Once we reached my room, I opened the door and led Johnny to my bed.
"Wait here honey, I'll go get the first aid kit," I told him, looking at his bruised face again and frowned. I could tell he was so scared by taking one look at him. He didn't say anything as I walked out of the room and grabbed the first-aid kit.
When I got back, Johnny was shaking and crying. I sat on the bed beside him and draped my arms across his shoulders and he immediately nuzzled his face in the crook of my neck.
"It's okay honey, it's going to be okay," I told him as I rubbed his back.
"I-I just feel so useless," He hiccuped and laid back on my bed. "I can't be in my own house without being beaten by my own parents, MY parents," He sighed.
I laid down next to him and sighed.
"Let me clean you up darling," I said immediately changing the sore subject. I had no idea how to comfort him. Before my parents died they were amazing. The only thing that kept me from where I am now. But they're gone so here I am, a delinquent greaser.
I began to clean his cuts before I opened my big, fat mouth. "To tell you the truth, my parents were great so I have no idea what to say to you. Your parents treat you like shit and you are the sweetest person I know and I had amazing parents and I turned out like shit. What a messed-up world we live in." I shared my thoughts out loud. To be quite honest, before Pony brought Johnny home from the park one day when we were kids, I would have thought that everyone's parents are as amazing as mine were but I now knew that wasn't reality. Even those in our gang had bad parents. Dally's dad didn't give a hang about him and his mom was dead. Steve's dad hits him and his mom is too scared to do anything about it. Two's mom is great but, Two's dad left them and Two's little sister. And Johnny, poor little Johnny, had both of his parents beat him, and he can't do anything about it because deep down he still loves them. How? I have no clue.
"You know, you can stay here anytime you need," I said breaking the silence between him and I.
"Wouldn't want to be a burden," he said simply as he pushed my hand away from his face.
I pushed my hand back to continue to clean his wounds. "You're not Johnnycake and you know it," I retorted. With this statement, he melted into my touch, his tense shoulders easing up and his hands unclenching the fists that he previously held.
"Okay, can I stay tonight?" he said obviously thinking I was going to say no.
"Of course," he nodded, and before he could say anything I told him to go take a shower and I would bring him clothes in a minute.
I walked with him downstairs and ushered him to the bathroom and made my attention known to the boys in my living room once I heard the shower start.
"Ahem," I said calling their attention while shaping my fingers. All of their heads jolted in my direction, The five boys that I was so close to.
"Yes miss Minnie mouse?" Two-Bit said earning a laugh from Steve. It was one of the quirky nicknames I earned from being the only girl in a gang of seven boys.
"What do you want Glor?" Dally added. That one too. I got that from the song 'Gloria' by Van Morrison, my favorite song to dance to at Bucks. Soda was the first to call me that on our sixteenth birthday. We did karaoke and that was the song he sang since it was my favorite and he was my twin. I was jamming so hard that Soda started calling me that so now it just sticks.
"Did you dopes hear Johnny come in or were you just too wrapped up in your talk about girls that you failed to notice?" I said. They all shook their heads. "he got beat by his parents again, I took care of it. But, just don't mess with him today," I added. Dally stood up obviously pissed off.
"I want to kill those sons of bitches," he said with his teeth gritted and his fists clenched.
"Dallas, I got it," I told him. He sat down after I told him off. He would always listen to me when I told him off. I thought it was odd considering Dallas Winston lived by no rules.
I walked into the kitchen once the boys resumed their talk about all the girls they had the hots for and resumed the breakfast I started cooking before johnny came in here.
While I cracked eggs in the pan I started to hum 'Gloria'.
"G-L-O-R-I-A," I whispered just barely.
Once I finished cooking for these bafoons, I called them to the food. They came and grabbed it and I ruffled Johnny's freshly washed hair.
We began our normal conversation, girls, cars, and parties. we chattered away for what seemed like hours until Steve finally said something interesting.
"There's a drag race going on today. Y'all should come. Me and Sodiepop are racing,"
"I'm down if you're down," I said looking around the table.
There was a chorus of 'yeses' and 'fine by me's'.
It was agreed. We were all going to this drag race.
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I made this today and this is how I imagine Gracie to look like so there you go.
