Thank you everyone for the support and for those who left me a review or contacted me about the last chapter. I can't tell you how much it means to me to know that you're enjoying the story. As promised, I'm updating much earlier than I did last time. I hope that you enjoy it!

I stepped out of the truck and shut the door with more force than necessary. Two-Bit shot me a look as he came around the other side of the truck and we made our way up the front steps and into the house.

"Soda?" I called out, not really expecting an answer. It was still a little early for him to be home from work. I sat down heavily in the armchair and ran my hand down my face with a sigh.

Two-Bit went into the kitchen and grabbed a beer before he sat down at the table, quietly studying the map that was laid out there.

I knew I should go help him but I couldn't get myself to move. A heaviness had settled into my bones.

Where was he?

I sighed and shook my head. We weren't gonna give up on him, not ever.

The phone rang, causing Two-Bit's head to shoot up.

"Hello?" I answered, my heart pounding in my chest with hope and dread.

"Hello, may I speak to Darrel please?"

"Speaking."

"Hi Darrel, it's Charlie Canfield. How have you been, son?" I collapsed back against the chair.

"About as fine as you'd expect. What can I do for you boss?"

Mr. Canfield chuckled wryly. "I thought I told you to call me Charlie." I chuckled in return. "Wendy wanted me to call to see how you boys have been doing, any word on Ponyboy yet?"

"No, we tried looking around the Donovan's neighbourhood and asking around at his school today but we didn't find anything helpful. There's no sign of any of them."

"What do the police have to say?"

"He's listed as a runaway and there's been no sign of him anywhere."

"Well don't give up hope. I'm sure something will come up soon, it's only been a few days." Charlie's voice was soft and kind.

"Yeah, I know. Thank you…. sir."

Charlie laughed lightly. "Wendy's been cooking up a storm and she has about 3 casseroles for me to drop off with your paychecks, I could stop by in about an hour if that works for you?"

"That works just fine for me and it's real kind of her. You'll have to tell her thank…." I trailed off as his words sunk in. "…paychecks?"

"That's right, last week's because you weren't in on Friday on account of your court date and this week's . I know it's only Wednesday but I figured two birds and all."

I frowned. "I haven't worked since Friday, there should only be one check. I appreciate the offer but I don't need charity"

"Now listen here Darrel. You're on salary and you've been putting in extra hours since you started. I figure that you're already owed this money."

"Shoot, I'm not sure.." I started to say, but he cut me off gently.

"If it makes you feel better, come in early for a few weeks after you find your brother."

I grimaced, it still felt like a hand out, but I needed to be able to focus on searching for Ponyboy. It was a blow to my pride but my brother was worth it.

I sighed and let the gratitude soak into my voice. "Thank you." It was hard to accept but I was so lucky to have a boss who cared. I wasn't going to forget this kindness

My head snapped up as the front door opened, I had a sudden irrational hope that I'd see a small slim teenager with reddish hair step through the door smiling shyly with some wild tale of getting lost because he was daydreaming.

"Hey," Soda called out as he entered with Steve shadowing him. I deflated a little, nodding my head hello.

"Alright,I'll see you in a bit then." Charlie's voice broke into my thoughts.

"See you soon." I replied, hanging up the phone.

"Who was that?" Soda asked, his eyes brightening with hope. He had come home each day since Sunday with the same look but each day it was a little dimmer. I wasn't sure how long he could stand to be disappointed before he cracked.

I shook my head. "My boss calling to check on us. Mrs. Canfield made us dinner so don't worry about starting anything."

"Fine," Soda answered dismissively. "But what about Stillwater? Any sign of him."

"No, little buddy." I hated letting him down like this. I'd been letting both my brothers down for a while now and it was slowly killing me. "No one has seen him or the Donovans since before Friday and they had no idea where they could be."

Soda slumped onto the couch. Steve patted his shoulder as he made his way into the kitchen. He grabbed Two-Bit in a headlock from behind. Two-Bit shouted as he tipped the chair over, both crashing to the floor.

Soda perked up a bit as he looked over at our pals wrestling on the kitchen floor.

"Don't you numbskulls break anything," I grumbled, though it was good to see even a small smile from Sodapop.

The phone rang again and Soda jumped up to grab it but wasn't faster than me.

"Hello, Darrel speaking."

"Hello Mr. Curtis, it's Officer Roberts. I wanted to contact you with an update on your brother's case."

My heart jumped into my throat. "Update? Did you find him?"

