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Three sharp knocks sounded on the door.
“Pony, get the door!” Darry shouted from the kitchen where he and Two-Bit were putting last touches on the grease in their hair. Mom and Dad were gonna be home soon and they wanted to get to the party so they wouldn’t get a lecture on drunk driving again.
When the knocks sounded again, Darry shouted again, “Pony, Soda, get the door!”
Soda, Steve, and Dally were in the living room, the TV blaring over their game of cards. Ponyboy and Johnny were back in the bedroom, probably reading or just talking. Those two were strange like that.
“I got it!” Soda yelled back. A moment later, Darry heard his feet thundering down the hall and two the door. He heard the door open. “Darry?” Soda called back to him.
Anxiety twisted in Darry’s chest, his brother sounded scared. Exchanging a glance with Two-Bit, Darry ducked out of the kitchen.
He nearly ran smack into Ponyboy who must have heard the same waver in their brother’s voice. The two of them looked at the door. Soda stepped aside to let them see two police officers standing there with grim looks on their faces. The one in front was holding his hat in his hands.
Something happened. Something was deeply wrong.
Darry walked up, nudging Soda behind him. Greasers didn’t mix with cops, if anything were to happen, he wanted it directed at him and not his brothers. “What’s the problem, officer?”
The police officer swallowed and then met Darry’s eyes with something like pity. “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, son, but your parents were in an accident.”
They were gone before paramedics could get there.
I’m so sorry for your loss.
Is there anyone we can call for you?
The world turned to numb buzzing.
Soda sidled up to Darry over, shaking his head like he was trying to get rid of flies, “It’s gotta be a mistake. Mom and Dad are supposed to be home in five minutes-”
The police officer looked at Soda sympathetically. From behind them, Darry could hear the other boys gathering.
“I’m sorry, there’s no mistake. We found their driver’s licenses in the wreck and-”
“No,” Soda said vehemently. “It’s not them.” He turned to Darry with big, pleading eyes, “Tell them they’re wrong, Darry.”
The whispering behind them grew louder.
Should we call someone?
Who would we call? We’re all right here.
Darry blinked. He needed to be strong. His brothers needed him. He blinked again. Darry forced back the tears that started to build in his eyes. He blinked. And then he looked at his little brother.
“Soda, they’re right,” Darry said. He forced his vocal chords to be even, to not betray an ounce of emotion.
And Soda began to sob, a horrible sound that speared Darry right in the heart. Ponyboy sprinted towards the bathroom and moments later, Darry heard retching. The earth was falling out from under his feet and still the officers were looking at him with pity.
Behind him, Dally said, “I’ll be back.” And then Darry was being pushed out of the way and the officers were being shoved aside as Dally stormed down the front stoop and to his car.
The officer took a step forward, “Son, there are a few things we need to discuss with you. It will just take a moment.”
Darry felt a hand on the back of his neck and Two-Bit steered him onto the porch, the door shutting behind him. He tried to fight against it, saying, “Two, I gotta- My brothers-”
Two-Bit nodded, “I know. We’ll go right back inside. He looked at the officers, “Anything you need to tell Darry, you can tell me too. What happened?”
The officers exchanged a look. “They were crossing the train tracks and their car was hit. They died on impact.” Darry thought he was going to throw up, but he swallowed instead and forced himself to listen. “Son, we’ll need you or your brothers to identify their bodies, it’s just a formality, but we need to do it.”
“I’ll do it,” Darry said quickly. He couldn’t let his brothers do that, no way in hell. “Does it have to be now?”
“Of course not,” the officer replied. “Tomorrow or the day after.” Darry nodded. “And then there’s the issue of your brothers being under eighteen-”
His heart dropped to his gut, blind panic now filling the numbness. “You’re not taking them away, are you?” Two-Bit’s hand clenched down on his shoulder.
“No, no,” the officer said reassuringly. “A social worker will be in touch in a few days.”
Darry nodded. He heard Two-Bit say something else to the officers and then shook their hands with a courteous nod. The police left and Two-Bit and Darry were alone on the front porch. There was still that buzzing in Darry’s ears.
He felt Two-Bit steer him to sit down on the steps, an arm slung around his shoulders.
Two brought their heads together affectionately and held them like that. Darry took a shuddering breath.
When Ponyboy ran to the bathroom, Johnny followed him immediately. By the time Johnny skidded into the small room, Ponyboy was already hunched over the toilet and retching. Johnny sat down beside him. He put one hand on Pony’s back and rubbed soothing circles.
What could he possibly say?
His parents were dead . Johnny felt like crying himself, Mr. and Mrs. Curtis were the closest thing he had to loving parents. But right then, Ponyboy needed him so he had to be strong.
As Pony kept throwing up, he was sobbing too. It was a terrible sound, one that sent chills down Johnny’s spine. He’d never heard his best friend like that, never seen Pony in such despair. Normally when Pony was upset, Soda or Darry would step in, but Darry was talking to the officers and Johnny could hear Soda’s own crying in the living room. He was all Pony had.
