I woke up to yelling. I think I heard Darry yelling my name but I wasn't sure. Maybe Mom and Dad were finally home and they found out what we did. Darry must be yelling my name so I could come out and get in trouble as well. That's not going to happen. I'll deal with it in the morning.

I tried to roll over and go back asleep, but I heard a man's voice I didn't recognize and then I heard someone crying. Now I was just too confused and curious to let this go. I silently got out of bed and made my way to the door where I creaked it open to try and see what was happening in the living room. If it was Mom and Dad I didn't want to get caught out of bed since I was supposed to be asleep hours ago.

I couldn't make out who was here, but someone was crying and someone else was trying to give comforting words. It was that man's voice again but it just wasn't anyone's I had heard before. It was as deep as Dad's, but it wasn't Dad for sure. Who would be over this late and where were Mom and Dad? If I had woken up from the noise they for sure would have as well. Mom was a very light sleeper, I was not.

I decided to go check it out even though I was in my pjs and probably looked dumb. Hopefully it wasn't a tuff Greaser out there. I wouldn't be able to live that one down. I silently walked down the hallway and was standing in between the kitchen and living room when I finally could see what was happening.

There were two cops sitting on the couch facing my direction. One was older, probably Dads age, and one was probably around Darry's age. Sitting on the couch opposite them were Darry and Sodapop. Soda was very loudly bawling his eyes out and Darry was sitting like a statue. I couldn't see his face from where I was, but I could tell that he wasn't moving a muscle.

The older cop saw me standing there and his face fell. He looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't bring himself to do it. I looked around the room. Something was very wrong here. I decided I had to ask "what's happening? Where's Mom and Dad?"

Neither of my brothers moved. With Soda's loud crying and Darry turning into stone I'm not sure if they even heard me. The cops both gave me sad pitting looks. The older one eventually spoke "hey kid. How about you come sit over here with your brothers?"

I was getting really anxious now. Something was really wrong. I looked back down the hallway to my parents bedroom. The door was closed, but it was always closed. I needed to go wake them up. They needed to figure out what was going on. Why weren't they out here already? They must be home by now. I didn't check the clock when I got up, but I knew it was late.

The cop asked again "come here kid. What's your name? Come sit down." Now I was breathing heavy. I don't like cops just in general, but something was wrong. "No. Where are my parents" I said in reply.

The older cop sighed and looked down. Then he looked back at me and said "I'm really sorry kid. Your parents are gone" He tried to say it in a gentle voice. In a way to show that he cared, but he was a cop and cops hated us Greasers. He was probably just saying stuff. But then I looked at my brothers. Soda crying and Darry clearly in shock and the fact that my parents hadn't come out yet even with all the noise and I knew it must be true.

In that moment I truly lost it. I couldn't breathe. I started crying harder than I thought was possible. The room was spinning around me. I wasn't sure how I was even standing up. I felt myself swaying. My stomach was churning. I felt tears rolling down my cheeks. I wanted to run. I wanted to run down the hall and jump in my parents bed like I used to when I had a bad dream. Maybe all this was just a bad dream and I would wake up in my bed and still be able to run to them. I closed my eyes but then had to open them again because I was choking. I was choking on air. I couldn't get any air in as my sobs raked me. I couldn't handle this.

Out of nowhere Darry was kneeling in front of me. In a single blink he had appeared. He reached over and grabbed Moms mop bucket and held it under me just as I leaned over and got sick. I threw up so much. I didn't even know how it was possible to lose that much. Each time took its toll on my body and I just cried harder and harder. I wasn't aware of anything happening around me.

Finally after what felt like hours, but probably wasn't more than a few minutes I finished. I still didn't feel great and I was still crying, but my body was easing up for the moment. Darry led me over to the couch and now I could see Sodapop's face. He wasn't crying anymore but his eyes were puffy and he looked so worried and lost. It was like he didn't know what to do now that our lives had all been turned upside down.

The younger cop spoke for the first time and said "Wow. That was a real Superman move right there. I have never seen anyone react that fast. That was incredible" I had no idea what he was talking about and I didn't care. Didn't he know my parents were gone? I sat down and Soda jumped into action. He pulled me into him and I buried my face in his chest and started crying once again. Not as heavy this time, but all I could do was cry and think about my parents. What else was I supposed to do?

I didn't pay attention to anything happening around me as I clutched onto Soda. He held me tight in response and didn't let go. I heard lots of talking around me, but it was like I couldn't make out the words. I was somewhere else and the only thing I knew was that I needed to hold onto Soda. After some time I was aware of the front door closing. Maybe that meant the cops finally left. Maybe they were never really here. Maybe this was all in my head. Maybe I really was just dreaming.

I decided I needed to know. I pulled myself away from Soda and looked right at Darry and asked "Is this all real or just a dream in my head?"

Darry gave me a long sad look before he finally responded "I'm really sorry baby but yeah. This is all real."

With Darry confirming it, it was like it was all happening all over again. Everything started spinning out of control again. I couldn't breathe again. I was choking and I couldn't run away. There was nowhere to run away too. No matter where I went the answer would be the same. My parents were gone. I knew I needed to pull it together but I couldn't. I was falling apart at the seams.

Darry picked me up and ran with me to the bathroom. He set me on the ground and I immediately leaned over the toilet and got sick once again. How he knew I was going to get sick again I'm not sure, but maybe Darry had a 6th sense for that sort of thing.

Darry held and squeezed my shoulders and I could feel Soda sitting behind me on the floor. He leaned over and started rubbing my back and tried to whisper soothing words. I get sick quite a bit, but Mom is usually here to comfort me. My brothers were trying their best, but I just wanted Mom. That realization that she would never be there to do this made me just cry even harder.

Finally I seemed to have emptied everything out and was calming down enough to stop the dry heaving. Both my brothers let go of me and leaned back. Darry was leaning with his back against the tub and Soda was by the wall with his legs drawn into his chest. I was trying to take some more deep breaths and keep my body calm so I wouldn't have to throw-up again when Darry opened his arms and said "Come here kiddo."

I crawled across the floor and climbed into Darry's open arms. I put my head on his chest and tried to listen to his heartbeat. It was faster than usual. I knew that he was just as scared and anxious, but he was trying to keep himself calm. There were still tears streaming down my face and I didn't think they would ever stop falling. How could I have this much liquid in my body? How could I hold this much pain in my chest. Darry started rubbing my back and I closed my eyes to just focus on the sound of his heart. I was exhausted and wanted to escape from this reality. Even though the tears weren't going anywhere I could feel myself calming knowing that at least my brothers were still alive and here. This pain wasn't mine alone to bare.

I kept that thought as I slowly started to drift asleep. I wasn't alone, but I didn't know how we were going to get through this. I wanted my parents. I wanted this to all go away. I didn't want to get worked up again though. My body couldn't take it. So I just kept my focus on Darry's steady heartbeat and eventually drifted off to a dreamless sleep hoping that things would be different when I woke up, but knowing that at least my brothers would be there through it all with me. I wasn't alone as long as they were by my side.

That's it everyone! You have been led up! The accident has occured. I had originally written these last three chapters from Darry's perspective. I believe Pony would have been more overwhelmed and left in the dark during everything that occured that night. Maybe I'll post the other side one day or continue the fic but with Darry instead. But this was my take on how the family was before the accident. It was my first fic ever and I really enjoyed writing it so thanks for reading along!