Chapter Four

Friday started out like a normal day.

Well, what was normal for that week anyway. Dally was gone in Windrixville, to see the boys. Karen, Evie, Two-Bit, Steve, and I went to school. Sodapop and Darry went to work. Life went on.

I went with Karen to the drugstore after school. Since I was the good girl—and too scared to steal—I bought the mascara and eyeshadow I needed. Karen busied herself with slipping her own makeup into her pockets. We were playing with this makeup in my bedroom when we heard the sirens go by.

"What do you think that's about?" I asked. Karen shrugged, swiping a dark green shade of eyeshadow across her lid.

"Fight. Car wreck." The regular reasons for sirens to be blaring in Tulsa.

What we never thought of was three teenaged boys that we knew being rushed to the hospital: one with a broken back, one with a burnt arm, and one who was going to be okay.

Not even twenty minutes after we heard the ambulance sirens, the house phone rang. I tossed my makeup aside, running to the kitchen to answer the phone before the ringing stopped. "Hello?"

A man's voice answered me.

"Hello, is this the Winston household?" I knew then that it was Dally. He was the reason for the sirens we had heard. I just knew that he had been hurt, that all of them had been hurt, and they were hurt enough for someone to look in their wallets and read their information.

It made me go cold inside.

"Yes," I said, trying not to let my voice shake.

"Is Mr. David Winston home?" Was this man a doctor? He was asking for Dad. Dally was so hurt they wanted to talk to Dad? The thoughts were rushing through my head. One could hardly finish before the next one started.

"No, he's away for work. Who's this?" My voice sounded far away, like I was under water.

"Excuse me, ma'am, my name is Dr. Locke. Is this Mr. Winston's wife speaking?" Karen appeared in the doorway with her eyebrow arched just like her brother's. There was a question in her face, but I only shook my head.

"No, sir. This is his daughter. He, um, he doesn't have a wife, sir." The doctor was quiet for a couple of seconds. Single fathers weren't common.

"Well, Miss Winston, if you could get a hold of your father would you please tell him that your brother Dallas was in a fire and is currently suffering from second degree burns on his arm? It isn't that serious. He'll only be held a few days, just to be safe and monitor for infection, and then released."

I mouthed the word 'fire' to Karen before asking, "Could you, um, was anyone brought in with Dallas? Two boys? One has brown hair and one has black."

I heard Dr. Locke sigh. I had fumbled over my words. He probably thought I was an idiot, but I wanted to know if Johnny and Ponyboy were okay.

"I can't tell you their condition, but, yes, two boys were brought in with him. Though one was blonde, the other did have black hair."

Blonde? Dallas was blonde, so blonde that his hair was white. But Ponyboy had dark hair. Maybe Pony's okay. Maybe he's the one who called in the fire.

"Thank you, Dr. Locke." I sounded all of five years old when I told him goodbye.

I pulled Karen by her arm, not even bothering to explain where it was we were going or why. I guess she'd heard me say 'doctor', because she kept her mouth shut and didn't ask any questions as we cut through alleys and across fences to reach the hospital.

"I'm gonna kill that boy," I muttered to myself.

How in God's name had he gotten himself mixed up in a fire? I had to show a nurse my ID card from my purse so she'd believe my name really is Winston and I really was Dally's sister. I didn't blame her; me and Dally didn't really look too much alike. He was towheaded and I was strawberry blonde. His eyes were an icy blue; my blue eyes were a little darker and kind of green. She made Karen sit in a waiting room.

On my way to the room, I was passing a vaguely familiar blonde boy covered in ash and smoke. Between the short, blonde hair and all the soot on his face, it was hard to place him. I was going to walk by when he spoke to me.

"Brookie," he said and suddenly I knew him.

"Glory! Ponyboy Curtis, what happened to your hair?"

He gave me a shrug. Pony was a year younger than me, but he was in my grade because he was so dang smart. I spent a lot of time with him at school, because we had a lot of classes together. I felt like a fool for not recognizing him.

"Johnnycake's idea. To disguise ourselves, you know." Johnnycake. I had forgotten about him being in this mess because I was so focused on yelling at Dally.

"Where is he?"

Ponyboy shrugged again and looked down to the floor. "He's hurt worse'n Dally, I suppose. He wasn't awake when they brought him in, and they won't tell me nothin'."

Before I could help myself, I rubbed Pony's new, short blonde hair. He dipped his head lower, letting me run my fingers through the dirty locks. A fat man behind us cleared his throat. I turned to look at him, and Pony picked his head up.

