Ponyboy was quickly taken to the hospital as fast as his two brothers and sister could.
Bexley had been checked over and three of her ribs were definitely broken. She was told to not attend school for the next week and was advised to often put it against an ice pack to help it heal faster.
Ponyboy had been delirious for the last three days while he was in the hospital.
He would ask for his three siblings in his delirious and sick state.
Darry had found out that Bexley had passed out the day Johnny and Dally died and found out that Ponyboy was already feeling sick before the rumble.
Needless to say, Two-Bit was pretty torn up about the both of them.
Soda became furious when they learned that Ponyboy had suffered a concussion in the rumble from getting kicked in the head.
Bexley was still recovering from her injuries. Her ribs were her biggest injury.
However, she was punched very hard on her head and face. There were gonna be consequences from that.
Darry had called the school and let them know that Ponyboy and Bexley wouldn't be in school for the next week.
It was a wonder that Bexley hadn't also dropped out of school like her twin brother did. They were too much alike.
But Soda, as laid back as he could be, wouldn't let her do that. He knew that she wasn't dumb like he says he is.
When they would turn seventeen, Darry would let her get a job to help with the bills as long as she stayed in school until she graduated.
She was a junior like Two-Bit was. It was still surprising that an 18-year-old boy was still a junior in high school.
But Bexley and Ponyboy didn't mind it. Two-Bit was a good buddy to have.
Neither of the siblings left their youngest brother unattended while he laid in bed, sick, barely aware of his surroundings.
When it was Tuesday, Ponyboy had woken up.
Usually, the house wasn't quiet. Either the radio or TV would be turned on full blast or the gang would be rough housing. But today, it was.
Bexley had fallen asleep at the desk that sat beside Ponyboy and Soda's bed.
Ponyboy opened his gray-green eyes and looked around the walls and window of his bedroom.
For a moment, he couldn't figure out where he was for a moment.
Bexley rubbed her eyes and saw that Ponyboy was starting to wake up.
"Soda… Is somebody sick?" he asked weakly. "Yeah, somebody's sick. Quiet now," Soda answered quietly.
Bexley scooted the desk chair over to the side of the bed.
"You're gonna be okay, kiddo. Just go back to sleep," she said to him, brushing some of his short locks to the side.
Ponyboy turned his head to look at her. His face was pale and his cheeks were flushed with red.
Ponyboy had asked about Darry and wondered where he was. He asked if Darry was sorry that he was sick.
"He is, Pone. Now go back to sleep, will ya?" Soda answered, covering Ponyboy up with the blankets.
The youngest greaser closed his eyes and relaxed. Soda looked over at his twin sister.
"Bex, you oughta get some rest too. You're still recovering too," Soda said to her.
"I ain't tired, Soda," Bexley protested. "It wasn't really a suggestion. Besides, you were sleepin' in that chair," Soda replied.
"Was I?" she asked him. "Yeah, you were. Even Darry would tell you the same thing," Soda said, cracking his award-winning smile.
Bexley rolled her eyes at him and got up from the desk chair.
"Alright. You win, Soda. I'm just worried about our little brother," she said, rubbing her sore ribs.
"I know you are. But you know that Darry and I'll keep an eye on him," Soda said as Bexley laid down on her bed.
Bexley knew that very well. She fell asleep just as her head hit the pillow.
When she woke up next, she felt that her throat was dry. So she sat up and rubbed her eyes and yawned.
She looked over to her right and saw that Darry was asleep in his arm chair that's usually kept in the living room.
She got up and went into the kitchen to get some water to soothe her throat.
It warmed her to see Darry looking after Ponyboy while he's bed ridden.
They seemed to get along again since everything had happened.
She walked back into the bedroom and saw Ponyboy starting to wake up.
She set the glass down on the desk and sat back down in the computer chair.
"Hey, Pony," she whispered to him. Ponyboy looked over at her when she said his name.
"Hey..." he moaned tiredly. "How're you feeling?" she asked him, running a hand through his hair.
"Y-Yeah. You?" he asked, sounding as if he'd eaten sandpaper. "My ribs are still tender. Should be fully healed within a few weeks," she replied, rubbing her injured side.
"How come Darry's here?" Ponyboy asked, seeing their oldest brother.
"He called in for the next couple of days and he gave the school a call too," Bexley answered, leaning back against the chair with a tired yawn.
Ponyboy nodded carefully and turned over to wake Darry up.
"Hey, Darry. Darry, wake up," he said, shaking Darry by his knee.
The eldest Curtis stirred and opened his eyes. "Hey, how're you two feelin'?" he asked them.
"I'll manage, Darry," Bexley replied, rubbing her sore ribs.
"I'm okay," Ponyboy replied. During those three days, Ponyboy had no idea what had happened. He happened to be more awards and his mind was much more clear since he woke up.
"You had us scared to death, kiddo," Darry said, rubbing Ponyboy's hair away from his forehead.
"Why? What's wrong with me?" Ponyboy asked.
"I knew you weren't in any condition to be in that rumble. Bexley, you shouldn't have been in it either. You got a concussion. Two-Bit had told me what happened before the rumble about you being sick and Bexley passing out at the hospital. He was pretty torn up after that night," Darry explained.
"We all were," Bexley said with a sigh, looking down. Two-Bit had swore he wouldn't tell Darry, but guess he had to under the circumstances, so she couldn't be upset with him.
