Disclaimer: I still don't own these characters. (sad trumpet sound)
Chapter 12
I hope Ponyboy's okay…
Although I tried to convince them I was fine, they still made me ride to the hospital in an ambulance. I hated it.
I sat in the bed with Darry next to me. Steve and Two-Bit were probably following us in Two-Bit's car or the truck.
They asked me all kinds of questions, and about my cuts and bruises, but I wasn't focused on them. Ponyboy was the only one I was thinking about.
Luckily for me, the nurses told me I got off easy. They put bandaids on my cuts, and stitches on the bigger ones. I only had bruised ribs, not broken ones.
They told me I was lucky and that I should be thankful, but I wasn't.
Why had I gotten off so easy when Ponyboy had gotten it so much worse? It just wasn't fair.
Darry held my hand the entire time, but I didn't blame him. I'd be just as scared. I was scared.
The ambulance came to a stop and I immediately sat up.
"Be careful, Soda…" Darry said, helping me up.
"I'm fine, Darry! Now c'mon, we have to go check on Pony!" I told him, slightly annoyed.
Darry escorted me out of the ambulance and I ran as fast as I could without hurting myself. I dashed through the parking lot, making it to the front desk of the hospital.
"Is my brother here? His name is Ponyboy Curtis," I said, catching my breath. The nurse looked at me funny. I rolled my eyes.
"Yes, that's his real name, now do you know if he's here?" I asked, knowing I was coming off as slightly demanding. Right now, I did not care.
The nurse typed on her computer for a bit.
"He's down that hallway, he's about to go through surgery," she said casually, as if she had little to no concern for the patient.
I nodded and motioned for Darry to follow me as we raced down the hallway.
We reached the hallway and I stopped dead when I saw Ponyboy being taken away on a bed.
He had tubes all over him and his shirt was covered in red stains.
"What… What's happening to him? What are they gonna do?" I asked, my voice cracking.
A surgeon came up to me and took off his mask. He had glasses on and was dressed in light blue. He had on light blue gloves, light blue clothes, light blue cap, and he took off a light blue mask.
"We are simply going to remove the bullet from his body. The surgery should be around 1 hour long," the surgeon explained.
I tried to find my voice. "Will he be okay?" I gulped, squeezing Darry's hand.
"Son, 'okay' is a thin term. He'll recover, but we'll just have to see," the surgeon replied.
He patted me on the shoulder before going back to the room where Ponyboy was.
I caught a glimpse of Ponyboy's face.
He looked at me with those same eyes but he didn't stay for long before the door was shut abruptly in my face, cutting me off from my baby brother.
I turned back around to Darry and walked over to the waiting room, trying my best not to break down into tears.
Sitting there, knowing the only thing I could do was wait, is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. The worst part is, I could be waiting for someone just to come back and give me bad news.
So this is how Pony must've felt waiting for Johnny, I thought to myself.
I leaned in next to Darry as Steve and Two-Bit arrived, running down in front of us.
"Well?" Steve asked, panting.
"They're removing the bullet, so we'll have to wait at least an hour," Darry explained to them.
Steve and Two looked defeated, so Steve sat down next to me while Two-Bit went off to walk somewhere, most likely going to hunt for some action.
I sat in that chair, hoping to just be left alone, but I never got what I wanted in life anyway.
A police officer walked up to the chairs and I looked up.
This officer had such blonde hair, that it looked almost white. He looked like a towhead.
He reminded me of Dally, and I nearly started to cry. Regardless, I pulled myself together.
"You're Sodapop Curtis, right?" he asked me. I looked at him and nodded uncertainly.
"Mind if we ask you a few questions? Your brother can come too, but non-family members will have to wait," he said, turning his head towards Steve.
I looked at Darry and muttered a yes.
The cop motioned for us to follow him, so we did just that.
He led us to an empty office room and offered me a seat.
I sat down, still holding Darry's hand, though not as tightly.
"Could you tell me how you got taken in the first place? And maybe also about what happened while you were kidnapped?" the cop asked me. I gulped and avoided eye contact.
"Yeah, okay…" I murmured, my voice barely audible.
And I told them everything.
