The Little Things

Chapter 2

Still September 3, 1965

"Hey, Two?" Abby asks softly, feeling a little shy when several eyes land on her and feels her cheeks heat up, not liking the attention. Unlike Two-Bit, she doesn't thrive on it. Darry had finished stitching her a few minutes ago and ever since, Darry, Soda, Two-Bit and Steve have been talking in the corner of the living room by the window. Ponyboy's still on the couch beside her, but he'd finished telling her about her book as soon as Darry had placed the white bandage on her forehead. The two of them had watched from the couch as Two-Bit filled in the members of the gang on what happened, even getting emotional at certain parts. His hands wouldn't stay still, even as he did. He's never been able to tell a story without his hands, she thought, amused, despite the seriousness of the situation. Every now and then Soda would put a hand on his shoulder, attempting to comfort him, but her brother would just look downward for a moment, pausing as if he was trying to find the words before continuing. Abby watched and scowled, hating that she's being treated like some snot-nosed kid shoved to the sidelines. Whatever had made her normally calm, cool, and collected brother angry, she has a right to know. Now is the time for answers, she thinks, when it seems that her brother won't ever finish this story.

Her brother immediately stops talking and flickers his blue eyes to meet hers. "Yeah, kiddo? You hurtin?" His eyebrow furrows in worry as he walks towards her, bending down so he's balancing on his feet. He reaches out to gently put some of her dirty blonde hair behind her ears, his eyes ghosting over the white bandage on her forehead. It must pass inspection because he says, "I think we have some pain meds upstairs in the bathroom…"

Abby huffs in frustration, because he's still avoiding the main issue, but before she can answer, their front door swings open and everyone's attention turns to it. With her well worn dark blue scrubs and faded brown leather jacket on top of them, Sarah Matthews looks like she's had the kind of day you don't really want to know about. Her purse is barely slung over her shoulder and, paired with her bloodshot eyes and messy hair, Abby feels worry shoot down her spine despite the fact her mother hadn't looked much better before she left this morning. She puts a hand on the couch to stand up to help her, but Two-Bit gently pushes her back against the sofa, earning himself a glare. Of course, he ignores it.

Big brothers are so frustrating, she thinks.

"Hey, Ma. Have a good day?" Two-bit's sarcastic tone is dialed up to 11 as he stands up, folding his arms over his chest. Abby glances at the clock on the mantle and realizes their mother should've been back hours ago. She has so many questions she doesn't even know where to start and her head starts to ache. She catches Ponyboy's eyes, briefly. He looks just as confused as she feels and she looks back at her mother.

Sarah's tired eyes glance around the living room briefly before she lets out a sigh and turns around, closing the door behind her. The sound of the door closing sounds like a gunshot and Abby can't help the wince at the sound, flashing back to the day her father left. She feels her cheeks heat up with embarrassment and looks down at her hands. It would be nice, she thinks, if her own mother cared about the fact her youngest has a head wound. Her eyes feel hot and she clenches her hands in her lap.

"A woman of few words," Steve snorts, earning a glare from Darry and an elbow in the gut from Soda. Abby's mind whirls as she feels panic start to creep in when she finally manages to look back up at the door. Their mother has been a lot of things the past few weeks – cold, distant, barely functioning – but she hasn't ever just left like that before. Normally, she'd throw her jacket, purse and shoes on the floor as soon as she came in before marching upstairs as quiet as a mouse. It's like she barely recognized herself existing. Abby would watch from her room as Two-Bit left dinner on a tray at the door to their mother's bedroom since it was always locked. When Abby would get ready for bed, the tray would be half empty.

"She'll be back, won't she?" Abby finally speaks up, voicing her fear and biting her lip to try to keep her tears at bay.

When her brother doesn't immediately respond, she looks up and sees him still staring at the door. He looks like a lost little kid and she feels her heart ache in her chest. Sometimes she forgets he's just a kid, too, at only 16 years old. She watches the moment he realizes she's looking at him and he schools his face back to a neutral expression. He runs a hand over his face, trying to collect himself and she knows the answer before he ever says anything. She lets out a shaky breath and stands up from the sofa, feeling all eyes on her when she sways a little.

"Abby," Two-Bit tries to find the words to comfort her, but comes up short. She appreciates it anyway and sends him a watery smile. "I'm going to take a nap."

The walk upstairs feels like it takes an eternity and, just when she reaches the top, she trips and lets out a cuss when her hands meet the solid wood floor. Her head aches and tears blur her vision.

"Kiddo?"

"I'm fine, Keith!" She yells, huffing a breath and reaching up with a shaking hand to get her dirty blonde hair out of her face and wiping her face half-heartedly with her hand to get rid of these tears that just won't stop. She just needs to get to her room and then she can bawl like a baby.

She's in the process of getting up when she hears Two-Bit exclaim, "Man, we really won the parent lottery, wouldn't y'all say?"

Abby feel like screaming. It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair. She stands up before she can hear anyone's response to that and runs to her room, slamming the door behind her when she does. It helps, a little.

xx

A little while later, after she's nearly stared a hole in their ceiling, tracing the patters of the cracks with her eyes, Two-Bit knocks at her door and opens it enough to poke his head in. The room is pretty tidy considering her whole life is falling apart, the only problem being her stray pair of shoes and a few pieces of dirty clothes scattering the floor. Two-Bit makes his way around it with ease, not mentioning it considering his room is definitely worse.