They remembered that Johnny and Dally were dead. Bexley sucked in a sharp breath.
"I'm gonna go outside for a smoke," Bexley said, feeling that she needed to get out for a minute before losing it in front of her brothers.
"Okay, don't leave the house," Darry said as Bexley walked out of the room.
She went outside on the porch and pulled out one of her cigarettes and lit it.
She couldn't bear to hear anything about Johnny and Dally.
Neither her or Ponyboy could bear it. Johnny didn't want to die.
Don't think that Dally had a mental breakdown in that hospital and wounded up dead on the street by the cops.
Don't think about how Johnny and Bexley liked each other more than friends.
Back inside the room, Pony wanted to scratch his head, but the bandages prevented him from doing so.
"When'd I get a concussion?" he asked. "You've been out for three days. You've been out since Saturday," Darry answered.
"You got it from getting kicked in the head. Soda saw it and he was all over that soc in a second. He would've whipped anybody in his way. He got ahold of the one that had Bexley too," Darry replied, leaning forward.
Soda had a killer look in his happy-go-lucky eyes. Neither one of them had ever seen Soda that mad in their life.
"You've been in the hospital. Been delirious since Sunday," Darry continued.
Ponyboy didn't remember being in the hospital at all.
"Darry... I'm never gonna make up the school work that I missed. Are we gonna be separated because of this?" Ponyboy asked.
"I don't know, Pone. I don't know..." Darry said, looking downwards.
Ponyboy rested his head on the pillow and he stared up at the ceiling. He hoped that they wouldn't be sent to a youth's home because of this.
They were a family. They didn't want to be separated; staying in a different bed in a stranger's house.
"What happened while I was in the hospital?" Ponyboy asked Darry.
"You kept asking for us. Mostly Bex and Soda. Sometimes even Mom and Dad," Darry replied, his stomach in a knot.
Ponyboy looked over at his big brother for a moment. He thought he could see tears in Darry's eyes.
Darry believed that Ponyboy wasn't calling for him.
"Where's Soda?" Ponyboy asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"Asleep, I hope. Thought he was gonna cut his throat shaving," Darry replied.
Then, Bexley came back inside after smoking her cigarette.
"You had to push Sodapop to bed like he had to do with me," she said, sitting down on the edge of Ponyboy's bed.
However, they were wrong when they all heard the sound of Sodapop's running footsteps coming towards the bedroom.
Soda appeared wearing nothing but jeans. "Bexie! Pony!" he exclaimed as he leaped for them, crashing into Bexley, making her groan.
"Soda! Ow!" she groaned, remembering her ribs.
"No rough housing, little buddy," Darry said, pulling Sodapop off of them.
"That hurt, Soda..." Bexley added, rubbing her ribs.
Sodapop calmed down around his twin sister and little brother and he sat down with them.
"How're you guys feeling?" Soda asked them.
"Yeah, I'm doin' just fine now that you jumped on me. My ribs were startin' to feel better," Bexley said, feeling her stomach growling.
Pony's growled as well. "Guess we're a little hungry," Ponyboy said, blushing with embarrassment.
Bexley was more hungry than Ponyboy was because she hadn't bothered to barely eat because of what had happened. It was the last thing on her mind.
Darry grinned a bit and stood up. "Thought you two might've been. You guys hadn't eaten in a little while. How does mushroom soup sound?" he asked.
Bexley's mouth instantly watered when he said that. "That sounds just fine, don't it, Pony?" Bexley asked. "Yeah, it does," Ponyboy agreed with a gently nod.
"Alright, I'll be back in a minute. Soda, take it easy with them, okay?" Darry said, pointing a finger at his kid brother.
"What'd you think I would do with them? Challenge them to a race or somethin'? Out of all of us, we know who'd win," Sodapop said with a grin.
Pony groaned when he realized that he would be missing his track meets. "Oh no. My track meets! That puts me out of every race. I won't be well enough for the meets. Coach is counting on me," Ponyboy groaned, closing his eyes.
"Aw, Pony, there's always next year," Bexley said.
Ponyboy was a great athlete. It took Darry a great deal of effort to keep Pony's athletic streak straightened.
"Guys? What did I say while I was delirious?" Ponyboy asked.
"You were talking about being back in Windrixville. You also kept saying that J-Johnny didn't mean to kill that soc," Bexley said, swallowing that large lump that was caught in her throat.
"Oh... did I ask for Darry at all?" Ponyboy asked unsurely.
"Yeah, you did. You asked for all of us. Even our parents. Even Johnny sometimes..." Soda answered, giving Ponyboy a strange stare.
"I... I thought maybe I didn't," Ponyboy said.
"You did, Pone. Don't worry about it now. We stayed with you so much that those doctors told us we would end up like you had we stayed any longer. We hardly got any sleep," Soda replied.
"Darry even tried getting me home, but like Soda, I'm as stubborn as he is," Bexley added, rubbing the back of her neck.
Soda and Bexley both looked physically worn out. They had circles under their eyes and looked tense, but tired.
"You look like hell, don't we?" Bexley asked, cracking a smile.
"Yeah, we hadn't slept for more than three hours since Saturday," Soda replied, stretching his aching body.
"C'mon, scoot," he said, scooting next to Ponyboy. Bexley got on the other side of Ponyboy and curled her legs in.
They were already asleep by the time Darry had returned with the soup.
/