Simply a Greaser

Chapter 67

Darry fell back asleep pretty soon. I knew he was in a lot of pain, but I wouldn't doubt it if someone told me he was going to make the best of his sick leave by catching up on some much-needed rest.

I called Two-Bit's house and Katie answered. She told me he was still in bed and snoring as loud as a train. I considered walking over, but I didn't want to take the risk of Bob and his friends finding me. So I told Katie to call me back when he woke up.

Pony and Soda came out of their room after awhile. It was Sunday, so Soda and Steve didn't have to work. I was glad- I was sure if either of them saw any soc at work, they would beat the hell out of them. We all needed a day to cool off.

"Where's Steve?" I asked. Usually, he would've been at the Curtis' by now, especially on a day off.

Soda smiled. "It's his and Evie's two year anniversary today," he explained. "He and Evie'll be together the whole day."

"Shit, he didn't tell me that." I crossed my arms. I would've liked to have known, even if it wasn't my business.

"That's 'cause I had to remind him of it last night." Soda laughed. "Steve can't remember stuff like that to save his life."

I laughed with Soda. "Sounds like him."

Pony, Soda, and I watched TV for about another hour before the phone rang. I answered it and told Two-Bit to get his lazy ass over to the Curtis'. He said he would after a shower and some food.

I went back to the armchair to see that Ponyboy had stolen it. I flipped him off and sat on the floor. Johnny, then Two-Bit showed up. None of us wanted to leave the house because we wanted to keep an eye on Darry. I knew I was also scared that I might see Bob and his friends out and about.

We stayed in the entire day, all of us bored out of our minds. By the time Darry woke up again Pony was halfway done with a new book, I was dozing on the floor, and Soda and Two-Bit were trying to bake a cake in the kitchen. Johnny was on the phone with someone, probably Emily.

Pony was the first to notice Darry had woken up and ran to get him some Aspirin. I rubbed my eyes, trying to wake up a little.

"How was your nap?" I asked, smiling.

He shrugged. "Pretty damn good." He looked at me on the floor. "I should probably move to my room, shouldn't I?"

"Nah, you're fine on the couch."

He ignored me and sat up, taking his time. Pony walked back in just as Darry tried to stand.

"Hey Ponyboy, will you help me to my room?"

Pony rolled his eyes, but said, "Yeah, I will."

Darry threw his arm around Pony, and they set off hobbling to Darry's room. I walked past them and opened Darry's door.

Pony got Darry to his bed. When he laid down, Darry said, "How 'bout that Aspirin, kid?"

The next day, after hours of doing absolutely nothing with Johnny, Pony, and Two-Bit, Soda and Steve got home from work. Steve was still in a good mood from the day before with Evie, so he was the only one of us who wanted to go out.

"Y'all don't really just wanna lay around and do nothin', do you?" he asked, looking at us on the couch and armchair.

Two-Bit shrugged. "Yeah, I kinda do."

"You're all just chickens! Scared of those damn socs!"

"No," Pony said sarcastically. "I'm not at all scared of the guys who nearly killed my brother."

Steve pointed at him. "Now that's the spirit! Let's just go out and see a movie or somethin'."

"I could go for some Drive-In popcorn," Soda said, looking at us all. "Steve and I didn't see one soc at the DX. Bob and his friends probably ain't brave enough to show back up at the Drive-In. Not after what they did to Darry."

"I think you might be right," I mumbled. I was bored out of my mind. "Let's go do somethin' fun."

The rest of the gang sighed and came with us to the Drive-In. We saw not one of Bob's friends.

A few days later, we all knew that the threat of Bob had passed. There had been no soc sightings, no fights, and no threats towards us. They had gotten their fill with Darry. Talk of going after the whole gang had been a bluff, thankfully.

I took another swallow of beer, laughing at something stupid Two-Bit had said. We were on the couch, his arm around me, talking and drinking. Almost all of the gang was having some drinks, except for Johnny and Pony.

I knew I was drinking to try and help take my mind of Dallas. He hadn't called anymore or written.

"Hey, are we gonna go or not?" Soda called, walking to the door. He never drank much, so he was almost sober. We wanted to go to the Dingo, then to the movie house to see something. We weren't too drunk to do so.

I stood up, Two-Bit following me. "Let's get outta here," I said, smiling and finishing my beer.

We didn't take a car, just cause we didn't want to use any pointless gas. And, although we were sober enough to go out, that didn't mean some cop wouldn't pull us over and take us to the drunk tank for driving.

We had a good meal, getting some glares from other customers. We left around ten, heading back to the Curtis' to check up on Darry and drink some more. Darry's rib wasn't totally healed yet, but his other bruises, bumps, and cuts were starting to look better.

We were on the sidewalk next to the Lot when we heard a nice car behind us.