Hello! This is my first attempt at a story from The Outsiders section. I watched the movie for the first time in years, which made me re-read the book and fall in love with the story all over again. Anyway, this idea came to my mind and I've been working on it for a while. I know this might have been done before, but I really hope you like it. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Love, Ellivia22
Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, don't own The Outsiders. It belongs to S.E. Hinton
Broken Bond
Prologue
Darry
Something's happened to him. I just know it!
I grip hard onto the newspaper that I'm clutching to steady my shaking hands. It's way past midnight and Ponyboy still hasn't come home. The movie he saw with Dally and Johnny ended hours ago. At first, I didn't think anything of it. Ponyboy always has a habit of getting distracted. It's not the first time he's broken curfew. The later it gets without any word from my little brother, the faster my anger turns into full-fledged fear.
What if I'm wrong and Ponyboy isn't out there doing something reckless? What if he's badly hurt somewhere and I'm not there to protect him? He nearly gave me a heart attack when he was jumped by the Socs yesterday.
I squeeze my eyes shut tightly. I can still see the group of Socs holding my little brother down, a blade to his throat; Ponyboy calling out Soda and my name in panic; the thick red blood running down his chin from a cut the Socs made. If I ever got a hold of those Socs who hurt my little brother, I'll beat the tar out of them.
I glance at my other younger brother, Sodapop, who is fast asleep on the couch across from me. Maybe I should wake him so we could go looking for Ponyboy. Maybe I should call the police. I dismiss that idea immediately. The last thing I want is for Soda and Pony to end up in a boys' home.
The front door opens with a creak, pulling me out of my haunting thoughts. Standing in the doorway is Ponyboy, looking anywhere but at me. He's shivering, and no wonder. The kid is only wearing his sleeveless dark blue sweatshirt. The heaviness of my chest lifts as I feel immense relief. He's okay.
The feeling of relief barely lasts a second when the anger comes back in full force. I have never felt so angry. I throw down my paper hard. "Where in the heck have you been? Do you know what time it is?!" Ponyboy continues to pointedly avoid my fierce gaze. "Well, it's two o'clock in the morning, kiddo. One more hour and I would have had the police after you. Where were you, Ponyboy," my voice rises in building anger. "Where in the almighty universe were you?!"
"I went to sleep in the lot," Ponyboy mumbles.
I stare at him. I can't believe he's being so reckless. He's lucky he didn't get jumped again, or worse. "You WHAT?!"
Sodapop rubs his eyes sleepily. I must've woken him up with my yelling. I'm too pissed to care. "Hey, Ponyboy. Where ya been?"
"I didn't mean to," Ponyboy pleads. "I was talking to Johnny and we both dropped off…"
I cut him off. "I reckon it never occurred to you that your brothers might be worrying their heads off and afraid to call the police because something like that could get you two thrown into a boys' home so quick it'll make your head spin. And you were asleep in the lot? Ponyboy, what on earth is the matter with you? Can't you use your head? You haven't even got a coat on!"
Ponyboy pushes past me as he makes his way to the bathroom. Tears of frustration are in the corner of his eyes. Soda gets off the couch and immediately follows. "I said I didn't mean to."
Excuses. That's all I ever hear from him anymore. It's like he's trying to antagonize me. "I didn't mean to! I didn't think! That's all I ever hear from you! Can't you think of anything?!"
"Darry…" Soda begins.
Great. Now both of my brothers are teaming up against me. I'm trying so hard to be responsible and keep everyone safe, but no one wants to listen to me. I turn around quickly, pointing an angry finger at Sodapop who is on the other side, by the bathroom door. "You keep your trap shut! I'm sick and tired of hearin' you sticking up for him!"
"YOU DON'T YELL AT HIM!" Ponyboy yells back.
The next few seconds happen so fast. I whirl around, my hand striking Ponyboy hard across the face.
SMACK!
The force of my slap is so hard it sends Ponyboy hard into the front door.
BAM!
The room goes completely silent. It's as if I can't move a muscle. The only part of me that can move is my hand, which is twitching and turning red from the hard impact on Ponyboy's face. Ponyboy's cheek is bright red and immediately starts to swell. I breathe heavily as my heart pounds hard in my chest in regret. I hurt him. I hurt my baby brother, the one I'm trying so hard to protect. "P-Ponyboy," I choke out remorsefully.
Ponyboy lets out an anguished whimper. Before I can take two steps, he's out the door, running as fast as he can into the street. "Pony!" I scream. "I-I didn't mean to!"
By the time Sodapop and I reach the open door, Ponyboy is long gone. What have I done? What have I done? "Ponyboy!"
"He's gone," Soda whispers. He turns to me furiously. "What in the hell were you thinking?!"
"I-I didn't mean to," I stammer. "It was an accident!" I start to go after Ponyboy, but Sodapop holds me back by the shoulder. "W-we have to go after him!" My tone rises higher and more hysterical with each word.
"It's too late."
"H-he's out there with no coat on. He's gonna get hurt or freeze to death. We've gotta bring him back so that he's safe. H-he has to know that I didn't mean it!"
"It ain't gonna do any good right now. He needs some time to cool off and so do you. He'll come back."
Will he?
The pained and terrified expression on Ponyboy's face is engraved in my mind. My eyes start to burn. "I-I didn't mean to," I repeat. I look at Sodapop desperately. "Y-you know I didn't mean to hurt him, right?"
Soda doesn't answer my question, nor will he look at me. "C'mon. Let's go back inside and wait for him."
I numbly follow Sodapop into the house. I can barely focus. I collapse back into Dad's old armchair, my head buried in my hands. I can't stop shaking, and this time it's not from anger. I just made the biggest mistake of my life. The only thing keeping me from completely breaking down is the hope that I'll be able to get Ponyboy to forgive me once he comes home. If he doesn't, I don't know what I'm going to do.
Pony, I'm sorry
To be continued...