I woke up the next morning with a sore throat and a raspy voice. Man, am I sick again? I wondered. Soda woke me up and was sitting by my side.

"Soda, what happened?"

"You had one of those nightmares again and didn't sleep all night, we didn't either." I looked to the other side and saw Darry's eyes tearing up.

"Yeah, you really scared us, thought we was gonna have to take you to the doctor again, but you turned out okay by dawn," Darry said softly.

"What was your nightmare about Pony, you kept talking about Dally and Johnny" Soda asked, trying to change the subject.

I quickly looked away and started to think about the nightmare. I stared at the ceiling, the walls, and the bed, but nothing worked.

"I...I don't remember" I replied, disappointed.

"Well, I think it's best you stay home" Darry considered.

"But I can't, I have so much school work to do, and the coach was counting on me for track, and-" I began to sit up.

"Woah, slow down, little buddy, we don't want this to end up like the last time you got sick, you're staying home" Darry said, gently pushing me back into bed.

"Fine, but you're going to work, right?" I asked Darry.

"I don't know, I think I should stay."

"But Darry, how we gonna pay the bills if you stay home? You know we can't afford it" Soda asked.

"I'll think of something, but Ponyboy, you better stay in bed all day."

"I know" I replied, pulling out a pack of cigarettes to keep me occupied during the day, until Darry stopped me as he walked out with Soda.

"And no smoking" Darry added without even turning around.

"Shoot" I muttered.

During the day I kept myself entertained by reading the letter from Johnny over and over again, breaking into tears each time. Nothing Johnny ever wanted in life for Dally could be pursued. Dally was gone, but he died angry at the world, not the way someone should die.

Darry brought me food once in awhile, but my stomach felt like it couldn't hold down anything. I still swallowed it, though, because I knew Darry worked too hard to let it go to waste.

By the end of the day, I was my normal self, thanks to Darry for taking care of me. Ever since I got really sick on the day of the rumble, Darry has always been very protective of me, even when I'm not very sick. I love Darry, even though sometimes it doesn't seem like that. We are a family after all, and a family gotta stick together.