(Darry's POV)
It was hotter than usually outside, even for summer in Tulsa, so I was sweating up a storm while working on the roof in the midday sun. Even though I was back at work and I should've been focused on what I was doing since a fall from such a height would be dangerous, I couldn't get myself to think about anything other than my brother who had been through too much in his short life.
It had been two weeks since the doctor told us the news about Ponyboy, and I still felt like I was in a fog, not able to completely return to normal. Part of me didn't want to return to work because my emotions were still all over the place, but I could only take so many days off of work before I feared losing my job, despite my boss being understanding of my situation. I knew Soda was even more reluctant to go back to work, but he didn't have much of a choice. Both of us understood how tight our finances were already, and with the medical bills about to pile up, we couldn't afford to take any more time off, even though we both could've used it.
For two weeks, we had both been struggling emotionally, but Soda was more out in the open with his feelings so everyone could see he was slowly crumbling. He had to watch Ponyboy have a second seizure before being taken away from him, and I could only imagine how devastating that was for him. I had my own guilt for pummeling Ed into unconsciousness before I checked on my kid brother, and that guilt about broke me more than once, but whenever I needed him, Soda was there to comfort me and make me believe that maybe I did what needed to be done. Still, I couldn't quite shake the feeling that maybe things would've been different if I let Ed go and gone straight to Pony when I got to his room.
Steve and Two-Bit were feeling mighty awful too, even though Soda and I both told them they didn't do anything wrong. Steve blamed himself for calling the hospital and causing Two-Bit to leave the room, and Two-Bit felt responsible for leaving Ponyboy unattended. I wished Two-Bit would listen to me and Soda when we said we weren't mad at him, but ever since that night, he hasn't looked us in the eye or made any jokes. He said there wasn't much to joke about these days, and I guess he was right.
"Curtis!"
My thoughts were interrupted by my foreman, Charlie, yelling at me from the ground below. I must've got my head lost in the clouds again, which wasn't uncommon these days. If only I could tell Pony how alike we really are. Maybe he would laugh.
I looked down at my foreman, who was motioning for me to go down the ladder. Great.
When I approached him, rather than looking upset like I expecting, he seemed like he was pitying me, which was even worse than if he was mad at me for being unfocused. "Curtis, I know you have a lot goin' on. Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"
I immediately shook my head. "No, that's okay. We still have a lot of work to do. I'm sorry for being distracted."
He gave me a look. "Nobody here blames you for being distracted, Darrel." Even though I didn't like my personal life being on display with the guys at work, they had to know why I was suddenly gone for a couple weeks. "Take the rest of the afternoon off. The guys and I will be fine, and I'll make sure you still get paid for a full day's work. You put in the same amount of work as three guys combined anyway."
As much as I wanted to accept his offer, I didn't like the idea of leaving the guys to finish the project without me.
Charlie put a hand on my shoulder. "Darry, you're done for the day. I don't want to see you go up that ladder one more time."
Reluctantly, I nodded. "Okay, thank you."
I went to the truck, threw my tool belt in the back, and drove away from the worksite and to an all-too-familiar place...
When I arrived at the hospital, I said hello to some of the nurses that I saw every day when I came to visit after work. They were all very nice and some always said it was nice to see me and the guys when they'd visit, but as the days went on and Ponyboy didn't wake up from his coma, their smiles started to go from happy and optimistic to the look of pity that I was getting from everyone.
When I walked into Pony's room, I was met with the same sight as always: Ponyboy lying in his bed, eyes closed, hooked up to all sorts of machines, and besides the subtle rise and fall of his chest, he was eerily still.
"Hey Curtis," a steely voice said.
I turned and was surprised to find Tim Shepard leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. The bruise on his jaw fading, just like the tension between us and the Shepards. Soda and I were still furious with Curly for getting Pony mixed up in everything, but we didn't have control over anything anymore, and both of us had said and done what we needed to and had moved on the best we could.
"Hey Tim, what are you doing here?" I asked, trying not to sound accusatory, but genuinely wondering why he was there.
He shrugged, trying to look nonchalant, but I knew him better than that, and I knew he had a reason. "Figured the kid should have someone with him while you and Soda were workin'."
I raised my eyebrows, completely surprised by his response. I was glad that he seemed to care about Pony, and he wasn't giving me the same sympathetic look everyone else was, but I couldn't help but think there was some other reason for Tim's presence, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know what it was.
