For The Love of a Greaser
Chapter 12
Small Little Tin
When I opened my eyes the next morning, sunlight was spilling into the room through the blinds. I also found myself on something soft and when I finally decided to look, I found myself laying next to Darry on the hospital bed. He had one arm around me keeping me close, while the other laid across his stomach.
I just smiled as I looked up at him, reaching my hand up and placing it on his cheek. I could feel the faint stubble on the side of his chin where he had missed, everything else feeling smooth as can be. He just seemed so peaceful laying there, not a word escaping his lips. In fact, I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't even realize that he'd opened his eyes, the corners of his lips pulling into a smile.
"Good morning," he greeted, bringing his hand up and placing it on mine that still rested on his cheek.
He seemed to enjoy the feeling of it, so I left it there, slowly moving my thumb back and forth.
"Morning," I greeted in return, letting out a small yawn.
"Did you sleep well?" he asked, rolling his shoulders a bit as he sat up some.
"Stiff?" I asked, sitting up as well.
He just nodded his head as he tried to straighten his back out a bit, groaning slightly. I just shook my head at this and smiled.
"Here, scoot up some," I told him, moving out of the way a bit.
He gave me a curious look, but did as I said, scooting up a bit for me. I then went and sat behind him, placing my hands on his bare back, causing him to shiver slightly.
"Sorry," I apologized, laughing a bit.
I then started rubbing his back, getting in between his shoulder blades before starting on his neck and shoulders, using the palm of my hand to push against the muscles. I just kept kneading at the muscles, feeling him relaxing and loosening up under my touch.
"Mmm…man that feels good," he breathed.
If I didn't know any better, I'd say that I was just about putting the poor guy to sleep. I smiled at the thought though, knowing that I was helping to make him feel better.
"You know, I can just picture Two-Bit laughing right now," I said, leaning forward and resting against Darry's back, my arms wrapping around his middle.
"You're right, he would be," Darry chuckled, turning his head to look at me as I placed my head on his shoulder.
"Are the guys still here?" I asked, yawning again.
"Well, I sent Soda and Ponyboy home last night, Two-Bit might still be here though," he told me, before snaking his arms behind him and around my back, leaning back and keeping me in place.
"Darry!" I laughed, struggling slightly as he laid on me.
It wasn't that I had a problem with it, I mean, he wasn't that heavy against me. I just didn't like being tricked. Then again Darry was just being Darry I guess, but I didn't mind, I loved him all the same.
"Pain in the butt," I laughed, smacking his chest lightly.
"Oh really now?" he questioned. "Like you aren't one your ownself?" he chuckled, causing me to grin.
"Not really," I said innocently, obviously lying through my teeth just for the fun of it.
"You know, you're a terrible liar Abigail," Darry teased, a smile on his face on his face as he looked at me from over his shoulder.
"And who says I was even trying?" I said, laughing like as I tried pushing against him. "Come on Darrel, I gotta get up," I told him.
He just let out an exaggerated sigh, but still got up nonetheless, letting me up in the process as he stayed on the bed.
"Thank you," I said, kissing him lightly on the cheek.
I then got up off of the bed and stretched my arms above my head, feeling my back crack slightly when I arched it.
"I'm going to go check on Eden," I said, quickly ruffling his hair before he could stop me and then walked out of the room.
"I'll get you later!" he called after me, the sound of his laugh following after as I walked down the hall until I came to Eden's room.
I stopped at the opening of the door though, catching Two-Bit sleeping sideways in an armed chair. I couldn't help the small smile that tugged at my lips as I watched him. He must have stayed all night long just like I did. What really got me though was the fact that he had kept an eye on Eden. I suppose that perhaps Eden wasn't the only one that had apparently been smitten, I guess it was the same way with Two-Bit.
"Hey," I called softly, lightly kicking the leg of his chair.
"Huh…what time is it?" he groaned, sitting up painfully.
"Don't know, morning I guess," I shrugged, standing next to him as he tried to work the kinks out of his neck.
I just sighed as I watched this, before pushing him back into the chair. He just laughed, finding it funny for some reason.
"Just sit still," I told him, shaking my head at his antics as I ran a hand down the back of his neck, trying to find the tense muscles.
Like Darry, he shivered, before laughing again.
"Man that tingles," he laughed, getting comfortable in the chair as he let me do my job.
Just like Darry, I started rubbing his shoulders, kneading at the muscles as I attempted to work out the kinks. He seemed to enjoy it, then again, I'd expect nothing less. Plus, this just gave him one more thing to bug me about later with Darry.
"Boy oh boy, you got the magic touch," he chuckled, causing me to smack him lightly in the back of the head.
I swear, this boy thought that everything was funny.
