For the Love of a Greaser
Chapter 3
Introducing Eden
"Okay, I hope you like ham and cheese," I said, placing two plates down on the kitchen table.
Darry was already sitting down at this point. We were both ready to eat. I paused for a moment though as I went back over to the refrigerator, looking inside at what I had. I spotted a couple bottles of Coke at the back. I then looked over my shoulder at Darry, whom was already starting to eat his sandwich, not a single crumb falling onto the floor or table.
"Hey Darry, would you like something to drink?" I asked, turning around with the Coke bottles in my hand, raising them up for him to see.
"If you please Ma'am," he said, his lips tugging into a small smile as I sat a bottle down in front of him.
"Don't call me Ma'am…" I said quietly, sitting down at the table across from him. "Besides, if I had to guess, we're about the same age," I told him. "Let me guess, 21, 22?"
"22. What about you?" he asked, taking a drink of his Coke.
"20. That means just call me Abigail or Abby, okay?" I asked, hoping to get my point across.
I smiled a bit when he nodded, sitting his Coke back down on the table.
"Alright then, Abigail."
T
It wasn't much longer after eating that Darry went back up onto the roof, this time being extra careful where he stepped. He even took his tools up with him along with a bit of material to patch up the mess that he had made, but not before apologizing again.
While he took care of the mess on the roof, I took care of the mess in my room, picking up and throwing the debris into a garbage bag. He had made quite a mess, but nothing that I couldn't deal with. Once I was done with that, I crawled under my bed, pulling out the jar of money. I just stared at it for a moment before placing it on my bed, unscrewing the top and dumping it out on the sheet.
I hadn't even noticed as I counted it out that the hammering on the roof had practically come to a stop. I just continued to sit there counting it, placing aside money for Eden to use for lunch, that and money for next weeks groceries.
"Damn it!" I hissed, before laying my head down in my arms.
With the current money that I had, I was going to be short on paying the bills. I thought that I would have been fine with the money I had earned the past couple weeks, but I guess I was wrong. I just didn't have enough money.
"This can't be happening," I whispered, before getting up and grabbing the small pile of mail out of my dresser drawer.
I brought it back over to my bed, tossing the envelopes on the sheets with the money. Before I knew it, every bit of paper was scattered about the bed in frustration. I couldn't keep doing this and I was already behind.
"I can't keep doing this…" I sighed, sliding down the edge of my bed. "Eden shouldn't have to go through this."
Although, before I could do much of anything else, I heard the front door slam shut and the sound of a backpack being thrown to the ground.
"Eden?" I whispered, standing up and leaving my room.
I headed toward the stairs, standing there for a moment as I watched my sister go into the kitchen and slump against the side of the sink. She didn't even realize that I was home.
"Eden?" I called, walking down the steps.
I walked into the kitchen, her head shooting up quickly to meet my gaze. Something was definitely wrong.
"Eden, sweetie, what happened?" I asked slowly, kneeling down in front of her.
When I tried to touch her though, she pulled away, shocking me to say the least.
"Eden, what happened?" I asked, taking hold of her shoulders and bringing her to look at me.
"What do you think?" she spat angrily, trying to shove me away.
"Eden, stop it!" I told her, shaking her slightly to try and pull her out of it. "How am I supposed to know what happened unless you tell me?" I asked.
At that, she stood up pushing me and causing my back to hit against the chair.
"I got into another fight, okay? I shoved the guy and then he hit me!" she yelled, a few tears falling and dripping from her chin.
I just sat there in shock as she said this, but it was short lived. I couldn't believe that she had gotten into another fight, that, and the fact that a guy had hit her. It was then that I finally took in her appearance. She practically had a black eye starting to show. I could also see what looked like a bruise starting to form on her left wrist. I then stood up, walking over to her slowly, taking her by the arm and pushing up the sleeve on her jacket.
"Who?" I asked firmly, looking her in the eyes.
"Who do you think?" she asked bitterly.
"Eden," I warned.
"It was Jeremy, okay!" she cried out.
It was then that Darry finally came in.
T
He hadn't meant to spy on Abigail, he was just curious at first as to what she was doing. From his spot on the roof it was easy to see her through the large sized hole that he had made. While he was working at fixing the hole in the roof, she was working on cleaning the mess in her room that he had made. After she was done with that though, he saw her crawl under her bed and pull something out. When she placed it on her bed, that's when he finally noticed what it was, a glass jar.
She just opened it and poured it out, coins and paper bills falling onto the bed. After that, she began sorting it, putting different amounts off to the side. At this point, Darry had practically stopped with his hammering. Abigail didn't even seem to notice.
"Damn it!" she hissed out, before burying her head in her arms.
