In Hot Water
Chapter Thirteen: "Let It Go"
Sunday June 5th, 1966
Ponyboy was pretty quiet on the ride home, keeping his eyes out the window. He didn't exactly tell Darry and Soda what he told the police. He wasn't even sure if the detectives even told them about it either-about the other man. He didn't want to tell them though. Pony didn't want to add any more worry to them, after all he did feel pretty guilty about the mess already, he just didn't want to make it even worse for his brothers.
"You sure you're alright Ponyboy?" Soda asked while shooting him a concerned look. Even though it was Sunday Darry had left for work, taking as many shifts as he could so the two siblings had the house to themselves.
Pony nodded. "I'm fine."
Soda sighed. He knew there was no possible way for anyone to be fine after that. Soda wasn't even fine. Soda looked his younger brother in his eyes. They were green, he didn't quite understand why the kid ever thought they were gray. They've always been green.
"Ponyboy."
"I'm okay Soda. I'm fine!"
Soda shook his head. He wasn't up to fighting with his brother, especially since he just got home, but Ponyboy wasn't exactly giving him a choice to choose from. "You're not fine! Something's clearly wrong, don't hide it like you did last time! Just let it go!"
Pony angrily stormed off, slamming his bedroom door behind him. Soda fell onto the sofa. The kid was stubborn, heck stubbornness ran in the family, just why did Ponyboy have to be stubborn about what had happened? The sooner he dealt with whatever was bothering him the sooner they could get over it and finally get on with their lives. But then again, the police were still investigating. It was too unpredictable what would happen next. Their whole lives were too unpredictable.
Soda let out another sigh. He knew this was hard on his brother. He was having a hard time himself dealing with this whole mess he couldn't imagine what his younger brother was going through. Soda had to deal with thinking his brother probably was never coming back. Pony probably felt like he was never coming back.
Soda put his head in his hands as he hunched over. Now he knew what Darry felt like worrying about Ponyboy all the time.
oOoOo
Pony slammed the door behind him. He just felt guilty about everything, and the fact that his brothers kept bringing the subject up and the cast on his arm only helped by reminding him about it. He just wanted to forget. Forget Shane ever went after him, forget he existed, but most importantly, that Bob never existed. He couldn't help but forget either that the accident with Bob is what brought all this drama in the first place.
Pony fell onto his bed, bouncing up and down until his body settled into the mattress. He stared at the ceiling in a bitter, annoying silence. He never really liked silence anymore, not after being locked in a basement alone. He might have only been there for about a day, but it was still too lonely and silence only brought back that memory.
How could anything be okay? There still was someone else out there too… what if they came back to get him? Not only did silence remind him of Shane, but it also made him think.
A few minutes passed and the door creaked open. Soda stepped in, and Pony sighed. It wasn't like he could kick him out. It was his room too after all. Soda took a seat on the bed right next to his brother. Pony sighed, this could only mean one thing. More talking.
"Pony-"
"I'm sorry Soda," Pony blurted out, cutting Soda off. "I'm sorry, for everything. It's my fault. I should've-"
Soda shook his head. The conversation sounded so familiar, but he couldn't quite place it."Don't say that! It's not your fault. None of it is your fault. You just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time when this first started. It's not like you planned this to happen so don't act like you did."
Then it hit him. It happened when Pony came back from the house in the woods. It was right after he asked Pony how he broke his wrist. But last time they had this conversation, it was Sodapop who was blaming himself for the mess, not the way around. This time though, Soda realized Pony was right that night. Even after that conversation, Soda stilled blamed himself, until now. Soda had never planned for this to happen, so how could it be his fault too?
"Weren't you the one saying that this was all Shane's fault and no one else's? You didn't get yourself into this mess intentionally Ponyboy and you know it. It's not your fault, it's not my fault, it's Shane's. In fact, I don't even think it was his fault too. Someone has to be really crazy to do something like that."
Pony sat up, looking at his older brother. Maybe he was right, maybe someone really had to be crazy to do things like that. Either that or drunk, maybe Shane was a little of both. He wasn't completely either though. Pony remembered Shane trying to get that man to stop after he let go.
"Shane didn't kill himself."
Soda nodded. "I know. The fuzz told us. Said it couldn't have been you, but there was someone else at the scene."
Ponyboy nodded. "There was. I didn't recognize him though."
"You sure?"
"Positive."
Soda sighed. "Is there anything else?"
Pony shook his head slowly. "There isn't anything else to talk about. Can we just forget about this?"
Sodapop stood up off of the bed. "I sure hope so," he said before walking out of the bedroom. Ponyboy went back to staring at the ceiling in the silent room. He wanted the conversation to end, but not for Soda to leave him alone with nothing but silence. But despite hating the conversation, Pony realized he felt slightly better. Not completely, that mystery man was still out there, but it felt better hearing Soda's opinion about the situation.
