(Soda)
I felt like everything was finally coming together. I knew we still had plenty of issues to figure out but I couldn't help the swell of happiness that fills my heart when I think about the fact that I'm finally back with both of my brothers.
I can't wait to get back home, my shift seems to be moving in slow motion. The only solace is the fact that I'm scheduled with Steve. Goofing off with him helps the time go by faster and before I know it the two of us are closing up the DX and hopping in Steve's car to head home.
The delicious smell of chili greets me as soon as I open the door. I can't help but smile at the sight of Pony, Johnny, and Two Bit gathered around the coffee table, a deck of cards spread out in front of them. I kick off my shoes, not really paying attention to where they land, and plop myself down on the floor next to Pony, knocking his shoulder against mine.
"Hey kid" I greet.
"Hey Sodapop" he answers back with a smile.
Steve plops himself on the couch, giving Johnny a friendly nudge with his leg as he passes.
Darry and Dally come out from the kitchen where they must have been talking. Dally looks a bit annoyed but honestly he always looks a bit annoyed so I just shrug it off.
"Grubs up, guys. Come dish up" Darry says. There's a mad dash between Two Bit and Steve, who sweep Johnny and Dally along with them into the kitchen.
Pony is slower to make his move, watching the other boys in amusement. I sling an arm around his shoulder and we go to follow the others but Darry stops us, gesturing us over to him.
"Soda" he says seriously, "You and Pony c'mere really quick".
We head over to him and he lowers his voice so only us two can hear him.
"I gotta fill you guys in on my talk with the child welfare supervisor. She reported Pony as a missing person and called a cop out to file the report"
Pony seems to stiffen up a bit and a nervous look settles on his face. Darry sees it too and shoots the kid a reassuring smile.
"It's okay, Pony" he comforts, "The cop actually seemed pretty decent. He was real concerned about Pony being missing"
Darry pauses and takes a breath. "I told him about Officer Moore coming by. He promised to look into him, he seemed mighty suspicious of him."
"He's going to help? But how do you know you can trust him?" Pony asks in a small voice.
"I just know. Like a gut instinct, but I trust him" Darry says assuredly.
"Well that's good enough for me" I add. Darry is the best judge of character I know, if he says that he trusts the cop, then I trust him too. With the stakes so high and Ponyboy's wellbeing in jeopardy, I know Darry wouldn't take any of this lightly.
Ponyboy still looks a bit unsure but he laughs when Darry tries to ruffle his hair, bumping into me in his attempt to dodge out of the way.
"C'mon, let's go eat before the boys scrape the pot and leave us with nothing" Darry says as we follow him into the kitchen.
We serve ourselves up big bowls of chili and join the other boys at the table. Darry had made a big loaf of cornbread also and I took a warm slice and crumbled it into my bowl.
The idle chatter is interrupted by loud slurping as everyone cleans their bowls. We don't talk about anything important but I can't help the warm feeling settling in my chest. How right this feels. Everyone I care about is here, warm in the house and fed, safe for the moment from the outside world.
Of course Dallas has to ruin it by bringing up Darry's meeting.
"When is that cop bringing by the copy of his report?" Dallas asks, scraping his bowl.
Darry sighs, and looks over at Pony, seeming to ask his permission to talk about it. Pony gives a small nod. All of the guys know about it, but I don't think we've all been around to talk about it before.
"Tomorrow, after I get home from work" Darry answers.
"And he said he'd look into that dirty cop, right? Make sure he doesn't show his face over here again?" Dally asks.
"He said he would look into the Moore's. I don't know if he'd be able to stop Officer Moore from coming back here so soon though" Darry answers wearily.
Dally just grunts and grabs another piece of cornbread.
"You work tomorrow, Sodapop? I can babysit the kid if you and Darry both have work" Two Bit pipes up.
Ponyboy rolls his eyes at his comment but doesn't bother making a remark back.
"Nah, I'm off"
"Well, me and Johnny'll swing by tomorrow. Be a little muscle if ya'll need it" Two Bit says, his tone is playful but his eyes are serious. Two Bit may like to goof off, but he's also mighty protective of his friends.
"I'll hang out too. Got nothing better to do" Steve says and I shoot my buddy a thankful smile.
When it came time to clean up the dishes after dinner was finished, the guys all made themselves scarce. Two Bit took Johnny back to his house and Steve offered Dallas a ride over to Buck's.