"Ponyboy, some boys are here to see you. Say they're your brothers." I tried to smile at Ponyboy and left before Darry and Sodapop came in, ducking into a room to deal with my own brother. I walked up to his hospital bed, planting my hands on my hips.

"Dallas Ethan Winston, as I live and breathe. What the hell has happened?"

Dally was sitting upright, his right arm bandaged up, using a combination of his left hand and teeth to try to take it off. He wasn't making very good progress. I knocked his hand out of the way. "Stop it."

"Well, you see, Brooklyn Paige Winston, Pony and Johnny decided to play hero and save some little kids from a fire." He said it the way he said most things: detached and coldly. "Have you seen Johnny? They brought him in before me."

"No. But Pony said he must've been hurt pretty bad, seeing as he wasn't awake when they brought him in and they won't tell Pony anythin'." Giving up on his bandages, Dally glared at me like it was my fault. I was used to it, though, so I just glared back at him.

"This is all such bullshit, he said waving me away." Not even I wanted to be around Dally when he was in one of his dangerous moods. This was one of them. My brother didn't like a lot of things—rules, haircuts, adults, almost every person he had ever met. I knew my brother cared about me. I also knew the only other person who made that list was Johnny. So, I guess I understood Dally's being mad, but I was still annoyed.

I rolled my eyes and walked into a commotion if I've ever seen one.

Television reporters were everywhere. Asking Darry and Soda and Pony questions, snapping their pictures. I stayed just behind the corner so I wouldn't interrupt. I couldn't help smiling whenever Soda turned the tables on them and started to ask the reporters questions instead. This was a lot of excitement, and Soda loved excitement.

He had all the reporters in stitches, plopping on of their hats on his head. He didn't have a microphone and hadn't been able to swipe one. Instead, he held his hand in a fist like he really had one, shoving the pretend microphone in everyone's faces.

At one point, he even tried lifting a cop's gun. When he got caught, he smiled so wickedly that all the cop did was laugh and swat Soda's hand away.

It all lasted for about ten minutes before they all scattered and the Curtis brothers left. I don't know why I stayed hidden. Something about the whole affair felt too personal to interrupt. A strictly family thing.

After everyone cleared out, the quiet was too much. I backtracked to Dally's room. He was already asleep, but I wasn't surprised. I was sure the burn on his arm was bothering him more than he let on.

Just like I had done with Ponyboy, I ran my fingers through Dally's hair. Sitting on the edge of his hospital bed, I watched Dally sleep. Only when he was sleeping did he not look angry. Now his eyebrows were relaxed, his mouth slack.

I had forgotten about Karen being with me until there was a knock on the door. The knocking made me jump, and that made Dally twist away from me in his sleep.

"Hey," Karen whispered. "They're gonna kick you out soon. They wouldn't let me see Johnny, I tried. C'mon, we better get home. It's almost dark."

I didn't want to leave Dally there alone. Never mind that I knew he wouldn't have cared. Seeing him in a hospital bed, even if it was just for a burned arm, made me feel weird. But I knew Karen was right, so I slid off the bed and left the hospital with Karen.

The next day, Saturday, was the day set for the rumble. Karen, Evie, and I went over to the Curtis house around five. Girls were never a part of a rumble, but Evie liked to be with Steve before he fought. I guess that's kind of romantic.

Karen and Two-Bit took Steve's place in his and Soda's poker game while Evie and Steve went to sit on the porch. The living room was a little loud for me just then. I went into the kitchen to help Darry cook because I was feeling useless.

"How's Dallas?" Darry asked me over his shoulder.

"He'll be okay. He's mad he's in the hospital. He tries to pretend he's not worried over Johnny. Said Tim came by and made fun of him for bein' a hero." I nodded toward the newspaper on the table. A picture of the Curtis brothers was printed on the front page. "How's Pony?"

Darry shrugged. I looked over the picture. Pony hadn't even gotten a chance to wash his face before the picture. His teeth looked super white against his sooty face. Soda was messing up Pony's hair, and Darry had an arm around Pony's shoulders.

"'Bout as good as he can be, I reckon. I think stayin' in that church made him sick, but he wants to fight tonight." Darry held a knife out to me and nodded toward some potatoes on the counter. I cut them up while Darry prepared some chicken to bake.

"You ought to just let him. You'll be short on men, what with Johnny and Dally in the hospital and Curly in reform school again." Darry only sighed and changed the subject. He knew I was right, though. Besides, Socs never played fair, even if Cherry Valance had promised they said they would.

"Have you seen Johnny?" He whispered to me.