Tim glanced at Pony, then back at me, sighing slightly. "Look, my brother is a dumb kid that got in way over his head with all this. Believe me when I say I laid into him about draggin' Ponyboy with him. He'll think twice before he pulls dumb shit like that again."
I've seen Tim mad at Curly, but never for something like this. It was difficult trying to picture Tim acting like a disciplinarian like I had to do when I became the guardian for my brothers. Maybe Tim and I are more similar than I thought.
"I took care of that Soc that came in here, and a couple other things." What does he mean by that? Then Tim reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a white envelope, then extended it towards me. Glory, I've had enough of this. "Here's something to help you out. I wish I could get him to wake up, but I ain't a doctor."
I took then envelope and looked in it, immediately noticing there was a lot more money in it than the envelope of cash Curly gave me and that I gave back to Ed.
I looked at Tim, almost mad at him for trying to get us involved in this yet again. "I can't take this, Tim. They'll come after him again-"
"No they won't," Tim said sharply. "That Soc is taken care of, believe me, and he and his friends know who I am and where to find me if they're dumb enough to come after me since I got the money. And as for the rest of it… let's just say some people owed me favors and I cashed in."
I knew some of the things Tim was involved in, and I knew the less questions I asked, the better.
I looked down at the cash, then back up at him. "How do you know they won't-"
"I took care of it. Trust me, they're going to leave him alone if they want to continue livin'," Tim said dangerously. "If a Soc gets within a mile of your brother, they'll pay for it one way or another."
I didn't want to accept money that I knew didn't belong to me, but at the same time, we were going to be hurting for cash when the bills came.
Sensing my hesitancy, Tim spoke in a slightly softer voice. "Take it, Darry. If not for yourself, for your brothers."
I don't know how Tim knew what to say, maybe he was smarter than people gave him credit for or he knew how it would feel to be in my shoes, but his words broke through my stubbornness. I nodded, then extended my hand to him, which he immediately took, and we briefly shook hands. "Thanks Tim."
"Don't mention it," he said, back to sounding nonchalant. After another glanced towards Ponyboy, Tim spoke again. "I'm gonna head out. I hope he wakes up soon." With that, Tim strolled out of the room, and I went to take the chair next to Pony's bed.
I brushed the hair off of his face and looked down at him. The oxygen mask covered most of his facial features, but I could still tell that he was pale and didn't look how my kid brother normally looked. The good thing was a lot of his injuries had healed and the scary cut on his neck was a faint line. The doctor had even taken the stitches out of his head and his hair covered most of the area that was likely going to scar.
"Hey kiddo, it's me again," I said as soft as I could. Being soft and gentle was never my strong suit, but I tried my best to be kinder, especially with Ponyboy after Windrixville.
"Hey Dar," Soda's tired voice said from the doorway. I looked at him as he walked over to the other chair. "Did I just see Tim walking down the hall?"
"Yeah, I just got here and he was standing in the room," I replied. "Said something about Pony should have someone with him while we were gone, then he handed me this," I said, giving the envelope of cash to Soda.
When he opened it, Soda's eyes went wide and he stared at me. "But Darry, won't they come back and-"
"I said the same thing," I said, interrupting him before he could get too worked up. "He said he took care of it and it won't be a problem, and I believe him."
Soda looked like he wanted to argue, but his fatigue likely beat out his concern since he handed me the envelope without another word. Then he reached for Pony's hand and held it between his own.
"Did your boss let you leave early?" I asked, realizing that Soda wasn't supposed to stop by the hospital for another two hours or so.
He looked at me with an expression of guilt, then he looked down at Ponyboy. "Steve told me to leave… said he'd cover if the boss showed up and asked any questions. I think he's worried I'm going to accidentally run into the car he's working on or something."
I looked at Soda closely, and the dark circles under his eyes were even more prominent than they were earlier that morning. "Maybe you should go home and get some rest, little buddy."
He shook his head. "No, I'm alright." After a beat, he looked at me with confusion written on his face. "Wait, aren't you supposed to be at work too?"
I shrugged. "Our foreman said I did enough work for the day." The look Soda gave me told me he didn't believe me one bit. I sighed in defeat. "I was a little unfocused and he noticed, so he told me to take the rest of the afternoon off."
"Better than having you fall off a roof," Soda muttered.
I let out chuckle. "Yeah, I guess that's true."