Pony was in the kitchen washing the dishes, something he had insisted on since Darry had cooked. I was drying the dishes and Darry was straightening up the living room. Steve gave me a slap on the back as he made his way to leave but he was stopped in the living room by Darry who grabbed his arm before he could go out the door.
"Steve, you know you guys can still crash here if you need to, right?" Darry murmured.
Steve huffed out a laugh, "I know, Darry. Just figured you and Soda want some time with little Curtis without the rest of us hanging around"
Darry smiled, "Thanks. Just remember the door is always open for you guys if you need it. Make sure Johnny knows too, it's too cold for him to be staying outside"
"Will do, Superman" Steve says as he made his way out. Dally was leaning against his car outside, smoking a cigarette which he tossed away as the two of them sped off.
And with their exit, a quiet settled over the house. Normally, I don't like quiet. But this one is nice, comfortable. It was just me and my brothers.
Darry popped his head into the kitchen. "You guys want to finish with the Christmas decorations?"
"Yes!" I whooped, and abandoned my dish drying station to run into the living room where Darry had stacked the boxes of decorations. I started pulling stuff out. There was garland, lights, wreaths and a few christmas figurines. There was also a box of ornaments but those would have to wait until we got a tree.
Pony came into the living room a few minutes later after he had finished the dishes.
"Did you lose your dishwashing assistant there, Pony?" Darry teased.
Ponyboy rolled his eyes with a smile and plopped down on the floor next to me, running his hands over a garland.
There weren't a lot of decorations and they weren't the nicest, but they definitely added a cheerfulness to the house. Or maybe it was the presence of my brothers making me cheerful. Whatever it was, I couldn't help but grin as I admired our handiwork after putting most of the decorations up.
"Where do these lights go, Darry?" Pony asked from the living room floor where he sat untangling a long string of lights.
"Normally outside of the house but with all of the rain maybe we can just hang them in the window" Darry says, looking at the window as if trying to size it up.
Suddenly, he freezes, his shoulders going tense. He whirls around to face us.
"Officer McMann just pulled up out front. Pony, you gotta go hide in one of the bedrooms" Darry whispers urgently.
Pony is on his feet quickly, fear making him look younger.
"C'mon Pony" I say grabbing his arm and hauling him down the hallway, much like Steve had just this morning. I hated having to hide him but we had to keep him safe.
Shutting the door quietly behind me, I whirl around, my hand never leaving Pony's arm. I scan the room and debate taking Ponyboy and climbing out the window to run away but Pony seems firmly planted to spot, his scared eyes fixed on the closed door.
"Pony" I whisper, "Let's go, we can sneak out the window and run to Two Bit's"
He shakes his head. "It's not him, Soda. That's not Officer Moore"
"So? We can't risk anyone catching you here" I whisper desperately to him, terrified of the prospect of losing my brother again.
"I wanna listen" he whispers back, his voice so soft I almost can't even hear it, "Plus we can't leave Darry".
I give him a hard look. He looks scared but also determined. I give him a quick nod and the two of us lean our heads against the door so we can press our ears against it.
I hear the arm chair creak, meaning someone took a seat in it.
"Thanks for bringing the copy of the report, Officer. I appreciate it" I hear my older brother say.
"No problem, son. But there's actually another reason I'm stopping by. I have some updates for you" the cop says in a somber voice, "We have a warrant out for the arrest of the Moore brothers and Ponyboy's social worker"
"You mean they're in jail?" Darry asks eagerly.
There's a beat of silence.
"There's no real easy way to say this so I'm just going to be straight with you" the cop says, "I went to Mr. Moore's house, he ran as soon as I started asking questions. He got away and must have alerted the other two. We haven't been able to locate any of the Moore's yet but I assure you we have people looking for them."
Darry sighs loud enough for us to hear it through the door.
"There's more I'm afraid. As I was investigating, I discovered a large blood stain on the carpet in the basement"
"Blood stain?" Darry asks. I look over at Ponyboy, he's gone pale and he's chewing on his thumbnail. I raise a questioning eyebrow at him but he just shakes his head.
"Yes. I'm afraid it was quite substantial. We sent off some samples to the lab to try and identify who's it is. But the forensics officer seems to think that a wound causing that much blood loss would have been fatal someone of Ponyboy's size"
I shut my eyes. "He's not dead, he's right here, he's okay' I remind myself.
