Later that night, I got a call from Soda:
Soda: Hey, Typhani, it's Soda. I'm at the hospital—
Typhani: What? Why are you at the hospital?
Soda: Pony and Johnny are back but Johnny is injured with third-degree burns and Dally burned his arm but he'll be okay.
Typhani: Is Johnny going to be okay?
Soda: I don't know yet. Darry, Pony, and I are here at the hospital waiting for the doctor to tell us what's up.
Typhani: Alright, I'll talk to you later then.
Soda: Okay, bye.
Typhani: Bye.
My heart was pounding now, afraid something bad might happen to Johnny. He had always said he wanted to kill himself because he's been so unhappy living with what his parents gave him. Pony said that he could come live with him but Johnny turned him down. Was this going to be the end of Johnny? I really hoped it wasn't. He was just too young to die now. Everybody knew that Dallas cared about Johnny and me more than anything. But with Johnny gone and no one for Dallas to care about, Dallas wouldn't take it the right way; he would just do something stupid.
I figured Pony would be home soon, so I decided to drive over to his house and see how he was. When I drove up to the house, I saw that the lights were off and it seemed like no one was home.
"Hello? Anybody home?" I yelled but no one answered. I sat down on the couch and fell asleep. I woke up, though, when the door opened and I could see Soda, Darry, and Pony walk in but Darry was actually carrying Pony because he was asleep.
"Go home and get some sleep and visit Johnny in the morning." Darry instructed. I followed his instructions and went home.
That next morning, the first thing I did when I woke up was go to visit Johnny and Dallas in the hospital. I had trouble with the nurse letting me in to see them but she gave in after yelling back and forth. I went to see Johnny first. He was on his front side lying down on the bed.
"Hey, Johnny, how ya doing?" I asked, walking in quietly.
"I've been better, I mean, I could do without lying here forever." He complained. I took a seat near where his head was.
"I'm sorry, Johnny, I could've stop the whole thing if I just went to come get you guys when Dallas told me where you guys were." I apologized.
"Nah, you did the right thing by not coming. I would've been charged with manslaughter and things would be a lot worse than they are now. You did the right thing and besides now I might actually have a chance to live." Johnny said.
"What did you do exactly?"
"Me and Pony were at the park and some Socs came over because we were hanging out with their girlfriends at the movies. They tried to drown Pony and they were gonna beat me up. But when he let me go, I stabbed him."
"Ah, Johnny, I'll let you get some sleep." I only left because I didn't know what to say to after he told me what happened.
"Will you come back later, keep me company?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'll come back." All Johnny needed was a friend, someone to be there with him for his last living moments. I would be there even if I wasn't supposed to be. I went to a room down the hall to visit Dallas. When I came in I had a hospital gown thrown in my face.
"Should I even bother to open my eyes?" My eyes had closed when the gown hit me in face and then it fell to my arms.
"Hey! Taylor, how's it going? Throw that away for me, willya?" Dallas was very happy to see me, not like he had any reason to miss me. I mean, he saw me yesterday.
"Hi Dallas, how's that arm of yours?" I asked, taking a seat by the bed.
"Eh, it's alright, nothing too bad. How's Johnny?" He got real serious asking about Johnny.
"When I saw him he was doing okay." I was just staring down at my feet.
"You gotta cigarette? They won't let me smoke because they're checking on me every two seconds but with you here, they'll give us privacy."
I pulled a pack of cigarettes out of my pocket and threw it at him. I didn't smoke but since the guys did smoke so often, I carried a pack with me. I was more of a gum chewer.
"I'm pretty hungry, Dallas. So I'm gonna got get something to eat and I'll come back later to see you." I said getting up out of the chair I was sitting in.
"Alright, I'll see ya later." Dallas said. I left and the nurse glared at me when I came out. I drove back home to have breakfast. I ate breakfast really fast and thought it was too soon to go back to the hospital. So I went to the gas station where Soda and Steve worked. They were not surprised to see me; I mean, I always come here when I have nothing else to do when I'm in a good mood.
"Hey, Typhani!" They both said when they saw me.
"Hey guys."
