Warning: Scenes of rape and attempted rape.

You have been warned.

This is an edited version of this chapter. Hopefully this is much better. Tell me what your thoughts are in the review section. If possible, give me some tips on how I can improve future stories.

(Bexley's POV)

(November 1965)

Two months have passed since that horrible week.

Everyone was trying to get their lives back in order.

But since Dally and Johnny died, nothing hadn't been the same nor was it easy.

Those papers that Pony and I wrote for our english classes had impressed our teachers.

They talked things over and were thinking of getting them published onto a single book.

Darry couldn't be more proud of us when he found this out.

Speaking of Darry, Pony and I have been getting along with him better.

What Soda said really opened our eyes.

Sure, we still had our problems but they were quickly resolved.

I was waiting for Pony to get out of his track meet by the locker rooms.

The reason I was still at school is because I had a test to make up that I couldn't get out of.

Two-Bit was supposed to pick us up half an hour ago but I guess he was getting drunk or picking up some girls.

Ponyboy had gotten out of track about 15 minutes later, got his shower, and ran up to me in his green T-shirt, blue jeans, and worn tennis shoes; looking tired from the run.

"You didn't have to wait for me, Bex." Pony said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

"If Two-Bit hadn't forgotten to come get us, then I wouldn't have to. You think Darry will have his head for this?" I said, slightly annoyed.

"Most likely." Pony said, looking around.

The sun was beginning to set, indicating that it was around 4:30.

"Let's get home. Darry's gonna be home soon." Pony said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"Alright." I replied.

While we were walking, I could feel the wind starting to pick up.

Pony was running his hands up and down his bare arms and he shivered, trying to warm himself up.

"I'm guessing you forgot your jacket again?" I asked, feeling my spine tingle.

"Yeah. Why don't I ever think to bring it with me?" Pony replied, his teeth chattering.

"Hey, you're not the only one. I'm getting chilly too." I replied, hugging myself.

Unlike him, I think to bring my jacket, my jean jacket, however, it's not enough to keep the cold out.

The two of us make half way down the lot, I could hear the rumbling of a car engine from behind us.

Instinctively, I looked over my shoulder. Nothing was there.

"What's the matter, Bex?" Ponyboy asked me.

"Um... yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Guess I'm just paranoid." I said, speeding up my pace a little bit.

I began thinking about how much Two-Bit is gonna get it when Darry finds out that he forgot to pick us up.

Don't get me wrong, Two-Bit is a good guy and Pony and I consider him like a brother but sometimes he's just gotta get his shit together sometimes.

He could get a job instead of always hanging around us all the time, I remember Pony saying that four months ago.

But Two-Bit is stubborn and doesn't want to listen half of the time.

Chances are that anyone will be at the house.

For one, Steve and Soda would be back at the drag races after leaving the DX, Darry would still be at work if we made it back before him, and Two-Bit, as I said, would be getting drunk somewhere.

That's Two-Bit for you.

Then, I hear that same car's engine again from behind us.

I can't help but freak out a bit. I look behind me again and this time, I'm not paranoid.

It was... a blue mustang.

The Soc's car...

"Ponyboy... they're back." I said, my voice shaky.

Ponyboy looked behind him and his eyes widened.

"You gotta be kidding me. Why are they here? We chased them out of our territory?" Pony groaned, keeping his eyes on the car.

"I don't know... But I don't like it." I said, feeling my heart pounding in my chest.

We managed to run into another alleyway, but the mustang continued to follow us.

Then, it pulled up in front of us.

Ponyboy doesn't hesitate to put me behind him as a way of protecting me, his arm stretched out a bit.

"What do we do?" I whisper to him.

"Remember to stay cool." he whispers to me, looking back at me slightly.

About five socs get out of the car, all stumbling out in a drunken stupor.

"They're drunk..." I whisper, my heart racing out of my chest.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? A couple of little greasers." the leader said, slurring his words.

Ponyboy kept his arm out in front of me.

"Why are you guys here? I thought we chased you out of our territory." Ponyboy spat.

I remembered that I was carrying a blade, and I was tempted to bring it out in case things went south.

The way the Socs were looking at us made my stomach knot up.

"I don't think you're in any position to talk, grease-ball." the leader said, throwing his alcohol filled flask at us, spilling the whiskey inside it.

The Socs started to surround us threateningly.

"All we want is a little bit of fun. That's all." one of them said, making eye contact with me.

I felt that Soc get closer to me, making me feel sick to my stomach.

"Bex, run..." Pony whispered, grabbing me by my hand.

We took off running but we were immediately caught.

I felt two sets of hands grab me by both of my arms tightly.

Pony was wrenched away from me by grabbing my jacket collar.

"No! Let him go, you bastard! Don't touch him!" I growled, struggling against the Soc's grip, but they were far stronger than I was.

He held a blade up to my neck threateningly.

I looked at Ponyboy, one held him with his arm behind his back.

A hand was covering his mouth so he wouldn't scream.

He had a look of terror written all over his face.

The soc holding Ponyboy put a blade against Ponyboy's throat.

"Don't you dare hurt him, you fucker!" I hiss, spitting in the Soc's face.

That Soc wipes his face and grits his teeth in anger.

He grabs me by my hair, yanks my head up, and holds the blade up to my throat, the cold blade sitting threateningly against it.

"I can't tell if that was wise of you, or just plain stupid. But I think you did the latter. How'd you like a nice haircut below the chin?" the leader Soc said, making my stomach turn.

Ponyboy went wild when this happened, he screamed, "Let her go! Don't hurt her!"

The leader Soc walked over to him, removing the blade from my throat.

He grabs Pony by the ears, slamming his face on Soc's knee as hard as he could.

"NO!" I screamed, struggling to get free from the Soc's holding me, "DON'T TOUCH HIM!"

Blood flowed from Pony's nose from the impact of the Soc's knee.

He looks over at me, a panicked look in his green-grey eyes.

The leader Soc gets in front of Pony, blocking my view from him.

"Take her away. I've got something else in mind for her." the Soc said sickeningly.

And that's what they did.

"Bex, no!" Ponyboy yelled in terror.

"Pony!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

The whole time, they were laughing as they dragged me behind a vacant building.

"Get off me! Get the fuck off of me!" I shouted, fighting to get loose.

They didn't listen to me.

They sucker punched me in the jaw so hard that it knocked me to the ground, making me drop my blade that I was carrying.

My lip was split and blood was trickling down my chin.

They held me down to the ground.

I felt the pebbles from the road stab my skin as I struggled more.

I began to get scared; more than I have ever been in my life.

What were they doing with Ponyboy?

How badly were they hurting him?

What were they planning on doing with me?

One of the Soc's gets on top of me and roughly turns me over onto my back, causing me to cry out in pain.

They grabbed me by my shirt and started to punch me in my face.

The punches were so vicious that it caused my nose to start bleeding.

I can't tell you how long the beatings went.

But I was in dire pain, crying loudly in desperation for them to stop.

When they did, they let me get up.

Everything hurt so bad…

I used the wall as support.

"Thought you were a good fighter, she-grease. Why don't you fight us?" the blonde haired soc.

It wasn't until the brown haired Soc had returned, his knuckles were bloody and bruised.

My stomach tightened in fear...

"What... what did you... do to him?" I groan, feeling every blow that was inflicted onto my body.

"Let's just say... your precious brother won't be able to save you this time." the leader chuckled.

My blood ran cold and I felt nauseous.

He can't be dead...

Oh god no...

"You... you bastard..." I spat angrily.

In my anger, I found the strength to take out my blade and ended up slashing the Soc on his cheek.

That was a mistake I wish I'd taken back.

"You little bitch..." the leader Soc scowled, wiping the blood from his cheek.

He then tackled me to the ground, making me cry out in pain.

The force of the fall made me drop my blade.

Two other Socs held my arms down to the ground so I couldn't fight back.

He raised his fist and I flinched, squeezing my eyes shut, expecting another punch.

However, the punch never came.

I felt the Soc's hand touch my cheek and he wiped some of the blood away from my nose.

The touch made me flinch violently; I didn't like it at all.

He smelled like aftershave and alcohol, nearly making me vomit.

"I never realized just how attractive you really are. And I remember you're quite the fighter. Now, why don't we see that beautiful body of yours under those clothes?" he whispered, leaning close to me.

His breath brushed across my neck, making me feel sick.

My stomach twisted in fear as I realized that this was the Soc I fought in the rumble.

Tears started to form in my eyes as I felt the Soc's lips against my neck.

"Please st-stop... Please don't do this..." I begged, willing him to stop what he was doing.

"Stop? Why would I stop? I'm just getting started. I'm gonna teach you some respect, girlie." the Soc said, his hands crawling up my shirt.

He took his blade and began cutting my shirt in an attempt to get it off.

Tears streamed down my face; the fear was overwhelming my body.

I wanted to fight, but my body wouldn't obey.

I then feel the Soc grope me on my breast, making me stiffen up in fear.

"She does have nice legs, yeah, Roy?" another Soc says.

"She sure does... Nice chest as well." Roy moaned, still touching me, running his palms on my skin.

'Someone help… Please.' I thought to myself, feeling my heart pounding hard in my chest.

"Don't be scared, she-grease… This'll be fun for me." Roy said, starting to remove my jeans.

That's when I went wild.

I started to kick and fight against that Soc since my arms were being pinned down.

"Darry! Soda! Pony! Help me! He-!" I sobbed out, knowing what their intentions were.

I felt a hand strike me on the cheek, making my head jerk to the right.

"You shut the fuck up... Right now." Roy scowled, putting a hand over my mouth.

I breathed very hard through my nose; my fear was palpable now.

The fight in me seemed to disappear at this moment in time.

Then, he started to unbutton my jeans and roughly pulled them down along with my underwear.

They were tossed aside so that I was half naked.

'No...! They can't do this!' I sobbed, hearing Roy unbutton his jeans and I see him remove them.

He flips me over onto my stomach roughly.

He pinned me down by holding my head down with his hand so I wouldn't move.

I started screaming and crying in panic.

His entire weight came down onto me and I felt him enter me with a hard thrust.

I screamed in full voice from the intense, horrendous pain...

Roy thrusted in and out of me hard while grunting and moaning.

"STOP! OH GOD! PLEASE, IT HURTS! STOP!" I begged, sobbing even harder.

He pushed into me with all his strength, making me wail from the agonizing pain.

After what seemed like forever, he pulled out of me.

It hurt so bad that I couldn't hold back a shriek of excruciating pain.

He then flips me over onto my back and says, "I've had a good time, she-grease. I hope to do this again."

He then forces a kiss on me that almost made me want to throw up.

He stands up and buttons his pants back up.

With a final kick, I was knocked out.

When I woke up, my entire body was smarting with agonizing pain.

I was laying on my right side in a freezing alleyway.

I couldn't fathom what had happened to me for a brief moment.

There were bruises all over my body, face, and my legs.

"Ow… wha…? What the hell…?" I moaned, feeling my entire body smarting like hell.

That was until I felt blood running down in between my bare legs.

That's when it all hit me...

I had been raped by that Soc...

I started to whimper in fear; my entire body was shaking.

The tears were coming down hard and I didn't even try to stop them.

I remembered what that soc had said, "I've had a good time, she-grease. I hope to do this again."

I curled up into a ball and hid my face from the entire world, trying to make myself as small as possible.

I wanted to be home, safe and sound with my three brothers.

Home is the only place I wanted to be right now.

I wanted to be in my bed under the warm covers.

Everything in my body hurt like hell, the burning sensation from Roy's rough thrusts.

Roy's touch was still there, his mouth crashing onto mine; the feeling made me shake.

I could hear them laughing at my misery, they didn't care that I was crying out for help.

They even hurt my brother to keep him from protecting me.

Oh god... I wanted my brothers so badly but I was too scared to even move.

Suddenly, I feel a pair of hands on me.

I freaked out the second they touched me, kicking and punching at whoever it was.

"DON'T TOUCH ME! GET AWAY FROM ME!" I screamed, terror in my voice.

"Bex! Bex, it's me!" Ponyboy's voice cried out.

When I saw him, I immediately broke down into tears.

He was covered in bruises and he had blood staining his face and nose.

He didn't hesitate to bring me into his arms.

"P-Ponyboy..." I sobbed, clinging onto him for dear life, burying my face in his neck.

"Shh... it's okay... I'm here..." he comforted, sounding like he was crying too.

"I wanna go home... Please..." I begged, scared out of my wits.

"Okay... okay. Let's go." he said, finding my underwear and jeans.

He didn't need to ask what happened to me...

He knew that I was raped.

When I pulled up my jeans, it only caused me more pain.

He then helped me to my feet, my arm wrapped around his shoulders.

Every step I took was agony; it was difficult to walk.

I could tell that Pony was hurting as well, his breaths were labored and pained.

"P-Pony?" I cried softly, "Don't tell Soda and Darry..."

"Why don't you want them to know...?" Pony softly asked me.

"I don't want them to hate me... they'll think..." I sob, feeling myself shaking even more, "They'll think I'm dirty..."

"Bex, they're not gonna think that! I don't think that way about you! You're our sister and we all love you." Pony says, holding me by my shoulders.

I bit my lip and tried stifling a sob.

(Ponyboy's POV)

(Ten minutes earlier)

"Take her away. I've got something else in mind for her." the Soc said sickeningly.

"Bex, no!"I yelled in terror, fighting the Socs holding my arms.

"Pony!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

I watched helplessly as they dragged Bexley off to god-knows-where.

My stomach twisted horribly at the thought of what they were gonna do to her.

"Don't hurt her! Please don't hurt her!" I shouted, trying to wring myself loose.

The soc holding me tightened his hold on me, making me cry out.

Tears welled up in my eyes in undeniable fear as the leader turned to face me.

The leader Soc punched me hard on my stomach.

I doubled over in pain and yelled out, immediately feeling sick.

They released me and I fell on all fours, coughing from the pain.

My instincts were telling me to go rescue my sister, I had to help her.

I quickly get up and tried to push past them but they pushed me back into the circle.

"Not so fast, Grease. I ain't through with you!" the leader Soc shouted.

One of his buddies grabbed me by the hair and yanked my head up so that I was forced to look at their leader.

"Try that again, greaseball, and I will not hesitate to kill that sister of yours. Don't think I won't. I plan on getting my revenge for her kicking my ass. It's my turn now. After I'm through with you, I'm going after her." he threatened, holding out a blade in a threatening way.

My heart is hammering in my chest, my stomach was churning.

The blood from my nose fell on my lips and on my shirt, making it hard to breathe.

Before I knew it, they were slugging me around.

I felt every punch, kick, and stomp from them.

With a final punch to my cheek, I fell to the ground face first.

"Leave him, boys. I got me a she-grease to take care of." the leader said, his voice muffled.

I closed my eyes and heard them walking away from me, just leaving me there.

"N-No… Bex… Don't hurt her…" I whimpered, my voice was no louder than a whisper.

I was only blacked out for a minute before I opened my eyes again, everything was all blurry.

It wasn't until I could hear distant sobs and screams from a couple of blocks away.

"Darry! Soda! Pony! Help me!" the voice cried in fear.

I knew straight away that it was Bex's voice; I started to cry.

I was feeling completely helpless…

I wanted to help her so damn badly, but every time I tried to get up, my arms would give out from underneath me and I collapsed to the ground again.