"Hey, Two-Bit?"
"Yeah darlin'?" he responded, turning his head to look at me.
"Would you mind doing me a favor?" I asked, pressing on the muscles under his right shoulder.
"Sure, what is it?"
I hesitated for a moment before asking, taking the time to look over at Eden as she laid there on the hospital bed, air still being given to her.
"Would you mind going with me and helping me pull a few things from my house?" I asked.
"I wouldn't, but I'd say everything probably burned. What could possibly be left?"
I just sighed, running a hand through my hair.
"Please Two-Bit? It's nothin' like clothes or anything, I can always replace those," I told him, coming to stand beside Eden's bed. "It's something my mom gave me a long time ago…something that I should have given Eden instead of putting it away for all these years," I explained.
"Sure," Two-Bit nodded. "But first I'm takin' you to breakfast," he grinned.
T
"So, what exactly am I lookin' for darling'?" Two-Bit called from Abigail's room.
"There should be a tin over in my closet at the top!" Abigail called from outside.
She had stayed outside while Two-Bit had climbed the ladder up to her room. They both knew that Darry would kill him if Two-Bit even thought about allowing Abigail to go up, so he did it his own self instead.
"The top of her closet?" he mumbled to himself, walking over and moving stuff around. "Hm…"
He kept looking around until finally he spotted a small silver tin up in the corner, easily grabbing it and pulling it out, only to have a few things fall. Out of everything that fell out though, one thing in particular caught his eye. It was a little doll that had been handmade, sewn together from scraps of fabric. He wasn't really sure of the significance of it, but he figured that it was likely of importance since it had been kept for so long, even with the smoke damage that had been done to it.
"I found it," Two-Bit called down from the window, before tossing it down to her. "Anything else?" he asked.
"Yeah, can you grab those jeans hanging in my closet, along with my converse?" she asked.
"Yeah, sure," he nodded, going back over to her closet.
He grabbed hold of the jeans, tossing them over his shoulder before grabbing her shoes, then looking around one more time. He was about to go back over to the window when he saw something glinting from underneath her bed, getting on his knees to look at it.
"Hey Abby, you're gonna love me!" he called as he grinned, reaching under and pulling the jar out from under her bed, along with a few intact records.
He remembered their earlier conversation when she had talked about her records causing him to grin further. Granted, not all of them survived, but a few of them did. At least a few were better than none, same with a jar of cash. So with that in mind he went back over to the window, placing the jar the inch wide bit of wood.
"Lookie here."
T
"Lookie here," Two-Bit said, a goofy grin on his face as he stood just inside my window, the jar of money now resting on the windowsill.
"H-how did you find that?" I stammered, eyes slightly wide, but in relief.
"I don' know, probably a bit o' light from the mirror or somethin'," he shrugged, but still held the grin on his face.
"Well, are you going to stand there all day or are ya gonna come down here?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Oh, I'ma come down alright, don' you worry," he laughed, before tossing me my clothes as he exited through the window, grabbing something else from inside. "I also found these," he said, showing me that he had a few of my records.
I went wide eyed at the sight. I'd thought that they'd all burned and melted from the heat and fire.
"So, did I do good baby?" he asked, still grinning like always as he came down to stand in front of me.
I just disregarded the 'baby' part and hugged him.
"You did real good Two-Bit, real good," I said, a smile on my face.
"So, now that we have that part out of the way, what are ya gonna do now?" he asked, causing my smile to fall right from my face.
Truly, that was something that I did not want to think about, but I guess with Two-Bit's comment realization finally hit that I was now officially out of house and home. I had nowhere to go.
"Why'd you have to bring that up Two-Bit?" I groaned. "Look, just…just turn around, alright?" I asked, shaking out my jeans.
"What for?" he asked, scratching the back of his head.
"Just do it," I told him, watching as he shrugged and then turned around.
Once he was turned around, I took my shoes off and then pulled my jeans on from under my skirt. Once that was done, I slipped the skirt off and started tying my converse up, tucking my blouse into my pants afterward.
"Golly, you still look good," Two-Bit howled with laughter once he turned back around.
I went slightly red at his comment and shoved him, rolling my skirt up and tucking it under my arm along with the tin.
"Leave me alone," I grumbled, starting to walk off.
"Hey! Where ya goin'?" he asked, running after me.
"I don't know, alright?"
"Hey," he said, grabbing hold of my elbow and pulling me to a stop. "Look, I'm sorry, alright?"
I just looked away, clutching my things to my chest.
"Look Two-Bit, I…I'm sorry," I sighed. "I've been taking care of Eden and myself for the last four years and…and for the first time I don't know what to do," I told him quietly.
