I must have fallen asleep sometime during the night, because when I opened my eyes again, I saw Two-Bit Mathews standing over me. I sat up straighter and immediately regretted it because there was an awful crick in my neck. Steve was fast asleep too, and the position he was in looked mighty uncomfortable. He had slouched down in his chair and his head was tilted to the side. He was going to be awful crabby when he woke up.
"What're you doing here?" I rasped.
He gave me a sheepish look. "I'm sorry for running out on you. I shouldn't have done that. That was wrong of me, and I'm sorry for that. Now," He turned and looked over at Pony and Soda, and I saw his eyes widen. "How are they?"
I gave him the run-down of how they were and I watched his grey eyes widen. He obviously didn't expect them to be that bad off. He pulled up a chair next to me and mumbled, "I hope you're not mad at me." He didn't think I heard but I did.
"Look Two-Bit," I said in my stern voice, which got his attention. "What you did was stupid, irresponsible, and selfish, but I know you didn't do it intentionally, so I can forgive you. If one of my brothers died, that would be a different story, but they are recovering now. This wasn't your fault, or Soda's or Pony's. The only person I blame for this is the whole mess is that idiot driver who decided to blow that stop sign and almost kill my brothers. There was no way of knowing any of this could have happened."
"Thanks Darry," Two-Bit said. "Thanks for forgiving me, even if I don't forgive myself just yet. Have you an' Steve eaten supper yet?"
I shook my head no.
"I'll get you some," he disappeared down the hallway before I had the chance to protest.
An older nurse came into the room and started checking my brothers' vitals. She replaced their IV bags with fresh ones and started to change the bandages on Soda's hands. She unraveled the cloth from his hands and revealed to me what his hands looked like underneath all of that white padding. Little red cuts covered his skin, from his fingertips to his wrists, and were still bleeding. They sight of his hands made my stomach tangle in knots. I hoped that any of these cuts wouldn't result in scars. The last thing that Soda needed was a permanent reminder of his and Pony's almost fatal accident.
"You know," the nurse started, "I shouldn't be telling you this, but you seem like such a good older brother, I feel like I need to. I spoke to the paramedic who found your brothers on the side of the road, and he thinks that the reason that Sodapop's hands are cut up so bad is because he was moving around too much after the crash. There was glass all over the seats and ground, and Soda his hands searching for Ponyoy. The paramedic said that they were holding hands when they arrived. When he tried to take Ponyboy away on the stretcher, Soda tried to get up and follow even though he had a collapsed lung. You're brothers really care for each other, which is refreshing to see for a change. You're raising them well Mr. Curtis."
"Thank you, ma'am," I said, and I felt my heart swell with happiness for the first time all night. It was times like this when I really appreciated how close my younger brothers were. Soda would always go to great lengths to protect his little brother.
"Please," the nurse said, finishing wrapping up Soda's hands. "If they- or you- need anything else, don't hesitate to ask me. Just ask for Nurse Beth."
"Thanks for everything Nurse Beth," I replied. She was an older woman, about fifties, with brown, curly hair. She was short in stature and came up under my shoulder. She was really sweet, and based the way that she taking care of my brothers, I bet she was good at her job. "Do you know when they will start waking up? I'm just concerned because I haven't seen any movement out of either of them."
"I'll bet they'll sleep through the night," she answered. "The pain medicine they're on is knocking them both out, but I would rather have that than them being awake and in pain." I thanked her again for her kindness, and watched her leave. I moved my chair closer to Soda's bedside and too his hand in mine, similar to how he did to Pony's.
"I heard you were a real good big brother Soda," I whispered, and was glad that Steve was still asleep and couldn't hear me. "Thanks for taking care of our little brother. He would've been in worse shape had it not been for you."
I finished my one-sided conversation just as Two-Bit moseyed back in. He handed me a sack of food from McDonald's and one to Steve, who was awakened by the smell of food.
"I hope burgers and fries are okay," Two-Bit said.
"This is fine, thanks." I was starving and devoured my burger quickly, as did Two-Bit and Steve. We ate in silence until an unwanted presence at the door startled us.
"Sorry for the interruption, but I would like to have a word with Ponyboy and Sodapop Curtis? I am Officer Reynolds," Said a fat cop spoke from the doorway. Why would the fuzz be here and how come they wanted to talk to my brothers? This seemed a little fishy to me, but I didn't want to clue them on to my apprehension. The past has proven to me that cops were not to be trusted.
"They are recovering from there accident. I am there guardian, Darrel Curtis." I said, standing up to my full height. I was not about to be intimated by this short, chubby cop. I stepped aside so he could see them resting and realize that they were in no condition to be talked too.
"Okay then," said the officer. "I would like to have a word with you."
I saw Steve make a motion to stand up, but Two-Bit put a hand on his shoulder and ease him back down. It wasn't like I was itching to talk to the cop, but if I turned him down, it would look suspicious when that wasn't my intention.
"Mr. Curtis," started the cop, when we stepped out into the hallway. "Based on Sodapop and Ponyboy's file, I see that you have had custody of your two younger brothers for close to fourteen months after your parents were killed in an auto wreck."
"Yes." I hoped this conversation wasn't headed in the direction that I thought it was. That's what we have a social worker breathing down our necks for.
"I read your file, so I won't go into details about the rest of your personal life. Your social worker writes very highly of you, so I will take her word for that. I just want to know the details of the accident," said Officer Reynolds.
"Honestly, I don't know very much."
"Whatever you know will be helpful to this investigation."
"Well, my youngest brother Ponyboy, went to the movies tonight, and we didn't want him to walk back home in the dark, so Sodapop to come and pick him up. When they didn't come home, I went out to look for them. I found my truck on the side of the road, and I figured they were taken to the closest hospital."
"What did you see at the sight of the accident?" The officer asked, while writing in his notepad.
"My truck was heading straight and another smashed into their left side."
"We're under the impression that the other driver was drinking and got behind the wheel. We don't believe that your brothers were at fault," said the officer, and I felt myself let out an unintentional sigh of relief. At least this cop wasn't trying to pin the blame on us greasers for once.
"Do you know who the other driver was?"
"I can't disclose that information just yet," he said. "But I will need to speak with Ponyboy and Sodapop when they are up to speaking. Thank you Mr. Curtis." He gave me his card, shook my hand, and then left.
I shoved his card into my pocket. I really had no intention of calling him. If he wanted to talk to my brothers, then he can come back and do so. Steve and Two-Bit were chomping at the bit to grill me for how my conversation went. I filled them in and took in their faces.
"Wow," Two-Bit muttered. "Let's hope on thing goes right for us tonight."
A/N: I'm sorry for waiting so long to update, but I can assure you now that the chapters now will come quicker. Thank you so much for reading my story and leaving reviews. It truly makes my day when I know that people enjoy what I write and leave comments. You readers inspire me to be a better writer! Thanks again, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