Then, her next shrill cry made my heart wrench horrendously, "STOP! OH GOD! PLEASE, IT HURTS! STOP!"

I could hear her cries and screams of pain, making me angrier by the second.

Those damn socs were hurting my sister!

"B-Bex… Oh god…" I panted in agony, every scream and wail seeped it's way into my brain.

About a few minutes later, although it felt like hours given the situation, I found the strength to get to my feet.

It did hurt when I pushed myself up to my feet, but I couldn't stay there; I had to help my sister.

Sniffling and crying, I felt my legs shake and I nearly fell on the ground, wincing from the pain.

Then, I heard the sound of those Socs coming in my direction so I quickly hid behind a tree so they wouldn't see me.

They were cheering and laughing about something, the leader Soc was most proud of what they had done.

"I finally got what I wanted, boys." he said, making me feel sick.

I also noticed that the leader had a long cut on his cheek; Bex had used her blade on him.

After they were out of sight, I continued limping in the direction of where Bex was.

When I did find her, my stomach lurched…

Her jeans and underwear that had been taken off of her; they were tossed to the side.

She was bleeding in between her legs, curled up in a tight ball, sobbing quietly with the occasional whimper.

No… they didn't…

I limped over to her, tears in my eyes.

My legs gave out from underneath me as I made it next to her.

I could see now that she was shaking.

When I touched her, she started to punch and kick me in order to defend herself.

"DON'T TOUCH ME! GET AWAY FROM ME! HELP!" she screamed in terror, her eyes squeezed shut.

"Bex! Bex, it's me!" I cried out.

She immediately registered my voice and looked at me, tears falling from her eyes.

She had blood on her face, one of her eyes was blackened from getting punched so many times.

The second she saw me, she broke down into tears.

I didn't waste another second and brought her into my sore arms, holding her close.

"P-Ponyboy…" she sobbed, clinging onto me.

Her face was buried in my shoulder.

"Shh… it's okay. I'm here now…" I whispered, crying too; I couldn't help it.

"I wanna go home… Please…" she begged me, completely terrified.

"Okay… let's go." I say, finding her underwear and jeans.

I knew right then what had happened to her; she had been raped by that fucking Soc.

After she got her jeans on, I wrapped her arm around my shoulders and helped her walk home.

Every inch of my body was hurting also, but I didn't care.

Bex had asked me to not tell Darry and Soda about what happened.

She was afraid of them hating her for what happened.

How could Bex think that Darry and Soda would hate her for this?

They wouldn't ever think that way about her.

I loved my sister and it killed me knowing that those Soc's had raped her.

I heard her screams of terror from where I was laying after those Soc's beat me up.

Every fiber of my being wanted to help her, save her from the horror that she experienced.

When Darry and Soda find out about this, there's gonna be hell to pay.

I pulled my sister into my arms and held her close to me.

She didn't hesitate to cling onto me again.

I heard her let out an anguished cry, breaking my heart...

We held onto each other there for a few minutes before I helped her to our house, which wasn't far away.

By the time we made it home, I could see that no one was home yet.

It was good because the last thing that we needed was to be questioned by everyone.

We walked into the house.

"Pony... I... I need to clean myself up." She said, trembling in fear.

"Okay... I'll be here if you need anything." I replied, letting her go.

I stayed close behind her to make sure that she didn't collapse to the floor.

She carefully shut the door behind her and turned on the water.

(Bexley's POV)

I shut the bathroom door behind me and locked it.

I then turned on the shower, and started to strip down.

My whole body was smarting with agony and I grimaced in pain as I pulled my cut shirt and jacket off of me.

After that, I took my bra off.

With a groan, I felt my chest ache, making it hard to breathe.

I bit my lip so hard that it started to bleed a little bit, and I slowly pushed my jeans down.

Right away, visions of Roy ripping them off of me, causing me to freeze in terror.

Tears fell from my eyes from both fear and pain as I pushed down my underwear.

When I bent down, I let out a gasp of pain; it hurt so badly…

I saw the bloodstains on the bottom of my underwear and let them fall out of my hands and onto the floor.

I stepped under the hot water and sank to my knees and hugged them to my chest.

As the water was hitting my bruised body, I felt another panic attack coming on.

I grabbed my ears and began rocking back and forth, crying and screaming my heart out.

After a few minutes, I was able to calm myself down.

I dressed myself and walked out of the bathroom and went to the bedroom.

(Pony's POV)

I went to sit down in the armchair, feeling myself getting emotional from earlier events.

I felt tears streaming down my face, unable to hold them back.

The sobs came and I covered my face with both of my hands.

At this point, I didn't care about my own bruises.

A few minutes later, I hear Bex's pained, wrenching cries coming from the bathroom, making me cry even more.

It hurt me something awful that this would ever happen and I couldn't protect her...

Bex had gotten out of the shower about five minutes later and she immediately went to our shared bedroom.

I couldn't help but follow her into the bedroom to find her under the covers, her back facing me, she was shaking vividly under the blankets.

Shortly after, I hear the door open and shut.

"Hey, is anyone home?" Soda called, making Bex stiffen up.

Her reaction to Soda's arrival made my heart squeeze; she's usually happy to know he's home.

"Pony? Bex? Are you guys home?" I heard Soda call, neither of us responded.

Then, I walked out of the bedroom, concern immediately took over when he saw the bruises on my face.

"Ponyboy, what happened? Are you okay?" Soda asked, inspecting the deep purple and blue bruises, "Where's Bexley?"

I sucked in a sharp breath when he said her name.

"We were... jumped." Pony said, sounding like he was on the verge of tears.

His eyes widened in horror as he knew who did this.

"I thought we chased the socs out of here..." he said, his face becoming paler.

"Soda... something bad happened to Bex..." I said, shaking from feeling sick.

I wanted to keep my promise to Bex to not tell our brothers about what happened.

"Pony, what happened? Tell me..." Soda asked me in a soft, caring voice.

It was at this moment that I couldn't bring myself to tell him.

"I can't..." I whimpered, not wanting to break Bex's promise.

Soda, being as stubborn as he was, didn't want to give up on trying to get to the source of the problem.

"Soda, she doesn't want to talk about it!" I said, grabbing at my brother's arm.

"Pony, I gotta check on her." Soda said, walking to our shared bedroom.

(Bex's POV)

I heard two sets of footsteps from the living room of the house, causing me to tremble in agonizing fear.

I pulled the covers up a bit over my head and curled up into a ball, squeezing my eyes shut.

The footsteps came into the bedroom.

I was terrified that it was the Socs coming back to hurt me a second time.

Then, I felt a strong hand on my shoulder.

I immediately freaked out, thinking it was the Soc that raped me.

I started kicking and screaming at my attacker, "NO, DON'T TOUCH ME! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!"

"Bex! Bex, it's Soda! It's alright!" Soda's voice called.

I jerked my head towards my brother and saw it was Sodapop.

When I saw it was him, tears were rolling down my face.

Soda looked at me with a look of concern written all over his face.

I closed my eyes and felt a broken sounding sob rack through my bruised and smarting body.

"Oh honey... C'mere..." my brother said as he brought me into his arms.

I pressed my body against him and sobbed into his chest, tears leaking out.

My hands turned into trembling fists into his shirt so I'd stay close to him.

I felt his hand stroking the back of my head and his other arm around my back.

He rocked me back and forth comfortly.

"Soda..." I whimpered, my tears staining his shirt.

He mentioned the Socs, which made me shake violently.

(Soda's POV)

My heart shattered to pieces when my little sister reacted like that.

What did those Socs do to her and Pony?

Looking over at Ponyboy, I saw the tears streaming down his face.

I could tell that it was hurting him just as much as it was hurting me.

"C'mere, honey." I said, bringing in my little brother into my arms so that I was holding both of my kid siblings.

I silently cursed the Socs; I can't believe that they didn't learn their lesson of staying out of our territory.

After a few minutes, my comforting actions had calmed them down.

They were able to fall asleep so I tucked them in and left the room to wait for Darry.

I figured while I waited, I would take a shower because work was hefty today.

When I went to the bathroom, something caught my eye.

Bex's clothes were still on the floor, her shirt looked like it had been cut with a knife.

I picked it up and inspected it; it had definitely been cut.

Her jeans were covered in dirt and were torn a little bit.

Then, my stomach jumped into my throat when I saw her underwear.

There was blood on them, it still looked fresh.

Why's there blood on her...?

I began to panic, something that I hadn't done in a while.

This wasn't blood that she gets every month.

The bruises that were on her and Pony, her clothes being torn up, her taking a shower immediately after coming home, freaking out when I touched her and reacting horribly when I brought up the Socs.

She wouldn't stop crying, both her and Ponyboy.

Did those Socs… do more than just beat her and Pony up?

Before I could investigate more, I heard her talking from the bedroom.

I immediately went back into the bedroom.

She was trembling and whimpering as if she was terrified of something that I couldn't see.

"No... No stop..." she said in her sleep, starting to move even more.

Her breathing intensified to hyperventilating.

She started kicking at something I couldn't see.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face.

I grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, causing her to start violently fighting me.

"Wake up! Bex, wake up!" I shout, not letting her go.

Pony woke up from the vicious movements.

"Bex?! Bex, what's wrong?!" Pony said in a panic, sitting up.

"She's having a nightmare!" I shouted, bringing her into my arms.

This caused her to fight me even more and she struggled to free herself.

"Pony, go get some water!" I order.

He didn't hesitate to run into the bathroom to get water.

Looking at her, her face full of fear, broke my heart.

I'd never seen her this distressed before.

Ponyboy then came back with a cup of water.

I take it from him and throw it in her face.

This seemed to do the trick because her eyes opened and she jolted awake with an anguished scream.

"Bex! Bex, look at me." I said, grabbing her by her shoulders so that she'd faced me.

She looked at me, terror in her green eyes.

"You were only dreaming, Bex. Pony and I are right here." I tell her softly, my hands on her hot cheeks now.

She didn't hesitate to throw her arms around my neck, trembling and sobbing.

I hugged her back close to me, protecting her from what she was facing.

Ponyboy hugged her from behind.

After a few more minutes, she pulls back and wipes her eyes.

"Are you okay now?" I asked, my hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah... Yeah I'm fine." she said breathlessly.

"Are you sure?" Pony asked.

"Yeah. I just... need to get some fresh air." she said, getting out of bed.

I watched as she made her way towards the front door, her entire body shaking.

(Bex's POV)

I had to get out of there.

That nightmare had shaken me up to where I don't even want to go back to sleep.

It scared me that badly.

I couldn't tell Soda what my dream was about...

I can't...

I couldn't tell him what the Soc's did to me.

My entire body was sore and it hurt to bend over to sit down.

I ended up grabbing a cigarette and lit it up.

With a trembling hand, I took a long drag to compose myself.

I had promised Darry that I'd cut down on my smoking, Pony did as well.

However, after all the shit that has happened, I needed one.

I don't know what to do.

Not long after, I see Darry pull up in his truck.

I was up to my feet in a heartbeat.

I watched him walk out of his truck and around it.

"Darry!" I cried, running up to him and hugging him tightly around the waist.

"Whoa there, kiddo!" he exclaimed, stumbling back a bit when I crashed into him.

I buried my face in his chest and inhaled his scent.

"What's gotten into you, kiddo?" he asked me.

"Sorry, Dar... It's just... I missed you. That's all." I replied, looking at my eldest brother.

He didn't hesitate to hug me back and he squeezed me, causing me to wince.

"Bex, you okay?" he asked, now concerned.

He took a look at my face and saw the blue and dark purple bruises on my face.

"What happened?" he asked, now inspecting the bruises.

My entire body shook when he touched my face.

He took my chin and turned my head side to side.

"It was the Socs... They... They..." I said, starting to sob.

"Bex, what did they do?" he asked, holding me by my arms.

That one gesture made me have a flashback of when the Soc's grabbed me.

"No, stop!" I yelped in panic and shoved Darry away from me, making his back collide with the truck.

Darry was shocked by my sudden action.

"Bex, I'm sorry… it's just…" he started, seeing that him grabbing my arms like that scared me.

Without another word, I took off running from my brother, the tears welling up in my eyes.

I had to get out of there.

"Bex, wait!" Darry called after me, but I kept running.

I didn't stop running until I made it to the lot.

I collapsed onto the ground, barely able to breathe.

Every part of my body was sore and I was hurting physically and mentally.

I could hear the voices of those socs in my head, I wanted them to leave...

Another panic attack creeped up onto me, causing me to grab my ears.

I rocked back and forth, the voices getting louder and louder.

'She has nice legs doesn't she?'

'Yes she does. Nice chest too.'

'I've had a good time she-grease. I hope to do this again.'

'Why don't we see that body of yours under those clothes?'

I squeezed my eyes shut and breathed heavily.

"Get out of my head! Get out!" I screamed, feeling their hands touch me again.

I felt that Soc force a kiss from me, his breath tasted of alcohol.

"IT HURTS! STOP IT!" I screamed, sobbing hysterically.

I felt numb all over…

Those Socs took my innocence away.

They took the one thing that I'm never ever gonna get back.

Then, something made me look up, tear stains in my eyes.

In front of me, was a beautiful sunset.

Slowly, I let my hands drop from my ears.

It was a mix of dark blue, purple, and rays of orange and yellow.

The sun made it glow.

It reminded me of when Pony, Johnny, and I were in Windrixville and we looked at that sunset.

That poem that Pony had told us started to play in my head...

I remembered it word for word.

Nature's first green is gold

Her hardest hue to hold

Her early leafs a flower

But only so an hour

Then leaf subsides to leaf

So Eden sank to grief

So dawn goes down to day

Nothing gold can stay...

Ever since I first heard it, it has always stuck with me.

There was something about it that was beautiful to me.

And I understand it...

I feel myself starting to cry again, tears welling up in my eyes.

I didn't stop them when they spilled over.

For some reason, I didn't feel worthy enough to say it let alone think it.

I hugged myself and shivered.

I stood back up and decided to make my way back home.

The one place where I know that I'm safe.

Safe with my brothers.

By the time I made it, I felt my heart pounding in my ears.

Why was I scared to face them?

When I opened the door, my brothers were waiting on me in the living room.

"Bex, what happened to you? Why'd you run off like that?" Soda asked, standing up from the couch.

He approached me and carefully hugged me.

"I'm sorry... I needed some air." I replied, hugging him back.

"Please don't do that again. You scared us to death." Darry said, coming up to hug me.

Then Pony came up, we all did our famous group hug for a few minutes.

Later on that night, I didn't sleep.

I was afraid of having that nightmare again. I didn't want to see it...

I was terrified of telling Darry and Soda...

Pony is the only one who knows what happened...

Even if he said that they wouldn't hate me for opening up, I didn't believe it.

I hated myself for letting it happen, I could've fought just a little bit harder.

Angry tears rolled down my cheeks, I felt agitated with myself.

I peeled myself out of bed as quietly as I could and went on the front porch.

The night felt chilly, but it was fine.

I curled up into a ball, my knees were tucked into my chest as I started rocking back and forth.

A few minutes later, I hear a set of familiar footsteps coming my way.

The screen door opened loudly.

"Bex? What're you doing out here?" Soda asked, getting me to look up.

"I didn't want to wake you guys up... I know you've got work in the morning." I answered.

"It's nothing to worry about. You know that I like to sleep in." he replied, sitting next to me.