"Listen," he sighed, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Life ain't easy, but that don' mean that you're on your own," he said, making me look at him. "You got all us now, alright, and we ain't about to let ya stick it out by your lonesome," he told me, offering up a smile of his own.
"Never knew you could be so serious Two-Bit."
"I'm just full o' surprises aren't I?" he chuckled, putting me in a bit of a better mood for the moment. "Just remember, we're all here for ya, even ol' Dally," he said, making me laugh.
"I doubt that one."
"Hey now, I mean it, you'd be surprised sometimes," he told me.
"And I'll believe it when I see him do it," I said back.
"Oh, he'll come through, trust me," he assured me.
"Yeah and watch him get put in jail for it too," I mumbled under my breath. "Hey, would you mind coming with me down to Joe's diner? I…I need to talk to him about something," I said, turning my head to look at Two-Bit.
"Sure, why not? Sides, Darry'd kill me I let ya walk alone," he chuckled, keeping an arm around my shoulders.
I didn't mind as much at the moment so I just let him keep it there. In fact, to be honest if I thought about it, I actually needed the comfort I guess.
T
"Wait, they what?" Joe asked, raising his voice.
"Joe, keep it down," I said, placing a finger to my lips momentarily.
"Like I said…they set my house on fire," I whispered, shaking my head. "Look, I…I just need more work, alright?" I pleaded.
"I don't have a problem with giving you more work, that's not the issue Abigail. What I want to know is if you're alright," he said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I'm surprised that you didn't call in to call off for a few days," he said.
"Because I can't Joe, that's why," I told him, raking a hand through my hair and sighing. "I need the work so I can…" I sighed again. "So I can pay for Eden's hospital bills and afford a place to stay," I told him.
This made him stop and stand there. He just stared at me as though not knowing what to do.
"How bad is she?" he asked.
"I don't know…" I whispered, leaning my back against the kitchen wall, my hand on my face. "When Two-Bit got her out of house…she wasn't breathing," I told him, my eyes pinching closed as I thought back to it.
"But she's okay, isn't she?" he asked.
"I guess…I…I don't know," I said in frustration, pushing off of the wall and walking out of the kitchen.
Joe followed right behind me, walking out and standing behind the counter as I walked over to Two-Bit.
"Let's get out of here, okay?" I said, my voice nearly pleading.
"Abigail, wait," Joe said.
I turned back toward him, a sad look on my face, watching as he hurried into the back to grab something. He scrambled back out a minute later with a couple of boxes in hand.
"I want you to take these with you," he said, holding them out in front of him.
"Joe…" I sighed. "Why do you always do this?" I asked.
"Because you're like a daughter to me," he said, walking forward and placing the boxes in hands.
"Joe…" I whispered, smiling slightly when he ruffled my hair.
"Keep an eye on her, alright kid?" Joe said as he looked over at Two-Bit.
"Yes Sir," he saluted, before laughed.
Two-Bit then stood up and threw an arm around my shoulder, pulling me to him.
"Come on, let's get outta here and go see the others," he chuckled, before dragging me out of the diner, carrying my belongings in his other arm.
T
When we got back to the hospital we found the gang there. A few of them were actually in Darry's room talking with him, the others were sitting outside. I sighed though when I saw Dally standing there leaning against the door frame of Darry's room. I really didn't want to deal with him harassing me again.
"Hey Dally, how ya been," Two-Bit called, ruining any plans that I had of avoiding Winston's sight.
"Same old same old," he said, a small grin appearing on his face when he saw me.
Before either of them could say anything though, I pulled away from Two-Bit and took the little tin from his arm. I then walked passed them, shoving the food into Dally's arms.
"Here, you can have it, I don't want it," I said, before walking down to Eden's room and closing the door, leaving everyone else standing there.
T
"What the heck was that about man?" Dally asked as he looked over at Two-Bit.
Two-Bit just sighed though, scratching the back of his neck.
"She's not takin' things too well," he said, looking down the hall to where she'd walked off to.
"Well, why the hell did she drop all this off on me?" Dally asked, slightly annoyed, but at the same time confused.
"I don't know Dal, how should I know?" Two-Bit asked, before walking into Darry's room, leaving Dally standing there with two boxes of food in his arms.
"Here man, you take it," Dally said, dropping it onto Ponyboy's lap before stalking down the hall to get some answers.
T
"I wish you would wake up," I whispered as I ran a hand over Eden's cheek, trying to bite back tears at the same time.
I then turned to the little tin that I'd set on her bed, opening it up and emptying it onto the bed. Pictures fell from it, along with a hairclip and a necklace. The necklace itself was what meant the most, the soul reason for even going back to that house earlier. It was my mother's necklace, the very thing that she had entrusted to me before dying, it now sat in front of me.