So he wrapped his arms around his friend and pressed his head to his back. Johnny thought of sunshine and swimming in the lake and any happy thoughts. He imagined himself wrapping Pony in those warm thoughts.
After a long while, Pony stopped throwing up. He leaned back and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. He looked at Johnny with red eyes and snot under his nose. “Is this really happening?” Pony’s voice was a hair’s breadth away from breaking.
“Yeah,” Johnny said, starting to cry then. “Yeah, it is.”
And Pony all but collapsed against Johnny. Johnny held him fast, his cheek resting on Pony’s greased hair as tears made their way down his face.
Soda thrived on affection. So it was no surprise that when he was in his deepest despair, he clung to his best friend.
Steve’s jacket was covered in snot and tears, but he didn’t say anything. They were curled up on the couch. Steve was pressed against the arm of the couch and Soda was practically sitting in his lap. Soda stopped crying a few minutes ago. Steve ran his fingers through his friend’s hair and held him tight. He’d watch the officers’ car leave, but Two-Bit and Darry remained outside.
Steve had no idea how long they sat there. Every so often, Soda would ask about Pony or Darry and Steve would reassure him that they were okay and they would be coming back soon. He didn’t know if it was true, for all he knew, Darry had run off just like his mom. Something in Steve’s gut told him it wasn’t true. He worried anyway.
Moments later, the front door opened and Dally marched back in, followed by Two-Bit with his arm around Darry. In Dally’s hands were two greasy bags of fast food. The smell of fries and burgers must have drawn the younger boys because Johnny and Pony emerged from the bathroom. Pony still looked pale and he had a white knuckled grip on Johnny’s hand.
The second Darry walked in, his two brothers bolted to him and hugged him. Darry’s face was screwed up as he fought not to cry. He squeezed his eyes closed as he embraced the boys.
Two-Bit patted Dally on the shoulder and ducked into the kitchen. He emerged a moment later with plates and glasses of water. As he and Dally made up plates of food, all of them glanced away from the brothers.
They needed a moment of privacy.
Darry pressed his head to his brothers’ hair. He could feel them shaking, could feel their tears. He inhaled deeply. One minute at a time, that was how he was going to take this. Darry was young and he was scared. Pony and Soda were younger, they were more scared.
He pulled back and put a hand on Soda and Pony’s cheeks, “Come on, let’s sit down and eat.”
Pony wrapped his arms around himself and shook his head, “I’m not hungry.”
“Me neither,” Darry agreed, he ran his thumb along Pony’s cheek. “But it’s getting late and we haven’t eaten. Just a few bites, baby.”
Darry nudged the two of them onto the couch. He wasn’t surprised when they curled up against him, practically sitting on top of him. Two-Bit and Johnny sat down on the couch, Dally taking the chair, and Steve on the floor. Soda moved his feet to rest on Steve’s shoulders. Steve didn’t push them off.
Darry didn’t eat at first, he just watched his brothers and waited for each of them to take a few bites. He had to nudge Pony’s elbow a few times, but eventually he choked down a few fries. Only then did Darry start to eat.
The house was completely silent, despite being filled with seven boys.
After they all ate, Darry looked at his brothers. They looked right back at him helplessly, unsure of what to do or how to react. Darry gently instructed Ponyboy to go take a shower and Soda to help Johnny with the dishes. Neither of the boys fought him on it, they just nodded and did as they were told.
Once they were out of the room, Darry looked at Steve, Two-Bit, and Dally, “Y’all don’t need to stay. I-I can-”
“We’re staying.” To his surprise, it was Dally who cut him off.
Two-Bit nodded, “If you think we’re gonna leave right now, you’re stupid.”
That almost pulled a chuckle out of Darry. He just leaned over and squeezed Two-Bit’s hand, hoping it conveyed how much that meant to him. He knew that the other boys were upset, and had seen them shed tears when they thought the brothers weren’t looking.
That night, the seven of them slept in the living room. The coffee table was shoved aside to make room for a massive pile of blankets and pillows in front of the TV. Darry watched their friends envelope his younger brothers. Two-Bit nudged Soda until he changed into pajamas. Steve complained about Pony’s wet hair dripping on him, but he scrubbed Pony’s head with a towel anyway.
Dally kicked Darry’s leg none too gently to force him to look up at him. “I know you’re not gonna sleep, but you should lay down.”
Darry nodded and let himself be bullied into lying down beside Soda. Dally was right, he didn’t sleep and he didn’t think many of the other guys did. The only reason he knew Ponyboy drifted off was because a few hours later, he woke up with a blood curdling scream.
It took a long while to get Ponyboy calmed down, Soda just held him as tight as he could while Darry looked on helplessly. After that no one got much sleep.
Morning light crested through the sky and crept in through the windows. Darry looked across the living room. His eyes lingered on every face and the places where they were holding each other up. It was a new day. The first day of his life without his parents.