We sat in silence for a few minutes.

He then said something that made my heart stop.

"Bex, I found your clothes in the bathroom. Your shirt was torn up and your underwear had blood in it. And it's not blood that you get every month." he said, making my face lose all color.

He touched my back with his hand, causing me to flinch a little bit.

"Bex, tell me what happened with the Socs. What did they do to you?" he asks me quietly.

I didn't respond, letting a few tears fall without looking at him.

"Please, tell me." he tells me, rubbing careful circles on my bruised back, "This isn't you, Bex. I can see that something is wrong."

I started to shake, hugging myself even tighter.

"I... I can't... Soda..." I whimpered, looking away with my eyes shut.

"How come?" he asked in concern.

"I don't want you guys... to hate me." I reply in a small voice.

"Bexley Lynn Curtis, don't say that. We'd never hate you." Soda scolded.

I knew that he wasn't doing it to be mean, he was worried for me.

"You would if you knew." I said, letting the words come out of my mouth unwillingly.

"No, we wouldn't and you know that. Please... tell me..." he begged.

Knowing Soda, he wouldn't stop asking unless he got to the bottom of said issue.

I broke down into tears, letting them fall.

"Soda..." I cried softly, covering my face with my hands.

"I... I... I was..." I stammer, my chest starting to ache.

"I was... raped..."

Everything went quiet.

The air in the room ceased to exist.

When I looked back at Soda, he had a look of unspeakable horror on his face.

"Who did it?" he asked, tears filling up his eyes.

"The Socs... Their leader raped me when Pony and I were jumped. They beat him up so that he couldn't help me..." I sobbed, remembering what had happened.

Looking at my older brother, he looked as if he was gonna be sick.

"Oh god no... Oh god, Bex!" he said, starting to cry himself.

I didn't wait another second before I hugged him around his neck.

Instantly, he hugged me back.

I feel one hand on the back of my head and the other around my back.

He started to sob, not letting me go even for a second.

I let him hold me close, my hands were clenched onto his shirt.

"It hurt so bad, Soda… It still hurts… They hurt me so badly…" I cried into his chest, letting my tears soak his shirt.

His entire body tensed up when I spoke; he was distressed about what happened.

"I'm not gonna let them hurt you ever again... I promise..." he whispered to me, making me cling to him even more.

Soda continues to hold me until I started falling asleep.

He carried me in the house bridal style, keeping a good hold on me.

The next morning, I woke up in my own bed.

The covers were pulled up to my chin.

Soda wasn't in the bed with me.

Pony was asleep next to me, his arm wrapped around my waist.

Peeling myself from under his arm, I got out of bed to go to the bathroom but stopped when I heard voices on the other side of the door.

When I pressed my ear up against the door, I learned the voices belonged to my brothers, Steve, and Two-Bit.

"Soda, what did she tell you? You gotta tell us, man." Steve asked, sounding actually concerned.

Steve doesn't usually get worried about either Pony or me so I found this odd.

"Guys... she was..." Soda sobbed, finding it hard to speak.

He was sobbing from the sounds of it.

"Tell us what happened, Soda." Darry said in a demanding voice.

I could easily tell that Darry was bothered by the lack of a response.

"Bex was raped by those Socs! Okay?!" Soda snapped.

My heart sank to my stomach and I paled visibly...

"Are you serious, Soda?" Two-Bit asked shocked.

"She told me what happened last night... They beat up Pony so he couldn't help her." Soda sobbed, his voice muffled.

My heart shattered and I felt myself starting to cry again, covering my mouth to stifle it.

"I'm gonna kill those sons of bitches..." Two-Bit snarled, sounding extremely pissed.

I didn't want to hear anymore...

I collapsed down on the side of the bed, pulled my knees up to my chest, gripped my ears, and started rocking back and forth.

Another panic attack was taking over, I couldn't help it.

Not a few minutes later, I hear Pony get off the bed.

He doesn't waste a second to help me through the attack.

"They all know... They all know..." I say, sobbing quietly.

"It's alright, Bex... I've got you... It's gonna be alright." Pony said soothingly in my ear.

I buried my face into his chest and bawled my eyes out.

Then, I hear a soft knock at the door.

"Bexley? Ponyboy? Can you open up? We need to talk." Darry said gently so as not to frighten me.

"Do you want to see them, Bex?" Pony asked me quietly.

I hesitated for a moment before I nodded.

"Come in." Pony said for me.

The door opens and I hear the loud squeaking of the hinges.

I looked up at Darry, Soda, Two-Bit, Steve.

Darry and Soda came over to me and dropped down to my level.

"Bexley..." Darry said, taking a deep breath in an attempt to stop his tears but they came anyway.

I couldn't help but hug my eldest brother tightly.

He held onto me around my waist.

"Guys... help me... Please... HELP ME!" I begged tearfully,

My voice was filled with so much torment that it broke the hearts of everyone in the room.

"You're safe now, baby. It's alright now." Darry said quietly, stroking my hair gently.

Pony and Soda hugged me from behind.

"We'll make these bastards pay for this..." Two-Bit said, rage lingering on his voice.

"Why didn't you tell us, Bex?" Darry said softly in my ear.

"I was scared..." I said while shaking.

"How come?" Darry said, placing his hand on my hot cheeks.

I looked at the concerned looks on their faces, tears falling from their eyes.

"Of you guys hating me..." I replied, more tears falling over..

"Oh honey... we'd never hate you..." Darry said softly yet comfortly.

It boggled his mind that I'd ever think that way, but I couldn't help it.

"Bex, we all love you... We'll be here for you no matter what." Soda said, hugging me again.

"We're never gonna hate you, Bex." Pony said.

I couldn't help but break down into tears.

My heart knows they're right; I knew they loved me very much.

I was still feeling very ashamed of myself.

I could hear Ponyboy starting to cry too.

"It'll be alright now..." Soda said to us.

It wouldn't be, never again.

(A Week Later)

I really needed to get out of the house for a little while to clear my head.

Darry wanted me to stay home but I needed to get some fresh air.

But he wouldn't let me go alone.

Soda got called into work despite it being his day off.

Two-Bit, Pony, and I went down to the Dingo, then we went to the Dairy Queen to grab a bite to eat.

It was all fun until we went down to the store to get a couple of pops.

Two-Bit went to buy cigarettes.

Steve was at work with Soda.

Ponyboy was using the bathroom.

The cashier wasn't anywhere in sight so it was just me in there with Two-Bit.

I was biding my time browsing around the store to see what there was.

It didn't take me long to spot the magazines, some of which were interesting.

One that caught my eye was a magazine titled, 'BEATLES ON BROADWAY."

I picked up the magazine with both hands and scanned the front cover.

It was of the New York City skyline with the heads of the members of the Beatles above it.

They weren't my favorite group when it comes to music but they got a couple of songs I love.

I couldn't help but smirk in amusement.

I got so caught up in the magazine that I didn't hear someone walk behind me.

It wasn't until I felt a strong, heavy hand touch me on my shoulder.

I instantly froze in fear and my heart started beating faster in my chest.

"What do we have here?" a familiar voice said close to my ear.

The magazine fell out of my hand, my breath was hitched in my throat, and my knees felt weak.

"Been looking for you, greaser girl." that voice said as he shoved me around.

"No! Get away from me! Get away!" I cried hysterically, "Please don't hurt me! Help!"

Tears ran down my face and I squeezed my eyes shut in fear.

I pushed the guy away from me hard, and scrambled away from him.

"Hey, don't touch her!" Ponyboy and Two-Bit yelled, rushing over after hearing me scream for help.

"Hey, I didn't-" the voice started but Two-Bit weren't having a bar of it.

"Pony, take her outside. Now." Two-Bit said, keeping a hateful glare.

Ponyboy kept his arm around my back as we walked out of the store.

(Two-Bit's POV)

I waited for Pony and Bex to leave the store.

Anger filled my entire body when I saw Bex getting grabbed by Tim, who just happened to be in there with us.

I glared at Tim, shooting daggers from my eyes.

"Look, Two-Bit, I didn't-" Tim started but I didn't let him finish.

"Tim, why the hell'd you do that?!" I growled, pushing him back roughly with both hands.

"All I did was grab her shoulder. I didn't think she'd freak out like that!" he said, shaking his head in confusion.

"Bex has every right to freak out like that, Tim! She was raped by a damn Soc last week after she and Ponyboy were jumped!" I shouted, still glaring at him.

He was struck silent, not finding the right words for what happened.

After a moment of silence, he had this sympathetic look in his eyes.

"Oh… I didn't know, man." Tim said, looking at his shoes in guilt.

"Well, now you know. Don't do that ever again, ya hear?" I tell him, my voice on edge.

Tim didn't say anything else after that.

"You… you should go check on her." Tim said.

I turned around and left the store; I figured that Tim's guilt would be enough punishment.

(Pony's POV)

Bex was still shaking and crying in my arms after we walked out.

She was more scared than I have ever seen her this week.

We were both trying so hard to recover after what happened.

She buried her face in my shoulder and clung to me tightly, her fingers dug into my jacket.

Her heavy sobs were bringing that same pain back that I felt the day when it happened.

I'm just haunted that I was beaten to where I couldn't help her.

My heart squeezed and I felt sick that they were hurting her…

Those screams, her cries, I wanted to help her so badly.

Those Socs have gone too far this time.

They're gonna pay for this.

Then, I heard the door to the store open, getting me to look up.

Two-Bit walked out, having an angered look on his face.

"What happened, Two-Bit?" I asked, looking up at the rusty haired greaser.

"Gave Tim a good scolding. I told him what had happened. Let him wallow in his own guilt." Two-Bit said, kneeling down in front of us.

When he tried comforting her, she flinched violently and whimpered in fear.

"Let's get her home. Darry'll want to hear about this." Two-Bit said, seeing just how scared my sister is right now.

I nodded and looked down at Bex.

"Bex, we're going home... Okay?" I softly tell her, rubbing her back comfortly.

She had her fingers dug into my jacket the whole time we walked home.

Two-Bit stayed with us the whole way home just to make sure we got home safely.

Darry's truck was sitting in front of the house, showing that he was home.

Two-Bit was the first to walk in the house with Bex and I behind him.

"There you guys are. I was wondering where-" Darry started but stopped.

He quickly noticed the distraught and panicked look on Bex's face.

Darry said, "Two-Bit, what happened?"

"We ran into Tim at the store. He didn't realize that... " Two-Bit answered, restrained from saying, 'that Bexley was raped .'

Darry went up to hug us and said, "Don't worry… Everything's fine now. You guys are home and safe."

Bexley let go of me and ran up to Darry, hugging him tightly around his waist.

I didn't see Soda anywhere; he wasn't home from work yet.

Darry hugged Bex gently as to not scare her even more than she already was.

I heard her crying brokenly into Darry's chest, my heart shattered again.

How could those socs do this…?

It was bad enough that they jumped us for the pleasure of it, but actually committing a sickening act like this?

It was too damn far...

He then picks her up and sits her down on the couch.

"Bex, can you tell me what happened?" he softly asked, kneeling down so he was at her eye level.

She shook her head quickly in panic, gasping softly.

"It's okay, it's okay. I won't be mad. Just tell me what happened." he softly spoke.

(Bex's POV)

I didn't want to tell him what happened.

I was terrified...

I didn't care if it was only Tim who touched me, I was still scared that he was Roy.

It put me back in that mindset that I didn't want to go back to.

I feel myself starting to shake badly from sheer terror.

I couldn't breathe...

It was as if my lungs were closed up so that no air could come in.

My chest started to hurt, causing me to grip my ears and rocking back and forth with whimpers.

When I closed my eyes to block out what was in front of me, it didn't block out the flashbacks.

I saw visions of when I had been raped, I heard my screams of pain and terror, I heard Roy moaning so loudly, I even felt his mouth invading mine.

I shook my head and sobbed in distress; I wanted all of that to go away.

"Bex, take it easy now. Breathe for me." Darry said, knowing that I was having a panic attack.

I've had them mostly when our parents died, when I'm in a stressful situation, or if I have nightmares.

I tried to breathe but I wasn't able to.

"Do you want some water?" Darry asked, to which I nodded.

My throat had become suddenly dry.

"Pony, get some water from the kitchen." Darry asked.

Ponyboy does so while Darry stays with me.

He sat down on the couch with me.

"It's alright, Bex. You can get through this. Take deep breaths." Darry spoke to me calmly, rubbing my back in gentle circles.

I closed my eyes and sucked in a breath carefully.

"There you go. Keep doing that." he tells me.

I slowly started to feel myself calm down the more I breathed in.

"Here." Ponyboy said, holding out a glass of water.

I took the glass, my hands shaky, and started to drink it.

"You feeling better?" Darry asked me.

"Y-Yeah... I'm okay now. Sorry for freaking out like that." I apologized.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for, Bex. You got nothing to be sorry for." Darry assured me, hand on my shoulder, "You don't have to tell me what happened."

I looked at him and saw the assuring look on his face.

I felt safe with my brothers.

Even with Two-Bit and Steve.

"C-Can I go to bed?" I asked, suddenly feeling tired.

"Of course you can, kiddo." Darry replied.

I pushed myself up to my feet and walked to the bedroom, shutting the door behind me.

(Ponyboy POV)

I watched as Bex went into our shared bedroom.

I didn't want to be in there with her unless she wanted me to.

"Pony, what's wrong?" Darry asked me, seeing the look on my face.

"I'm sorry, Darry… I'm still shaken up." I spat, feeling angry with myself.

I sat down in the armchair, my hands on my face.

Darry knew what I was talking about and knelt down in front of me.

"Ponyboy, you two aren't at fault here." Darry assured, it didn't help me.

"I feel lousy though. If I had been carrying a blade, none of this would've happened…" I say, feeling more angrier by the second.

"It's alright, Pone. We're gonna help her get through this. We're gonna make sure that she's safe." Darry assured me, rubbing me on my shoulder.

I knew my eldest brother meant well, but I wasn't feeling at all assured by what he was saying.

"Darry, I... I need to go outside. Just for a little bit." I said, feeling the need to have a cigarette.

"Alright, Pony. I'll be in the kitchen if you guys need me." Darry said, squeezing my shoulder.

I nodded at him and headed outside onto the front porch.

I sat down on the front porch and lit a cigarette with shaky hands.

It helped me calm down a little bit.

I couldn't get what happened out of my head, seeing Bex in her terrified state...

After an hour, I saw Steve pull up with Soda in the passenger seat.

Soda got out of the truck after saying bye to the friend he's known since grade school.

Soda walked up to the house and immediately spotted me sitting on the front steps, cigarette in between my fingers.

"Hey, Pone." he greeted me with a smile.

"Hey, Soda." I replied, sounding a bit distant.

His face instantly changed from happy to disquiet, noticing my tone.

"Pony, what's wrong?" he asked, walking up to me.

I bit my fingernails and looked away, a sign that something was bothering me.

"Pony?" Soda asked again, sitting down next to me.

"Something... happened today while we were at the store." I said, feeling my heartbeat quickened.

Soda tensed up and he sucked in a sharp breath, "What happened? Is Bex okay?"

"We ran into Tim Shepard while we were in the store. She thought it was the soc that had..." I stopped, unable to say the word.

"What? What did Tim do?" Soda asked, his voice on edge.

