Inconsquential Love ((Part Two))

Part 17

Soda closes his eyes, smile still on his face at what he said. It seems like now, with the final word, he could rest as I watch his chest rise and fall slowly.

I turned to Dally, already shaking my head in disbelief or denial - I'm not sure which. I can barely meet his eyes and I hear Pony come back into the room, the sound of his rushing footsteps stopping as he enters. "Cars running, Darry. Come on, I'll help you lift 'em." But Darry doesn't answer, he's looking at Dally now too, confusion mixed with fury displayed on his clean chiseled face.

"Vee..." Dally says, looking panicked now. "I swear, I didn't give him any of this shit now. I would never, Vera, not with you here. I would never put you in that situation, I swear it-"

"But you're the one who got him hooked on this shit?" Darry says sternly, standing tall as he takes a step forward. Pony looks around, confused, clearly knowing he missed something big. "You're the one who started all of this?" Darry asks again, voice low and gruff.

Dally shakes his head fast. "No, okay, you got it wrong. I sold to him, sure -" He looks at me, desperate as he reaches for my hands, but I tug back, unable to process this. "But it was a long time ago. I needed the money. Opening up a business isn't easy, okay? And I was on my own here. I just needed some place to start -"

"So you started dealing?" I say, my voice coming out as a whisper. "You started dealing to Soda?" I almost gasp out, feeling like I can't breathe. Part of me can't help but wonder if he did it on purpose, if he wanted this to happen.

"Look, I wasn't the one who got him hooked on the shit, okay? I think that was Steve. I don't know where the kid was getting it from. I swear." He says, looking from me to the other two Curtis brothers. "But Steve ended up coming to me and eventually he brought Soda. They knew what they were doing. It wasn't their first time." He said, sounding pissed.

Darry takes another step forward and I watch in fear as he does so. Dally doesn't seem that scared of him though. Dally's grown now, and just as capable of taking Darry in a fight. "But you enabled this. Steves dead, Dal. Soda's nearly got one foot in the grave. You knew all of this and you never said anything. You don't feel at least somewhat responsible? Are you that thick in the head?"

"Responsible?" Dally croaks, humor twinged in his voice. "Responsible for them choosing to use? I didn't put that needle in Steve's hand, Darry. I didn't provoke them or lure them to come to me - they came on their own. Once I had enough saved up to open the bar I was out. I don't do that shit anymore. I got rid of all of it. You know how many times Soda came knocking? You know how many times he begged? I didn't do shit. So don't put this on me. I did what I had to do to give myself a better life, alright?"

"By destroying others in the process...?" I asked, looking up at him now. "I can't believe you would do something like that." I murmur as I get up and walk over to the couch, looking at Soda. "You beat him to a pulp. For what, Dal? For something you started?"

"I didn't start shit." He responds, getting heated.

"But you sure as hell didn't help." Darry says now. "I'm going to deal with you later, you got that?" He says, pointing a stern finger at Dallas. "Come on, we gotta get him to the ER, now." He says. Pony stands there dumbfounded. I can only imagine how this must be for him to hear. His brother, his hero, fallen so far from grace. 

"Dally..." Pony says, not sure where to go from here. "You didn't really, right? You wouldn't."

My heart breaks for him. First his brother now one of his best friends. Two people he looked up to his whole life. His world must be crumbling down around him.