"Eden…I have something for," I told her, though she never said anything.
I just smiled down at her weakly, before leaning back in the chair a bit and burying my face in my hand, tears slipping out and rolling down the skin of my wrist.
The door opened a moment later. Pulling my hand back slightly I found it to be Dallas and my hand started to shake. He was the last person that needed to see me breaking down and crying.
"G-get out," I choked out, burying my face back in my hand.
All I heard was the door close and his footsteps moving closer.
"I said get out Winston, I don't need your crap right now," I cried.
"Hey man, who ever said I was here to bug you," he said smugly.
"Get out!" I yelled angrily, standing up and pointing toward the door.
He just laughed and walked closer to me, but I didn't back up or anything, I stayed right where I was.
"Now, that's better. You're a lot cuter when you're angry than when you're cryin'," he said, a grin on his face.
I just glared at him.
"Get out," I hissed, wiping my face of the tears, my hand still shaking.
"And what if I say no?" he asked, stepping even closer until he was right in front of me.
"Dallas…" I swallowed, my hand clenching at my side. "I suggest you leave me alone," I told him, my voice coming out as even as possible at the moment, but he just grinned at me.
"No can do," he said, before making to grab me.
It was then that the palm of my hand met the side of his cheek, his head snapping to the side as I slapped him leaving a nice red mark.
"Ouch," he joked.
That was the last straw. I pushed him out of the way and then stormed out of the room, not bothering to put up the stuff on the bed. To be honest, I didn't even care, that's how mad I was. I didn't even bother saying anything either as I walked passed everyone, walking right down the hall and to the stairs instead of the elevator. Even when they called after me to ask what was wrong, I didn't even reply.
T
"Abigail!" Darry called, watching as she stormed off down the hallway passed his room.
She didn't even bother stopping though, not even pausing or hesitating at the sound of his voice or anyone elses.
"Someone, go after her," Darry said quickly, causing Ponyboy to get up from his seat and run after her.
"I'm gonna go after Ponyboy," Soda said, quickly walking out of the room in hopes of catching the two.
That left Darry, Steve, Two-Bit and Dally left.
"What in the heck did you do to her Dally?" Two-Bit asked as he walked over to him.
Dally didn't say anything though as he leaned against Darry's door, rubbing his stinging cheek.
"The hell did you do Dallas?" Darry asked as got up off of his bed and walked over to him, a hard look set on his face.
"What? I was just riling her up a bit man," Dally said.
"You were what?" Darry's voice came out hard this time, angrier than before. "Do you even realize what you just did?" he asked.
"Look man, she needed it, alright? I mean, really?" he started, pushing off of the door. "Do you really want her moping around here getting depressed?" he asked.
Dally knew that getting smacked was worth it, so he wasn't about to apologize for what he'd done. He'd done it deliberately to keep her mind off of blaming herself. Honestly, if he had to choose, he'd rather her be pissed at him than moping any day. Of course, he'd probably never admit it, but that was beside the point.
"You mean you did that on purpose?" Darry asked in disbelief.
"Now, why would I do that?" he joked, earning a dry look from his companions.
T
"Abigail!" Ponyboy called behind me.
"Go back Ponyboy!" I shouted, picking my speed up even further as I ran, ignoring the feeling of faintness that was starting to take hold.
He didn't stop though and just kept running after me, nowhere near ready to give up.
"Abigail, wait!" he called.
"Just leave me alone kid," I told him, continuing to run down the street toward the bus stop, tears starting to sting my eyes and blur my vision.
The next thing I knew, arms were around me preventing me from running any further, they kept me exactly where I was.
"Let us help you," I heard Soda's voice say, causing me to turn my head and look up at him. "Please?" he asked, the worry obvious on his face.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm sorry Soda, Ponyboy… I just…" I could feel my legs giving out on me, causing Soda to fall forward some next to the bench with me as he sat down. "I've just been in that hospital one too many times in my life," I cried.
"What?" Ponyboy held a look of confusion on his face.
"Abigail, what are you talkin' about?" Soda asked, kneeling beside me.
"I…" I tried to speak, but I found myself unable to, all my senses going out of whack.
"Abigail?" I heard Ponyboy call as he stood next to Soda, feeling as one of them shook my shoulders.
Everything just went black as everything overwhelmed me, sending me falling forward into Soda's arms.
Okay everyone that was chapter 12. I hope that everyone liked it? :) See? Dally has a good heart, he just doesn't always show it. Lol. Anyway, please remember to REVIEW and MESSAGE me with your thoughts, ideas and opinions on this story/chapter. Thanks everyone! :)