darlin' || the outsiders

11

darry curtis

i looked at the clock that was on the microwave. 3:42 am. it was quiet when i looked out into the living room. everyone was sound asleep on the couch or floor or recliner. the only light one could see was the light from the tv.

steve fell asleep with his head on soda's shoulder, two-bit was laying on the floor, johnny and pony were laying with about a foot between them by two's head in front of the recliner. we had to move the coffee table so those three could lay down. elsie was asleep on the recliner, curled up in a ball with my green blanket over top of her. dallas was laying in pony's bed, since he couldn't stand being cramped in a small space with a bunch of boys. no matter how close they were.

i had stood up from sitting next to steve on the third cushion of the couch to get some water. i was the only one awake and it was like walking on eggshells getting to the kitchen. instead of watching one movie, we watched three or four. hours had gone by.

i needed to get to sleep soon, i had to be up at 7 am in order to go to work. i had to work on sunday since i took the next sunday off for elsie's birthday.

i stepped outside and sat down on the steps going down from our porch. i smelled the fresh summer air, the night sky was beautiful. there were stars everywhere, almost lighting up everything. they reminded me of the freckles on elsie's face; that littered her nose and cheeks.

it was quiet and all i could hear were locusts. i just sat there, lost in my thoughts.

i thought about my parents; how our family was before they passed. when soda was still in school, and pony was still young. i was only 16 when they died, and honestly, it still hurt. i had to grow up fast to take care of my brothers. i knew i was hard on pony, but he's acting out a lot. i don't want to lose him. i couldn't bear the thought.

••••

i got chills when the wind blew over me. it may be warm, but the wind would always send chills through your body.

i looked down at my clasped hands. they were sweating from being closed together for so long.

i was watching the sky move slowly when i heard a car pull up. it was small, red, and the plate was weird.

"are you darrel curtis?" a somewhat short man came out of the car. he was holding a bottle in his hand- a smokey brown bottle of whiskey, to be exact.

"depends who's asking." i joked, getting a bad feeling. that feeling in the pit of your stomach when you get caught doing something you shouldn't. when your heart basically stops and falls.

"you have my daughter." he muttered, his voice was slurred. he was definitely drunk, and it was very evident.

"i don't have her. i don't know what you're talking about." i said confidently. when you grow up with brothers, you learn to lie. really well.

"i will call the police right now." he said, pulling a small android out. "she had left her phone at my house, dead. i want her back.".

"i told you, sir. i don't have her." i was lying through straight through my teeth. "now get off my property before i call the police myself.".

i slammed the door behind me, leaving this man outside my house. i was watching him get into his car and drive into town. i shook elsie awake, trying to not wake up everyone else.

"elsie?" i whispered. "wake up, it's an emergency.".

"what?" she whimpered, her sleepy voice was adorable. i didn't want to force her out, but now i couldn't keep her in. at least for now.

"you need to go. go wake up dally, and go to his house." i whispered.

"but, darry-" i cut her off by walking into her room, grabbing her backpack and packing her things into it.

"darry, what's going on?" she asked.

"your dads here. he found you." i said, handing her the bag and walking out of the room. "you need to go with dallas.".

i wandered into pony's room and waking dallas up. "come on, dallas. you gotta go.".

"am i in trouble?" he mumbled, putting his black t-shirt on.

"you will be if you don't get the hell out right now." i said, wrapping dallas' jacket around elsie's shoulders. "el's dad found her, so she needs to go with you.".

"okay." dallas said, wrapping his arms around her and i led them to the back door, opening it quietly.

"be careful, you two. take the long way if you have to." i said, patting dallas on the back and hugging elsie from the side.

"thank you, darry." was all elsie could say before she and dallas were out the door. i watched them walk off into the night, dallas wrapping his arm around elsie and pulling her close. soon enough, they disappeared out of sight.

••••
word count: 871