one of them

two

Donna's POV

The phone startled me a bit. I was wondering who was calling this late at night. I thought maybe it was Julia. She's my best friend and sometimes she'll call to hang out, but never really this late. And I thought she was working tonight.

I picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi, I need to speak to Darrel Curtis Jr., Donna Curtis, Sodapop Curtis, or Ponyboy Curtis in that order."

"Umm... this is Donna. Darrel is outside right now getting the mail if you have a few moments."

"I'm afraid not. Are you sitting down?"

"Yes." I said. I felt myself get nervous. Who was this and why were they asking such weird questions?

"There's no easy way to say this, but unfortunately we have found Darrel Curtis Sr. and Donna Curtis deceased. They were in an auto accident on the train tracks on Lange Road."

In that moment, the whole world seemed to stop. I noticed Darry and Sodapop finally make it inside. "Ponyboy!" Darry called out.

"Donna, what's going on?" Sodapop asked.

"You okay, Donna?" Darrel asked.

They asked more questions, but they all seemed to be distant mumbled. All I could hear was the light breathing on the other end of the phone. "Deceased?" I asked.

Even when the world seemed to be spinning, I noticed Soda and Dar's facial expression. They were confused. Ponyboy walked out of his room and noticed the vibe in the room.

"I'm so sorry. We are going to have a social worker stop by your house tomorrow. They will be there with you to discuss how things will move forward. Lucky for you guys, I have here that Darrel is an adult and you all might be able to stay together. I'm so sorry for your loss."

The line clicked.

That was it?

I tried to stand up, but my legs felt like jello. I would have fallen if Soda didn't grab my arm and keep me up right. I finally regained my balance and everything was back to normal.

Except it wasn't.

"Donna, what happened?" Ponyboy asked.

"It's mom and dad,.. they're dead."

They all looked at me with the same look I likely had when I found out. "They're... they're dead?" Sodapop asked.

"Yeah. They were in an auto accident. Someone is coming by tomorrow to 'help us move forward.'"

"Are they gonna separate us?" Ponyboy asked worriedly.

"They said it was good for us that Darry's an adult. There's a possibility we can stay together."

Darry sighed. "Donna, why don't you start making dinner? Whatever you want. And the rest of us will clean up this place a bit."

"Okay..." I muttered.

I made some macaroni and cheese for us. It was easy and we only got it on special occasions. I wasn't sure if this was a "special occasion," per se, but I couldn't bring myself to make anything else.

Darrel had the place looking spotless and we all sat down to eat. I divided it evenly into four bowls and we all sat down to eat.

Not a single word left any of our mouths. It was pretty much just dinner and we all went straight to bed.

Although, I doubt any of us had an easy time sleeping.

I woke up pretty early the next morning. Took a shower and got dressed.

I made a decent effort to put myself together. I curled my hair and put some makeup on. I never really liked getting ready, but today was a day I needed to look presentable.

My brothers wore nicer clothes and slicked their hair back.

None of us ever really looked as well as we did. It probably wasn't to society's standards, but it was real nice for us.

We waited in the living room with nothing but silence for someone to come over. Darry called someone and they said they'd be here from 12-2. So we waited around a bit.

Finally, there was a knock on the door. We all bolted up and Darry answered it. "Hi, how are you?" He asked.

"I'm fine. Can I come in?"

"Yeah." He said opening the door wider.

"I'm sorry to hear about your parents. It's never an easy thing for someone to go through, especially when you all are so young. Would you mind if I take a look around?"

"Go ahead." Darry said.

We all sat on the couch, nervous what was to come.

She went through pretty much the whole house. She even went outside. I felt myself tense up. I was getting nervous.

She walked back inside and stood in front of the couch to face all of us. "Darrel, would you mind if I talked to you in private?"

"Yes, ma'am."

He followed her to the kitchen and I think they went out the back door. I look at Soda and Pony. "How you two doin'?"

"Well, it certainly could be better." Sodapop said.

"Yeah, this ain't ideal."

"What do you think she's talking to Darry about?"

"Probably just questions. Make sure he's suitable to take care of us. It's probably a lot on him, considering he's the only adult."

"You'll be an adult next year." Ponyboy said.

"Yeah, well, unfortunately, they don't look in the future. They're looking for a current solution."

We were silent the rest of the time Darry was gone. We waited and waited until he finally came back.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, everyone. Good luck with everything."

She walked out the door. "That was it?" I asked.

"Yeah. She says as long as we keep our best behavior, she'll let us stay together. Figured I should be the one to tell you all. This is gonna come with a lot of changes, though, you guys." He paused for a moment. Like he didn't wanna say what was to come. "Sodapop, you're gonna have to drop out of school."

"What?" He yelled. "Really?"

"Yeah. I need you to work. Get us some money. Ponyboy ain't old enough and it might be best for Donna to stay in school."

"Okay..." He mumbled.

He went over a few more things, but nothing as extreme as Sodapop dropping out. We figured Darry wasn't gonna head to college. I felt terrible. In a split second, his whole life was turned around. He's real smart. Enjoyed his life. And now he's stuck taking care of his siblings.