When Will You Come Back to Me? - A Johnnyboy Story

Chapter Five

Once I had finished doing the dishes, me and Two-Bit left the Curtis house to head to the hospital. We were walking down the street trying to hitch a ride from someone.

"I'd drive us," Two-Bit said, "but the brakes on my car broke. Almost killed Kathy and me the other night." He turned and started to walk backwards, putting his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket.

I shook my head. "Man, life really ain't workin' out for you, huh?"

"Speak for yourself," Two-Bit retorted, punching my shoulder. I gave him a glare before turning the corner. A sign to my right said that the hospital was just a block away. I gulped anxiously and listened to Two-Bit's boots clacking rhythmically on the sidewalk beside me.

When we arrived at the hospital, we immediately asked the nearest nurses if we could see Ponyboy. The nurses were hesitant because he was apparently in critical condition. I started to shake a little, and Two-Bit rested his arm on my shoulder. He didn't want to take no for an answer, and I didn't either.  He pleaded to let us see him and a couple of times I even begged, but they stood firm. My breathing started to get heavy. I had to see Pony. I had to.

Finally, a tall man in a long white coat approached us and the nurses. He looked awful familiar, and I eventually realized that he was the doctor that had told us about Ponyboy the night before. A nurse whispered the situation to him, and he nodded, before looking at us. "You boys are here to see Ponyboy Curtis?"

"Yeah," Two-Bit said quickly.

"Yes, sir," I whispered.

"I see," the doctor said, clearing his throat. "Well, he is in critical condition. He hasn't woken up yet." My heart fell. "But, I suppose that having visitors couldn't hurt."  I looked up at him suddenly. He saw and smiled at me. "Just no roughhousing, alright?"

We nodded. "Yes, sir," I said, louder than before. The doctor nodded and shooed the nurses away before opening the door for us. I stepped inside behind Two-Bit, making sure to thank the doctor.

I heard Two-Bit breathe in sharply, and when I saw Ponyboy, I could see why. His face was all white except for a few red cuts and burns.  His arms lay limply at his sides, a bunch of little tubes in them connecting him to beeping machines.  I glanced at one of the screens, which showed his heart rate.  I was relieved to see that everything seemed normal at the moment.

When I looked back at the bed, I saw that Two-Bit had pulled up a chair and was sitting next to Pony.  For once, his normally dancingeyes looked sad and lost.  He and Pony had always been buddies.  "Heya, Horsechild," he was saying.  "How you doing?"  He took a slow and heavy breath when he was met with silence, despite knowing that he'd get no response. "We all miss you, kid, you know that?"  The machines beeped in sync with Ponyboy's soft breathing.

I took a step closer and put my hands in my pockets.  It hurt so bad to see Pony like this.  'It should've been me,' I kept thinking to myself.  'It should've been me, it should've been me, it should've...'

Two-Bit's shaky breathing brought me back to reality.  "Y-You know, Ponyboy," he was saying, "you know you're a hero?"  He wrung his wrists restfully and looked down at his feet.  "It's all in the paper, buddy, about how you saved those kids, you know?"  He choked, and I silently begged him not to cry.  If he did, I would, too.  Two-Bit wasn't a cryer.  He just wasn't, and to see him start bawling would break me. "Come on, kid." Two-Bit grabbed Ponyboy's hand. "You gotta wake up. Your brothers nearly died of worry when they didn't know where you were... I-If you don't wake up soon... It'll kill 'em!" He quickly stood up from his chair, breathing heavily.   I flinched at his outburst, and he noticed.  His eyes soon went from fierce to lost again. He sat back down. "Come on, Pony..." he mumbled. "We need you."