"Yeah, I went this morning after I talked to Dallas 'cause he asked me to since the nurses aren't lettin' him out of his room, but he was asleep. Nurse said that he passed out when Pony and Two-Bit had been there. She only let me stay a minute." Johnny had looked so small in that hospital bed. His black hair had been clean of grease, and it framed his head in fluffy tufts. His hair was shorter, too. They must have both cut their hair while Johnny and Pony were on the run.

Johnny had been so still I was afraid he was dead…but I didn't tell Darry that, for fear Pony might walk in and overhear.

Darry looked over his shoulder before leaning closer to me. "I haven't told Pony, but I talked one of the doctors into giving it to me straight. Johnny's not gonna make it, Brooklyn."

I felt my breath catch, but I had to admit I already knew that. You could tell, just looking at Johnny all burned up in that bed.

"Poor baby," was all I could think to say, but I wasn't sure who I really meant. Johnny, who would die? Or Ponyboy, who would have to live with that?

Or my own brother? Because I had no idea what he would do when it happened, but I knew in my heart it would be nothing good.

We all ate together. There weren't enough seats, so Pony, Steve, and Sodapop ate on the kitchen floor. They held their plates in their laps like little kids.

After dinner, all the boys got spruced up. Pony looked an awful lot like Sodapop once he got some grease into his new blond hair. Us girls were going to stay at the Curtis home. Like I said, a rumble is no place for girls.

"Y'all lock the door, now. You hear? I don't trust those Socs." Darry was technically only in charge of Soda and Ponyboy, but he sure liked to boss all of us around. I was all too happy to lock the door behind them, though.

Evie turned on the television to give us something to focus on. We watched it without really seeing anything. I couldn't even tell you what program had been playing. It felt like we were waiting a life time.

Not even an hour later, the boys came back. Soda was all but carrying Steve. He had Steve draped across his shoulder, supporting most of his weight. Already, there were bruises darkening on Soda's face. He had to drag Steve forward with every step he took. Poor Steve was holding onto his side, his breathing shallow. Evie rushed to him immediately, her hands fluttering around Steve but not actually touching him.

Two-Bit, bloody as he was, looked happier than I had seen him in a long while. His lip was already split, but it looked liable to burst right in half with how wide his smile was. Two-Bit lifted his hand up to me, and I gave him a high-five.

"We won," Darry said tiredly, before starting towards the bathroom. His forehead was cut open.

"Where's Ponyboy?" Karen asked. She was trying to get Two-Bit to sit down in one of the arm chairs, so she could look at his cuts. He kept waving her off, though, pacing around the room instead.

"He and Dallas went to see Johnny," Two-Bit explained. Sodapop laid Steve on the couch as gently as he could, but we could all hear him groan. Evie was crying quietly. She lifted Steve's head and propped a pillow behind him.

"I think my ribs are broken, buddy," he said to Sodapop. One hand clutching his side, he reached up to hold Evie's with his other.

Soda only laughed at Steve. "Well, then don't talk, stupid."

I was still standing in the middle of the room. My brother wasn't there; I had no one to fuss over. I watched Soda walk to the kitchen and back, returning with a dishrag full of ice for Steve to hold to his ribs.

"I think I'm gonna need stitches. Ain't there a little clinic somewhere around her, Dare? I don't wanna walk all the way to the hospital on a night like this." Two-Bit pointed outside, where trees were being bent in the cold wind.

We all knew he meant I don't want to be at the hospital when Johnny dies, but we all pretended it was the weather.

Sometimes, pretending is just plain easier.

There was a lot of doctoring that night, what with all the boys being hurt. After a while, Karen convinced Two-Bit to sit down. She dabbed at her brother's knuckles with peroxide. Evie kept fussing over Steve, making him sit up as much as he could to help him take some aspirin.

Soda disappeared into the bathroom to help Darry with the cut on his forehead. I had nothing to do, so I took a seat on the couch. The television was still on, but it was just background noise. I distracted myself by watching the trees bend and sway in the wind.

None of us realized it was getting late until Ponyboy burst into the house after midnight. He looked like a wild animal, eyes huge and too-bright green. His eyes couldn't seem to land on anything in the room.

"Pony?" Soda said, taking slow steps toward him. "What's the matter?"

Even though Darry and Soda tried to talk to him, he just kept repeating, "Johnny's dead."

He said it over and over. Pony was in shock…who wouldn't be? But the way he kept repeating it will forever be in my memory. The words sounded hollow in his voice, like they held no real meaning.

"Johnny's dead," he told us.

"Dally couldn't take it," he said. "He's gonna blow."