Soda, who had turned back to watch the wrestling match continue, whipped around so quickly I thought he'd get whiplash. The noise in the kitchen abruptly broke off and I assumed that Steve and Two-Bit were also listening.

"No, I'm sorry Darrel. We were able to make contact with Mrs. Donovan this afternoon. She came down to the station with her son and gave us her statement. She was with her son Philip at Western Oklahoma State College for a basketball game Tuesday. That's why we had trouble contacting her before."

I didn't care about her excuses, I just wanted to know where Ponyboy was, but I gritted my teeth. The cops were barely doing anything but we still needed them to be looking.

"And….?" I prompted.

"She said the same thing Mr. Donovan did. That she dropped Ponyboy off at the bus stop in Oklahoma City Saturday night. He told her that you were expecting him and would pick him up at the station." He said, quite calmly. "She bought him a ticket and watched him climb aboard. She was able to show us the receipt for the ticket."

"I never spoke with him or heard anything about him taking a bus home, I was expecting her to bring him to the courthouse on Friday." I worked very hard to keep my voice even and not to lose all composure like I wanted to. I wanted to scream, to rage. I could feel it bubbling inside my gut.

"I understand that. It is our belief that Ponyboy misled his foster mother, told her the court date had changed to Monday and took off on his own from the bus."

"No, he wouldn't do that." I growled, it just didn't make sense. "How do you know she's telling the truth? What if she's lying? There was always something off with her. Ponyboy noticed it. We noticed it. She could be hiding him somewhere and you're all busy sitting on your hands to even look for him!" My voice was getting louder at each sentence until I was yelling. Soda's eyes were huge as he watched me.

Officer Roberts heaved a sigh and spoke in a soothing voice that got my hackles up. "Mr. Curtis, she had the receipt for the bus ticket to Tulsa. People at the tournament saw Ponyboy there Friday but not Saturday. Also, an entire basketball team and crew saw both Philip and Mrs. Donovan at the game at Western Oklahoma College on Tuesday. Her story checks out."

I was shaking my head the whole time, this couldn't be right. Ponyboy wanted to come home. I knew it. Even if he was ever angry at me for losing custody of him, he'd never leave Sodapop. But the cops didn't care about my beliefs, they'd painted this picture of Ponyboy as a greasy runaway hood. They didn't know my book reading, sunset watching, smart as a whip little brother.

"Now, this does not mean that we're going to stop looking for him, his description is out to police stations all over the state and at every bus and train station. I'm sure he'll turn up soon."

I thanked him begrudgingly, knowing that continuing this conversation was getting me nowhere and hung up the phone. I'd have to find him myself.

"Well?" Soda was standing by my elbow, his arms crossed, his foot tapping rapidly.

"Mrs. Donovan and Philip were at the police station today." Soda rocked back on his feet in surprise. "They say that Pony ran away. That they put him on a bus to come home but he…took off or something, I don't know exactly."

Soda's eyes were bright and he backed away from me. Steve moved from the kitchen and placed himself between Soda and the front door. I shot him a grateful look. My impetuous brother was known to take off when he was upset. "No, no, no, no, no! Ponyboy wouldn't do that. He wouldn't leave us. Not again…" he trailed off then threw himself down on the couch and dropped his head into his hands.

"Pepsi Cola," I moved to his side and curled my arm around his shaking shoulders. This uncertainty was taking it's toll and I was sure that an explosion was coming soon. "Of course they're wrong. All Ponyboy has talked about this whole time was coming home. He wouldn't just leave us now. He wouldn't just leave you."

Soda peered up at me and I was suddenly struck with how young he looked. He was too young to be dealing with all this. We all were. But the hits just kept coming.

"So what do we do, Dar?"

"We go through everything we know. We find the holes in they're story and follow them until we find Pony." I scratched the back of my head, thinking. "First of all Ponyboy was supposed to be at the courthouse on Friday but according to Mr. Donovan, Ponyboy told them it was moved to Monday so they brought him to a basketball tournament in Oklahoma City."

"People on the team remember seeing him at the game on Friday." Steve continued moving to plop himself down on the floor by Soda's feet.

I nodded. "Mrs. Donovan told the cops that he said he called us, found out the mistake and asked to take a bus home on Saturday and she put him on it that afternoon."

"But he called the house Sunday morning and said he was still in Oklahoma City with the Donovans, right Steve?" Soda asked, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"Yeah, he was confused though and didn't know what day it was."

