Chapter Twelve

Scar POV

Everything had finally died down. The cops had left, and Nicky was asleep in Soda's bed with Lydia. The rest of us were in the living room.

"He said a man came up to the fence at recess and told him to come with him. Instead, he ran and screamed. The man grabbed him, but the teacher started running over and he let go of Nicky and ran back to the van..."

You could look at everyone in the room and tell that we all felt sick.

"Ponyboy's coming home..."

He ran his hands over his face.

"I couldn't protect his kid... He hates me, and I don't blame him... I told him not to come home, that I had everything..."

The phone rang and I answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Scar."

I felt myself grow sicker.

"Tell Sodapop and Lydia that my flight was delayed. It'll probably be a couple of days..."

"It wasn't Soda's fault."

"Huh?"

"It wasn't Uncle Soda's fault... That Nicky..."

I was stumbling over my words trying not to cry. I loved that little kid with all of my heart, and it had really shaken me up that he was almost taken from us. I didn't want Ponyboy to be mad at Soda on top of that.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down."

He was talking in a low, calm voice.

"Who said it was Soda's fault?"

"He thinks you hate him. He thinks..."

"Put him on the phone..."

They talked for a while, and he looked better when he came back. We didn't talk about it. We wanted to forget it.

A couple of days later, me, Keegan, and James got home to see Ponyboy on the porch.

"Dad!"

James was up that porch so fast, I hadn't even gotten out of the truck yet.

"Hey, James! Hey guys!"

They were still hugging. I smiled. Nicky came out of the house and jumped into my arms.

"Nicky! You're almost 8 years old!"

The day went by, and everyone in the "family" came over. It was nice. Having a family. I was close to all of them. The kids, obviously, but the adults, too. I thought of Two-bit and Steve just like I did Pony and Soda. The door opening brought me out of my thoughts. When I turned, I was met with a smirk.

"Well, if it isn't the one who made me get my ass chewed out. How ya doing, Scar?"

I couldn't tell if he was mad or not. He smiled at my look.

"Shoot, kid. I've been through worse, calm down."

Soda walked up to us.

"Matt, what's going on?"

"I wanted to come home for the weekend. Didn't know that was a crime."

There was something different about him.

"Come on, kid."

He walked back out on the porch. I looked at Sodapop. He nodded.

"Just don't do anything stupid. I'm trusting you."

"I won't."

I walked out and saw that Matt's face went from his trademark smug look to serious. He pulled an envelope out of his jacket.

"These were slipped under the door in my dorm. My roommate found them."

He handed me the envelope. They were filled with pictures of him, Nicky, Keegan, James, Danny, Cam, Mikey, and Jason. Just random pictures of them. At Jason's, at the Dingo, at the movies, at school.

"What do these mean?"

"I think it's pretty clear. They're showing that they're watching us."

"Who's they?"

He shrugged.

"Whoever threatened us."

"You don't know either?"

"No. But, I find it mighty strange that you're not in any of them. There's not one picture of you."

I looked at him in confusion then back at the photos in my hands.

"I guess I'm not considered a part of the family..."

He rolled his eyes.

"And Cam and Jason are? No, I think... I think this means something else... I think they wanted me to figure it out and show you."

"When'd you get these?"

"A couple of weeks ago. I was gonna let it go until I thought about it. I think it's a warning for you, kid. I'm not gonna hide it from you. That's why it was sent to me. Any of them in there wouldn't tell you."

He was right about that. They would keep it from me.

"What does it mean, though?"

"I don't know, kid."

"They want my dad. They don't believe Tim that he's dead."

"Maybe they think warning you will get your dad's attention. They're idiots if they can't figure out by now that he is gone."

I sat defeated on the railing.

"Watch your back. Just... Be careful. We've had enough death in this family... Our parents lost their parents, those friends of their's, your dad, aunt Sydney."

I stiffened.

"You think they wanna kill my dad?"

"Well, hell kid, it's too late for that. But, they might kill you to get to him since they're too stupid to figure it out."

"I don't really care as long as they don't touch you guys... He was my dad. I'll..."

He leaned in close.

"Hey, no. Don't think like that."

"You just told me they might kill me but you don't want me to think that way?!"

"Listen, you can't fight Uncle Darry's battles. Your his kid, that's not your job."

"But, it is my job to watch out for my family. That's my family."

I pointed to the window.

"Be careful. If something happens, or you notice anything off, you call me. You got that?"

I nodded.

"You know what I can't figure out?"

"What?"

"Why this didn't start almost two years ago. When I first came here. Why now? Why all of the sudden?"

"You know, kid, that's a good question that I'm sure we'll probably find out in time."

"I don't like the sound of that..."