It was obvious that she was frustrated. Even when she got back up and went over to her dresser, rummaging through it and bringing back a small bundle of mail. She just started ripping into them, looking them over and then throwing on the bed with the money. She seemed even more frustrated by things as she slid down the side of her bed. He wanted to say something to her, but he didn't know what to say to her. Then, before he knew it, the front door slammed shut. Then within five minutes, there was yelling downstairs and he knew that he had to do something.
T
"What's going on in here?" Darry asked as he walking into the house, a look of concern on his face.
"Who's he?" Eden asked, glaring at Darry.
"It's nothing, don't worry," I said quietly, answering Darry's question.
That was my mistake though because before I knew it, I was on the floor.
"Nothing? Nothing?" Eden yelled while pushing me as hard as she could.
At that, Darry came forward and grabbed a hold of her from behind, making sure to keep a good hold on her even as she kicked and yelled.
"Abigail, are you alright?" Darry asked, grunting when Eden got in the stomach with her elbow the wrong way.
"Eden, stop it!" I yelled, grabbing her as she nearly kicked Darry between the legs.
All that I could do was pull her down to the floor with me and hold her against my chest, no matter how hard she beat against me to let go.
"Eden, please, stop this?" I whispered, holding onto her. "Please…"
It probably took her a good ten minutes before she finally calmed down enough to talk to me. I felt so bad for Darry though as he sat there on the floor, an arm over his stomach and a hand on his leg, both spots where Eden had gotten him.
"She's strong," Darry voiced, looking over at us as we sat there.
"Eden, I think before you decide to cause anymore damage, I should introduce you to the guy that's fixing our roof," I said, gesturing toward Darry. "Eden, this is Mr. Curtis. Darry, this is my little sister Eden," I said, introducing them to one another properly.
"Nice to meet you," he said, still a bit winded.
Eden just sat there quietly, staring at him for some apparent reason. Then, after a moment or two she finally spoke up.
"Your brother's terrible at science," she said spitefully, still in a bad mood.
"Eden, that's uncalled for," I scolded, before getting shoved over again.
"Why, is he going to be your boyfriend or something now?" she asked, her voice raising a bit.
Darry just sat there dumbfounded, not understanding what was going on. He also seemed a bit shocked at Eden's behavior toward both of us.
"Eden, that's enough," I told her.
She merely huffed and ran up to her room, slamming the door behind her.
"Are you alright?" Darry asked, pushing himself up off of the floor and coming to stand in front of me.
He held his hand out toward me, intending to help me up if he could. I just continued to sit there though, letting things run through my mind. When Darry saw this, he crouched down in front of me, I guess to make sure that I was alright. A moment later, he placed a hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"It'll be alright," he said, trying to reassure me. "Here," he said, holding his hand out for me again.
I took it this time, letting him pull me up with him. He really was a nice guy, just like his younger brother Ponyboy. It just made me wonder what his other brother was like.
"So, are all you Curtis boys this nice?" I asked, joking around a bit, but still serious all the same.
He just gave me a small smile at this. I really needed that smile right now. Smiles like that were hard to come by these last few years. Even for me, it was hard to truly smile anymore.
"I really am sorry that you had to see that Darry, really I am," I apologized.
It was definitely not something that I'd want people seeing. Especially, not Darry, since he was being so nice. There was that and the fact that I didn't want people really seeing that side of my life. Most people didn't realize that I was the only one raising Eden. They probably didn't realize because I had finished high school with what seemed like little problem. That wasn't the case though as life would have it. Some days Eden would love me, others, she'd hate me. Sometimes, she'd even cry for Mom, saying that I wasn't her mother. My thing was, I wasn't trying to be her mother, I was just trying to be there for her.
"I swear, some days she just can't stand me," I said with a sigh, running a hand through my hair as I stood there.
That was all that I said. I learned a long time ago not to talk about certain things with Eden around. If I did, I took the chance of her hearing and having them coming back at me in the worst ways.
"Hey Darry, why don't we just call it a day, alright?" I asked.
He seemed a bit confused by this though, so I explained it better.
"It's probably best that you get back home and check on Ponyboy. The roof can wait another day. Besides, I need to take a walk and clear my head," I told him.
He seemed to understand and nodded his head in agreement, seeing that I needed time to myself to think. I needed to think about what I was going to do with Eden.
"I really appreciate you coming over and taking a look at things Darry," I said, grabbing my blue jean jacket from the couch.
"Not a problem Ma'am," he said.
The moment those words came out of his mouth though, I stopped him, my fingertips pressing against his strong chest.
"Abigail, remember? No more Ma'am," I told him, a small smile playing on my face.
"Sorry Abigail, I'll remember next time," he promised, his tool belt hanging on his shoulder again as usual.
