When you live on the East side of town, you know things aren't going to be easy. But you find comfort in knowing you're not alone. Everyone's struggling, everyone's trying their best just to get by. You don't feel as lousy when you see it every day.
As I walked out of the diner, the bright afternoon sun half blinding me, I found myself grateful that I didn't work until 6 the next evening. I'd been working double shifts for the last 3 weeks, and by then, my body was begging for a day off. So I had asked my manager if I could take the later shift the following day, to catch up on my sleep and to take my younger sisters to the doctor.
I lived a few houses down from the Curtis brothers my entire life. My parents had known their parents for most of their lives, and through them, I knew the boys very well. I'd been close to Darry growing up, and found myself more protective than ever of my three friends.
When my mother died two years ago, I thought my world was going to fall apart. She had been the only thing keeping our family together all those years, and losing her was like losing our only hope at surviving. When my older brother, Tyler, died a month later in a rumble gone wrong, I knew things were just going to get worse.
I'd spent a lot of time at the Curtis's after that. Their mom got me through a lot of the emotional despair I'd been building up, and even taught me how to cook well enough to score a job at the diner the day I turned 16. It was still hard to believe that that all happened two years ago. Not even a year later, I was standing at the same cemetery, bidding my farewells to Mrs. and Mr. Curtis. They'd been killed in a car accident.
After that, I think I practically lived with the Curtis's. Since our houses were so close, it was easy for me to check in on my little sisters, while staying away as much as possible. My father was a cruel, drunk man, who had no problem with throwing punches at me, his oldest child. My younger brother, Tommy, who was only 18, left home shortly after Dallas and Johnny died almost a year ago, fed up with the terror and trauma our town brought him. Last I heard he was in Texas, working on a farm owned by some distant, practically unrelated relatives.
As I walked down the street from the Diner, after a double shift that left me feeling drained and more exhausted than ever before, I found myself debating on whether or not I would head back to my own house that evening. It was Friday, so my father knew it was pay day. The problem with that, was the simple fact that there just wasn't enough money that week. I had to put 15 down on my car, so Steve could continue to work on it at the DX, though he would have done it for free if I could have gotten the parts myself, along with the 5 I owed Darry for letting me use his truck three days that week. Again, he didn't ask for the money, it was just part of the deal. On top of that, I needed a pair of sneakers, since my old pair had finally fallen almost completely apart. Top that off with the electric, gas and water bill, and I was out of cash.
My father never listened though. He was 40 year old, stayed at home, drinking himself into an angry, abusive rage, without giving a second thought to how the bills would get paid. I had it easy, as compared to some, but Social Services had gotten involved when Mary went to school with a black eye. Immediately, I was struggling to come up with a way to keep her and our 4 year old sister, Michelle, out of the system. Because neither of those girls would last very long in a girls home.
"Hey Jo, wait up!" a familiar voice rang out, followed by the soft thud of footsteps. I turned and saw Mary, my 14 year old sister running towards me. I clearly saw the fresh bruise on her cheek, my heart dropping.
"What happened?" I asked, my fingers lightly touching the deep black and blue splotch.
"Daddy got mad last night, because you didn't come home," she sighed. "It doesn't hurt, he barely touched me."
"I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch," I growled.
"Really, Jo, I'm okay," she reassured me. "Are you going to the DX? Steve called earlier and asked me to tell you that he needs to talk to you. It sounded important."
"I always go down to the DX after work," I smiled. Steve knew that. Everyone did. I was at the DX so much, that half the time customers just assumed I worked there too.
"Are you coming home afterwards? Daddy said that the bills are due this week…" she let it hang. She knew that I was working hard to pull my weight at the Curtis's, even though Soda, Pony and Darry all said I didn't have to, along with paying the bills at home.
"I'm taking my check down and paying off the water, gas and electric. I already picked up the bills," I said slowly. "Dad should know that. I told him at least three times when he called me at work today."
"Okay," Mary nodded. "You crashing at the Curtis' again?"
"Mhm. I have the morning off tomorrow, so I'm going to enjoy that couch of theirs while I can," I said with a grin. We walked across the parking lot, straight into the garage, where Soda and Steve were working on two different cars. My old Ford truck was up on a lift, Steve intently adjusting something underneath.
"How's it goin'?" I asked, startling them both.
"Good," Soda said looking up from the motor he was putting back together. "How was work?"
"Long," I laughed half-heartedly. "Steve, when do you get off?" I asked, turning towards him.
"What time is it right now?" he asked.
"Around six, I'd reckon," I said with a smile.
"I get off in a half then," he said. "Why?"
"I need you to give me a lift home, then down to the supermarket so I can pay these bills," I said carefully. Obviously, he didn't want anyone else to know he needed to talk to me. Normally Soda was his go-to guy, so if he needed to talk to me, it had to be important.
"Sure," he said with a nod. "You paying for the truck today?" he asked, giving me a funny look.
"I've got 15 to put down on it, I'll have the rest next week," I said carefully. "That should cover the last of the parts, right?"
"Yeah," Steve said after thinking about it for a moment. "Then you'll have it all paid off, and it should be up and running by the week after."
"Cool, because I really need it next month," I said slowly. I didn't spare a glance at Soda, but deep down, I knew he knew what I was talking about.
"Jo, there's someone on the phone for ya," Mike, the manager of the DX called. "They sounded important."
"I'll be right there," I called. Like I said, almost everyone knew I spent as much time at the DX as I did at my own job.
I walked around the back of the garage, into the store, where Mike had sat the phone on the counter for me. I picked it up, and sighed softly, as I said "Hello?"
"Jo, it's Judith Greene calling, there's something I think you should know…" Judith Greene was our Social Worker. She had been assigned to case a year ago, after Dallas and Johnny died, right after Mary went to school with the black eye.
"What's wrong?" I asked, my stomach suddenly turning flips. I leaned on the counter, my heart racing in my chest. If she called me at the DX, that meant she tried every other option first.
"It's about your brother…"
Suddenly, the entire store seemed to fade, as I listened to her speak, her words guarded, almost as if she didn't want to be the one to tell me the news.
"He was drafted for the war a month ago and…well…there's no easy way to put this…"
"No," I whispered, my knees giving way. I sank to the floor, the phone clutched in my hand as the words registered.
"I'm so sorry, Jo, but Thomas is dead."
A/n - I've always been a fan of the Outsiders, and decided to start another story, unlike any I've written before. I'm going to do my best to keep most of the characters as they were in the outsiders, but let's remember, this is taking place a year after Dallas Winston and Johnny died. :) Don't worry, I haven't given up on my other story either, I'll be updating it shortly! I promise!