"He had a hold of her shoulder. Two-Bit and I had to push him away. Two-Bit scolded him, leaving him with the guilt. She had another panic attack, one worse than the last one." I said, my stomach tightened to a very uncomfortable level.

Soda clenched his fists tightly and looked like he was trying to suppress his anger.

Soda rarely gets angry about anything.

"Soda?" I said, my hand on his back.

He took a deep breath and said, "I'm fine. Gnh... I'm fine. Gimme a minute."

I knew that he was just as shook about what happened as the rest of us were.

I finished my cigarette and stomped it under my foot.

It was getting late and I decided that I would go to bed.

But first, I wanted to see if Bex was sleeping okay without any nightmares.

But I couldn't be more wrong about that.

When I walked into the bedroom and I saw her laying on her bed, facing away from me and under the covers.

Soda had decided to stay outside to compose himself from the events that went down.

I sat down on the foot of her bed as carefully as I could and watched her sleep for a few minutes before going to my own bed.

I'd be here for her if she ever needed me.

(Sodapop's POV)

I woke up with a start.

Looking at the clock, it was around 2 in the morning.

I had finally gone to bed at around 11 pm after having a cigarette.

I rarely ever smoke but I had to have one because of what Ponyboy had told me.

I was angry at the Soc for what he did, and Tim didn't make it any better for us.

I heard the ruffling of the sheets from Bex's bed, getting me to look up at her.

I waited a moment before hearing a scared whimper from Bex.

Turning on the nightstand lamp, I accidentally woke up Pony because he was facing it.

"Huh? Soda? Why'd you turn on the light? I'm trying to sleep..." Ponyboy asked, his voice heavy with sleep.

"Shh, quiet." I shush him, looking over at Bex.

I saw that her face was twisted in fear, she started to move frantically as if she's trying to escape something that we couldn't see.

She looked really pale and had broken out into a cold sweat.

Her fists were gripping onto the sheets and she was breathing erratically.

There were tears running down her face accompanied with a panicked sob.

"She's having another nightmare." I said, slightly panicked.

Both Pony and I jumped out of bed and went over to her bed.

I kneeled down in front of her and carefully touched her, causing her to scream at the top of her lungs.

"NO! GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME! DON'T TOUCH ME!" she screamed in sheer terror, starting to fight me, "DARRY! SODA! PONY! HELP ME!"

I felt my heart shatter when she screamed like that.

Darry had heard her screams because he was in our room in a second.

"What's wrong?!" he asked us in a confused voice.

"Bex's having a nightmare." Pony said to him.

Darry had a look of concern in his blue eyes.

He never liked it when her and Pony had nightmares like this.

Darry kneels down next to me and grabbed her shoulders gently, getting her to thrash around even more.

"PLEASE NO! I DON'T WANT TO! PLEASE!" she screamed.

"Bex, wake up." Darry said, shaking her a little bit.

She shook her head frantically, more tears poured from her eyes.

"Bex, please wake up." Darry said, shaking her a bit harder.

Her eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly.

She was still scared to death and she looked around the room, her eyes bugged out.

When I tried to touch her, she let out a startled yelp and backed up into the wall.

When I touched her again, she didn't jump or move away.

She grabbed onto my sleep shirt and pulled herself to me.

She sobbed hysterically into my chest, her tears wetting my shirt.

I held her close to me, my arms wrapped around her, protecting her from whatever she was scared of.

Pony crawled closer over to her and I brought him into my embrace.

Darry got closer and rubbed her back in an attempt to comfort her.

She jumped when he touched her but didn't pull back from him.

"It's alright, Bex. It was only a dream." I whispered to her soothingly.

What she said next made me hug her even tighter, "It wasn't a dream... it was real..."

Tears fell from my own eyes when she uttered those words.

I held onto my kid siblings for another twenty or so minutes before Bex composed herself.

She pulled back from me along with Ponyboy.

She wiped her eyes from the last remaining tears.

She took a deep, shaky breath before looking at me, Darry, and Ponyboy.

"Are you okay, Bex?" Darry asked, talking in a voice that we don't hear from him often.

"Yeah... yeah... I'm fine." she said, glancing down at the messed up sheets in front of her.

She was still kinda pale and her hands were trembling.

"Are you sure?" I asked her.

She nodded but didn't look up at any of us.

"Bex, do you remember what it was about?" Ponyboy asked, already knowing what the answer was.

"Umm... I..." she stuttered, unable to speak.

That nightmare had scared her to the point where she couldn't speak.

"Do you want to sleep in our bed?" I asked softly.

She nodded at me.

"Alright, if anything else happens, holler for me, okay?" Darry said softly, getting her to nod again.

Darry squeezed her shoulder before heading back to his own bedroom.

Bex snuggled under the blankets in between Pony and I.

She scooted closer to me and felt around for Ponyboy to make sure that he was there.

He took her hand and held it gently, reassuring her.

I throw an arm around them, feeling her shake underneath me.

"Bex, are you sure you're okay?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah. I'm fine." she replied, stubbornly.

She was stubborn when she wanted to be, a true Curtis.

But I decided not to push her.

She's been through a lot and I don't want to stress her out.

(Bex's POV)

Not long after, I heard the light snoring of Soda in my ear.

I swear sometimes that they have narcolepsy and fall asleep almost instantly.

But I didn't sleep, too afraid that that same damn nightmare would come back.

I was feeling even worse now.

I knew that it wasn't a nightmare that I had.

It really happened to me.

Not a million showers could take away the pain and dirtiness that I carried with me.

The words of those Socs were still replaying in my head; I couldn't make them stop, no matter how hard I tried.

My brothers figured out instantly what my nightmare was about.

And I hated it; I hated that I let this happen to me.

It was my fault, all of it.

I stayed awake for another few hours before deciding that I should fall back asleep.

I would've gotten up to smoke but I was wedged in between my brothers so I couldn't really go anywhere.

Luckily, I didn't dream for the rest of that night.

The next morning, I could smell someone cooking eggs in the kitchen.

Darry was the first one out of bed.

Sodapop was still asleep, holding me in his arms still.

Ponyboy had his back turned towards me while he slept.

I moved Soda's arm so I could get out of bed.

I walked into the kitchen.

My stomach growled at the scent of eggs.

"Hey, kiddo. How are you feeling this morning?" Darry asked me.

"I'm fine." I distantly said, sitting down at the table.

That was a lie, I wasn't okay.

"You hungry? You haven't really eaten anything all this week." Darry said, making me tense up a bit.

"It's okay, Darry." I reply, crossing my arms on the table.

"You want some eggs?" he asked, to which I nodded.

He knew how to make my eggs, putting white country gravy on them.

"Soda and Ponyboy still asleep?" he asked, setting my plate down in front of me.

"Yeah. They didn't budge when I woke up." I answered, picking up my fork to eat my food.

"I'll go wake them up. You focus on eating." Darry replied, walking out of the room to wake my other brothers up.

I was left alone at the dining table, picking at my food with my fork.

I started to eat my food but felt nausea quickly overwhelm me.

It didn't surprise me that I wasn't able to hold my food down.

I grew pale and I felt lightheaded.

Heaving dryly, I leaned onto the table and closed my eyes tightly.

I felt so sick that I didn't hear my brothers walk into the kitchen.

The second I felt a hand touch my back, I freaked out.

I turned around so sharply that I almost fell out of my chair.

"Bex! What's wrong? You're not looking good." Sodapop said in concern, kneeling next to me.

My breathing was erratic, my heartbeat was going a million miles a minute.

I was definitely gonna be sick and rushed to the bathroom before I got it on the floor.

Pushing passed my brothers, I made a dash for the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

I collapsed in front of the toilet and threw up all the contents in my stomach.

The whole time, my stomach lurched and I felt tears running down my face.

"Bex? Are you alright?" Soda asked, knocking on the door.

"Go away! Please... Leave me alone." I begged, wanting to be alone for a few minutes.

He seemed to get the hint and I heard them walking into the living room.

I knew that they wanted to help me but I just wanted to have a few minutes to myself, and I'm glad they respected that.

A sick burning feeling rose in my throat and my stomach burned something awful.

I pressed my forehead against the toilet seat.

I hugged my stomach with one arm tightly and gasped for air.

It seemed like an eternity before the nausea finally passed.

I opened the door after flushing the toilet and walked out.

With my stomach still feeling a bit sour, I couldn't finish my breakfast despite me being hungry.

Soda was the first to notice me walk out.

He walked over to me and immediately embraced me.

Darry and Ponyboy were quick to join him.

I felt more calmer with my brothers hugging me, especially after that little episode.

"What happened there?" Darry asked, rubbing my back to reassure me.

"Sorry for scaring you guys. It was that nightmare..." I said, leaning against Soda's chest.

"Don't worry about it, sissy. How about we go down to the moviehouse to see a movie? It should help you take your mind off of things?" Darry suggested.

"But, don't you guys have work?" I asked, looking at them.

"Nope, we're both off for the next couple of days. Not to mention Pony here has got his first track tournament tomorrow." Soda said, a hint of excitement in his voice.

Truth be told, I was actually looking forward to Pony's track tournament.

With everything that has happened this past week, it made me forget.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Yeah, let's go. Hopefully, I can get it all off my mind." I said, giving them a smile.

"There's that award-winning smile that we've been looking for." Soda said, ruffling my hair.

"We've missed it a lot." Ponyboy said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

I couldn't help but chuckle at their affection.

"Alright, it's settled. Let's get ready." Darry said, giving my hair another ruffle.

"Would you guys stop messing up my hair?" I pout, getting them to laugh.

We all got ready to go to the moviehouse.

I dressed myself in a grey Donald Duck shirt that was faded out, my faded blue jean jacket and some blue jeans.

After fixing up my hair, I looked at myself in the mirror.

I didn't realize just how pale I was, dark circles were around my eyes.

We all agreed that doing something together would definitely be good for me.

Ponyboy was still shaken up by that horrible event so it'd be good for him too.

I even asked if Steven and Two-Bit would come with us, so we could hang out as a gang.

Steve unfortunately had to work at the DX.

Two-Bit had to stay with his kid sister because she was sick.

That was alright though.

I wasn't at all bothered about it.

We got in Darry's truck and we made it to the moviehouse.

On the way there, I saw cars from the Socs drive by.

Needless to say, seeing them put me through a state of paranoia.

Pony sensed this and held my hand.

I squeezed it back, feeling a bit reassured.

All I wanted was to spend time with my brothers and have fun with them for a few hours.

It wouldn't hurt nothing, right?

I was proven wrong.

Since last week, I have been behind on my schoolwork.

My teachers were understanding because of what happened.

They said they wouldn't drop a grade.

That relieved me a lot.

We went see the movie El Dorado, the old western movie that had John Wayne in it.

I was a big fan of John Wayne's movies.

I sat through about half of it before I had the sudden urge to the bathroom.

"Hey, I'll be right back." I whispered to my brothers.

"Where are you going?" Soda asked in concern.

"Just to the bathroom." I answered, standing from my seat.

"Do you want one of us to come with you?" Darry asked.

"I'll be fine, Darry. Promise" I replied, feeling confident that I can go on my own.

"Please be careful, okay?" Ponyboy said, giving me a pleading look.

"Don't worry. I will." I say with a smile.

I said that I'd holler if anything happened.

I turn around and head in the direction of the bathroom, unaware that I was being followed.

When I got through with the bathroom, I walked out and started to head back in the direction of the theater that our movie was playing.

But I suddenly felt a heavy hand touch my shoulder, causing me to freeze up in terror.

Oh god... please no.

"There you are, you She-Greaser." Roy's heavy voice whispered next to my ear.

I feel the Soc's breath brush against my ear, making me shiver.

"I said I'd back, didn't I?" He said, his breath making me feel sick.

"G-Get away from me... please... don't touch me..." I whimpered, willing my legs to move.

I felt like I was standing in concrete.

"Oh no dear. I'm just getting started..." he breathed, grabbing my wrist and pinning it behind my back.

My heart hammered hard in my chest and I started trembling, tears of fear flowing down my face.

"I thought you were tough, greaser girl. How does it feel to know that you and your greaser brother killed your own kind?" He snickered, his hand trailing up my shirt.

I felt like throwing up, bringing up Johnny and Dally...

He doesn't seem to realize that he had already raped me a week ago and he's gonna try it again.

Panic started to rise in my chest.

The flashbacks of when he raped me the first time came back...

I don't want this again.

"After I'm through with you, I'm going after that brother of yours. I guarantee he's gonna feel just as good as you." he said, kissing the nape of my neck.

"No! Someone help!" I screamed, struggling to get loose.

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!" Soda screamed, running up to us.

Soda grabbed Roy by the back of his shirt and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground.

Soda put me behind him protectively; I felt his hand touching me to make sure I was standing there.

Even though I didn't see his face, I knew that Soda was beyond pissed.

"You better get the hell out of here, you bastard. You touch her or my kid brother again, I'm gonna do much worse." Soda spat, sounding angrier than I'd ever heard

"Run." Soda said darkly.

Roy was scared off by Soda's threat, he ran off in a hurry.

I slowly started feeling another panic attack starting.

Sweat covered my entire body, my hands were trembling, my breathing turned to hyperventilation, and my heart was racing.

I ended up letting go of the back of Soda's shirt and stumbled against the wall.

Closing my eyes, I felt so dizzy…

"Bex? Bex, what's wrong?" Soda asked me, his voice sounding muffled.

I just wanted to have a normal day with my brothers.

One normal damn day...

It's already bad enough that I lost my innocence thanks to those Socs but the fact that Roy said he'd go after Ponyboy made me feel sick to my stomach.

I don't want Ponyboy to go through what I had to go through.

Suddenly, I felt Soda touch my shoulder.

I screamed in panic at the contact and fell on my ass, fighting off who was touching me.

I gripped my head, shaking it violently while rocking back and forth.

"Get away! Get away from me!" I cried in sheer terror, closing my eyes again tightly, tears were running down my cheeks.

In my mind, I felt like I was back in that alleyway and whoever touched me was Roy, since he was still in the moviehouse somewhere.

When I felt two hands on my shoulders, I panicked again and started to fight off my attacker.

Soda was holding me down in an embrace, causing me to fight even more.

"No, stop! Don't fucking touch me!" I screamed in sheer, utter terror.

I tried scrambling away from his arms; I wasn't thinking straight.

"Bexley! It's me! It's Soda!" the voice of my brother said in my ear.

I opened my eyes and looked at my brother, who was right there with me.

His hand reached my tear-stained face and he wiped the tears away.

"It's me… I'm right here." Soda assured, talking in a soothing voice that he uses to calm Pony and I down whenever we had a nightmare.

That's when I broke down into tears.

"Soda..." I sobbed, more tears flowing down my face, "He tried to..."

"Oh baby girl... I'm right here. Breathe… I got you." he said, pulling me into a hug.

I hugged him back, burying my face in his shoulder.

He had a hand on the back of my head and another around my back.

I kept my arms around his waist, my fingers digging into his shirt as if my life depended on it.

To help me calm down, he started rocking me back and forth softly.

I sobbed hysterically in his shoulder, my tears wetting his shirt.

"Breathe, sissy... it's alright now..." Soda cooed in my ear.

"Soda..." I whispered as I tried to get my breathing back under control, "I wanna go home... please..."

"That's what we're gonna do right now, sissy. C'mon, let's find Darry and Ponyboy." he said reassuringly, rubbing my back.