"Then it's radio silence from the whole Donovan gang until today?" Two-Bit questioned from his station at the kitchen doorway.

"Mr. Donovan spoke to the police on Sunday, he's been on a business trip in Dallas. His clients confirmed that he's made every meeting since Thursday. Both Mrs. Donovan and Philip were at the basketball team's game on Tuesday. So they're all accounted for."

We all fell into silence. There wasn't much to go on. I guess I could go down to the bus station and see if anyone had seen my brother. Speak to the driver and show him a picture of Pony.

"What about the other one? Don't they have two kids?" Two-Bit's question broke through my thoughts and I froze.

The other one?

Daniel.

Two-Bit was right, where was Daniel?

"Daniel?" Soda asked, bewildered.

"You're right, Two-Bit. The cop said that Philip and Mrs. Donovan we're seen at the game and the station, but where's Daniel?"

"He ain't home or at school because we checked both those places today." Two-Bit continued, his gray eyes brightening.

Soda looked between the both of us. "You think maybe he knows where Pony is?"

Steve sat up straighter. "Why else would he just have disappeared?

It was possible, but it didn't really get us any closer to finding him though. We had no idea where he was. Still it was something and I was going to track down Daniel and find out if he could tell me where my brother was. Daniel was going to tell me the truth if I ever got my hands on him that's for sure. I wasn't letting some dumb kid stand between me and Pony.

I heaved myself off the couch and made my way to the window, I let the boys' voices planning our next step fade into the background. I needed a minute to think.

The sky was splashed with reds and golds. I couldn't remember the last time I'd watched a sunset or sunrise.

I guess I'd watched one about a month after losing Dallas and Johnny. Well that wasn't exactly right. I'd woken up early one morning and found Ponyboy sitting alone on the porch watching the sunrise. The gold light had bathed his face, his ridiculous blond hair looking more red and normal in the dawn. A trail of cigarette smoke hung around him, his expression perfectly content. It had been a long time since I'd seen part of the old Ponyboy, he had been so lost after everything. I'd paused in the doorway and just watched him, soaking in his calm. For the first time certain that he would be okay.

Tears prickled in the corner of my eyes but I fought them back. I wondered if my baby brother could see the sunset right now, wherever he was?

Hold on Ponyboy, I'm coming.

I stretched my whole body, straining my neck so I could see the last colours of the setting sun. It made the metal of the hand cuff cut into my ankle but it was worth it. It was my third sunset since they'd brought me here and they were my way to track time.

Three days.

Three days of lying or sitting on this bed, my right ankle handcuffed to the bedpost. Three days of stretching to glimpse anything out of the window but only seeing the tops of trees. Three days of the stillness and silence of this place only being broken by the call of birds and the occasional motor. Three days of this little room with it's shiplap walls, bed, bedside table and tiny window that was too high up.

Daniel came in three times a day with food and he'd let me use the washroom with a shotgun in hand so I wouldn't try anyway. I wondered where the other two were but I didn't bother asking him. He didn't really say much to me, just glared at me as if I was to blame for the situation.

That didn't bother me too much, I didn't like him either.

I'd given up asking him to let me go, he'd just mutter and growl under his voice before slamming the door in my face.

I sure wanted a smoke. For a day or two my hands wouldn't stop shaking and I'd thought that I'd be willing to give up a kidney for one. Daniel had ignored my multiple requests for a pack, just rolled his eyes at me. The shaking had stopped sometime last night but I still wanted one badly.

The sky slowly darkened until the sunlight was just a dim brush of pale blue on the horizon above the trees. I lay back down and let my head hit the pillow.

Soon the room was too dark to see.

I wanted Soda and Darry, I wanted them so bad that it ached in my chest. In the dark I could see their faces and almost feel their arms around me, protecting me. All day I stayed strong and acted tuff in front of Daniel but here in the dark I let the tears roll silently down my cheeks.

I didn't know how I could escape, it was starting to feel hopeless.

I glittered my teeth. I knew my brothers weren't gonna to give up on me. I wasn't gonna give up on them. I'd fight to get back to them for the rest of my life if I had to.

I let the anger spark in my chest and I let out a roar.

"Let me go! You bunch of psychopaths, just let me go!"

My voice echoed in the stillness.

Nothing.

No one came. No one cared.

Well, Darry, Soda and the guys cared but they weren't here right now. That was the problem.

Breathing heavily, I fell back on the bed and closed my eyes.

Please find me.

Thanks!

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