Chapter Five

Soda POV

There was a knock at the door. When I answered it, there was a woman in a suit.

"Hi, I'm Carol Bennett. I'm with the state of Oklahoma."

My body stiffened, thinking of memories that were making me sick. Lydia came up behind me.

"How can we help you?"

"May I come in?"

Lydia invited her in and took her to our living room.

"I'm here to talk to you about your brother's daughter."

Me and Lydia looked at each other.

"I think you're mistaken, ma'am. My brother has two sons, no daughters."

She flipped through her papers.

"You're not Sodapop Curtis? Darrel Curtis's brother?"

My eyes widened, as did Lydia's.

"Wait..."

About that time, Ponyboy walked in the room.

"What's going on?"

"I'm... I'm not sure..."

Pony'd been staying with us since his wife had died the year before. He'd been on a book tour, which is why his sons, James and Nicky, had been staying with us.

"I was just telling Sodapop here that I need to discuss his brother's daughter."

"This is Ponyboy, my other brother..."

I shook my head. Pony gawked.

"Darry didn't have a daughter!"

He was just as shocked as I was.

"No... This has to be a mistake."

"It's not. His daughter, Scarlett..."

"What's wrong with Scar?"

We turned to see Keegan. When no one spoke, he repeated himself.

"I said, what's wrong with Scar?"

She ignored him and looked at me.

"I'm sure you know your brother died in an accident three years ago?"

I nodded. I'd been mad because June didn't even tell us until a week after the funeral, so we didn't even get to go.

"Well, last night, June Curtis overdosed on heroin in Oklahoma City. We need to discuss what to do with Scarlett. You two are her only living relatives."

"Where is she?"

Keegan was worked up, now.

"Wait a minute..."

A thought dawned on me. I'd been in such a state of shock, I didn't catch Keegan saying Scar until now.

"Keegan, is Scar...?"

I knew she looked familiar. I just couldn't pinpoint it.

"I'm confused. Were you really not aware that Darrel had a child?"

I shook my head. How did we not know? We had talked to him almost every day up until he died.

"Where's Scar?!"

The woman was startled by Keegan's outburst.

"At the police station."

He looked at me and straightened up.

"Dad."

I looked at Ms. Bennett.

"What're our options?"

"Dad?!"

Lydia rushed to Keegan.

"We won't let anything happen. Okay? Just... Just let us talk to Ms. Bennett."

He nodded with a scowl and left the room. She came and sat back down beside me.

"Well, there's really only two. Either you take custody of her, or we'll need to find her a foster home. Like I said, you two are her only living relatives.

"Soda, we can't let that happen..."

"I know, Lydia... I just..."

I looked at Ponyboy.

"Why didn't he tell us? Why didn't June tell us when he died? I would've never let her stay with June."

We hadn't liked June. Ever. She'd always been a junkie. Darry loved her, anyway. Pony shook his head.

"I have no idea."

After talking some more, Lydia and I signed the custody papers. It was all a blur. The woman said she had a couple of other things to do, so she'd call us when it was time to pick her up. Me and Pony went to Keegan's room.

"We wanna talk to you."

He was sitting in his desk chair. He sighed.

"Go ahead."

"Did you know that Scarlett was Darry's kid?"

"It's Scar. And yeah, I did."

Ponyboy spoke next.

"And did you know that her mom has been living in Oklahoma City instead of with Scar for the last few months?"

He looked down.

"Yeah..."

"Why didn't you tell us, Keegan? This would've been done from the start!"

"She didn't want me to! I tried..."

"Yeah, you tried really hard... That's why she didn't wanna meet me, isn't it? She thought I'd put it together, which I wouldn't have because I didn't even know she existed!"

He winced. I didn't yell very often. Pony started pacing the room.

"She knew that. She just didn't wanna risk it..."

"You and James are in..."

"James doesn't know... I'm the only one who does... She told me when she heard your name. She freaked out and I made her tell me what got her upset..."