Soda helped me to my feet, which felt very heavy all of a sudden.

I was still extremely dizzy and the room looked as if it was spinning.

"S...Soda…" I said, trying to hold myself up.

"Bex, what's wrong?" he said quickly.

"I… don't feel so good…" I groaned, getting more dizzy by the second.

Before I could say anything else, Soda scooped me up in his arms, carrying me bridal style.

(Sodapop's POV)

(Five minutes earlier)

I watched as Bexley walked out of the theater.

For some reason, I felt that something was gonna happen.

After hearing about the incident at the store, I couldn't help but feel apprehensive.

"Soda, what's wrong?" Darry asked, noticing this.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just... I don't feel right about this." I replied, my throat feeling dry all of a sudden.

"Yeah, you're not the only one. I feel nervous too. Should one of us follow her just to make sure?" Ponyboy asked, a nervous look on his face.

I swear I could feel his heart beating from here.

"I'll stay here with Pony. Soda, go check on her." Darry said, sounding just as nervous as I felt.

I agreed and pushed myself up to my feet.

I walked out of the room and went in the direction that she went down.

I spent the next few minutes trying to find her, worry rising in my chest the longer I walked.

I couldn't bear to have anything happen to her.

Both her and Ponyboy had been through too much already for the past couple of months since Johnny and Dally's deaths.

When I walked down the hall, Bex's cries for help echoed off the walls.

I ran through the moviehouse corridors as fast as I could.

My breath hitched in my throat and my heart pounded against my ribcage.

I turned a corner and the sight in front of me pissed me off beyond belief.

A soc was holding onto Bex, restraining her with her hand pinned behind her back.

What's worse is that that bastard had his lips on the side of her neck.

I've seen enough, white fury in my eyes.

I ran over to them and bellowed, "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!"

I grabbed that bastard by the back of his shirt, and I punched him in the face the second he turned to look at me.

The punch was so hard that it knocked him to the floor.

I put Bex behind me protectively, keeping my hand on her to make sure she was there.

Her small fists were holding onto my flannel, she was shaking.

I was beyond pissed off, my eyes shooting daggers at the bastard on the floor.

I even saw that he had a cut on his cheek, I knew that her or Pony had cut him when they were jumped.

"You better get the hell out of here, you bastard. If you touch her or my kid brother again, I'm gonna do much worse to you." I threatened, sounding angrier than I've ever been.

I didn't care; this bastard was hurting my sister and I had to put a stop to it.

"Run." I said darkly.

My threat was enough to scare that bastard off, I made sure of it.

Not a moment after, Bex's hold on me released and I looked back towards her.

Tears were threatening to fall over.

I could see that she was having another panic attack.

"Bex? Bex, what's wrong?" I asked, noticing how pale she is.

She was covered in sweat, her hands were trembling.

She was hyperventilating, not reacting to what I said.

Her eyes were shut as she tried regaining her composure.

Each breath she took shook her little frame; it sounded fast and panicky.

I reached out and touched her shoulder.

The second I did, she screamed in sheer terror and fell to the floor.

She pushed me away and gripped her head, shaking it back and forth violently while rocking.

"Get away! Get away from me!" she cried in sheer terror, her eyes closed tightly.

Her being this terrified made a few tears fall.

It hurt me to see her like this...

I had to try again, I couldn't let her suffer.

I put both hands on her shoulders, causing her to panic again and she started to fight me off.

I had no choice but to hold her tightly, making her fight even more.

"No, stop! Don't fucking touch me!" she screamed in sheer terror, crying to be released.

She had to know that it was me, I had to let her know.

"Bexley! It's me! It's Soda!" I said in her ear, hoping that she would recognize my voice.

It seemed to work because she quit fighting me and she looked right at me, her green orbs glassy and tear-filled.

I gently held her hot, tear-stained face and wiped the tears away with my thumbs.

"It's me… I'm right here." I assured, using the voice that I had when she or Ponyboy had nightmares.

She finally sees that it's me and she breaks down into tears.

"Soda... He tried to..." she sobbed in agony, more tears flowing down her face.

Anger filled my heart when I saw what happened.

It took all of my willpower to not kill him right then and there.

"Oh baby girl... I'm right here... Breathe… I got you..." I say, pulling her into my arms.

She hugs me back, her face buried in my shoulder.

She sobbed her little heart out into it, "Soda…"

My own heart ached in agony when she cried like this.

I can't describe just how much it hurts me to hear it.

I had a hand on the back of her head while my other arm was around her back.

She held onto my waist, her fingers digging into my shirt like it was her life line.

I started to rock back and forth in an attempt to soothe her.

She continued to sob in my arms, her tears wetting my shirt.

But I didn't care.

"Breathe, baby girl... it's alright now..." I cooed softly in her ear.

"Soda... I wanna go home... please." she whispers, struggling to get her breathing under control.

"That's what we're gonna do right now, sissy. C'mon, let's find Darry and Ponyboy." I tell her softly, rubbing her back.

I helped her up to her feet while keeping my arms around her protectively.

The second we stood up, she was struggling to hold onto me.

"S...Soda…" she groaned, sounding weak.

I looked down quickly at her, she was extremely pale and looked weak.

"What's wrong?" I asked quickly.

"I don't feel good…" she groaned, her eyes starting to shut.

My heart jumped into my throat; I knew what was happening.

I picked her up bridal style, her arms were around my neck.

We needed to go home.

Now.

(Bexley's POV)

Soda carried me back to the movie room where that movie was showing.

The whole time, my arms were around his neck and I hid my face in his chest.

I wasn't feeling right at all; my stomach hurt and I got lightheaded.

When we did make it back, Darry and Ponyboy shot up from their seats and ran to us.

"What happened?" Darry asked instantly, seeing me in Soda's arms.

"Let's talk when we get home. She's sick." Soda said seriously as I buried my face in his shirt.

Soda was hardly ever serious about a certain thing.

But with this, it was like a switch was flipped.

After saving me from Roy, I cannot blame him for being serious.

Darry knew something went down the second he saw us.

"Alright, let's get out of here." Darry said, taking the lead.

From the corner of my eye, I saw the distraught look on Ponyboy's face.

Just before we walked out, my stomach jumped when I saw Roy sitting towards the back.

He stared at me with a sickening stare that made me whimper.

He had a bruise on his jaw from where Soda had punched him.

I buried my face in Soda's shirt even more so I wouldn't see him.

"Bex, what's wrong?" Darry asked, catching this instantly.

I was so scared and sick that I couldn't speak.

Pony and I never described the guy that had hurt us so Soda had no idea that he saved me from my rapist; neither did Darry.

"C'mon, let's get the hell out of here." Pony urged, seeing just how scared I was getting.

From the sound of his voice, he had seen Roy as well.

My body was trembling in Soda's arms.

I felt like I was going to throw up.

I wanted to stay as close to my brothers as possible.

We left the moviehouse and got in Darry's truck.

We headed home.

The whole time we drove, I curled up into a ball and rested against Ponyboy, my stomach still doing rolls.

Screw movies...

When we got home, I stumbled into the bathroom.

I needed to clean myself after being touched like that by that sicko.

My brothers would wait outside for me, they knew that I needed some space for a bit.

I walk into the bathroom, shut the door and lock it so no one would walk in on me.

My knees felt weakened to where I couldn't hold myself up anymore.

I fell in front of the toilet and started to retch, my entire body was feeling hot.

After a few minutes of gagging, I threw up in the toilet.

I dry-heaved for a moment before finally stopping.

I spat in the toilet and gasped for air, tears running down my face.

After a few moments, I turned on the shower and started stripping out of my clothing.

I pulled my jacket and shirt and my bra and threw them on the floor.

I slowly took off my pants and underwear.

Stepping into the shower, I didn't wash myself again.

All I did was sit under the hot water with my legs pulled up to my chest, my arms hugging them.

I closed my eyes and felt tears burning my eyes.

I couldn't tell what was my tears from the hot water that hit my face.

That mattered little though.

Everything hurt... my body, my head, everything.

I could still feel my body being touched by that damn Soc.

That made me feel so dirty.

He would even take advantage of Pony like he did with me…

I didn't want my brother getting hurt...

He doesn't deserve that.

It made me feel sick to my stomach again.

I shook violently at the very thought of my brother getting raped like me.

"No... don't hurt him. Don't hurt my brother..." I trembled to myself, trying my hardest to push that thought out of my head.

I screamed into my arms, hoping that the sound would be blocked out by the water, but it didn't.

(Soda's POV)

I sat down on the couch, hands on the back of my neck.

Bexley getting attacked in the moviehouse pissed me off; I could've killed him for even touching her.

Was the Soc that had Bexley the one who…?

It broke my heart when I saw her there, completely broken.

It was at that moment that we realized that the old Bex was gone.

The fun-loving, tough as nails, stubborn Bex wasn't there.

When we heard her scream in the bathroom, tears ran down my face.

They were tears of anger, anger for what those Socs did to my kid siblings.

I was angry at the everlasting damage that they caused.

Steve and Two-Bit were over at this time.

Darry had told them what had happened at the moviehouse.

Needless to say, they were just as upset about what happened as the rest of us were.

Steve was doing what he could to comfort me but it was hard to accept it.

I couldn't help it, I stood up and went outside, letting the door slam behind me.

Steve tried to stop me but I just shrugged him off.

Anger was building up inside of me and I had to get it out.

It was the same anger that was there in the moviehouse.

My first target was a trash can, one that I could take out my anger on.

I marched over to it and kicked it over with as much strength as I could.

The whole time I was yelling in fury.

It didn't take me long to realize that me kicking this trash can made me just as bad as those Socs; it was like my kid siblings, defenseless and vulnerable.

My angered filled energy suddenly vanished just as fast as it came.

I collapsed to my knees, sobbing for my kid brother and kid sister.

I didn't care if the world saw my breakdown.

Steve noticed this and wrapped his arm around me but didn't say anything.

He stayed with me until I calmed myself down.

Wiping the last of my tears, I pushed Steve off of me.

I went back in the house, Steve right behind me.

When I got back in the house, the bathroom was empty, indicating that Bex wasn't in there anymore.

I walked into my bedroom and saw Darry, Two-Bit, and Ponyboy were in there.

Darry was on either side of her, Two-Bit was sitting beside Darry as he rubbed her back.

She was still shaking, making my heart ache.

I walked in front of her and kneeled down, seeing just how distraught she looked.

"We'll be in the kitchen if you guys need us." Steve said sympathetically, pulling Two-Bit with him.

Two-Bit didn't fight him and went into the kitchen so we'd have some privacy.

He saw that Darry, Pony, and I needed time alone with our kid sister.

She looked at me, her eyes glassy and withdrawn.

"It's alright, honey. We're not gonna let anything happen to you." I said softly, wiping some tears from her face.

She started to cry again.

The three of us hugged her tightly, reassuring her that we were there for her no matter what.

Because of what happened, Darry figured it'd be best to not let her come with us to Ponyboy's track meet.

She did want to go but after what happened, she changed her mind.

"I'll stay home with her. You two go." I said, still holding onto my baby sister.

There wasn't much argument about that.

I wanted to be there for her when she needed us most.

As I held onto her, I remembered saving her from that dark haired Soc in the moviehouse.

I saw how she clung onto me and hid her face in my shirt.

Pony seemed distressed about seeing that same Soc just before we left.

I pulled her back from me so I could look at her.

"Bex? Honey? This might not be the best thing to ask but, the Soc that I saved you from, the dark haired one. Pony, you were the same as her. Was he the one who hurt you guys?" I asked as softly as I could, gently holding her shoulders.

She whimpered and shook her head even more when I brought him up.

Darry and I exchanged looks, each carrying a look of horror mixed with rage.

"It was, Soda. It was him." Ponyboy said, his voice shaky.

My heart sank to my stomach...

"What was his name?" Darry asked.

"R-R-Roy... He... w-was the one... who raped me." Bex said, her body quivering.

A new anger rose within my chest, that Soc I saved Bex from… was the one who did it.

Darry saw the anger reddening my face and pulled me aside.

"Soda, take a deep breath. That Soc will probably be at the track meet tomorrow." Darry said, whispering to where our kid siblings wouldn't hear.

"If I see that bastard again, I'm gonna do more than punch him..." I said, anger dripping from my lips like poison.

" We looked at our kid brother and kid sister, who were sitting against the headboard, snuggled up to one another.

"Two-Bit, Steve. I think it's time you guys should leave. We'll see you guys at the track meet." Darry tells them, walking back into the kitchen.

"Alright, we can do that." Steve said, heading towards the door, "Bye Sodapop."

I waved at my best friend before he left.

"See ya guys later." Two-Bit said, showing fake happiness.

Two-Bit was unusually pissed off like the rest of us were.

Him and Steve were going to Pony's track meet tomorrow, so it's surely going to happen.

I walked back over to my kid siblings and sat down on the bed with them.

We didn't leave our shared bedroom for the rest of that day.

Darry unfortunately had to work but not as long as his normal schedule intended.

Our managers understood completely about us staying with Bex and Pony while they recovered.

(Bexley's POV)

That next night, I couldn't sleep.

Ponyboy had gone to his track tournament with Darry, Two-Bit, and Steve.

They'd let us know if Pony won it or not.

Sodapop was laying on the bed with me, his arm wrapped around my waist.

He was lightly snoring in my ear the second his head hit the pillow.

I couldn't sleep even if I tried.

Whenever I shut my eyes, I would see that same nightmare in my head.

I was scared that Soc would find our house, where I believed it was safe.

"Bex, you alright?" Soda muttered sleepily, waking up to me moving around a bit.

I didn't answer him, only moaned as a response.

"You awake?" he whispered.

I turned around to face my older brother.

"I can't sleep..." I said to him.

"How come? What's the matter?" he asked in a quiet voice, brushing my dark blonde locks from my eyes.

"When I close my eyes, that same nightmare comes back." I answer, feeling myself starting to choke up.

Soda's brown eyes soften up and he pulls me closer to him, his arms wrapped around me.

My right ear was over his steady heart beat, relaxing me almost instantly.

"Oh, Bexley. He's not gonna hurt you anymore. If he tries, I'll protect you." Soda assures me.

I looked up at my brother with hopeful eyes, "Like the last time?"

"Like the last time." he said, kissing my forehead.

I couldn't help but smile as I closed my eyes.

His reassurance helped me fall asleep, although it didn't last long.

(Sodapop's POV)

I woke up to feeling Bexley moving slightly in bed.

Opening my eyes, I see that it's around 10:30 pm, meaning we've been asleep for about a few hours.

I then hear a whimper from her behind me.

I reached over to turn on the desk lamp, blinding me for a whole second.

Turning over to look at Bexley, she was all twisted up in the blankets.

Tears were running down her face, she was extremely pale, and she was drenched in sweat.

"No… don't… don't touch him…" she whimpered, her body trembling.

The last time she ever had a nightmare this bad was last week, this one was much worse.

I moved closer to her, hoping that she'd recognize my precense.

"Bex?" I quietly said, wrapping an arm around her.

Big mistake.

She panicked, thinking it was, I assume to be that bastard that hurt them.

"No! Let go of me!" she yelped in terror, her hands pushing into my chest.

I tightened my hold on her, more firmly.

"Let me go, fucking let me go!" she screamed, hitting me on my chest, "Don't hurt him!"

