We arrived home late at night, and Owen walked me to the front door. Before he and I could share one last good night kiss Darry pulled the front door open. "Good night Owen."
"Good night Darry. Thanks for letting the two of us spend the evening together." The boy smiled at my brother and left.
I walked inside to find Kathryn and the other boys gone. Darry shut the door behind me. "Where have you been?"
I thought of Oliver and my throat began to tighten. "Where's Ponyboy? Is he in his room?" I didn't wait for my brother to answer. "Pony?" I called out as I searched the house for him. I found him asleep on his bed, the light still on.
My lip quivered as I walked to his side, kissed him gently on his cheek and whispered. "Ponyboy, I want you to know I love you. You're the most important person in the world to me, and I don't want to lose you!"
Without a word, to Darry or Sodapop, I retired to my bedroom. I sat down on my bed as Casey slowly walked in and closed the door behind her.
"You okay?" My friend asked cautiously, hoping my night had gone well.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. It's just been a long couple of weeks," I said exhaustedly, and slouched as I sat on the edge of my bed.
"I'll bet!" Casey said and walked across the room to rest against my dresser. "So, did Owen tell you what happened between him and his mother?"
I looked up at my friend. "Yes, but he asked me not to tell anyone, and I don't want to break his trust."
"That's cool. I can respect that," Casey began digging through her suitcase for her nightclothes. "Where did you two go? You sure were gone a long time."
I dug my pajamas out of the dresser drawer. "We went back to the cemetery. He took me there to meet his twin brother, Oliver." I pulled my shirt off and noticed the question in Casey's eyes. "He died about five years ago. He was hit by a car, and Owen saw it."
"Oh my, Scout that is just terrible!"
I shook my head and wiped a tear from my cheek. Casey crossed the room, sat down on my bed with me and held me in her arms. Softly she spoke, "It sure seems you two have a lot in common."
"Not too much." I took in a breath to steady my emotions. "After that he drove me by his home. I'm pretty sure his garage is bigger then our house! You should have seen this place! It was big English style mansion. Owen told me the house has six bedrooms and four bathrooms! Can you believe that? Plus, the whole, huge property is surrounded by a wrought iron fence and gate. It is absolutely unbelievable, and I saw it at night. I couldn't imagine what it looked like during the day."
"Wow! Sounds like a great place for a party. Think he will ever throw one, and introduce me to his wealthy friends?"
I had to laugh; Casey was quite the boy chaser. "I'm not so sure that would ever happen, but if Darry ever lets me out of the house again I'll ask Owen if you can join us." I paused in thought, "so, what did Darry say when I left without permission."
"Not much. Sodapop started teasing him that you were running away, so everyone was joking around and making fun of Darry for being too strict and all. Then Kathryn told him to give you some time to be free. After that the two of them went into Darry's bedroom." Both of us giggled because we were thinking dirty thoughts.
"What did you do while I was gone?"
"Just hung out with the guys." Casey slipped on her pajamas and climbed under the covers of the spare bed. "Sodapop and I had a long talk in the kitchen about Sandy. I can't believe he misses her so much after she was so mean to him. Not to mention she cheated on him too. How could any girl cheat on a man that gorgeous?" I climbed under my covers and shook my head. Casey fluffed her pillow and lay down. "He said he loved her and she didn't realize it. So, I told him maybe he should write her a letter and tell her everything he was telling me."
"So is he gonna?"
"He said he would. Personally, I think he should just find someone new. Soda's too nice of a guy to be worrying about a girl who doesn't love him back."
"I couldn't agree with you more." I said and laid my head back on my pillow. I heard footsteps in the hall, and Sodapop appeared in the doorway.
Casey giggled, "Well, speak of the devil!"
"Hey Scout! When did you get home?" Soda asked and walked into my room.
"A little while ago. Didn't you hear me come in?"
"No," my brother said and sat down on the edge of my bed. "I went with Steve over to Evie's house to get an address for Sandy. I'm going to write her a letter and tell her how I feel about her. Maybe she'll change her mind and come back home."