"Are you saying that you think Ponyboy is dead?" Darry asks in a strangled voice. I'm glad I'm not out there, I doubt I'd be able to keep my emotions in check while some cop tried to tell me my little brother was dead.
"I'm saying that we are still looking for him. And that I won't stop until I find out what's happened to your brother" The cop continues, "Is the name Wallace Tiller familiar to you?"
"No sir"
"Goes by Wally?"
Pony's head shot up. He stared at me with wide and scared eyes. I reached out to squeeze his arm but he batted my hand away, pressing his ear impossibly closer to the door.
"No sir, I don't know anyone by that name. Is he somehow involved in this?"
"Well it seems that before he took off, Officer Moore implied to his sergeant earlier today that this Wally is involved with your brother's disappearance. Officer Moore implied to the sergeant that Wally had hurt your brother. And now Wally is missing as well"
Pony has a hand over his mouth and looks like he has tears brimming in his eyes.
"You okay?" I whisper softly, he shakes his head no and I pull him into a hug. He hugs me back hard, pushing himself into my chest but he pulls away when we hear them start speaking again.
"If Officer Moore has lied about other things, who's to say he isn't lying about this?" Darry asks.
"I agree with you, Darrell. But seeing as they have both disappeared, I can't question either one. Meaning Wally has also now become a suspect"
Before I can stop him, Pony has swung the door open and gone down the hallway to the living room. I chase after him but he's fast, making his presence known before I can stop him.
"Wally didn't do anything!" Pony says, his voice soft but angry.
Darry shoots up from his seat on the couch, crossing the room to stand by Pony.
The officer stands up from the recliner, he's big. Real big. I stand next to Ponyboy and put a hand on his shoulder, ready to shove him behind me if this cop tries to make a move on him.
The cop is staring hard at Pony, like he's studying him. "Ponyboy Curtis?" he asks.
Pony presses his lips tightly together and gives a small nod, pressing himself a little closer to me.
The officer looks between the three of us, finally settling his gaze on Darry.
"I think you have some explaining to do"
Darry straightens himself to his full height, still shorter than the cop, but doesn't back down.
"I found Ponyboy a few days ago. Those people have been beating him and hurting him. And on Friday Mr. Moore tried to kill him" Darry says, his voice strong. "I didn't tell anyone I found him because I didn't know who to trust. And there's no way in hell I was sending him back to those people"
"Well, son. I sure am glad to see that you're okay" Officer McMann tells Ponyboy. "Why don't we all sit down and you can tell me the whole story?" The cop doesn't seem mad, in fact he seems relieved to find Pony alive and well.
I eye him suspiciously, waiting for the other shoe to drop but for as much as I want to be weary of him, he seems sincere.
Darry takes Pony softly by the elbow and leads him over to the couch. The officer takes a seat in the recliner again and me and Darry settle ourselves on either side of Ponyboy.
There's a stretch of silence where no one says anything. Darry is eyeing the cop, watching his every move and Pony has resumed chewing on his thumbnail.
Sighing, Officer McMann breaks the silence, "I can't help you unless I know what happened"
"Are you going to make me leave?" Pony's question breaks my heart, he sounds so worried.
"It's too late to call Mrs. Smith. I see no reason why you can't stay here with your brothers tonight. But if you want to stay here permanently, I'll need to know what happened when you were with the Moore's, to help your brother's case of getting custody of you"
Pony lets out a big sigh and I'm worried he's going to clam up or run out the door, but instead he starts talking. His voice goes flat, like he's trying to not actually remember what he's talking about.
He's given me and Darry a few details about what happened, but this is almost like he's in a trance. Like he's narrating a documentary or something, barely even pausing in between sentences.
What he's saying is horrible. How he was hiding in a closet, scared to even breathe, and how he'd heard them kill someone not even ten feet away from where he hid. I can't help but wrap my arm around him, rubbing small circles in his back while he talks, wishing I could have comforted him then.
"He was real worked up after that. I didn't do anything to bug him, but he came into my room and started in on me. I knew he was going to kill me but I got away somehow. And I ran. I ran to the store where Wally worked, and he let me hide in the bathroom and gave me the peroxide for my hair" Pony's voice has faded to a whisper, "Wally helped me escape and now he's in trouble too".
"Wally won't be in trouble for helping you, son. Your testimony will be able to clear him of anything Officer Moore tried to plant" Officer McMann says.