Maybe talking actually did solve problems instead of locking them in a box until the box gets too full it explodes.
oOoOo
Two-Bit sighed. He looked incredibly bored, and felt that way too. Sitting around, watching Steve work on cars wasn't the best, ideal way to have fun, but Two-Bit wasn't really looking for fun. His mind was off-way off and he couldn't focus on anything else but one thing.
"So you think things will go back to normal now?" he asked, fiddling with a tool in his hands while sitting on a table, feet dangling over the edge.
Steve shrugged as he shut the hood of the car he was fixing on. "I don't know. I know as much as you do. They found both Pony and Shane, but nothing more than that. I'm not sure if I should even try to call them or if I should wait. I'm kind of getting impatient myself," Steve said, leaning against the closed hood, wiping his hands with an old towel.
Two-Bit smiled softly. "I thought you hated the kid."
Steve threw the dirty rag that hung over his shoulder at him, and Two-Bit barely caught it. "If the kid's not fine, Soda and Darry aren't."
Two-Bit's grin got bigger. "Is that the same reason you punched Shane at school a few months back?"
Steve nodded. "In fact it is. Now why are you here anyways? Annoy me and make sure I get no work done?"
Two-Bit rubbed his sideburns, then gave a shrug. "I dunno man. It's either here, a bar, or home. My places are limited until I know it's safe to go the the Curtis'. I'm still kind of scared to show my face around them."
Steve nodded. If he was there when Pony disappeared he would feel scared to see Darry or Soda-mainly Darry. He'd feel guilty that he left Pony when he wasn't suppose to, even if it was only for a minute or two to go into the neighbor's yard as well. Steve felt bad for Two-Bit, but who wouldn't? The greasers were all suffering from the whole situation, and Steve just happened to be the one who had it the easiest. His biggest problem was Soda being mad at him, and he still really wasn't exactly sure if they were okay or not.
"I dunno though," Two-Bit said after a few moments of silence. "I think I'll go over there tomorrow morning. Soda's workin' tomorrow right?"
Steve shrugged. "He usually does, but you never know with what's going on." Two-Bit nodded, and looked at the ground. "But I was thinking about heading over there after this shift. I don't know how much longer I can go without knowing. Do you wanna come with me?"
Two-Bit shook his head. "I-I don't think I can. Sorry, I gotta go. My mom wanted me to, uh to help her with dinner."
Two-Bit jumped off the table he was sitting on, and headed out of the garage, and Steve just shook his head. Two-Bit's mom would never ask him to help with dinner unless she was trying to poison somebody or light the house on fire. Sometimes Two-Bit was a great liar, but other times, especially when he's upset, he was the worse. Steve sighed, he could only hope things would truly go back to normal.
oOoOo
That afternoon, Steve parked his car right outside the house. It was still a little bit early for Darry to be home from work-if he did go, and Steve assumed he did since his truck was gone. When he approached the porch steps he thought deeply if he should knock or just barge in like he usually does. He wasted a few minutes just standing there.
After those few minutes Steve sighed, putting his hand on the door knob, he twisted it and walked in. The house was empty, and quiet. Maybe they weren't there? Maybe they were still at the hospital, after all neither Steve or Two-Bit knew what happened to Ponyboy. What if it was worse than they thought and the kid was literally laying on his deathbed?
Steve relaxed when Sodapop walked into the living room, standing in the doorway entering the kitchen. "Steve, hey, I didn't know you'd be coming," Soda said, almost cheerfully and Steve was dumbfounded, he wasn't expecting that.
"Hey Soda, I was just coming by to see how everything was going."
Soda nodded. "Fine. I'm just making dinner. Ya stayin' that long?"
"No...no," Steve hesitated. "I was just checking up on you. Making sure you were alright."
Soda smiled. "I appreciate it Steve. Everything's fine, at least it is now. You can stay if you want to. You're always welcome here no matter what."
Steve nodded and smiled back. It was nice to officially know that everything was okay between him and Sodapop. It was a misunderstanding that made Soda angry at him, and now that everything was finally solved felt great. Also Soda's smile confirmed that everything truly was okay.
"Okay," Steve said, taking a seat on the couch. "But only 'cause you asked."
Maybe things actually would go back to normal.
First off, I'd like to thank iTunes for providing the Disney music I listen to while writing this chapter. I don't think I would have written this as fast as I did. And if you can tell, Frozen songs came up a lot during that time period, and my nephew spent the night during part of this and wanted to watch that movie twice( in fact For the First Time in Forever is playing right now!), so that's how the title came to be. Second, sorry about the delay, but I am done with school and as of yesterday am finally done with sports for the moment! So I should be getting back to my regular updating schedule-Tuesdays and Saturdays, if you've forgotten since it's been a while.
Don't forget to review guys! Because I wouldn't have nothing if it weren't for you(get it? It's a Disney song! You're never too old for this stuff. I know-I'm a dork.), plus I wouldn't be able to write without them because then I'll think I'm a horrible writer and want to give up and cry. Don't make me give up and cry. Please. Let's get down to business to get more reviews(another Disney reference if you didn't have a clue)!
-MLC 99