"Have you seen Johnny yet?" Most of us were more concerned about Johnny than Dallas because Dallas knows how to take care of himself and Johnny… well, not so much.
"Yeah, I think he's in physical pain more than mental pain." I said standing next to Soda, who was doing nothing. Steve was working on some car, like he always was doing.
"So, how's Pony?" I asked Soda.
"He's okay. He's hanging out with Two-Bit and visiting Johnny and Dal." He said.
"Dallas is so miserable there. They won't let him smoke and he has to wear that hideous hospital gown, but he took off the gown and I gave him a pack of cigarettes." I laughed.
"We'll get you later Greasers!" A car full of Socs yelled as they passed, Steve flipped them off.
"So that fight tonight… um, never mind."
"Don't worry about it Typhani, we'll be okay." Steve reassured me. I nodded in response.
I had stayed for a couple more hours and then left to go back and visit Johnny and Dallas. I started with Johnny because he needed the most comfort.
"Hey, Johnnycake, how you doing?" I asked.
"I'm okay, not any better than this morning. How about Pony? Have you seen him at all?" Johnny and Pony were the best of friends despite the age difference. Two-Bit always thought they were so close because they were both so quiet but friends are friends no matter what. They had always looked out for each other and cared for one another, nothing could tear the bond the two shared.
"Well, I went to his house yesterday night and they didn't get home until real late, so Darry told me go home. Pony was asleep when I was there but I'm sure he's just fine. I'll check on him later for ya but he'll come by to see you later, Soda told me."
Johnny and I talked for a while longer but it seemed that Johnny was getting worse. While he would talk, he would hold back pain and seem to hold his breath and release a sigh of relief. When I asked him if he was okay, he said it just hurt sometimes.
"I'm gonna try to talk to the doctor, get an update on you." I got up from the chair I was sitting in and left Johnny alone in his hospital room. I looked around the hall for someone doctor person I could speak to about Johnny's condition. A doctor had passed me and I stopped him.
"Excuse me; can I talk to a doctor helping with Johnny Cade?" I asked.
"Yes, right here." He smiled. He seemed friendly and willing to answer any questions I might have.
"Um, I just wanted an update on Johnny's condition." I said.
"Without getting technical about of it: I'm afraid he's not going to make it. He might have maybe one or two days left." He said but he knew it would hurt me and told me in a consoling tone. I brought my hands to my face and covered the tears. My breathing was heavy and the doctor sat me down on a nearby chair. He sat next to me and rubbed my back while consoling me, "It'll be okay; don't worry." He got up and went back to doing what he was doing. I wiped the tears away. I walked back to Johnny's room and decided not to tell him what I found out. I guess he heard me walk back in because he spoke again, "What'd the doc have to say?"
"I couldn't find one." I lied and it hurt even more to think about the death of Johnny.
"Uh, do you mind giving me some time to rest?" He asked.
"Oh, yeah, that's totally fine." I turned around and walked down the hall to Dallas' room. I saw Tim Shepard come out of Dallas' room and he checked me out as I passed him, I rolled my eyes—men.
"Hey, Dallas." I said.
"Hey, Cur—Taylor, how's it going?" I stopped him before he could call me Curtis. He knew better than to call me that but Dallas never played by the rules.
"Good." My voice cracked as I spoke the lie. He looked at me funny and noticed that I was keeping something to myself.
"What?"
"Nothing, if I told you you'd go crazy." I said.
"Okay, don't tell. Shepard came by and showed me the paper." Dallas picked up the paper that was sitting next to him on his bed. He handed it to me. The first thing that caught my eye was the "Delinquent youths turn heroes". A laugh slipped out. I read the article below. It was all about Darry, Pony, and Soda; nothing mentioned about Dallas' police record. I stared at the pictures for a while and a laugh slipped my mouth while I looked at Pony's unnatural blonde hair.
"Man, I can't believe I have to miss that rumble tonight. I gotta find a way out of here. I ain't gonna let them fight without me." Dallas complained. Dallas was big on fighting and giving a Soc a good punch in the face. He's Dallas; he always finds a way out of trouble.
"Dallas Winston is a hero. Wow, never saw that one coming. The world has finally seen your good side." I laughed, only joking about Dallas being a hero.
"Ah, shut up! They didn't even mention what a disgrace I am." He laughed at his own stupidity.
"I gotta go, Two-Bit and Pony will come by later." I got up and just left. I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to scream or yell in someone's face. I was not taking Johnny's death easily. I know he hasn't died yet but he will and I don't want that to happen. I got outside and didn't even bother to drive home. I started off toward nowhere, walking around downtown. I kicked a can that was on the ground. I kept kicking it until some old man picked it up from off the ground and said to me, "Pick up your trash, kid!" I just stared at him, didn't say a word.
I wasn't sure what time it was or really, where I was but I wasn't sure of anything right now. Actually, one thing I am sure about is that the boys were at the stupid rumble, fighting. Dallas wouldn't be there, well only if he didn't get out. It was getting pretty late and I was headed in the opposite direction of my house. I turned around when I got to a dead end and of course had nowhere to go after that fence.
After about a half an hour, I reached my house, but I didn't have the slightest intention of going inside. I walked back to the hospital. Another twenty minutes went by walking to the hospital. While I was walking up to Johnny's room, I ran into Dallas.
"Dallas, what's wrong?" I stopped him in his path.
"Johnny's dead." He sighed. My heart dropped and my eyes filled with tears. Dallas started to walk away again, but I stopped him.
"Where are you going?" I urged.
"I don't know; I just gotta get out of here."
"Well, where ever you're going, I know you're going to get yourself hurt. You're not only hurting yourself Dallas, you're hurting me too by leaving like this." He ignored what I said and left in a violent rage. I stood there for a second and processed my thoughts. I walked into Johnny's room. Pony was standing there in shock and Johnny lay quiet and peaceful. I sat down and laid my head on the bed, crying.
"I'm gonna need the two of you to leave the room, please." A nurse instructed. Pony listened and got out of there pretty fast. I sat there awhile longer, until the nurse had to pick me up and escort me out. I walked out of the hospital and headed toward the vacant lot. It seemed to be a quiet place to be, away from other people. I made a detour towards the Curtis house to see what was going on over there. When I got inside, nobody was there. So now I made my way to the vacant lot. The first thing I heard when getting there was a gunshot but only one. And there, right in front of my eyes were six boys, two of which were on the ground lying still on the hard floor. As I got closer, the boys became familiar, my boys. I ran now, reaching them in a few seconds. Pony and Dallas were the ones on the ground. Dallas was bleeding in new places of his body that I didn't see before, but Pony looked the same, no new wounds. I went right to Dallas, who seemed to be dead and he was. I kneeled down to the ground and started to remove Dallas' jacket, then someone spoke, "Typhani?" I looked up and saw my dad with his gun still in hand.
"Dad? Oh, my gosh, you killed him." I said. My father, the one who hated my friends more than anything, had killed my best friend.
"What did you want me to do? Save him because he's your friend? Typhani, keeping him alive is putting the whole town in danger. He's a criminal and he's been wanted for a long time. Now we have him and you're out of luck." He said angrily.
"So you'd sacrifice your own daughter's happiness for the town's safety?"
"Typhani, that's my job: to keep the town safe. I'm sorry—"
"Yeah, I'm sure you're sorry." I said sarcastically. I went back to taking off his jacket.
"Hey, hey, put those back, that's our evidence!" Another officer yelled at me.
"Evidence? The gun shot in the middle of his chest is your evidence!" I shot back at him. Then I took his necklace that he always wore and never took off. I kissed him; I kissed Dallas for the very last time. Two-Bit came over to me and picked me up and brought me away from Dallas. The officer that had yelled at me and my dad were arguing about me and others were picking up the dead body. Eventually the boys carefully picked up Pony—who I found out later got a concussion and passed out—and carried him home. I couldn't speak and I could hardly move. The tears continued falling from my eyes. I was breathing heavy and crying out loud. The boys literally had to push me back.
A tragic day. The death of two of my best friends: Dallas Winston and Johnny Cade. Truths were revealed that I did not want to know. I might have been in love with Dallas this whole time and now that he's gone I will never get another chance with him. And poor innocent Johnny didn't get to see what he wanted to see and do what he wanted to do.
It's hard to believe that they were actually gone. A part of me still felt as if they were here on earth with us still, just not next to me. It was like there was a war going on in my head over whether they were really gone; I just don't want to believe it. Now that Dallas was no longer in reach, I came to realize that I had loved him just as much as I did Soda and now we will never get a second chance. Every time something bad happens, it always seems that I could take the blame. I could have saved Johnny and Pony if I went to Windrixville and brought them home and that would have saved Dallas. Or when I talked to Dallas in the hallway of the hospital, I could I have stopped him from leaving but somehow things just didn't work out that way.
Steve drove me to Travis' house, on the other side of town. My dad most likely would go back to the station, so I wouldn't have to worry about him.
"Why am I taking you here?" Steve asked, it though he asked only to make conversation.
"He deserves to know." I mumbled. I said it kinda of spaced out though and not sure if I even said a complete sentence.
"Who deserves to know?"
"Travis; he deserves to know that Dallas… you know." I couldn't bear said the word, not even in my head.
I was too weak to climb up the side of the house, so I went right through the front door. Mom and Max jumped when I opened the door.
"Typhani, what are you doing here?" Mom asked.
"I gotta see Travis." I bolted upstairs. I was wearing Dallas' jacket and necklace.
"Typhani, I'm in my room." Travis yelled out loud enough for me to hear.
"It's Dallas…" That was all I had to say to make Travis' mouth dropped. Though Travis and Dallas haven't spoken since Dallas went to jail the first time, they would always care about each other. "He's dead." Travis fell to his bed and cried. I have never, in my whole life knowing Travis, seen him cry so hard. I sat beside him and comforted him by giving him the biggest hug ever. He hugged me back and laid his head on my shoulder. His tears dampened my clothes covering my shoulder. He pulled back and asked, "So, how did it happen?"
"I'm not quite sure what happened but Steve knows; he's right outside."
"Can he tell me?" Travis wiped his tears away so Steve wouldn't see that he was crying. I went to the window and tried softly yelling for Steve. He was waiting for me in his car.
"Do you mind if I throw this bouncy ball at him?" I asked, seeing a pink bouncy ball from the corner of my eye.
"Go ahead." Travis was standing now. I threw the ball and it hit the top of the car. Steve's head popped out the window and said, "What was that for?"
"Come up here; climb up the side." I motioned my hands just in case he couldn't quite hear me. He got out of his car and started his way up. The first thing Steve did when he got in up here was hug Travis. "I'm sorry; I know Dallas was your best friend." This hug changed something inside my brother and best friend; they did care about each other. Steve just wouldn't hug people because they're upset; he hugs them because he cares they're upset. My friends can say they hate Socs all they want but Travis will be one Soc they will never hate.
"So what happened to Dallas?" Travis asked, taking a seat on his bed again.
"Johnny died and Dallas didn't take that well. He robbed a store and then the police were after him. They surrounded him and he pulled a gun out. The only thing I don't know is if the gun was loaded. But it wouldn't have matter because the fuzz would have killed him either way. The worst part is... your dad killed him." Steve explained.
"Steve! Why did you tell him that?" I shouted.
"Why don't you guys just go home now?" Travis led us to the door and Steve and I snuck out. Steve drove me back to my house and he went home himself.
The next morning I woke up thinking everything that happened last night was just a dream but then reality hit; it hit me so hard that I fell back onto my pillow… and cried. The sad part was that only a few people would cry; some would grieve, but only a few would cry. People don't even take the time to find out who they really are. They label them by one action, whether it's bad or good. And as a Greaser, you're automatically labeled as a stupid, unwanted, worthless, juvenile delinquent. When we're walking down the street, people look down upon us. That's how my dad was. It was hard for me too because I am supposed to be a Soc but I stayed loyal to my friends and kinda became a Greaser.
There was no recognition for the death of Dallas and Johnny. They might have saved some kids from burning alive but nobody cared they died. Neither Dallas nor Johnny had a funeral. The six of us, plus Travis, went to visit the grave one time to keep from overdoing our pain, keeping from crying too much. I went a few times a day because being there next to the graves of Johnny and Dallas made them feel as if they were standing right next to me. They felt real to me only when I was standing next to a lifeless grave stone. Most of the surrounding graves were covered in flowers and had a beautiful epitaph recognizing their glory. Johnny and Dallas' graves said nothing but R.I.P. their names and their living years. I walked over to the Curtis parents' graves.
"What went wrong?" I said out loud to myself. Two days out of three hundred and sixty five took the lives of four very important people in my life; second parents, a life crush, and a best friend. "What happened? Everything this year just came crashing down because… you weren't here. You were everybody's mom and dad, everybody loved you, even my parents and they don't like anyone." I lollygagged back to my friends' grave and sat, leaning up against Johnny's grave stone. My mind drifted to some other world and I fell back into a deep sleep…
"Typhani!" Someone pulled me up by my arm and woke me up. I collapsed into the arms of the man, weak from sleep. "Are you an idiot? You were supposed to meet at my house three hours ago! C'mon…" It was Soda. It was a relief to see him, but I was always happy to see him. He helped me into the car and I buckled myself in. He spoke again when he got inside, "You can go back to sleep at my house. What were you doing falling asleep in the graveyard? You were supposed to be at my house three hours ago!"
"I was tired with depression. When did you start looking for me?" I asked. My head was nodding back and forth because I was weak and tired.
"Five minutes ago." Soda said, I could tell he felt guilty for waiting so long to look for me. He drove in silence. My head resting on his shoulder and my eyes would open and close because I was so tired. He helped me to his bedroom and lay me gently on the bed. He put a few blankets on me and kissed my forehead.
"Where are you gonna sleep?" I asked; my eyes closed.
"I'm gonna sleep on the couch to watch over Pony." He whispered.
"Ah, Pony, I completely forgot about him! Is he okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, he's okay, but he wishes he saw you today." Soda said and left the room.
In English the next day we were learning about Edgar Allen Poe. Our teacher, Mrs. Smith, assigned us a project to go along with it. She had us write an epitaph. It's a poem honoring a dead person. I thought it was ironic that we had to write an epitaph just as Dallas and Johnny died. I wrote mine without complaining, whining or attitude. I wrote one for both Johnny and Dallas:
Dallas
A hood he may have been
Though a friend 'til the end
Yes, he lied, cheated, stole and swore
But that will be no more
He was gallant to his buddies
And a disgrace to the outside world
He earned what he got
And he got what he wanted.
Winston
Johnny
Scared stiff
Afraid of stepping outside without getting beat up or made fun of
He had a scar on his cheek from a previous beat
And a permanent mark on his heart from all the hate
No one was there to love him but his friends
He was looking for a place to fit in, to belong
Sixteen years wasn't enough time to see and do everything he wanted to do.
Cade
Mrs. Smith was very impressed with my epitaphs, so she gave me extra credit for my effort and my creativity. She was proud and wanted to hang them on the wall. I didn't gloat in the spotlight; I accepted it and moved on. Well, moved on from my epitaph but not with my life. I was still caught up with the emptiness I was feeling with Johnny and Dallas. I may have gotten back into my groove of being good in school but that wasn't gonna change how I felt.
Dallas and Johnny were physically part of me. Without them things felt awkward and off balance. With Johnny I felt I had a sense of responsibility for him, making sure he was okay and had someone who can love him. Dallas' place in my life was my security blanket, Darry was too but he was more like the father figure I never had. I was like a second Johnny to Dallas. Dallas had a strange, unexplainable relationship with Johnny and me. He felt as if he had to watch over us and protect us. He didn't show that he cared greatly for us but inside, more than ever did Dallas Winston love. Love for Dallas was rare; he never really loved anyone besides Johnny and me. Any girlfriend he ever had was just someone he could get together with (if you know what I mean). It's gonna be a real long time before things feel normal. But then again, nothing out here in Tulsa is normal.