"Bex! Wake up! It's Soda, wake up, baby girl." I said in her ear.

Her eyes then shot open and she screamed, "PONY!"

Her eyes were filled with bewilderment as if she didn't know where she was for a second.

"Bexley? Look at me. Please look at me." I said, trying to get her to recognize my voice.

Her face shot towards me.

The second she saw me, she calmed down.

She blinked away tears but that didn't stop her from crying.

"Oh honey. C'mere..." I said, pulling her closer to my chest, my hand stroking her hair.

I felt her fingers dig into my pj shirt, clinging to me.

"Soda... oh god... It felt real. I thought it was really happening." she shuddered between tear-filled breaths.

"Tell me about it." I whisper to her, holding her close.

"It was about Ponyboy... Those S-Socs were hurting him... I was so sc-scared... When they got through with him... that... that Soc... got me again..." She said, her entire body trembling.

My heart wrenched when she said that and I squeezed onto her, reminding her that she was safe.

"Where are they, Soda? Where's Ponyboy? Darry?" she asked, sounding worried.

She willed the tears away with the heel of her hand but I could see she couldn't help it.

"They're at the track tournament. They're alright." I assure her.

She breathed a sigh of relief and pulled away from me, her eyes red and puffy.

"Are you okay now?" I asked, wanting to make sure.

She gave me a weak nod.

"Do you need anything to help you feel better?" I asked.

"Some cake?" she asked innocently, her green eyes beaming.

"Okay, we have some in the kitchen. C'mon, sissy." I said with a smile, picking her up and I took her in the kitchen.

I wanted to make sure that she was completely okay after that nightmare.

(Darry's POV)

Pony's track tournament was about to start.

He was so excited for it.

At the same time, we were sad that Soda and Bex stayed home but all agreed that it was best for now.

But we'd tell them of what happened when it was finished.

Two-Bit and Steve were able to come though.

Two-Bit was acting like a lunatic as usual, whistling loudly.

Steve didn't really do anything, just sat there with his arms crossed.

If Soda and Bex were here, I'd have to hold them down and tell them to behave.

I smiled at my youngest brother, showing that I was proud of him.

Pony waved at us from the track with a big smile on his face.

"On your mark, get set, go!" the coach shouted, firing a gun.

Ponyboy and the other runners took off running.

Pony propelled his legs as fast as he could so that he was ahead of the other runners.

He ended up crossing the line after one runner ended up tripping over himself.

He ended up winning a gold trophy, and I couldn't be prouder of him.

I just know that Soda and Bex are gonna be proud of him.

After the tournament, the runners could meet with their family and shower afterwards before they would let the contestants go home.

"Just wait until Soda and Bex hear about this!" Two-Bit yelled, slapping Pony on the back proudly.

"Knowing them, they're gonna be so proud. It should brighten up Bex after what happened yesterday." Steve said.

"Hopefully, I can't stand to see her hurt." I said, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Guys, can we not talk about that, please?" Pony said, rubbing his forehead.

"Oh, right. Sorry 'bout that. Go get that shower, kiddo. Then we can celebrate!" Two-Bit said regretfully.

(Pony's POV)

I ran into the locker room to take my shower.

It made Darry so proud, which is something that I hadn't seen from him in so long.

I couldn't wait to tell Bex and Soda about this.

As I walked into the locker room, I couldn't help but shake off the feeling of being watched.

When I looked around, I saw that I was the only one in here.

But that same feeling was still there, making my heart beat out of my chest.

Once I was inside the shower, I stripped down out of my clothing.

While showering, I thought I heard the sound of the door opening.

For a moment, I thought it was another runner coming to take their shower.

But I caught the smell of beer, making my stomach jump into my throat.

Then came the voice, the one that I hoped to never hear again.

"I know you're in here, greaser. There's no sense in hiding." that Soc, Roy, taunted me on the other side.

My entire body froze when he said that.

How'd he know where I was?

"You know, I almost got her in that moviehouse, just thought you'd like to know." that Soc said, "Told her that I'd go after you next. I bet you're gonna feel just as nice as her."

I felt sick to my stomach, all the color drained from my face.

"If it wasn't for that damn bastard that punched me in the face, she would've been all mine." he said pervertedly, making my stomach lurch.

My heart was pounding in my ears, my stomach twisting.

I had to get out of there and find Darry.

He was waiting on me...

I quickly shut off the shower and quickly dressed myself and carefully looked out of the shower curtain.

Looking back and forth, I see that the coast is clear.

I ran out of the showers as fast as I could.

However, I feel myself getting grabbed by the back of my shirt collar.

"Where do you think you're going, greaser?" Roy scowled, roughly pulling me back.

He pulled me back so hard that my body slammed against the concrete floor, making me cry out from the impact.

I tried to get up but Roy kicked me so hard in the stomach that it rendered me stunned.

Nausea instantly washed over me and I heaved dryly.

"I don't think I'm finished with you yet." he scowled again, roughly picking me up from the floor by my shirt.

He pinned me against the wall.

I couldn't escape from his grasp he was too strong.

"I don't think I made myself clear. That greaser sister of yours was too easy for me. But holy hell, did she feel nice and she's quite the fighter too." he whispered, making me feel sick.

His hand went under my shirt, making me shudder in disgust.

"You bastard… If you touch her again I'll...!" I shouted, feeling protective of Bex.

He smelled like he had bathed in whiskey, which burned my nostrils.

"Oh, don't worry your pretty greaser head, I don't plan on going after her again." he breathed, making me realize just what he wanted to do.

"Are you crazy?! Get off of me! Darry! HELP!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, praying that my brother would hear me.

And my prayers were answered when I felt Roy getting ripped off of me.

"GET THE HELL OFF OF HIM!" Darry screamed, ripping the Soc off of me.

Afterwards, he stood in front of me, blocking me from that Soc.

I was shaking badly, unable to move.

Darry saw this and he wrapped his arms around me protectively.

Two-Bit already had the Soc by the back of the shirt as he dragged him outside of the showers.

"D-Darry..." I whimpered, trembling in fear.

"It's okay, Pone. He ain't gonna lay another hand on you." Darry assured.

I now understand just how Bex was feeling that night that she was raped by this same Soc; he was about to rape me...

"I wanna go home... Please." I begged, not wanting to stay in this place any longer.

"And we're doing that right now. C'mon." Darry replied softly, carefully leading me out of the shower room.

(Bex's POV)

It was around 11:30.

Sodapop and I were now watching a movie together after having our cake.

Honestly, it made me feel better after my nightmare.

I sat beside my brother with my legs pulled up to my chest and my arms hugging my stomach.

Soda's arm was wrapped around my shoulders.

He knew how to make Pony and I feel better.

Not long after, we both hear the sound of Darry's truck pulling up in front of the house.

"Sounds like Darry and Pony are home." Soda said, "You think that Pony won the tournament?"

"I hope so, Soda. He deserves to win it since he's practiced so hard for it." I replied, getting up from the couch to greet my other two brothers.

But, when I opened the door, it wasn't all smiles and cheers.

My stomach dropped when I saw Darry walking up to the gate with Ponyboy clinging onto him for dear life.

Ponyboy looked terrified, sweating and trembling.

'Please god no...' I prayed, my stomach constantly doing flips.

Soda caught this and stood up behind me.

"Darry, what happened?" he asked, instinctively worried.

"We'll talk later, Soda." Darry said, walking passed us into the house.

Darry's voice was on edge, meaning that something bad had definitely happened.

"What...? No..." I started, fearing the absolute worst.

I pushed passed Soda to catch up with Darry and Pony.

I needed to know what happened at that tournament.

Soda was worried as hell too because Pony was so excited for the track tournament.

Darry had sat Ponyboy on our shared bed.

I walked over to my twin brother and knelt down beside him.

His eyes were widened and wild, a look that I had never seen before from him.

"Ponyboy? Wh-What happened?" I asked, feeling my stomach knot up.

By this time, Darry and Soda went outside in the hall to talk about what happened.

Needless to say, it upset Soda something awful.

I saw him stumbling around, his face covered by his hands as he started to cry; Darry brought him into a tight hug to console him.

"Po-Ponyboy? Please no..." I stammer, my heart starting to pound, "Don't tell me that…"

"I was almost... He almost got me..." Ponyboy said, his voice shaking.

I went noticeably white as a sheet.

My worst fear had come to fruition.

Tears burned my eyes.

That bastard... was gonna rape my brother.

"Oh my god, Pony... No... no no no!" I shouted, feeling like I was about to be sick.

I stood up from him and stumbled into the wall, turning completely pale.

What I didn't want to happen to him happened anyway.

I looked at Ponyboy, who had tears running down his face.

"Ponyboy... I..." I started, feeling tears spill over, "Oh god no!"

"Bex… He was going to..." he replied, starting to sob with tears streaming down his face.

I stumbled back to him and I hugged him with my arms around his waist.

He hugged me back with his around my neck tightly.

His entire body shook with powerful sobs, making my heart wrench.

I looked up for a second towards the doorway, our other brothers were watching the scene with tears in their eyes.

Before long, the sound of the phone rang so Darry went to go answer it.

Soda came into the bedroom and embraced both of us.

We clung onto our brother, feeling as though he was our only form of security from the cruel and scary world.

"Guys, that was the sheriff. Steve and Two-Bit got arrested." Darry said, making us all look up at him.

"What happened?" I asked, now nervous.

"It was that Soc. Two-Bit nearly killed him." Darry responded, "I'm gonna go get them. Soda, you stay here with Pony and Bex."

Darry grabbed his keys and walked out of the door.

My stomach turned icy...

Two-Bit and Steve get into trouble while that Soc pretty much gets away scot-free with raping me and nearly raping Pony?

My breathing grew heavier and my skin turned pale.

"Bex, what's wrong?" Soda asked in concern.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." I groan, jumping off of the bed with my hand clasped over my mouth and the other holding my stomach.

I dashed into the bathroom and didn't bother shutting the door.

I kneeled over the toilet and started to dry heave.

After a few minutes of this, all the contents from my stomach came back up.

I couldn't help it...

I curled up into a ball and hugged my stomach and leaned against the bathtub.

Two-Bit and Steve shouldn't have gotten arrested for defending Pony and I.

It wasn't fair.

Ponyboy and Soda quickly followed me not a minute later.

"Bex!" they called for me in a panic as they approached the doorway.

Through my tear-blurred vision, I could see the distressed looks on my brothers faces.

I couldn't talk because my saliva was thick in my throat.

They kneeled down in front of me and hugged me.

That's when I broke down again, my sobs muffled in their shoulders.

(Anyone's POV)

Darry had to get to the cooler to bail Two-Bit and Steve out.

The whole drive, he didn't think that Two-Bit would go that far with beating a Soc almost to death.

He's had his moments whenever they had a rumble.

Darry also knew how, despite that Two-Bit's usual diet consisted of beer and cake and is usually drunk, protective Two-Bit is of Darry's kid siblings.

He was grateful for looking out for them.

It surprised him that Steve even helped considering he doesn't exactly favor Ponyboy and Bexley.

Darry pulls up to the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office.

He took a deep breath to suppress his anger before stepping out of the truck.

He walked into the building and up to the front desk where the officer was.

The middle aged man looked up at the twenty-year old greaser.

"Mr. Curtis?" Officer Murphy said, looking up at Darry.

"Are you Officer Murphy?" Darry asked.

"Yes, that is me." Officer Murphy said, reaching out to shake Darry's hand.

"I can take a wild guess as to why you're here." Murphy said, breaking into Darry's thoughts.

"Yes, why are they in here?" Darry asked.

"They have been charged with a misdemeanor of assault and battery after they were beating up another boy." the officer said.

Darry's eyes wandered to the cell where Steve and Two-Bit were being held, they were asleep.

"Is there anything that I can do to get them out?" Darry asked him.

"If they're story is false, they'd have to spend at least thirty days in jail. Plus, there would have to be a $500 fine paid. But we don't know the whole story as of right now. Unless you could tell me why they did what they did." Murphy said, needing confirmation about the matter at hand.

Darry clenched his fists subtly.

Just talking about it brought a new form of anger into Darry.

It was a different kind of anger.

"That boy they beat up... had raped my kid sister. And he almost raped my kid brother just a few moments ago. My brother Sodapop had warned that boy to not mess around with my kid brother and kid sister again or there would be dire consequences." Darry spat, not at the Officer though.

The officer was understandably horrified by this.

"I see. Well, that boy is in the hospital being treated with his injuries. If this is true then he will face jail time. And there will be a court order involved." the officer said, "I'll let them go. I'll give you a call to let you know when the court order will be."

Darry felt a huge weight lift from his chest.

"Would I still have to pay that $500 fine? I don't get my next paycheck until the end of this week." Darry asked.

"Don't even worry about it. Consider it paid." the officer said.

"Thank you, officer." Darry said, sighing with relief.

Steve had woken up at the sound of Darry's voice.

"Superdope? Is that you?" Steve said, sitting up.

"Yeah it's me." Darry said, approaching the cell door, "Seems like you two got put in jail, yeah?"

"Yeah. We shouldn't be in here. It was all that Soc's fault." Steve said, looking down at the floor.

"Damn right it was." Two-Bit said, yawning as he sat up.

I noticed how bruised Two-Bit's knuckles were from beating that bastard up.

"Let's talk more when we get home. C'mon you two." Darry said with a smirk.

Two-Bit was surprised by this, they were let off the hook.

"Are you gonna tell my old lady about this?" Two asked.

"You know I ain't like that." Darry said with a grin.

Officer Murphy came and unlocked the cell door and the three greasers walked out of the station.

"Thanks for getting us outta there. I don't know how Dally sat in there all the time." Steve said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Are you talking about Dallas Winston?" Officer Murphy said, "The one that robbed that store two months ago?"

The three greasers tensed up at this, not wanting to be reminded of that dreadful night.

"Oh, I apologize. I didn't know that it was still heavy for you three." Officer Murphy said apologetically.

Officer Murphy along with every cop in the state of Oklahoma knew who Dallas Winston was.

It wasn't a secret that Dally was a delinquent.

He even died as one.

"You three go on home. We'll talk more either tomorrow or the next day." Officer Murphy said.

And that's what they did.

The ride was mostly silent.

Darry couldn't be mad at Steve and Two-Bit for being in the slammer, but they'd surely have to be a part of that court hearing.

(Bex's POV)

By this time, I was all cried out.

All I wanted to do was sleep.

Ponyboy and Soda didn't leave my side.

Like last time, I was in between them.

I felt safer that way.

Luckily, I didn't have any nightmares, which relieved me.

I woke up to the sound of the door slamming, making me jump out of my skin.

My reaction caused Soda to wake up since I bumped into him.

"Bex, what's wrong?" he asked me, his voice heavy with grogginess.

I sat up in bed and looked towards the door, it was shut so I couldn't see who walked through the front door.

"Someone's here." I said, starting to feel a bit scared.

Soda noticed this straight away and he started to get up.

"Stay here. I'll check it out." Soda instructed, squeezing my shoulder before getting off the bed.

Because of what happened, I saw just how more protective Soda has gotten over Ponyboy and I.

He wouldn't let anything happen to us.

Ponyboy stirred in his sleep before waking up.

His eyes fluttered open.

"Huh? What's going on?" he tiredly said, rubbing his eyes.

"Someone walked through the front door. Soda's checking it out." I whisper, still feeling on edge.

Pony raised up, using his elbows to hold himself up.

Soda opened the door and walked out into the living room.

After a few minutes, he came back to the room.

"It's alright. It's just Darry with Two-Bit and Steve." he said, relieving me and Ponyboy.

"Thank god for that..." I sighed, laying back down on my back.

"I'll go see what's up. You guys stay here." Soda said.

"Alright." I said, closing my eyes.

However, I'd only be woken up by a nightmare; but not my own.

(Sodapop's POV)

I watched as my kid brother and kid sister went back to sleep.

I felt it was necessary to see who came through the door.

After what happened, I felt more protective of them.

I was glad that it was Darry with Two-Bit and Steve.

After I closed the door, I walked back into the living room.

"What's going on guys?" I asked, sitting on the couch.

"We got outta there pretty easily. Superdope here bailed us out pretty easily." Steve said, throwing an arm around me.

"So, did anything else happen?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"We ain't getting jail time for beating that Soc's face in." Two-Bit said, rubbing his hand, which was bruised.

"I talked to the sheriff while you two were passed out. There's gonna be a court case about this. He's gonna give us a call within the next day or two to discuss when the court hearing is gonna be. The Soc who did this to Bexley and Ponyboy is getting jail time. But we don't know for how long though." Darry informed us, sitting down on the armchair.

"He should be locked up for the rest of his scummy life. Hell, ain't no one gonna lay their hands on those kids again." Two-Bit said, sounding proud of neary killing that Soc.

"They better lock him up for life because I don't want them getting hurt again. They've been through enough as it is, losing Johnny and Dally." I said, running my hand over my face.

"Oh we know it, Pepsi-Cola." Steve said, ruffling my hair, which I hated.

(Bexley's POV)

I woke up to sudden movement in the bed.

It was much easier to fall asleep than I thought, and managed to get through most of it without a single nightmare.

I could hear Soda and Darry talking with Two-Bit and Steve; looks like they weren't in that much trouble after all.

After a few moments, I was trying to figure out what really woke me up.

But the sound of whimpering gave me my answer.

I turned over to face Ponyboy.

He was drenched in a cold sweat, he was gripping onto the sheets with a death grip, his eyes squeezed shut as tears ran down his face.

He was whimpering in fear and he was breathing heavily.

"Pony? Hey, wake up." I said, feeling tears raise up in my eyes.

It was a nightmare that he was having.

He hadn't had one in months.

I reached over to touch him, hoping that he recognized me.

But the second I touched him, he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Get away! Don't touch me! Don't hurt her! Don't hurt her!" he cried, thrashing around wildly.

He started pushing me away with both hands unwillingly.

"Ponyboy! I'm right here! Wake up!" I said, shaking him even more by his shoulders.

There was movement in the living room, indicating that everyone heard him scream.

His screams of terror made my heart shatter.

"What's wrong?" Darry asked in confusion, seeing what was going on.

"He's having a nightmare!" I said in panic, my heart beating out of my chest.

My older brothers don't hesitate to come to our sides.

Darry grabs Ponyboy's shoulders but it only causes him to thrash around even more.

"Stop! Don't touch me!" he cried, more tears running down his face.

"Pony! Wake up!" Darry said, shaking him a bit harder.

Ponyboy's eyes snapped open and he shot up in a sitting position.

I reached out to touch him and he freaked out on me.

"Don't touch me!" he screamed, completely unaware that it was me.

I froze in shock.

He never reacted like that with me before.

"Ponyboy. It's me. I'm right here." I tell him in a soft voice, taking his hand.

"You were dreaming, baby. It's okay." Soda assured him.

Pony registered that it was only us and he started to cry.

I pulled him into a comforting hug, holding him close to me.

"They were... they were hurting you. I didn't want them to..." he sobbed into my shoulder.

I clung to him, my fingers digging in his shirt.

Hearing that shattered the hearts of Soda, Darry, Steve, and Two-Bit.

Soda and Darry enveloped us into a group hug, letting Pony know that he was okay.

To let him know that I was okay.

Darry gave Steve and Two-Bit a look that they understood very well; it was a look to let them know to give us privacy.

It took about five to ten minutes before everything was okay again.

Pony decided to go outside to smoke so he could compose himself.

"I'm gonna check on him." I tell Soda and Darry, feeling that he needed some company.

"Alright, he'll listen to you." Darry agreed, hand on my shoulder.

"Anything happens, let us know." Soda instructed.

With a nod, I went outside to join Ponyboy.

He was sitting on the steps with a cigarette in his hand.

I sat down next to him.

He wasn't bothered by my presence.

I had to be there for him just like he's been there for me.

"Got a cigarette, Pony?" I asked, feeling the need to have a smoke.

He handed me one and lit it up for me.

I took a long drag and exhaled, releasing the smoke into the air.

When I looked at my brother, I saw the withdrawn look on his face.

It hurt me to see him like that.

For a while, we sat in silence, just listening to the bugs and wind that was awake during the night.

I was the first to break the silence.

"Pony? Do you... wanna talk about what that dream was about? You said that they were hurting me. Was it...?" I asked, giving him a soft look.

He bit his lip and looked down at his feet.

"It's alright, Pone. It's just me you're talking to." I tell him, rubbing his shoulder comfortly.

He trembled like a leaf, taking a shaky drag of his cigarette.

"I... I don't know if I can." he said, barely breathing.

"Please Pony... You always talk to us about your dreams." I asked, referring to Soda and Darry, and myself.

I thought I could hear his heart hammering in his chest, indicating that he was nervous.

"Please... tell me. From the beginning." I said.

He wiped his nose on his arm and sniffled.

"Those Socs were following us. We tried to run but they were much faster than us." he started, swallowing hard.

I turned towards him and listened closely.

"They grabbed you and ripped you away from me. They beat me up and forced me to watch while they... they..." he said, his eyes watering.

I knew exactly what he was going to say and I couldn't help but hug him.

He clung to me, his body shaking on mine.

Tears were blurring my vision as I listened to him cry softly on my shoulder.

I hugged him closer to me, not letting him go.

He dreamed of the assault happening again and he was forced to watch it happen

It was bad enough he had to hear it but actually seeing it in his dreams was so much worse.

I rubbed his back gently.

At the start of the nightmare, I thought it was about himself getting raped since it nearly happened to him.

"It's okay, Pony. The gang and our brothers are gonna make sure that it won't happen again." I say, feeling myself shake.

After a while, Darry said something about a court hearing that the fuzz told him about.

It was about the Soc who assaulted us.

Both Pony and I were composed enough thanks to our cigarettes.

We joined Soda, Darry, Two-Bit, and Steve in the living room so we could discuss it.

Turns out that the cop they talked to said that he would call us either tomorrow or the next day to have the court order set up.

Needless to say, we'd all have to be there to speak our piece.

Now I was scared for it to come, just like last time.

Because of everything that's happened, I don't even know if Pony had won that tournament he mentioned.

When he told us that he won it, Soda and I couldn't be more happy.

This is what Pony was working for and it brought us great joy.

Needing to get things off my mind, we all decided to go celebrate the next day.

And then we'd have our annual poker game, which would be good for Pony and I.

I could already see Soda being a cheat in this play.

Unfortunately, Darry couldn't join while we were out because he had to work.

But he'd be here for our poker game.

We went down to the Tulsa pizza parlor that was gonna be open until midnight.

Since it was Saturday, it was the perfect opportunity to go.

We all found a booth that was enough for the five of us.

"This is exciting! My kid brother is a champion." Soda said proudly.

"Hey, what am I? Chopped liver?" I say, pretending to be offended.

"Don't be like that. You know I'm just as proud of you." Soda smiled, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"For what exactly?" I asked, looking up at him, his brown eyes meeting my green ones.

"For being strong through this. Both you and Pony. You two are strong kids and we're all proud of you both." Soda said, giving my shoulder a squeeze.

I felt my heart warm when he said that.

Hearing that made me the happiest that I've felt in the last two weeks.

"Thanks Soda. That's the kind of thing we both needed to hear." I replied.

Soda kissed the side of my head and he ruffled Pony's hair.

Pony pushed Soda's hand away when he did that.

We all got our drinks and looked at the menu to decide on what we were gonna have.

We all made the decision to have the large supreme pizza.

"Hey, Soda, check out that waitress over there. Why don't you try getting her number?" Steve said, as Pony and I took a sip of our drinks.

I looked around Soda, because I was in between him and Soda, and saw who they were talking about.

There was a brunette girl who was around 18 serving pizza at another table.

Her hair was pulled into a bun and she has a slim build.

Pony and I knew her, she was a senior in our school.

Soda had gotten up from our table and made his way over to her.

I watched as they talked, she had a star struck face.

Soda showed off his movie-star like smile, infatuating her.

Soda could easily win any girl over with just that smile of his.

He ended up getting her number pretty easily.

He wasn't exactly flaunting it like Two-Bit or Steve would.

Steve ended up wrapping an arm around Soda's shoulders.

"Way to go, Pepsi-Cola." Steve cheered, patting Soda on the chest hard.

"Man, couldn't have picked up a better one on my own." Two-Bit laughed.

I rolled my eyes at this and told them that I had to go to the bathroom.

Just to be sure, they sent Two-Bit to come with me.

Obviously, he couldn't go into the bathroom with me so he decided to wait outside.

I appreciated that a lot.

I did my business and went to wash my hands.

As I finished, the voices started to invade my mind.

It was the voice of Roy directly in my ears.

"Don't be scared, she-grease… This'll be fun for me."

I froze in place as I felt my chest start to hurt.

I was stumbling on my feet, feeling weak.

"She's got a nice chest. Nice legs too."

"Stop it…" I say, feeling a panic attack creeping up.

"Stop? Why would I stop? I'm getting started."

"Leave me alone!" I cry out, feeling my heart beating erratically.

"After I'm through with you, I'm going after your brother. He's gonna feel just as good as you."

I quickly scooted back to the furthest wall from the mirror, finding it hard to breathe.

"Get out! Get the fuck out of my head!" I screamed, my panic attack getting worse.

It caused me to grip my ears and I whimpered in fear.

I rocked back and forth with my eyes squeezed shut.

"Bex? Are you okay in there?" Two-Bit called from the other side, obviously hearing my panic attack.

His voice sounded panicked and worried.

I took a deep breath, feeling my lungs open up.

I swallowed hard before answering, "Y-Yeah, Two-Bit. I'm fine. I'm fine"

I walked out of the bathroom, trying to not look as freaked out as I felt.

Two-Bit was still standing at the doorway, a perturbed look on his face.

"You sure you're okay, little sister? You look like you've seen a damn ghost." Two-Bit said, placing a hand on my forehead.

"You're not too far off, I guess." I said, pushing his hand away.

"Should I tell Soda? You're really pale." he asked in worry.

"No, I'll be fine." I tell him, rubbing my forehead.

"He's gonna notice." Two-Bit said, knowing Soda all-too-well.

"Two-Bit, I said I'm fine, okay. Just cuz I'm a little pale don't mean that there's something wrong." I bark stubbornly.

He didn't look convinced but he didn't say anything more about it.

We both walked over to Soda and them, who quickly noticed just how ghostly pale I was.

"Jesus, Bex. Are you okay?" Soda said, running up to me.

"I'm fine, Soda. Can we just go home?" I replied, shaking my head to push the dizziness away.

I did feel a bit lightheaded after having that panic attack so I was lying through my teeth.

"Are you sure? You're really pale." Soda said, his hands on my shoulders.

"I said I'm fine, okay? Let's get outta here." I replied, pushing Soda back slightly.

Last thing we needed was for me to pass out, which I felt like I was gonna do.

I didn't want to ruin the poker game we had planned.

We made it home and the whole ride, I kept thinking about that damn panic attack.

God, it terrified me…

Hearing those damn voices in my ears; they were so loud that I thought that he was in the same room as me.

I tried blocking them out but it didn't do shit.

I looked into the bathroom mirror while the guys were in the kitchen, setting up the poker game.

I saw just how pale I really was.

"Hey, Bex, you playin'?" Steve called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, deal me in." I called back, trying to fight off this light headed feeling.

Darry approached the bathroom door, which was opened.

"Hey, Soda and Two-Bit told me what happened at the pizza parlor. Are you okay?" he asked me.

As much as I understood his worry for my and Pony's well-being, I didn't want to be babied, especially not tonight.

"Yeah, I had another attack. Don't worry, Darry." I assured him, smiling.

"Alright then. If you feel off, tell me." Darry replied.

I nodded at this before walking out of the bathroom, Darry behind me.

I was feeling more sicck by the second, but I learned to hide it.

That was a mistake that I shouldn't have made.

I sat down in between Soda and Ponyboy, who had their stack of cards in hand.

I gathered mine and got ready to play.

"C'mon, one of you kids dealt me a good hand tonight. I don't wanna lose to Two-Bit over here." Steve said.

"Hey, it ain't my fault that I'm a better poker player than you." Two-Bit spat back, obviously challenging Steve.

"Better player? How about a great cheater? You gotta be learning from Soda here." Steve joked.

That made me laugh a little bit.

"C'mon, this is your big chance, you in or out? I can make ya a rich man." I said, holding my cards close to me.

"C'mon, we all know you're just bluffin', Little Sister." Two-Bit said, smiling sheepishly.

After a couple of hands, the light headed feeling in my head started becoming overbearing.

I groaned and found that the chatter between Steve and Two-Bit was making it worse.

I cringed at it.

God… make it stop.

"Ha! I knew it! I knew you were cheating!" Steve scolded Sodapop.

"That was my magic trick! I didn't cheat, I swear!" Soda yelled back at him.

Steve and Soda began to arm wrestle each other.

"Now there's two cheaters in the house! Oh it's on now!" Two-Bit laughed, "We've just started though!"

Those four words made me freeze up, dizziness overwhelming me.

I needed to get away from this, it was too much for me.

Steve ended up winning the arm wrestling match between him and Soda.

"Bex, you feelin' okay?" Ponyboy asked in a perturbed tone, his hand on my back.

I rested my head on my hands, which were being held up by my elbows.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. I think I'm gonna go lay down for a little bit." I said, my stomach telling me to leave.

"You sure, girl? We're only two games in." Steve complained.

"Yes, I'm sure, dammit! Now would you shut your damn trap, Steve?!" I snapped, not meaning to obviously.

To say that my outburst scared everyone was an understatement.

"S-Sorry, guys. I just... " I groaned, holding my head and heard ringing in my ears.

I pushed my chair back and stood up and felt that the room was moving, making me feel sick.

"Whoa, Bex!" Soda exclaimed, catching me before I fell.

The next thing I know, I collapsed in Soda's arms as everything went black.

I don't know how long I was out for.

But the whole time, I was seemingly stuck in a nightmare.

The nightmare of when that Soc was hurting me again.

Everytime I tried waking up, I'd be in a different nightmare.

A constant loop that never seemed to end.

I eventually did wake up, finding myself in my bed; sunshine illuminated my room through the window next to me.

My entire body was smarting and sweating from radiating heat, my head was spinning.

It was uncomfortable.

For a moment, I didn't know if anyone was in my room with me.

It wasn't until I heard someone sniffling as if they were crying.

"Who's here?" I asked, my voice weak and hoarse, as if I hadn't used it in a while.