About how the socs jumped us, about our captor, and about how we got out. It was kind of hard, but Darry was with me the entire time I talked.
The only thing I didn't talk about was our fight. I wasn't ready to explain what had happened then, much less to a random cop.
Anytime I mentioned something about me or Ponyboy getting beat up, Darry's grip got stronger. I didn't mind though. I was glad to have him with me.
The cop paid attention the entire time, scribbling down some stuff at random points. After what seemed like a bit, he put down his pen.
"Alright, thank you, you may go now," the officer told me. I stammered a thank you and left with Darry right behind me.
I walked out of the empty room and checked the clock. It had only been 30 minutes.
I groaned. I didn't want to wait any longer.
"We still have half an hour before Pony's done with his surgery…" I sighed, feeling defeated.
Darry put his hand on my shoulder.
"He'll be okay, Soda. I know he'll be. He's a tough kid, just like you," Darry told me, pulling me into a hug.
Darry sat down and invited me to sit with him. Not like I had anything better to do. I sat down and sighed. My mind floated back to the fight I had with Ponyboy.
His words stung and it felt like our fight had just happened. My mind became flooded with memories of our past arguments. Like the one we had yesterday.
The memory hurt like it was a wound that was still fresh. It felt like it was both forever ago and it had just happened. I snapped out of my trance to Darry saying my name.
"Soda, did you hear me?" he asked, getting slightly annoyed. I blinked and shook my head.
"I said, I know you're hiding something from me," Darry emphasized. I shot him a look.
"What do you mean, Darry?" I asked, already knowing I was busted. My nerves shot up.
"You know EXACTLY what I mean, Soda. You were holding something back in the office. Is it something the cop should know?" Darry informed me. Again, I shook my head silently.
"It's nothing, Darry, just lay off," I told him. Then I realized I sounded exactly like Ponyboy. (I'm getting deja vu.)
I took a deep breath and calmed down.
"Sorry, um… I didn't mean to snap…" I sighed, looking down.
"It's okay Soda, but I just want the truth. Really, that's all," Darry replied, looking me deep in the eyes. I gave him a small hug and took another deep breath.
"Ponyboy and I had a fight. When we were, um… Gone. He got angry because I lied to the soc who was holding us and said I was making noise when it was Ponyboy instead," I explained, keeping my breath steady.
Steve and Two-Bit had to go home because Two-Bit's mom was waiting for him and Steve had forgotten to close the DX. It was just me and Darry.
"That's why they were beating us up, but when I was brought back to Pony, he was mad." Darry squeezed my hand, listening deeply.
"How so?" he asked, subtly urging me to go on.
"He said he was angry because we weren't treating him like a real greaser, but like a baby," I continued.
I wasn't even thinking about how I was talking at this point, it was just flowing out of my mouth.
"When I tried to tell him that it was easier for us to feel pain like that, he let it all out…"
"What did he say?" Darry asked.
"That he was tired of everyone sacrificing themselves for him. Johnny, Dally, and now me.
"Ponyboy said that he wanted for once to be able to give something to us, that he could be the one to sacrifice, to be sacrificed for." Darry looked slightly shocked, but not as much as I was.
"I guess that does make sense, for Ponyboy even. Maybe he's right. Maybe we've been too protective of him. But we do it because we care," Darry said, reassuring me.
"I tried telling him the same thing…" I said, my voice trailing off.
Darry grabbed my hand and squeezed it.
"Soda, if he's gonna listen to anyone, it's gonna be you. You have a special bond with him unlike any other. Like how Dally did with Johnny. You can talk to him in ways nobody else can," Darry told me, smiling,
"And a bond like that can't ever be broken. You'll find a way, I know you will," he said. I wiped tears from my face and I hugged Darry tightly. But this time, they were happy tears.
Authors Note
I am so sorry it took so long to come out, but my mental health is kinda in the toilet. Don't worry, I'm still continuing the story! There's gonna be about two more chapters left before the fic is finished! I've been writing some Ponyboy-centric oneshots on the side and am gonna post them when they are done! I apologize for making you guys wait so long! Drink water, take care of yourself, and stay gold!
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