"Sodapop." I sighed from behind the counter. "Why do I gotta do this?"
"'Cause I gotta help the customers out here. Please, for me." Soda smiled, his eyes shining brightly. I blushed, rolling my eyes.
"Fine, fine, just go do whatever you do." I grumbled, crossing my arms and knowing I lost badly. I could never win against him, that was for sure. So, I let him leave and go talk with the person in the car while I watched over the counter. My broken hand tapped against the counter as I waited for Soda to finish. Maybe I should go see how Ponyboy was. Or maybe I could visit Johnny for a second. I wondered how he was doing. And wasn't today supposed to be my last day of training? Crap.
"Soda!" I ran over to Soda, out of breath. "I have to go see Dally! I'm sorry, I forgot all about it." Soda smiled at me.
"Don't worry Kaylyn. I'm done here, you can go. I'll see ya later." I nodded, kissing his cheek and turning tail. Man, I was never too good at time management, but man was I calling it close now. Dally was going to be real mad when I got there late. I hoped he'd forgive me. I arrived at the lot, just as I was supposed to, and who do you think I saw? Dally and his good ol' buddy Tim Shepard. And some other girl with really long black hair and shining blue eyes. She looked a lot like an angel.
"This is Tim's sister, Angela." Dally pointed to the angelic looking girl. I nodded at her. There was something about her that I didn't like. She just looked too happy. I didn't like her. "She'll be teaching the lesson today. Let's go Tim, leave the lady to her work." I was so nervous. Both boys walked away, leaving me alone with Angela. That was hell. I didn't want to describe it at all. But, let's see. She kicked my ass twice, showing me her moves and how strong she was. Than she showed me how to defend myself. I hated that training session, but everything was finally over. I was so happy when I left.
I slipped through the door of the Curtis house, my body aching so badly I wanted to fall back onto the couch. Soda and Pony were sitting on the couch, talking, until I came in. They both looked up, Pony going back to his room and Soda standing up and walking to me.
"I just talked to Ponyboy. He's still real upset about everything, but he doesn't want either of us talking to Kim for awhile." I frowned. Was he that unhappy about what happened between them? I sighed, leaning on Soda.
"Soda, I feel so bad. I wanna help him and I can't. And everything hurts so badly, my hand is throbbing, my head hurts, my legs have bruises and I can't take this anymore." I leaned into Soda's arms, letting him hug me and pull me to the couch. "Ugh. I hate feeling so useless. I won't take no for an answer for tomorrow. He will tell me or I'll cry to get it from him. " He chuckled, making me lay down on his lap. "Everything hurts Soda." I whined to him again. He just chuckled again, stroking my hair.
"I love you..." I murmured tiredly. Soda laughed.
"Love you, too, Kaylyn. Now relax. You're taking another easy day tomorrow. You have to go back to school and work next week."
"Damn it all..." I groaned, turning in his lap and cuddling closer to his stomach. I could feel myself fading away, but I was scared now. That feeling was starting up again. That feeling that told me something bad was going to happen. I didn't know what was going to happen, I just knew something was! Were me an' Soda gonna break up? Were Pony and Kim gonna get into a bigger fight? I felt so much like crying right now. What was going to happen?
The next morning, I woke up lying on Sodapop. I guess he hadn't bothered to move at all after I fell asleep on him. Oh no. My stomach again. I sat up abruptly. Why did I feel like I was being watched? I turned to the door, my eyes widening. It was her! She was watching me with her deep blue gray eyes. She smirked, slipping away from the door. She wasn't getting away...I looked at Sodapop, determination and love in my eyes. I love you so much, Sodapop. My hand brushed against his cheek.
"If I don't come back, I want you to move on. You can get a good girl, Soda." I pushed him down so that he was laying more comfortably. "I really do love you." And after that, I left the safety of the Curtis house and walked off to find my past. She wasn't going to win this time. And now, I had some questions, and they would be answered.