For The Love of a Greaser

Chapter 11

The Promise Reminder

It was like a nightmare when we got to the hospital, bringing back memories of my mother's stay. Also, it brought back the times of my own journeys here. What was worse though was the fact that it wasn't me this time, but Eden and Darry both. I had promised to look after Eden, I had promised our mother that, and now look where it got me.

"They'll be fine," Soda assured me as he placed an arm around my shoulders, giving me a friendly squeeze.

"You think so?" came the quiet sound of my voice as we sat there in the chairs, just waiting for something to happen.

"Of course. After all, Darry's too stubborn to stay down," Soda chuckled, making me smile a bit, but only a bit.

Darry was the first to wake up though. When he did, the doctors said only one at a time, but Soda told me to go in and see him. I figured that it'd be either him or Ponyboy first, but Soda insisted that I be the one to see him. I suppose that he did it to get my mind off of things, but I wasn't about to start complaining about it.

"Hey," I greeted, pulling up a chair beside his bed.

"Hey…" came the sound of his voice, coming out hoarse and groggy.

It just about brought me to tears as I looked at him, taking everything in. Granted, he was in better condition than what he could have been, but he still had some minor burns and smoke in his lungs. I knew that they'd likely keep here for a couple days as a result, but in a way, I still didn't feel any better about the whole thing.

"You know, you gave me quite a scare," I said weakly, taking his hand in mine and moving my thumb back and forth over top of it.

"How's Eden doing?" he asked, trying to sit up a bit.

I pushed him back down though, gently pressing my hand against his chest.

"Please…don't try to get up," I told him, not wanting him to strain himself.

"How is she?" he asked again, wanting to know how she was doing.

"I…I don't know," I said quietly. "They said that she suffered severe smoke inhalation, so I don't know."

Truth be told, in a way, I didn't want to know. I feared the worst, but I couldn't help it.

"When Two-Bit brought her out, she…she wasn't breathing," I whispered, biting back tears.

Darry noticed this though and placed his hand on the back of my head, pulling it down against his chest. After that, I couldn't help, but to start crying. I was so worried and it was driving me to the end of my rope. I was so close to breaking and I didn't even realize it.

"Shh…it's alright," he cooed.

"N-n-no it's n-not!" I choked out, weakly smacking his chest.

He just took my hands and held them, keeping me where I was.

"She almost died Darry and you could have joined her!" I cried, tears now flowing freely from my eyes. "I-I could have lost her! I could have lost both of you!" I just couldn't stop, I just kept talking, getting more and more upset by the minute.

I just kept crying, spouting everything that came to mind, I just couldn't stop. I had been so scared, so scared of losing everything that I had left. I was so afraid of being all alone, just losing everything that I held dear.

"Abigail, Abigail, calm down," Darry said, placing his hands on my cheeks.

His touch calmed me a bit, pulling me from myself and drawing my attention back to him. I still couldn't stop crying though, and from what I could tell, he didn't really expect me to. He just kept me where I was, gently shushing me and trying to calm me down until it was nothing, but hiccups and sniffling.

"I thought that I'd lost everything," I sniffed, my head resting against him as he smoothed down my hair, occasionally running his hand through it.

It felt so good that I knew that I could easily fall asleep where I was.

"You can't get rid of me that easily," he chuckled loosely, running his thumb over my cheek. "Besides, I made you a promise, didn't I?" he pointed out, earning a small smile.

"You did…didn't you," I voiced, remembering our conversation from a few weeks ago.

T

A hour later, Soda finally decided to check on Abigail. When he did he found nothing, but silence as he walked in, Darry merely laying there running a hand through her hair.

"She sleepin?" Soda asked, keeping his voice down just incase.

"Yeah, she fell asleep a bit ago," Darry nodded, turning his head to the side to look at his brother. "Has anything else been said about Eden?" Darry asked, continuing to run his fingers through Abigail's hair, her soft breaths brushing his skin.

"Well, they've still got her on oxygen," he started, walking a bit closer to his brother. "Other than that, we really haven't heard much."

"How's Ponyboy holdin' up?" Darry asked curiously, worrying about his kid brother.

"He seems to be doin' fine. In fact, he fell asleep out on the chairs," Soda told him. "Two-Bit's watching Eden right now actually. I'm still surprised that they even let him in to see her," he added at the end.

"Well, that's good."

"How are you doin' though?" Soda asked, wondering about his older brother.

Darry just chuckled, pushing himself up a bit more so that he made himself comfortable.