"Hey, Abbycakes, brought you some medicine and some water. Drink all of it, alright? I know you get sick sometimes with pills."

She sighs as if moving will take herculean effort, but stands up from the bed. She takes the pills from Two's hand with ease and manages half of the glass before sitting it on her nightstand. She feels her brother's eyes on her, but she lays back on the bed, ignoring him. When did everything get so complicated? A few weeks ago, she'd been just another almost-teenager and her biggest worry was whether or not to get bangs.

"Thanks, Two," She manages, her eyes suddenly hot. At least someone in her family cares about her.

"Hell, Abby, you've done it for me when I've drank too much." She turns her head on the bed and he gives her a wink. God bless him, he's trying, she gives him that much. Her lips twitch a little, but that's her only acknowledgement of his almost-joke. "I was going to make dinner, but we're sort of out of a lot of sh-stuff." She rolls her eyes at that and turns back to face the ceiling. Does he really think she can't handle a cuss word after everything he said earlier? Hell, she'd learned a few new ones that she'd be tucking away for a time she got really pissed off. "I don't really want to leave you alone so…Soda and Pony are downstairs, alright?"

"Alright." She says softly. He makes it to the door when she realizes she doesn't want him to leave with this weird tension hanging between them. She quickly gets off the bed and rushes to him, hugging him from behind. He tenses a little before relaxing.

"I ain't mad at you. I ain't ever mad at you, you dig?" She says, voice a little muffled in his shirt. "You're the one who stayed."

Since their father left, Two-Bit's stepped up in ways she hadn't expected. He'd gone grocery shopping, picked her up from school and even took her to and from her choir practice every other Wednesday, sometimes surprising her with her favorite candy. He always had food on the table and helped her with her homework. In between all of that though, he made sure she never went a day without laughing. To Abby, that was what had helped the most and for the rest of her life, she'll never forget how much he's done for her. After everything that's happened today, she feels like he needs the recognition now more than ever.

She feels his breathing stutter at her admission and she wonders how much two people can cry in one day. If there's a quota, they've long since met it by now.

"I dig, kiddo." He finally says, turning around and hugging her back. He surprises her with a kiss to the top of her head when he pulls away. His blue eyes shine a little as he looks down at her, "I'll be right back, I promise. Get some sleep, yeah?"

She just nods, letting him leave this time.

Xx

Abby waits until she hears the door close downstairs before moving towards the edge of the stairs, peaking around the corner. She listens closely, trying to determine if it's safe enough to try to find that letter that had him so worked up. She hears the tv click on and Soda and Pony talking in low voices.

"That was real shitty of her to just leave like that. It's like she don't even-" Soda cuts his angry tirade off and for a moment, she thinks she might hear her on the stairs and stops breathing for a moment. But then he just lets out a long sigh. "Parents are strange folk, Ponyboy." She resumes breathing and blinks with the realization she hasn't ever heard Sodapop Curtis sound like that before. This whole day has her world flipped on its head and she hates it.

"Yeah, they are." Pony sighs, not sounding angry, but…disappointed. He's never been a boy of many words and he leaves it at that. She wonders what he's thinking about their family drama. She feels her cheeks start to redden, realizing what all had unfolded today, and leans her head on the wall. She's too chicken to go downstairs just yet, but eventually, she moves to sit on the stairs, knowing they can't see her from the couch and patiently waits for her moment.

"I'm goin' to the porch to smoke." Ponyboy says and she hears him get up off their sofa.

"I'll go with ya, I need some fresh air."

"Well, I'll be smoking so not sure how fresh it'll be," Pony jokes and Soda lets out a soft laugh. Abby finds herself smiling.

As soon as the door clicks closed, she carefully tip toes down the stairs in her sock feet, skillfully avoiding the places on the stairs she knows that creak. She stops at the doorway to the kitchen, remembering Two-Bit's angry curses and that crumbled letter. She searches the now clean tiled floor, but doesn't find anything. Suddenly, she realizes he probably wouldn't just leave it out and about for just anyone to read if it pissed him off that much. Her eyes glance around the kitchen, but she doesn't see anything. She glances towards the water damaged ceiling and wonders if he left it in his room…

Before she can make her move, the phone rings and she jumps. She laughs a little in embarrassment, even though she's the only one in the room and makes her way towards the wall by the fridge. She hesitates for a moment and glances at the door. She prays the Curtis brothers don't come inside as she picks it up.

"Hello?"

"Abby, darlin', how's it hanging?"

She blinks, in confusion, "Dad?"

It's the first time in weeks she's heard from him. She remembers the two blue suitcases by the door, the rushed explanation about where he's going and then, the click of the door behind him. She'd stayed there, waiting by the door, for who knows how long before Two-Bit came home. He asked where their father was and she had had to explain, as best she could, what happened. She'd never seen him so angry, until today.

"It's me. Sorry it's been a while." He pauses, as if he's expecting her to automatically excuse his rotten behavior. She doesn't, just grips the phone tighter and glares at the wall, "I was just callin' to see if y'all checked your mail lately."

Her eyebrows furrow when it all clicks. Whatever was on that letter had something to do with their father.

"No," She says angrily, "We haven't."

She hangs up on him.