"Y/n! Pony, Dal, & Johnny are at the hospital! I'm goin' there now with the boys. Meet me there will ya?" Darry's voice stammered across the phone line.
"Yes, I'll meet ya there. Bye Darry." I hung up the phone & took a deep breathe. They're back, they returned. A wave of relief flowed across my body knowing that Darry's worries will now be much smaller than they were before.
He told me everything that had happened, all of it. How he pushed Pony, how he ran away & how Johnny killed Bob, although I found that out by reading the newspaper. My poor Darry, I knew he didn't mean to push Pony. It's not like him, he gets into very stressful states but no one ever notices. I mean how could they? He's the older brother, the one who takes care of everyone. It always seemed as if no one thought about the oldest siblings mental health.
Quickly rushing towards my front door, I took my parents car keys & ran out to the car. They were at church which was down the street, so they just walked most of the time unless the weather was bad.
Hoping into the car, turning on the ignition I began to drive to the hospital. I was worried about the entire gang. I had never seen them this upset before. Turning into the parking lot, I found an open space & parked in it. I turned off the car & scurried inside. As I ran into the building, I looked over at the receptionist.
"Hello dear, are you okay?" She gave me a worried look.
"Um yeah..yeah," I spoke softly to her. I didn't know exactly what to ask her so I gave her a small smile & walked towards the hallway. I looked right & left & continued to walk until I saw Darry & Soda hugging Pony. I took a left turn & walked towards them.
"I thought I lost you like I did mom & dad," I heard Darry cry out. He pulled Pony into a hug. My heart shattered at the sound of that statement. He told me every night since Pony left about how afraid he was if Pony was dead. He couldn't deal with losing his kid brother. They pulled away & the three boys went in for a group hug. I was just happy that he's safe & that they reunited again.
I let them pull away from the hug & Darry had turned around. He opened his arms & gave me a big bear hug.
"Thanks for comin' love. I'm so glad he's okay. I just couldn't imagine if he was de-" he cut himself off by beginning to cry into the crook of my neck.
"Hey hey, it's okay. He's here now, right? You just got to hug him..see I told you he'd be alright. Pony's still got a lot in his spirit to continue living. Baby, it's okay," I spoke softly while rubbing his back. I knew he was crying from relief but it still hurt knowing why he was cryin in the first place.
After a while of hugging him & trying my best to soothe him, he finally let go of me. He sniffled & wiped his tears. I gave a light smile, I held his hand & walked over to Pony & Soda.
"Hey Pony!" I spoke. He got up & gave me a hug. He smelled like smoke & was sorta sticky from the sweat. I wasn't going to complain though, I was just glad he was back & safe.
"Please..don't scare us like that again or else I'll be hunting you down & locking you in your room," I laughed.
"Oh you wouldn't," Pony returned the laugh. We pulled away. I walked up to Soda who although seemed relieved to see his younger brother, I could still see the worry look in his eyes. I placed my hand on his shoulder, he looked up at me.
"I told ya he'd be here again," I mouthed. He nodded & looked down at the ground. I turned back to look at Darry who was smiling at me warm-heartedly.
I had gone back to Darry who had his arm wrapped around my waist. I had asked Pony how Johnny & Dally were doin & a couple of nurses who walked out of Johnny's room. Deep down I knew this wasn't going to end well. As much as I would try to convince myself that he was going to make it, overhearing the nurses talking to the doctors about how bad Johnny's condition was had kept pushing my hope further & further down. I tried my best not to show it in front of the boys, but even then we all knew there was no way that Johnny was going to make it. That broke everyone's hearts.
After being at the hospital for a while, we all finally headed home. Darry, Soda, & Pony all went in the truck while I went in my car. Arriving to the house, I'd seen Darry get out & carry Pony out; he fell asleep. Oh I bet he was tired, god I don't like to imagine how things would've gone if Pony had gotten injured. The thing is, Dal & Johnny are still back at the hospital. I knew Dal would be fine but... Johnny ..there's no way our poor boy will make it, my gut is telling me. I'll take care of the boys though, we all have to stick together. We have too.
"You okay love?" Darry asked, snapping me back into reality.
"Oh.. I'm okay. You put pony to bed?"
He nodded his head with a sly grin,
"Told you he'd be okay. Well, I'm going to head home."
"I love you, you've been here throughout this whole situation & not once have you blown up on me for being so worrisome. There was probably times you did want too, but you never did & I adore that about you."
I smiled at Darry & shook my head.
"I told ya that I'd be here for you.. I take my promises to heart Dar, I love you," I tip-toed & we shared a very genuine kiss together. He wrapped his arms around my waist & held me for a moment. I felt him give a big sigh, kiss my forehead, & walked me to my car.
"Be safe. See ya tomorrow!"
I nodded & grinned, I waved good-bye as I drove away. He slowly walked back to his house & headed inside. I just knew that he was finally going to be able to sleep despite knowing the other boys are still at the hospital. He's at peace for now, that's good enough.
I was too exhausted to start overthinking about the other boys, I brushed it off & went inside my house. My parents were about to be home any second from church. I headed into my room to change & head to bed. I'll explain everything to my parents tomorrow & stop by the Dar's house tomorrow.