"I'll be fine," Darry assured him, turning his eyes back toward Abigail as she laid there asleep, her hand curled around the sheet. "Hey, do you think you could lift her up here for me?" he asked, moving to the side a bit on the bed.

"Yeah," Soda nodded, walking over and easily picking Abigail up.

He was actually surprised at how light she was, the look on his face catching Darry's attention as well as Soda laid her down beside him.

"I know what you're thinking Soda, she's pretty light," Darry said, voicing his brother's thoughts.

"Yeah, she is," he nodded, becoming worried about her at the same time.

"It'll probably get even worse now," Darry commented, though it was really more to himself than to his brother.

Darry knew how it was for Abigail, after all, she did tell him her story. After that, he felt such a great need to protect her, keep her away from any and all harm. He knew such a thing was impossible though, keeping her safe from everything, but he still had to try. He couldn't help it, now that he knew, he felt more connected to her than ever. He was even the first person that she'd ever told, he was the only one that knew the truth now. In a way it bothered him, but at the same him, it made him feel honored I guess for a lack of a better word. She trusted him enough to share her secret, the one thing that hurt her more than anything, the most sensitive part of her being. He knew her past and now he had to try and make it right. He wasn't going to give up on her.

"Do you think that they'll say anything about that?" Soda asked, referring to the fact that Abigail was laying there on the bed with him.

"I don't know, they shouldn't. I mean, they don't have me hooked up to anything, so it should be fine. After all, Eden's still here so I doubt she'll be going anywhere," he replied.

"What should I do about Ponyboy though?" Soda inquired.

Darry sat there for a moment before speak, thinking of an answer.

"Why don't you take him home," he suggested. "You both need some sleep."

"But Darry," Soda started to protest.

"You can come back in the morning, alright?" Darry reasoned. "I don't need both of you with stiff backs," he said firmly, earning a small nod from his brother.

"Alright," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "We'll go home, but we will be back in the morning," Soda told him, earning a nod as well, before waving and leaving the room.

T

"Mom?" I called, sitting in my chair as always as I looked at my mother.

"What is it sweetie?" she asked, smiling at me like she always did.

"When are you going to get better?" I asked, praying that she'd have an answer for me.

My only problem was that her answer wasn't the one that I was looking for.

"Sweetie," she began, gently taking hold of my hand and holding it in hers. "I think that there's something you should know," she said, giving me a sad smile. "Sweetie, they've done all that they can for me," she said.

"What do you mean? You're getting better, aren't you Mom?" I asked, my hand curling around hers a bit more.

She just shook her head, trying her best to keep up the smile on her face.

"No sweetie, I'm not."

"B-but…what about all the medicine, the visits, the doctors?" I asked, obviously starting to get upset. "Th-they said everything was okay, you were okay," I said frantically.

"Honey, listen to me," she pleaded, placing a slender hand against my cheek, stroking it softly. "I need you to be strong for me, can you do that?" she asked. "Can you be strong and take care of your sister for me, take care of Eden and your father?"

I just sat there, tears forming in my eyes. I didn't understand how she could possibly ask something like this from me, how she could do that. I was only 11 years old, how could she expect me to hold up like that?

"B-but Mom," I choked out, gripping the sheet on the bed. "You can't go anywhere, you have to stay here, you have to stay here with me," I told her, trying my best not to cry.

"I'm sorry sweetie," she said sadly, brushing a bit of hair out of my face as she pulled me closer.

I then watched as she sat up, undoing the clasp on her necklace, the chain falling a slack and into her hand.

"Here," she said, taking my hand and placing it inside.

It was her locket, the one that held are pictures in it. On one side was a picture of my mother and father, on the other, a picture of me holding Eden when she was about a year old. The mere sight of the locket broke my heart.

"B-but…" I couldn't even find the words as I looked at her, tears falling.

"Promise me you'll be strong and watch over your sister? Protect her?" she asked.

All I could do was give a small nod as my father came in, telling me to go and take care of Eden, that my mother needed to rest. That was the very last time that I ever spoke to my mother. She knew that she was at the end and she had wanted to make sure that I'd be able to make it through, that I'd be able to manage. She made me promise before it was too late, before I'd never get the chance to promise her anything again.

Okay everyone, that was chapter 11. I know it was a little bit shorter than usual, but I also did that on purpose. Anyway, keep an eye out for the next chapter, it should be out sometime today. Possibly within the next couple hours since I have the idea in my head and need to get it out. XD Anyway, remember to REVIEW and MESSAGE me with your thoughts, ideas, and comments on this chapter/story. Thanks everyone and remember, I'm writing chapter 12 right now. :) Bye bye.