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Soda reached out and his arm fell on empty space. He was immediately wide awake.
Even though Pony had been home for a while now, Soda was still scared that he would wake up and find that they had never found their little brother.
And now Pony's side of the bed was empty and cold.
Soda tried quell his rising panic. He probably just went to the bathroom. He'll be back soon.
Soda attempted to calm down and go back to sleep, but the minutes ticked by and Pony didn't return. In fact there were no sounds in the house at all to indicate that he was there.
What if he left? He wouldn't do that. Would he?
Pony had been struggling, Soda knew that, but he didn't think that that would cause his brother to run away again.
With no more delay Soda got up and crept as quietly as he could through the house. He didn't want to wake Darry up over what was probably nothing.
The bathroom was empty. So was the kitchen and the living room.
Now Soda couldn't stop the fear that was spreading throughout his body. He couldn't do this again. He couldn't lose his baby brother again. He didn't think he could survive it.
He was just about to get Darry when he looked out the window and saw Ponyboy outside on the sidewalk, coming in through the gate.
Soda practically flew out the door and down the front walk and grabbed a startled Pony by the shoulders.
"Where have you been?" Soda demanded, his heart slamming in his chest.
"I just- I went for a walk. Needed to clear my head," Pony said, confused by the outburst.
Soda closed his eyes and dragged his hands through his hair. "You can't just leave without saying anything Ponyboy. Especially in the middle of the night. We've talked about this."
"I didn't think you'd wake up before I got back," Pony said quietly.
Soda sighed and pulled his brother into a hug. "I need you to tell me if you're gonna be gone for a while. It scares me when I wake up and don't know where you are." Soda's voice was shaking a little bit, he was still trying to come down from his earlier panic.
"I'm sorry," Pony mumbled. "I wasn't thinking. I don't mean to scare you."
"I know honey." He hugged Pony tighter before pulling back to cup his little brother's face in his hands.
"From now on will you tell me if you're gonna be up for a while so I won't have to come looking for you?"
Ponyboy nodded.
"And I need you to promise me that you won't go wandering around in the middle of the night. You know me and Darry don't want you out by yourself after dark."
Pony looked like he wanted to argue but stopped himself. He dropped his gaze to the ground and said, "I promise."
"Hey," Soda said his voice softening, "I'm not mad at you. I just need you to be safe."
Pony nodded again and lurched forward to hug his brother. "I'm sorry for scaring you Soda. I love you."
"I love you too baby. So much," Soda murmured, pressing a kiss to the side of his brother's head.