"Be sure that you do, otherwise, I won't let you back in tomorrow," I said smugly, trying my best not to laugh. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, alright Darry?" I said, locking the door behind us.
"Alright then, tomorrow it is," he agreed, walking over to his truck.
"Oh, and Darry," I started, walking over to him as he set his stuff in the back, turning around to face me. "Here," I said, holding my hand out.
"What is it?" he questioned.
"Just take it, alright?" I told him, grabbing his hand and placing a five dollar bill inside it.
I didn't even give him a chance to protest as I walked away, waving over my shoulder to him as I left him standing there a little bit stunned.
T
Before I knew it, I was back at the diner again, an apron wrapped around me. I felt bad about not returning to the house before work, but it couldn't be helped, I had to do my job whenever it was time for my shift. I was also stuck helping Joe clean the place up too. Apparently, he hadn't taken much time to clean things up this morning and just kept things closed. With that in mind, I'd likely be there all night continuing to help him clean things up after hours.
T
The whole night was nothing, but people coming in every now and then. A lot of them were just getting things to go and that was about it. That left me with little money. I didn't let that get me too upset though because I knew that it wouldn't do me any good. So, I just put it out of my mind and kept sweeping the floor, making sure to get the pieces of glass out from underneath the tables.
I still found it hard to believe how much damage people can do. I was actually surprised that Joe even bothered to open the diner up today to be honest. Then again, there were a few loyal customers that always came no matter what, so I guess he felt that he owed it to them to be open. That's Joe for you, one of the nicest 'Socs' around. That's why you can't always go with stereotypes, even if it is hard at times.
"Abigail, why don't you get home, alright?" Joe said as he came out of the kitchen, a box in his hands.
I turned to look at him with a questionable look though, thinking that he would have at least wanted me to finish sweeping first.
"Abigail, go home dear, your sister needs you there," he said.
I just stayed quiet and went back to sweeping. She didn't need me there and I knew that for a fact. More over, she didn't want me there. I sighed as I thought about that, taking things in again like I had earlier during my walk after Darry left.
Eden was 10 years old when Dad left and five when Mom died, I was only 11 years old back then. I suppose Eden was lucky, she wasn't subjected to as much stuff as I was. Then again, we all suffered when Mother died. Another reason why Eden was lucky, was the fact she was so innocent. She didn't understand what was happening with Dad because I wouldn't let her. I always kept her away, so she never really realized that he had practically become a drunk. She had always looked up to him, so I took it upon myself to make it seem like she still could when we were younger. I just hope that she never finds out what really happened.
"Here," Joe said, holding the box out to me that he'd been holding.
When I took a closer look, I found it to be a pie box. It wasn't just any pie box though, this pie box had an entire thing of freshly made apple pie inside of it. It was still warm when he placed it in my hands, the warmth of it covering me and slowly moving up my arms a bit. It felt so good, but there was still one thing that I had to ask though.
"Why are you giving me this?"I asked, a bit curious about his reasoning.
"You did very well today," he told me, going back behind the counter and grabbing my jacket, tossing it my way. "Now, get out of here kid, before I call the cops," he laughed, before coming back around and gently shoving me out the door.
"You and your jokes Joe," I laughed, pulling my jacket out.
"Well, I have to liven things up at some point," he said with a shrug.
"I'll see you tomorrow Joe," I said with a wave of my hand as I headed down the street.
"Be careful, ya hear?" he called after me from the diner.
T
I didn't quite want to go home just yet, so I stopped by the park, finding a nice spot by the fountain to sit.
The sound of the water was a sweet melody to my ears as I sat there, turning my head to look up at the night sky. The only thing that I wished was that the temperature outside could be just a little bit warmer, but then again, it still felt nice out. I wish that Eden could see this though.
A shiver ran through my body a moment later, causing me to pull my jacket closer around myself, the warmth from the pie box on my lap radiating through my legs. It looked so good.
I think having the first slice to myself couldn't hurt, I thought to myself, opening the lid and picking a out.
I brought it toward my face, the aroma reaching my nose with its lovely smell. I then took a bite, savoring the taste of it in my mouth. It had been so long since I had tasted something like this. Joe always did know how to make a mean apple pie.
"Mmm," came the sound of my voice in satisfaction.
It tasted so good.
I hope Darry likes apple pie, I thought to myself, feeling the tugging at the corning of my lips.
Okay everyone, chapter 3! I hope everyone liked it? Please remember to REVIEW and MESSAGE me? It keeps me writing. I also want to thank everyone that has been sending me reviews, I REALLY appreciate it. :) Once again, this chapter wasn't as long as I would have liked, but still. I think chapter 4 should be a bit longer, I'm also working on it at this very moment, so keep your eyes peeled everyone. Thanks again. Also, like always, check out my PROFILE for others stories that you might like.