I ran my hands through my hair. Lydia came in.

"They've got everything done. She's ready to be picked up."

I took a breath and looked at my son. I was mad as fire at him, but I knew he needed this.

"You coming?"

Scar POV

"I'm sorry, but your mother died last night of a drug overdose..."

That sentence kept replaying over and over in my head. He had brought me down here, and another man started asking me questions like I was a criminal.

"The man said your mother had been living there for months. Is that true?"

His tone was harsh.

"Yes, sir..."

"And you've been living alone?"

"Yes."

"And it never occurred to you to come to the police and tell us, huh?"

I slammed my hands on the table.

"Dammit, my mom was bad, but I didn't wanna see her in jail! She just died, and you're really grilling me about all of this?! Seriously?! The person she was living with told you enough!"

That had happened over an hour ago. After I'd blown up, his face twisted into guilt. Now, I'm sitting here waiting in the same room. They act like I'm gonna run or something. Finally, after what felt like ages, the door opened. When I looked up, I about lost it. I stood up and ran into Keegan's arms.

"I'm sorry..."

I didn't cry. I couldn't.

"It was a suicide, Keegan. Because of me..."

He pulled me tighter.

"No. No, it's not your fault."

"The note said its because she was selfish when it came to me! That she couldn't live with herself anymore! I said some stuff to her when she came back. I..."

He pulled me back and put his hands on my shoulders.

"You listen to me. This isn't your fault. You hear me? It's not. She made her choice... There's nothing you could've done."

He sighed.

"Scar, I think she knew she was gonna do it. I think that's why she came back... To see you one last time. It's not because of what you said."

I lowered my head.

"So, what happens now?"

"My parents signed the papers."

I looked up at him wide eyed.

"They signed them? Even though..."

He shook his head.

"They didn't have to know about you. They weren't gonna let you be put in a foster home."

We walked out of the room and headed towards the front of the station. I'd never seen Ponyboy before, and the last time I'd seen Sodapop, I was too nervous to pay that much attention. When we got closer to the group, my eyes were focused on the floor.

"Guys, let me introduce you to Scar. Scar, these are your uncles."

I finally looked up.

"I'm your Uncle Pony."

"And, well, you've met me."

They were smiling. I gave them a weak smile in return.

We spent the rest of the day at my house getting my stuff packed into my truck. I walked in to catch Ponyboy looking at a family photo of me and my parents.

"Uncle Pony?"

He jumped.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's alright."

It was a picture that'd been taken not long before my dad died.

"He looks... So young still..."

I smiled.

"Yeah. He does."

When we got to their house, I was greeted by a woman who immediately wrapped me in a hug.

"Hi, sweetie! I'm your Aunt Lydia, Soda's wife."

Keegan told me that Pony'd took James out to eat to explain things to him. I was sitting in my new bedroom, by the way, this house was huge, when there was a knock at my door.

"Come in."

James came in, looking pretty pissed at me. He leaned against the railing with his arms crossed.

"Hey, James..."

"Scarlett, what the hell?!"

I winced for two reasons. He called me Scarlett, and he was yelling. It was hard seeing the sweetest guy I knew so pissed. After I didn't say anything, he sighed and sat beside me.

"This is bullshit, Scar."

"I know..."

"You should've told me. You should've told dad, you should've told Uncle Soda!"

"I know, I know..."

We didn't say anything else. He finally hugged me.

"Are you okay?"

"I will be..."

After he left, the house became quiet. It was late, and with everything happening so fast, I hadn't had the chance to really process what had happened. Then, all of the sudden, it all came crashing down.

I started bawling... I hadn't done that since my dad had died. Yeah, my mom was shitty, but I did love her. Now, I just felt alone even though I was surrounded by people for the first time ever. I spoke to the ceiling, whispering.

"I love you, mom. Maybe you're clean wherever you are... Take care of her, dad..."

I cried myself to sleep.