I faked an optimistic smile for my brother's sake. "Maybe."
"So how was your night with Owen?" Sodapop asked and tried to cock an eyebrow.
"It was kind of quiet. Turns out he used to have a twin brother, but he was hit by a car and died."
"Wow," Soda said somberly, "That's pretty sad."
"Yeah. So the night wasn't a great date or anything. I'm hoping Darry will let me see Owen again so we can enjoy a real date when one of us isn't all teary eyed about something."
My brother grinned, "Don't you worry none about Darry. I'm planning on havin' a talk with him about how strict he is with you. It aint right you can't ever go nowhere and have some fun."
I laughed, "Thanks Soda. I'd appreciate that."
My brother stood up and leaned down to kiss me on the cheek. "You two be quiet now, I got to get up for work in the morning, and so does Darry."
"We'll be quiet." I assured him, and he turned the light off and left the room.
In the dark, Casey whispered. "Scout? We never talked about how court was today. Has Duke taken the stand yet?"
I whispered back to her. "No, it took them almost all week to pick the jury and do opening statements. Today was the first day I had to be in court."
"Did you get a chance to tell the jury about everything that happened?"
I pulled my blanket up under my chin as my eyes adjusted to darkness. "No, Mr. Montgomery, the lawyer in charge, just spent time building my credibility as a witness. We talked about my family, my grades, and how well I know you. Mr. Montgomery says on Monday I should be ready to talk about the shooting and all."
"I can't wait!" Casey raised her voice from a whisper with an unexpected excitement. "I'm gonna tell Mr. Montgomery that I want a chance to tell everyone my side of the story."
"Do you think he'll let you talk? Usually attorneys don't waiver from their plan once it's set."
"Don't matter," Casey said aloofly, "I'm gonna find a way to be sure the judge and jury hear what I have to say. I don't ever want my dad free to come after my mom and me again. Not ever!"
I looked up at the ceiling and thought about Casey's mom, Mary Lynn. She was always an attractive woman, but the last time I had seen her she was battered and bruised in the hospital. I paused to ponder why Mary Lynn would let Casey come back to Tulsa to face Duke alone. When he had arrived at the house that Saturday Mary Lynn did everything she could to keep the man away from her daughter. I rolled onto my left side, propped myself up on my elbow, and spoke softly, "Speaking of your mom, how is she doing?"
Casey sighed, "She's fine."
My friend's answer was a dozen words shorter than usual. I realized she wasn't being entirely honest with me. "She doesn't know you're here. Does she?"
Casey hesitated to answer then she slammed her head back into her pillow and griped so loud I thought she was going to wake up Soda and Pony. "How is it you know everything! Truly! It really isn't fair that nothing gets by you! Geez, that really agitates me!"
"So… she doesn't know?"
"Well, not really." Casey sat up and looked through the moonlight at me, "When we moved back to New Mexico my mom couldn't seem to get over what my dad had done to us. She had nightmares and panic attacks. She couldn't hold a job either. She was paranoid all the time, so my grandparents took her in and I had to go and live with my aunt. I love my aunt and all, but she's got four kids and a three-bedroom house. So I hopped a bus back here."
I read between the lines of what my guest had said. "Casey? You're not planning on going back to New Mexico. Are you?"
"Like I said, it's not fair that you know everything!"
Her answer caught me off guard. "What are you planning to do?"
"I don't know. Next week I'm gonna try to find me a job, then get a place of my own or something." Casey lay back down in her bed. "Plus, I'm kind of hoping I can stay here for awhile. I just don't know when to ask Darry if I can."
"I don't know either," I spoke in a low voice and lay back in my bed. "I guess, if you don't ask Darry if you can stay, he can't tell you no. Your best bet is to not bring it up to him. I doubt he'd kick you out. My family has never kicked anyone out onto the street. Not even Dallas Winston."
"You don't care if I stick around here, do you?"
I let out a little laugh. "Casey, having you around right now would be a dream come true."
Casey laughed back, "That's what I tell all the boys! I am a dream come true!"