"Not in trouble with you. In trouble with them" Pony says, finally seeming to break himself free of his trance to look desperately at Officer McMann.
"You gotta find him. He was the only person who helped me" Pony turns to Darry before adding softly, "Until you". Darry shoots Ponyboy a small smile.
"I promise, Ponyboy, I will do what I can to find out what happened to Wally" Officer McMann promises. Pony seems to relax a bit at that, a little bit of tension leaving his shoulders.
"Well, you've given me a lot of new information. I need to go update the detectives I'm working on this case with" Officer McMann stands up, looking at Ponyboy "I truly am glad that you got away, Ponyboy"
"Me too" Pony says with a sad smile.
Darry stands up and shakes the officer's hand. I stand up too but stay standing near Pony.
"Pony can still stay here, right?" I ask.
"I see no reason why he can't for the time being, but we will need to let social services know about his whereabouts tomorrow. I'll call Mrs. Smith in the morning to update her on the case"
"But she can't make me leave, right? I want to stay here" Pony pleads. I hate that my brother has to beg like this to stay in his own home.
"Unfortunately that's not my decision to make. But with Ponyboy's testimony against the Moore's, I see no reason why he can't be placed in your custody, at least temporarily. And I will do what I can to support Darrerl getting custody of you" Officer McMann reassures the three of us.
"Thank you, Officer" Darry says as the two make their way to the door.
"In the meantime, keep a close eye on him until the Moore's are in custody. It isn't safe out there with them on the loose"
"Don't worry, I'll keep him safe" Darry promises.
The officer bids us good night and takes his leave, promising to come back tomorrow to update us on what's going on.
"Pony, why'd you come barrelling out of the room like that? That could've been much worse!" Darry snaps as soon as the cop car drives away.
Pony jumps a little at his tone and I sit back down next to him, my arm going back around his shoulders.
"You said you trusted him" Pony said in a small voice, "And I trust you".
Darry runs a hand through his hair, his face still set in a scowl. He's never been the best at emotions, always coming across as angry when really he's scared or upset.
"I just..I didn't want Wally's family to worry about what happened to him. Like how you guys have worried about me this whole time"
Darry's face softens at the explanation and he resumes his seat on Pony's other side.
"I get that. But I need you to be more careful. I don't know what I would do if I lost you again" Darry says, softening his voice so Pony won't think that he's angry.
"I'm sorry" Pony whispers, hanging his head.
"Hey, it's okay, Pone. We know you were just trying to help your friend" I tell him.
"He wasn't exactly my friend. Just someone who helped me a few times. He was always decent to me"
"Did you guys hang out?" I ask.
Pony shakes his head, "No. I'd just see him when I went into the store. He was a lot older, like in his twenties"
"Well he must have been ancient then" Darry says and gives Pony a playful shove, making me laugh as he knocks into me.
"It's getting pretty late, we should head to bed soon" Darry says, glancing at the clock. I know he has to work early in the morning but at least me and Pony can sleep in a bit.
Darry and I stand up to get ready for bed but Pony stays sitting on the couch, chewing on his bottom lip.
"What's wrong?" I ask him.
He hesitates, glancing quickly up at me and then down to the floor. "Could I, uh, sleep in your room? I don't wanna have another nightmare"
I grab his hand and pull him after me down the hall, "Of course! Anytime you need me, Pony, I'll be here".
After getting ready for bed, the two of us settle into my bed, loaded down with blankets to fight off the cold. Pony seems to fall asleep almost as soon as his head hits the pillow, his breathing evening out softly.
Darry knocks gently before coming to sit on the edge of the bed, he looks fondly down at Pony.
"Just wanted to say goodnight to the two of you but looks like I was too slow" Darry whispers.
"He just had a long day. He's tired from all the stress" I whisper back.
Darry nods and brushes Pony's hair softly back from his forehead before standing up quietly padding out of the room.
Careful not to wake him up, I wrap an arm around Pony and pull him closer to me. With my arm secure around my sleeping brother, I quickly drift off to sleep, completely unaware of a truck idling in front of the house.
A/N: I feel like sometimes my chapters are too long and wordy and I know the past few chapters have been a lot of dialogue and context building but I promise some action is coming soon!
As always, thank you for reading and bearing with me on my first story!
Hope you like the chapter, let me know what you think (: