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“Ponyboy, Pony! God, wake up…” I screamed, my throat was tight and I could barely see through tears, the concrete I kneeled on was flooded with dirty water and blood. I stumbled back standing up slowly, I was shaking so bad and I didn’t even feel like I was quite in my body.
I took in a deep breath, really taking in the scene before my eyes, two dead boys lay there, one, a Soc laid a little farther with his hand awkwardly tucked over his body and his pale vest stained badly with red. And two, Ponyboy, who rested right next to the wall of the fountain, his back faced me and he almost looked like he was just sleeping, he was almost fully soaked from his waist up, hair was messy and pooled onto the concrete.
I felt tears pool in my eyes and I let them fall, I ran a hand through my hair, taking in another large breath, and I ran. I could feel the cement change to the soft grass as I took off. I was a coward.
I was sitting on the living room couch, one of my hands on Darry’s leg, I was talking to him, trying to make him feel better, he regretted it practically the second it had happened but without Ponyboy here there was no way to apologize, and neither of us was ready to go after him. Our house phone rang, Darry started to get up but I stopped him.
“I’ll get it, Dar, just stay here a second,” I muttered, I picked up the cream-coloured telephone putting it to my ear and pausing a moment to look back at Darry.
“Hello?” I didn’t know who it was, I think a part of me had hoped it was Ponyboy somehow though, instead I heard a croaky voice.
“I… P-Pony, he-”
“Johnny?” I found myself asking out loud, cutting him off, before a few beeps played, telling me he had hung up.
I looked back behind me, at the crime scene, and pushed the phone back into the receiver, panic rushing through my chest.
“Who was that?” Darry had asked, I looked back for a moment.
“It was Johnny, I don’t know what happened though… he hung up right away.”
“Should we… go look then?”
“I- yeah, I think we should.” I said carefully, he started to get up, “The only place I know close enough to call from a phone booth is the park, let's go check that out,” I pat his shoulder and we’re out the door, it’s barely a few minutes away.
Footsteps tap nearby and I want to run, my body lurches like I should, but I can't bring myself to get up, so I stay hurled up at the phone booth. Two figures approach, I look through bleary eyes and I can guess it's the two Curtis brothers, when I follow their stare I see how they stare at their brother. Guilt flushes my body and I can feel fresh tears come once more, I killed their brother, their kid brother.
One of the figures hugs the other and I curl in on myself more, the tears start to spill from the corners of my eyes, I try to be quiet but I just couldn’t help it, one loud, gasping sob and I notice the figures begin to face me. I bury my face into the arms of my jean jacket preparing for the beating of my life or something, it doesn’t matter how close I was to them, I killed one of their last family, my own best friend.