We sat there quietly for a short while before Soda spoke again, this time his voice was soft and childlike. "He's gonna wake up, right? It's been two weeks… shouldn't we know by now?"
I took a shaky breath and looked down at Ponyboy. He has to wake up. I don't know what I'd do if he doesn't. I shuttered at the thought of my worst nightmare coming true. "He's still fighting, Soda. He's still here."
I was sure Soda realized I didn't exactly answer his question, but he didn't say anything about it either. Please keep fighting, Pony.
(Ponyboy's POV)
I was surrounded by a grey fog that I couldn't escape. I had no sense of direction and no way out.
Don't panic. Just breathe and try to figure out what to do next.
But I wasn't even sure that I was breathing, and how could I know what to do next if I didn't even know where I was or what I was supposed to be doing?
My brothers. Where are my brothers?
That was the answer; I had to get back to my brothers and they'd help me figure out what was going on. But how do I do that?
I was swimming, or maybe flying, through the never-ending fog, trying to find a way to Darry and Soda. With nothing but grey surrounding me, there was no way I could find my way on my own. I was frustrated, upset, and worried.
What if I can't get out? That thought scared me more than anything. Somebody help me!
It felt like years before anything about my situation changed. Once in a while, the fog would feel darker and denser, but then other times everything seemed lighter. Nothing was making any sense, and the more I struggled to fight my way out, the more painful my body became.
Wait, why am I in pain? What happened?
Finally, after an eternity, there was sound. A was a deep rumbling sort of noise and I had no idea where it came from, but rather than be afraid of it, I felt comforted that one of my senses returned. Surely if I could hear things, I'm doing something right.
Using the new noise as a guide, I imaged what my brothers' voices sounded like. It seemed like it had been ages since I had heard them, making it difficult to remember their voices, but after struggling for a bit, I swore I could hear them. I couldn't think of any specific words they would say, but I could practically hear the tone of voice from each of my brothers.
Darry's deep voice that I once thought was mean and demeaning had become comforting and one that I sought out to make me feel better. Soda's voice always kind and it meant safety, but for some reason, I couldn't help but imagine his voice as soundly a little hoarse and borderline scared. Sodapop was rarely scared, and I didn't know why, but I couldn't quite get his voice to sound like his typical full-of-life self.
I focused on what their voices sounded like, craving nothing more than to hear my brothers again and talk with them, and to my surprise and delight, I could finally imagine them forming words.
"I really wish you'd open your eyes honey," Soda's voice said. Once again, his voice didn't sound like it normally did. Open my eyes? They are open, but there's nothing around here to look at.
Some time passed, then I heard the deep, comforting tone of Darry's voice. "You keep fighting, little buddy. You hear?" I'm trying Darry, but the fog just won't go away!
However, slowly but surely, the fog did start to dissipate. As the grey fog retreated, my world started getting darker, almost like everything was encompassed by a dark brown color. I was getting scared again, but I kept hearing my brothers' voices, which made me feel a little better since it seemed like I wasn't actually alone.
Eventually, their voices seemed so close and so real that I started to believe that I wasn't just imagining them. Just when I thought that, I started to feel one of my hands getting warmer than the other, almost as if it was in direct sunlight while the rest of my body was in the shade. After a while, I felt a similar sensation on my head.
What's going on?
I decided that if I wasn't imagining my brothers' voices and if they were actually nearby, then the sensations had to be real too. Am I sleeping outside and the sunlight is just hitting a couple spots on my skin? That wouldn't explain why my surroundings were still dark, why my body ached, and why it just didn't feel right. I'm never aware when I'm sleeping, so what's happening?
"Pony? Can you hear me?" Soda's voice suddenly said.
Yes, I can! I couldn't respond but glory I wanted to.
"Pone, wake up kiddo," Darry pleaded softly.
Wake up? So I am sleeping? This is a really weird dream.
The warm sensation around my hand got warmer and suddenly it felt like something was holding my hand tightly. Then something moved on my head, making my hair move.
Wait, that's how Darry ruffles my hair… which means Soda's holding my hand! They're here with me!
It took more effort than I could have imagined, but by listening to my brothers' voices and trying to cooperate with their instructions, I pried my eyes open.
Instead of the grey fog or a strange all-encompassing darkness, I was met with fuzzy outlines of my brothers' faces.
Thank you to everyone who has read this story so far! I'm planning on adding two more chapters to this story, then I'll be on to the next one!
