[Sodapop's POV]

I leaned against the counter of the DX, head propped up on my arm, trying my hardest not to fall asleep. Work had been unbelievably slow. No cars to work on, tanks to fill up, or even pretty girls to flirt with as they bought a coke.

At least Steve was here with me, but he had at least found shelves to stock to busy himself. I had nearly fallen asleep when the phone rang, causing my hand to slip and my head almost hit the counter. I sauntered over to the phone slowly and answered it.

"DX, this is Sodapop," I said boredly.

The only sound I heard from the other end of the line was heavy breathing.

"Hello?" I asked, but still no response. I figured it must be a prank call.

"Alright this ain't funny, don't call back," I said, slamming the receiver down.

Just as I turned around to walk back to the counter the phone rang again.

"Stop calling!" I yelled angrily into the phone. I was about to hang up again before I heard a quiet voice through the speaker.

"Soda wait — it's Two-Bit."

His quiet tone scared me; Two-Bit was never quiet.

"Hey Two, what's up?" I asked cheerfully, hoping nothing was wrong.

I heard Two-Bit start breathing heavily again, almost like he was hyperventilating. Wait — was he crying?

"Soda, you've gotta come. You've gotta get down to Tulsa General. And you've gotta hurry. It's—it's just bad right now and you need to come. I'm calling Darry after you but you need to get down here," Two-Bit said frantically.

I had barely processed the words that had spilled out of Two-Bit's mouth when he went to hang up the phone.

"Wait! Who's in the hospital?" I asked.

"It's Ponyboy," Two-Bit answered. And then he hung up the phone.

I don't know how long I stood there clutching the phone, but suddenly Steve was standing next to me and waving a hand in front of my face.

"Hey, earth to Soda! You okay man? he was asking.

I didn't recognize the feeble tone in my voice when I spoke. "It's Ponyboy. He—he's in the hospital. Two-Bit called. I don't know—he didn't say—we just need to get down there."

Steve nodded at me and quickly moved to lock up the DX and grab his car keys. When he went to run outside and noticed I wasn't moving, he grabbed my hand and half-dragged me out to his car.

The ride to the hospital was a blur; all I could think about were the possibilities of what was wrong with my little brother. Had he gotten jumped by the Socs again? How badly was he hurt? Was he going to be okay?

After what felt like an eternity Tulsa General came into view. Steve had barely put the car in park before I was throwing myself against the door and running into the hospital.

I searched the waiting room frantically before locking eyes with Darry. We ran toward each other and he engulfed me in a hug.

"Two-Bit called you?" he murmured in my ear.

I nodded against his chest and tried not to sob.

"Did he tell you anything?" I asked. Darry shook his head and we slowly let go of each other.

The sound of someone crying caused me to turn my head and I spotted Two-Bit sitting alone in the corner of the waiting room. Darry and I rushed over to him, frantically searching his eyes for answers. But all we saw were tears.

"Two-Bit, what on earth happened? asked Darry.

"He was sprinting at track practice—it was the last drill of the day and he had to go first. Why did he go first? He was running and tripped on his shoelace and I thought he would get up but he wasn't getting up. Ponyboy always gets up," Two-Bit said, frantically.

"Two-Bit, I can't understand what you're saying. What happened? I asked.

Two-Bit took a deep breath before continuing. "He hit his head and hurt his wrist, I think. He was unconscious and they called an ambulance but they couldn't get him to stay awake, even I couldn't get him to stay awake. God, why did he have to go first on that drill? Why couldn't he have waited and noticed his shoe was untied? And now I don't know if he's going to be okay and they won't tell me a thing because I'm not family and—"

Steve put a reassuring hand on Two-Bit's shoulder. "Hey, Two, you've gotta breathe."

We all took the seats next to Two-Bit and waited in silence for news on Ponyboy. Steve got up periodically to pace the floor, Two-Bit couldn't stop crying, and Darry stared silently at the wall. I, on the other hand, simply sat frozen. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't think. I don't know how long we sat there before a voice interrupted our vigil.

"Family of Ponyboy Curtis?"