Simply a Greaser

Chapter 43

I walked into the Curtis', Darry behind me. We had gotten back a little afternoon and we were both starving. 

As soon as I got two feet into the house, I smelled the strong scent of something burning. Something fell in the kitchen, causing a loud bang, and a string of curse words followed the crash. I glanced back at Darry who just looked done. 

"Hey, we're home!" I called, dropping my bag next to the couch. All I wanted was some food, but the smell coming from the kitchen was curbing my appetite. 

Soda stuck his head out from the kitchen, a big grin plastered on his face. "Hi! I'm makin' lunch!" 

"Thanks," Darry said, trying to sound enthusiastic. "What're you cookin'?" 

"Breakfast for lunch," said Soda. "Pancakes and eggs with orange juice. Can you smell it?"

"Yeah," I replied, "I can smell it."  

"Soda, where is everyone else?" 

"They're at Two-Bit's. He just got home from the hospital, so they're all with him." 

"Finally," I said, sitting down at a chair in the kitchen. "He's been in there forever. How much longer 'til that's done?"

Soda glanced into the pan with the pancakes. "I don't know." He shrugged. 

"They're done." Darry took the pan off the stove and put it on the counter. "We'll go see Two-Bit after we eat." 

The gang -minus Dally-  was watching, most of them with beers in their hands, as Two-Bit stumbled around on the sidewalk nearest to his house. He had crutches under his arms and a bulky cast on one leg. There were some sloppy signatures and a scribbled 'get well soon' message in black ink on the white cast. 

"You're back!" he shouted, stumbling towards us.

"And you're gonna fall." I rolled my eyes at him and looked at the gang. "Aren't you supposed to be watching him?"  

"We are," Steve replied. "Just not helping him."

"I'm fine. Walkin' around with these is easy." 

Soda asked, "Then why're you so wobbly on 'em?"

Two-Bit shrugged. "I don't got the greatest sense of balance is all."

"You drunk with those is an accident waitin' to happen," I muttered, walking to him. He still had a few feet to go to get over to where Darry, Soda, and I had been standing. 

"Was the trip alright?" he asked quietly.

I nodded, saying, "It was okay. Mom's got a fiancee she wants Dal and I to meet."

"That's why she's-" 

"Yeah." 

"How do you think Dally will take that news?" 

I shook my head. "Not well." 

Clearing his throat, Pony said, "That might be an understatement." 

"He gets outta jail tomorrow," Johnny noted. 

"That's when she's gonna be here." 

"Tomorrow?" Two-Bit asked slowly. "You mean like... tomorrow tomorrow?"

"Yeah." 

"Ava," Steve said in a loud voice, "you need a drink." 

I woke up to someone shaking my shoulders. I tried to bat their hands away and go back to sleep, but they wouldn't leave me alone. 

"Go away," I grumbled. 

"Wake the fuck up Ava! I swear to god! I go to jail for a few days and you run off to Oklahoma City without telling me! What the hell is wrong with you, man?! And you-"

"Okay, okay! I get it!" I opened my eyes and saw an angry Dallas above me, shaking my shoulders. "Just let me explain." 

I sat up and looked around. It seemed like I was at Buck's on Dal's bed, not that I had any memory of getting there or half the night. I couldn't remember anything past ten 'o clock, really. I was in a hoodie I didn't recognize and my head hurt. 

"Yeah, you're gonna explain. Darry wouldn't tell me shit in the car except for where you went."

My eyes widened. "Shit! It's Sunday!" 

"What, you goin' to church or somethin'?" Dally shot me a glare and muttered, "From the looks of you, you've got shit to confess from last night." 

"Okay, fuck you." I flipped him off for good measure. "And, uh... promise you won't freak out." 

"That depends on what you're gonna tell me." 

"Dallas, seriously. Don't do anythin' dumb. You gotta swear or else I won't tell you." 

Sighing, Dally muttered, "I swear." 

"Okay. I went to Oklahoma City to see mom," I blurted, just saying it all at once. 

Dally froze. 

"She was stayin' at a hotel there, and told me that she had been writin' us for six months, but dad had been readin' the letters." 

"You're kidding." 

"She's getting married and she wants us to meet him." I couldn't stop talking. 

"You're kidding," Dallas repeated, his voice shaky. 

"You promised-" 

"Ava, this isn't funny." 

"You swore you wouldn't freak out!"

Dally blinked. His face went pale, and for the first time in a long time, there were tears in his eyes. "What the hell do you want me to do? Am I-" 

"I don't want you to do this," I hissed, motioning to him. "I kept my shit together! Can you just keep yours together for one minute?!" 

Dallas opened his mouth to say something, then shut it, just nodding. 

We sat in silence for a few minutes before I said, "She's gonna be here sometime today." 

He groaned and put his head in his hands. "Jesus Christ! What are we gonna do?"  

"Meet her and this guy at the Dingo at around 7 tonight, sober and without the gang," I replied. Mom and I had come up with a plan for the meeting. 

"Was she okay?" Dallas asked. 

I nodded, saying, "She was good. She was sorry, too." I stood up, stretching. I was sore for whatever reason. "What time is it?"

"Like 5," Dally muttered, lifting his head from his hands. He had gotten himself together. 

"Jesus Christ! I've never been up this early and never will be again." 

Dally rolled his eyes and smiled, but the smile soon turned into a frown when he saw my hoodie. "Why do you have Two-Bit's hoodie on?"