On the ride home from the courthouse Darry and Sodapop constantly complimented me for a job well done on the witness stand. I knew they were trying to help with their supportive words, but I was in no mood to be patronized.
"You did good," Darry told me for the sixth time since we left the courthouse.
"I know," I said somewhat unconsciously from the backseat. I was sitting behind Darry so he couldn't see my apprehension. I wasn't as confident in myself as Darry was. There was just too much on my mind and too much at stake for me to be over confident.
I laid my head back against the seat and looked out the car window. As Soda pulled the car up in front of our house my stomach turned at the sight of Two-Bit and Casey waiting on the porch. I worried Darry send them away again causing me even further guilt.
I sighed and climbed out of the backseat. Dutifully, I opened Darry's car door for him. My brother thanked me, and used his cane to give him the support he needed to climb out of the car. Two-Bit walked up to greet him.
"Hey Darry, how's it going?" Without waiting for an answer he spoke again. "Casey and I didn't think you'd mind if we came back today. If you're not cool with that just let us know and we'll go back to my mom's house or something." Two-Bit winked at me, and leaned on the open car door.
I held my breath, expecting the worst.
Darry looked down at him, "You two are welcome to stay."
"Good news," Two-Bit said dryly then he looked at me with a grin.
I smiled back.
Two-Bit pushed the car door that I was holding shut then he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. He kept his voice low to try to keep our conversation private. "How'd your day go?"
I wrung my hands together, and out of the corner of eye I noticed Sodapop take a keen interest in hearing my response to the question. "It was okay. In the morning Owen tipped his lawyer off about what happened yesterday with the Northside Boys. So we spent the morning talking with the cops."
"About what?"
"It's illegal to threaten a witness in a court case, and since they used force to pressure my to lie it's considered witness tampering. I think they are going to arrest those boys."
Two-Bit's eyes showed his deep concern. "Wonder how that's gonna sit with their gang?"
Sodapop walked over to join the conversation he was eaves dropping into. "It better sit just fine if they know what's good for them!"
"Damn straight!" Two-Bit supported his friend.
Steering clear of the rest of the conversation, I pulled myself out of Two-Bit's grip and walked toward the porch where Casey was holding the screen door open for Darry. She was wearing her waitress uniform and her long black hair was pulled into a tight ponytail. She seemed anxious to speak with me so I hurried up the steps.
Darry stopped in the doorway and looked back at me. "You get on in the house."
"I'll be fine on the porch." I stated to my brother's dismay.
Darry reached out, grabbed a handful of me, and pulled me through the doorway. I stumbled inside against my will. Once I was safely inside Darry sternly looked at me. "Thank you."
A variety of responses flashed through my mind. I opted to stay put and keep my mouth shut because Sodapop and Two-Bit had raced up into the house to be sure everything was alright, and Casey was still holding the door open.
I looked at Sodapop. "I want to call Ponyboy now."
"We will, but he can't receive calls until after six o'clock. Let's get ready for dinner and you can call him after we eat." Sodapop said.
Casey stepped into the living room and let the screen door slam shut behind her to help break up some of the growing sibling tension. She grabbed my hand to keep me from sassing back to my brother. "Come on, Scout. Let's go wash up." Then she pulled me with her to the bathroom.
Once the two of us were securely inside the little room she shut the wooden door with a slam and looked at me. "So, fill me in! What's going on? What happened after we left last night? Is Darry really making you go back to Ashford? He better not be! And what's about Owen? What's up with the two of you?"
Amidst my misery, her over enthusiastic rambling made me smile.
"What?" She asked with a laugh. She knew I found her scattered thoughts amusing. "I'm already late for work, so spill it!"
"Which part?" I asked with a soft laugh.
Casey paused and bit her lower lip while she thought. Her eyes popped up and met with mine. "Owen, what's going on with him?"
"Oh!" I smiled slyly. "That's a long story."
"What happened?"
"Well, Darry shooed him away before we had a chance to talk, so I snuck out last night and went to see him."
Casey's eyes grew wide. "You snuck out of the house and risked getting thumped by Darry?? I'm impressed. You're more of a rebel…"
I put my hands on my hips to protest her interruption. "Do you want to hear about it or not?"
"Yeah! Go, go, go."
I smiled. "It's official, we are definitely a couple."
"Oh my goodness, what did you two do?"
"I am not going to make up kiss and tell."
Casey gasped and grinned at me. "Oh, I am not worried. I know you well enough to know that you will eventually tell me everything. So, where is he?"
"He went to Gino's to pick up pizza for dinner. He'll be here soon."
"Awe, I won't get to see you two together! I have to leave for work." Casey said as she stomped her foot in disappointment. "I'm not surprised though, that you two mended things so quickly. That boy is absolutely crazy about you. I swear if you go back to Ashford forever, it will crush him. You don't think Darry was serious, do you?"
A knock pounded on the bathroom door before I could answer. Two-Bit's voice called through the wooden panels. "Casey, if you want a ride to work, let's go!"
Casey groaned in disappointment. "Ugh, I gotta go. Wait up for me and we'll talk tonight. Okay?"
"Okay." I answered.
Casey pulled the door open and headed off to work.
I took it upon myself to set the table, which was also a great excuse to avoid conversation with either of my brothers.
Two-Bit arrived back home at the same time as Owen arrived with dinner. The two of them each brought a pizza to the table, and we all sat down to eat.
The boys were all on their third slice when Sodapop looked across the table at me. "Eat your pizza."
