Chapter Text
Darry sat down on the chair, his legs crossed and his mouth shut. The room was quiet and dark. Ponyboy and Sodapop were sleeping, so there was nobody to bother him while he was eating his first meal of the day. By then it was already 10PM, and Darry knew he was losing energy.
The day came by so fast it made his head spin. And with two jobs, Darry didn’t have much time to himself. And boy, was he exhausted.
The food tasted old and stale, but at this point, Darry was so hungry he just didn’t care. The rest of the food in the fridge was breakfast for Pony and Soda— and maybe the rest of the gang if they decided to come along.
By the time he was done, Darry was too tired to process that he was walking to the couch instead of his bed. And before he knew it, his eyes were closed.
“Dar?” Someone was standing over him.
“Hm?” Darry stirred, struggling to open his eyes.
“Darry, it’s 9:48, your late for your shift.” Soda crossed his arms, an expression of concern clear across his face. Darry’s eyes widened as he looked at the clock.
“Ya okay, Dar? Why were ya on the couch?” Sodapop raised an eyebrow.
“I dunno. But I gotta get to work, kiddo. Ya mind making breakfast for Pony?” Darry shot up from the couch, running to get ready.
“Yeah, Dar, I’ll get to it.”
Darry knew he was in trouble by the time he basically sprinted in to work. His boss was an old friend of his parents. Saddened by the loss, he gave Darry a job as a roofer to get by. Darry walked in with his head hanging low. His boss gave him a hardened look.
“Ya look exhausted.” He frowned at him.
“I’m fine.” Darry tried to smile, but his tone was dull.
“Darryl, go home for t’day. I don’t want’cha getting hurt on the job.” His boss sounded stern. After a few moments of hesitation and slight begging, Darry finally walked out the door.
“Another paycheck gone.” He muttered.
Only Sodapop was there when he got home.
“Darry? What happened? I thought ya went to work?” Soda said, perplexed.
“I dunno, he said I looked tired.”
“Dar, ya okay? You’ve been actin’ awful weird today. If something’s goin’ on you can tell me.” Soda looked up at Darry, and he was met with a cold glare.
“Nothin’ to worry about, Pepsi. Enjoy yer day off.” Darry tried to sound as nice as possible, but Sodapop could see the vein twitching in Darry’s face.