to think rationally."
"So that makes it okay."
"Of course not." She said leaning against the counter.
"Your damn right it doesn't. And you knew and did nothing."
"I did do something. I talk—."
"You talked to him. A lot of damn good that did." I was losing my temper. I didn't mean the things I was say but I couldn't stop. "You could have stopped him and you didn't." I yelled. "What did you want me to do?" she cried.
"I don't know. Something. You could have called the police. Told them what he was going to do."
"I didn't want Bob to get in trouble,"
"You didn't want Bob to get in trouble."I repeated. "Well that's just great. What about me and Johnny. You wanted us to get killed." I screamed. I knew I needed to calm down but I couldn't.
"No." She cried. "I was scared I didn't know what to do and the next morning when I saw the paper. I was sick when I found out what happened."
"You were sick. Well Johnny died because of you."
"What!" she was crying now.
"Johnny and Dally died because you were too afraid to do something. It's your fault."
I looked at her. She looked broken. I knew I had gone too far. I didn't mean all those things. I had to apologize. "Cherry-." I began. But she cut me off. "Get out!" she screamed. "Get out of here!"
I stared at her. I had really hurt her. "Cherry look I didn't mean those things."
"Yeah well I meant what I said. Get out!" she screamed. Throwing her glass at me and barely missing my head. I slowing backed toward the door and stopped. "Leave!" she screamed. I walked out the door and she slammed it behind me. I placed my hand on the door and considered going back in and trying to talk to her but decided against it. She was to upset to talk right. 'I can call her in few days and apologize when she's calmed down.' I walked back to the car and drove back home.
Monday Afternoon
I walked into my dorm room after my last class and found Ryan sitting on the bed doing what looked like class work. That was unusual. He usually put it off to the last minute if at all. "Hey Ryan what's going on?" I asked.
"Oh. Not too much. I just trying to finish the English paper up before midterms." he said.
"You mean you're actually doing work." I said.
"Yeah my parents called and said it I didn't my grades up they were gong to cut me off. And not my pay for next semester."
"So they finally got tired of you slacking off huh?"
"Yeah, Oh yeah before I forget your brother called. He said to call as soon as you get a chance. It sounded important."
"Thanks," I said picking up the phone. Ryan got up and headed for the door. "I'm going to head out. Natalie said she'd help me with my paper.
"All right. See ya." The phone was on the sixth ring and I was getting ready to hang up. When someone picked up.
"Hello….yeah….what….I don't know….Yeah on Saturday….Tuesday morning….Yeah I'm going to be there….Thanks…Bye…" I hung up the phone and fell down in my desk chair.
Cherry was dead. He couldn't believe it. She had driven her car through a red light Saturday night. The police said she hadn't been paying attention. When the light turned an 18 wheeler had been coming through at the same time. She had died on impact.
'It's all my fault. She was upset because of me. That's why she wasn't paying attention. It's all fault. What have I done?' I buried my hands in my face.
I got back to the dorm around six' o'clock that evening. I had just come from Cherry's funeral. Lot's of people had been their. Her parents, people from school, Marcia. Even Two-bit came. But he really just showed up for me.
I pulled off my tie and jacket and sat down at the desk. I couldn't believe this had happened. I pulled my shirt up and examined the scar on my stomach. I still didn't understand it. I had just forgotten I had it. 'But what if I didn't. What if I had some how? When it was reading I went back and created it. But this wasn't possible. Was it? If I can create scars? Could I take them away? And I could to that? Could I change what had happened to Cherry? Could I change Johnny and Dally's death or Bob's. I grabbed The Outsiders off the desk and flipped through it till I found what I was looking for.
Bob shook his head, smiling slowly. "You could use a bath greaser. And a good working over. And we've got all night to do it. Give the kid a bath David."
The same feeling I had before came over me. The room spun and I began to feel light-headed. I closed my eyes and waited.
Sorry for the cliffhanger. But the chapter was long enough. I'll get chapter Four up as soon as I can.