"I am." I answered.
Soda smiled at me. "No you're just picking at it."
"What time did you say we could call, Pony?" I answered off topic.
"Six," Soda answered, rocked back on his chair, and looked at the clock in the kitchen. "Now ya got almost five minutes before we can call, so eat." Then he looked over at Darry who was looking at me.
I turned my head to follow Soda's gaze and stared back at Darry. I didn't like being stared at, especially by the man who was going to sure I never saw Ponyboy again. I pushed my plate out in front of me. "I want to call my brother."
Darry's lip tightened and I knew my defiance had made him mad.
Owen tried to reduce the growing tension. "Scout, by the time you finish that piece it will be time to call him."
I ignored his reasoning and kept my defiant eyes on Darry who held my stare a moment then reached for another piece of pizza.
"I take it this is the stubborn side of Scout you haven't seen much of." Two-Bit said to Owen. "It gets worse, back when Pony and Johnnycakes ran away she was so mad she didn't eat or speak for a week."
I looked over at Two-Bit to see his smile gearing up to meet with his joke. "Best week of my life!" He said with a laugh that brought a smile to the faces of Owen and Sodapop, but not Darry and me. We were different then them. We were both stubborn and preferred to stand our ground when we knew we were right.
Two-Bit looked over at me. "Come on Sissy, you gotta loosen up and laugh. Everything will be alright."
I shot Two-Bit a look of anger and he knew to quiet down. In a huff, I looked at Sodapop and asked. "Is it six yet?"
Soda dropped the smile from his face and his piece of pizza to his plate. "Just hold on a second. Let me get the number." Soda stood up from his chair and headed back to his room.
I walked into the living room and sat down in my mother's chair. I grabbed the phone, put it in my lap and waited. The other boys strolled into the living room and sat on the couch interested to share in the moment.
A minute later, Sodapop returned with a letter and handed it to me. I looked at the page and noticed it was written in Ponyboy's handwriting. I could tell by the tiny holes in the top corner of the page that Soda kept the letter pinned to his bulletin board in his bedroom. I looked down at the bottom of the page and saw where Ponyboy had written the phone number for Barrington Home for Boys.
Sodapop sat on the arm of the sofa and watched as I pulled the dial around and waited for the phone call to connect. My heart rate accelerated when a boy's voice answered on the other line.
"Barrington."
I grew more anxious. "May I please speak with Ponyboy Curtis?"
The voice on the other side told me to hold on a minute and he would fetch him for me. I gripped the phone receiver tight as the anticipation of hearing his voice built up inside me.
"This is Ponyboy." He answered in his raspy voice.
"Pony?" I asked in disbelief even though I clearly recognized his voice. "Ponyboy, is that really you?"
"Scout!" Ponyboy yelled out in excitement. "I can't believe it's you!"
"It's me!" I confirmed as I kept my eyes to the floor to avoid looking at the boys on the couch who were staring at me.
"How are you able to call me? I thought Ashford revoked your phone privileges until next week?"
"I'm not at Ashford. I'm at home."
"Home?" Ponyboy asked loudly in disbelief. "How? Why are you home?"
I took in a deep breath to try to steady my emotions, and filled him in. "The State picked me up on Monday to testify at James' trial."
"No way! I wish I were home. How is everything there? How's Darry doing? And Sodapop?"
"Soda's doing great and Darry is good too." I answered. I glanced in contempt at my oldest brother.
"How soon until he gets back to work so we can come home for good?"
I heard my twin ask about home and my eyes grew hot with tears and my throat tightened with heartache.
"Scout?" Ponyboy called for me when I didn't respond.
"Pon…" I started to speak, but my voice cracked in two. I stuttered in a deep breath to calm myself and restart. "Pony, something awful has happened."
"What? What's wrong?" Pony yelled out in alarm.
I sniffled, and my voice was shaky as I repeated myself. "When I go back to Ashford …I can't ever come back home."
"What are you talking about?" Pony asked and I could hear the desperation in his voice.
My voice cracked as I started to cry. "Ponyboy, I am so sorry. If I had know… Pony, I miss you so much."
"I miss you too, but I don't understand." Ponyboy could be heard starting to well up with tears.
I loathed myself for all the trouble I had caused and I found myself stricken with grief at the sound of Ponyboy's question. "I …I ruined everything…" I dropped the phone receiver away from my ear, crumpled in my mother's chair, and sobbed.
Ponyboy could be heard on the other end of the line crying and calling out my name.
Sodapop gently walked over to my side. He took the phone receiver in one hand and placed the other hand lovingly on my back to try to ease my pain. "Don't worry none, little sis. It's gonna be okay."
Infuriated by his ever-present optimism I lashed out at him like a shrew. "No it isn't!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and felt my hands begin to tremble with rage. "How can you just sit there and let this happen to me? How can you tear me apart from Ponyboy like that? I hate you! I hate you Sodapop Curtis!"
Without remorse for the emotional damage I may have caused I jumped to my feet and raced to my bedroom. Once inside I slammed the door shut with all of my might and locked it tight. My body pulsed as I panted with fury and realized the lock wasn't enough to keep everyone away, so I grabbed my dresser and with a strength I didn't normally have I pushed the heavy piece of furniture up against the door. Then to finish off the task I dragged my bed over and braced it up against the dresser. Once my fortress was complete I dove onto my bed, covered my head with my pillow and sobbed like I did that last time I realized I would never see a member of my family again.