"Bex, thank god you're awake." Soda said, getting me to look at him.

I squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed my forehead, it felt warm.

"Oh Soda... what happened?" I asked, unable to remember.

My head was throbbing, and I rubbed it again.

"You got passed out the other night. It scared all of us something awful." Soda said, taking a hold of my hand.

I was confused, not remembering any of that.

"I did?" I said in confusion.

"Yeah, you were really pale and looked sick." Soda said, sounding a bit distraught, "Why didn't you say you weren't feeling good?"

"I… I wanted to get my mind off… I didn't want you guys to worry." I said, closing my eyes, tears threatening to spill.

"I know, Baby Girl. But your and Pony's health is more important." Soda said, taking a deep breath.

I took notice that Soda was the only one here in my room.

"Soda, where Darry and them?" I asked, blinking away tears.

"Darry had to go to work and Pony's at school. I don't know where Two-Bit is and Steve's at the DX. They'll be home soon." Soda answered.

"What about you? I thought you had to work?" I asked.

"Steve's taking my shift today. Someone had to stay here with you." Soda answered.

I looked at my brother, he was fighting to stop tears from falling over.

But they came anyway and dripped onto the bed.

"Soda... please don't cry." I said, my voice cracking a bit.

He sniffled and put my hand up to his forehead, crying softly.

"I'm sorry... I got so scared when you passed out." he replied, shaking his head, "We were scared that…"

"Soda..." I cried softly, wanting to be hugged by my brother.

And he does, enveloping me in a gentle embrace.

My ear was over his rapid beating heart.

He was scared to death.

I can't stand to see him cry, it hurt me.

His body shook as he held me close to him; it was as if he was scared of letting me go.

I now regret not telling them that I wasn't feeling good.

"Soda... I'm sorry for not telling you guys." I said in his shoulder, snuggling against him.

"It's alright, baby girl. Don't worry about it now." Soda replied, still hugging me tightly.

"Why do I feel lousy though?" I started, digging my fingers into his flannel shirt.

Soda pulled back a little bit so he could look at me, his hands on my shoulders.

"Bex, look at me." he said,soberly

Which was rare for my laid-back, go with the flow older brother.

My green eyes locked onto his brown ones.

"None of this is your fault, do you hear me? Don't even for one second blame yourself for what happened. Don't let those thoughts get into your head. Both you and Pony are smart kids with bright futures ahead of them, you can get through this. Focus on your grades and focus on getting through school. There's nothing to be afraid of, okay? That Soc is gonna be locked away in jail; he'll never touch or come near you guys again. Don't be afraid to talk to any of us about what is troubling you guys. I'm gonna tell Pony the same thing. You've always got us, Steve, and Two-Bit. Alright? You've got nothing to be ashamed of." Soda said truthfully.

Soda was right about what he said.

Once that Soc was locked away in jail, I wouldn't have to worry about him ever again.

Yeah, the nightmares and stuff will still be there, but I know I'll get through them.

I hugged my brother again, feeling much more relieved.

"Thanks, Soda. I needed to hear that." I said with a smile.

"You're welcome, baby girl. Keep what I said in mind, okay?" he tells me, hugging me back.

The next few hours went by agonizingly slow.

During this, the doctor called to check on me and said that I was instructed to take it easy for a while and not overwork myself, which I was fine with.

Pony came home to see me when school was over.

Darry didn't get home until after five, and he immediately came to check on me.

The doctors told me that the reason I passed out was because of so much stress from the assault from Roy.

That panic attack I had in the bathroom didn't help at all.

If anything, it made it worse.

If I know Darry, he'd make sure that I won't push myself, meaning he'd keep me home from school for the next couple of days, as recommended by the doctor.

Not long after, Two-Bit and Steve come by to see me.

"Lookie here! Our darling princess has finally awoken!" Two-Bit said, throwing an arm around me.

"Hardy har, Two-Bit." I scoff playfully, getting out from underneath his arm.

It amused me to hear him call me their "Darling Princess."

"How're you feeling, girl? Gave us quite a scare." Steve asked me, eating a piece of chocolate cake that was in the fridge.

"I feel fine. Don't worry." I said, trying not to shake, remembering what made me pass out.

The gang all hugged me to comfort me, which I appreciated.

Afterwards we all sat in the livingroom to watch some Mickey Mouse cartoons.

Donald Duck had always been my favorite so I was always happy when I saw that short-tempered duck on screen.

About halfway through the show, my head started to hurt.

I told the guys that I was gonna take some aspirin and lay down for a bit.

Thankfully, they understood.

I got word that the court hearing would be in a few weeks because that Soc was still recovering.

I didn't want him to.

I wanted him to suffer like Pony and I have.

On the desk, was Johnny's copy of Gone with the Wind.

Pony and I never had the guts to finish it since he died.

Neither one of us got past the part of how gallant that one guy was in the book.

I sit down at the desk and take the book in my hands.

I turned it to the page about the bugs being in people's faces.

I start reading aloud to myself, "Lying in the pit of the sun, shoulder to shoulder, head to feet were hundreds of men lying in the tracks, the sidewalks, stretched out in the endless under the car shed. Some..."

I tried focusing on what the page was saying, but something was pulling me out of it.

My head started to pound as the voices came back. "STOP! PLEASE! IT HURTS!"

I continued reading but felt my head starting to ache, making it hard to read.

"Some lay stiff and still, but many... ma-any..." my voice trailed off, the book falling onto the desk.

"STOP! OH GOD! PLEASE, IT HURTS! STOP!"

Tears trailed down my face again and I fell to the floor, the chair falling over.

I backed into the wall, my hands over my ears in hopes of blocking out the voices.

It didn't help.

"Stop? Why would I stop? I'm just getting started." the voice came back.

"Get out of my head! Get out!" I shouted, banging my head against the desk.

They kept coming...

I shut my eyes tightly, the colors swirling around me and I could see their faces, laughing at me, taunting me.

"I've had a good time, she-grease. I hope to do it again." they laughed.

With audible grunts, I bang my head harder with my hands over my ears.

I wanted the voices to leave me alone.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" I screamed, banging my head against the desk once more before everything went silent.

After that, nausea instantly washed over me and everything felt heavy.

I tried standing up but the wobbliness in my legs made me fall again.

I couldn't make it to my bed so I laid down on the floor, feeling more sick by the second.

Then, I heard the panicked shouts and yells from someone.

It sounded like Soda, but I wasn't sure.

"Bex! Oh god! Are you okay?!" he said, carefully picking me up so as to not hurt me anymore.

"So...Soda?" I say weakly, my vision split in two.

"Someone call 911! Hurry!" Soda cried, pulling me up to his chest.

My throbbing head was leaning against his chest, my eyelids getting heavier.

I felt something warm run down the side of my head.

"Soda... the voices... I had to make them go away... I'm... I'm..." I said, my vision started getting blurry and everything was spinning.

"Don't talk, baby girl, help is coming." he said softly to me, his voice distorted in my ear.

Darkness then consumed me.

(Darry's POV)

The three of us were in the waiting room, awaiting the news on Bexley.

We've been here for the last hour without any.

We couldn't be more worried about her.

Ponyboy was the one who called for an ambulance.

The whole time he was in a panic, just like the rest of us were.

She had just gotten over being sick from passing out.

Soda was the most worried, smoking on a cigarette to compose himself.

Two-Bit and Steve decided to stay home and we'd let them know how things go.

We all heard some commotion going on in the bedroom while we were in the house, watching a Mickey Mouse cartoon.

Then there were shouts coming from the bedroom, accompanied with banging sounds.

We ran in there to see Bex on the floor, by the desk that her and Pony share, her head bleeding.

She was hitting her head against the desk.

None of use knew what caused her to do that.

I ran a hand over my face with my eyes shut, worried as hell.

I was supposed to take care of my kid siblings, but I feel as though I failed mom and dad.

I promised I'd protect them...

Another thirty minutes passed by and a doctor walked into the waiting room, clipboard in his hands.

"Family of Bexley Curtis?" he called.

Soda, Ponyboy, and I all stood up and we walked over to the doctor.

"My name is Dr. Williams, Bexley will be my patient while she's staying here." the doctor tells us,

"Are you members of the family?"

"I'm Darrel Curtis Jr, Bexley's guardian, and this is Sodapop and Ponyboy, our other two brothers." I replied, shaking Dr. Williams' hand.

"Is she okay?" Ponyboy asked, desperate to know.

"Calm down, son. She's alright. She had to have about 20 stitches in her head because of a gash that was inflicted onto her head." Dr. Williams reassured.

"Can we see her?" Soda asked worriedly.

"Of course. Follow me. She should be awake by now." Dr. Williams said with a smile.

We followed him to her room, which was on the second floor.

The doctor let us into the room, and my heart seemed to break.

She looked so fragile laying in that hospital bed, her head was wrapped in gauze.

I saw that dark circles were underneath her eyes, indicating that she didn't get much sleep.

The doctor closed the door to leave us alone with our kid sister.

She looks at us with a weak smile, showing she was happy to see us despite her being tired.

Pony instantly ran to her side along with Sodapop, I came to her other side.

"Hey guys… fancy meeting you here." she said so innocently.

"Hey baby girl." Sodapop said, having happy tears in his eyes.

"What happened?" Bexley asked, her voice hoarse.

She cringed, obviously from the pain in her head.

We all looked at each other, finding it hard to tell her why she was in here.

(Bex's POV)

"You hit your head, sweetie. You had to get 12 stitches." Darry replies, taking my hand.

"I did? Hell, I don't remember that." I asked, rubbing my head because it was throbbing.

Everything was a blur when I woke up.

I couldn't remember what happened before I passed out.

Dear god, what the hell happened?

I felt around my head and found that the side of my head was stitched up.

"How'd I get here?" I asked, looking around in confusion.

"An ambulance brought you here. We heard you screaming and hitting against something. When we went in there, your head was bleeding." Soda answered, sounding like he was on the verge of tears.

"Bex, why did you do that to yourself?" Ponyboy asked.

Then, it all came back like I had run into a brick wall.

I remembered hitting my head against the desk because those voices wouldn't quit taunting me.

I didn't want to cry, I've done enough of that for almost a month.

But it took over anyway.

"I... I wanted them to leave... they were taunting me, laughing at me. I didn't want to hear them." I sobbed, no tears were falling.

I then feel myself getting lifted from the hospital bed and brought into a comforting yet gentle hug; it was Soda.

I feel my other two brothers hug me just as gently as Soda.

It's all I needed right now, just to be held by my family.

I wanted to be held by the ones that I love most.

After about half an hour later, I fell asleep.

But my sleep wouldn't last though.

I was plagued by another damn nightmare.

(Soda's POV)

Bexley had been asleep for around four hours, it was still deep into the night.

Maybe around one or two in the morning.

Ponyboy had fallen asleep on the hospital room sofa.

He didn't have school the next day, so we let him stay here.

Darry and I knew that he was, if not, more scared for Bexley than the rest of us.

I couldn't stop shaking from finding her like that.

My heart was beating hard out of my chest.

I couldn't move, nor think, nor breathe when she passed out in my arms again.

I was starting to doze off in my seat, finding it hard to stay awake.

Not even coffee could help me stay awake.

Neither Darry or I spoke much, too scared of waking our kid brother and kid sister up.

But something did wake me up, the sound of an all-too-familiar whimper.

My head shot towards the hospital bed and I saw that something wasn't right.

Even in my tired state, I could see that my baby sister was having a nightmare.

I got up from my chair and placed a hand on her forehead.

I was shocked to feel that she was burning up.

She whimpered in terror, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Don't touch me! No!" she whimpered in fear, shaking her head back and forth.

I looked back at Darry with a worried expression.

Darry saw this and he set his coffee on the table.

In the process, Pony ended up waking up.

"Huh? What's going on?" my kid brother asks tiredly, sitting up on the couch.

"Bex is having a nightmare." Darry said, going to the other side of Bex.

Pony was fully awake and aware of what was happening.

He ran over to her, distraught by the look of terror on her face.

Darry gently grabbed her shoulders and shook her a little bit.

She struck him in horror because he was touching her.

"No! Get off me! Don't hurt me! Oh god, please!" she screamed, still struggling to get loose.

"Bex, wake up. It's Darry, honey." Darry spoke, shaking her again.

This time she woke up with a sharp gasp, her chest heaving heavily.

Her eyes were opened wider than I thought possible.

She was covered in sweat and was shaking all over.

"Bexley, baby girl, it's just us. You're safe." I assured her, getting her to look at me sharply.

She was paralyzed by fear.

None of us needed to ask what it was about; we already figured it out.

She cringed and let out a shaky breath.

"Take it easy, sissy. You'll make yourself sick if you don't." Darry reminded, remembering her head injury.

She took a few deep breaths and tried to get her breathing back in control.

"Are you okay, Bex?" Ponyboy asked.

"Y-Yeah. I'm okay now." she replied, swallowing the lump in her throat.

She was more calmer now, her breaths more steady.

"Try to sleep, Bex. We'll be here if you need us." I assure her, sliding the hospital chair up so that I would sit next to her.

(Bex's POV)

About four weeks went by and we had to go to the trial, even Two-Bit and Steve.

Darry had reminded them to dress nicely for it.

There was little to no argument in it.

Darry dressed in dad's old suit, Sodapop wore his best suit, Pony wore a suit for boys his age.

I wore a maroon colored sweater with jeans.

I couldn't be more nervous for today.

I had to sit at the defendant's table with a lawyer sitting next to me.

Thankfully, it was a woman lawyer with a briefcase and all.

My brothers, Two-Bit and Steve had to sit in the benches behind the railing.

While one of the Soc's was at the witness stand, I glanced back at my brothers for reassurance.

They gave me a wink, getting me to smile.

The Soc that raped me was sitting at the Plaintiff's Table.

When it was my turn, my stomach twisted into a knot.

I answered each question as truthfully as I could, from what happened and all of that.

It was painful to tell the court about what happened but I knew that it'd be enough to get that Soc put in jail.

Then, Ponyboy spoke his piece, then it was Two-Bit and Steve.

After 10 minutes of speculation, the judge finally spoke.

"We, hereby, declare the Plaintiff, guilty of first-degree sexual assault." the jury spoke.

The Soc who hurt me and Pony ended up getting life in prison, much to our relief.

We couldn't help but celebrate that that bastard was gonna be put behind bars.

Two-Bit and Steve were both let off the hook for beating him up.

We all decided to go to the drive-in to see the latest movie that came out recently.

After it, Two-Bit throws an arm around my shoulders.

"How does it feel to know that that bastard is behind bars?" he says, making me feel warm inside.

"I can't tell you guys how amazing it feels." I say, smiling for the first time in almost two months, "I'm okay now. As long as I have you guys here, I'll be okay."

"Bexley..." Soda said, turning to face me.

"I know I wasn't myself for a while, and for a good reason. Honestly, it'll take me a while before I can recover fully." I said, feeling the scar on the side of my head.

The gang came up to hug me.

"We ain't ever gonna leave you, baby girl." Soda proclaims, holding me close to him.

"You guys promise?" I asked.

"We promise." they said in unison.

I closed my eyes and smiled, feeling relaxed in the arms of the gang and my brothers.

Tomorrow, this'll all just be a bad dream.

I can start healing those internal wounds that had torn through me.

Those nightmares would still haunt me but I wouldn't let them bring me down anymore.