An Unlikely Allie

Chapter 58

Soda's POV

Phaedra came back out after she was done giving blood to Pony.  She looked awful, "he's still sleeping," was all she said as she walked outside. 

I squeezed Steve's hand, "I'll be right back.  I'm gonna go check on her."  He kissed my knuckles as I pulled my hand out of his.  I found her leaning against the side of the building, crouched down, resting on the balls of her feet, "Phae?" I murmured softly, "hey, he's gonna be alright." I knelt beside my little sister. I watched a tear drip off the tip of her nose.

"I'm so tired, Soda," she looked at me with such defeat in her eyes, "I'm so tired of all of it. We'll
never win. I don't even know why Pone and I tried helping the fuzz and that lawyer. No one cares two kids from the east was shot and one killed. The only reason that lawyer helped us was cause he didn't want the drugs on the west side. Nothing mattered until shit happened on the other side of the tracks." She stared me dead in the eye, "why don't we matter, Soda? Why ain't our lives important?"

I, so badly, wanted to tell her that she was wrong. That we did matter just as much as the Socs, but that was a lie. She hit the nail on the head, "Phae...." I was at a loss for words, so instead, I pulled her into me and let her cry.

After a bit, she wiped her tears, then said something that chilled me to the bone, "he ain't gonna make it."

I froze, "don't say that." I whispered fiercely.

"Me and Pone used to talk so only me and him could understand what we were saying."

I nodded, "that was so fucking annoying."

"I basically said, you have to hold on And I swear he said can't hold on."

"Phaedra, you can't really believe that...he's under so much anesthesia and god knows what else!"  I was shocked, scared.  She can't think that!

She stared off into the distance, "I hope to god I'm wrong."  She lit a cigarette and pointed to the sunset, "I only notice those damn thing cause Pony points them out all the fuckin' time." She angrily wiped the tears off of her face, "We need him, Soda.  We need him to keep showing us the beauty of this shit world."  Phaedra stomped her cigarette out and headed into the hospital.

I kicked the side of the building, all of a sudden pissed off.  "Mom, Dad," I shook my fist at the sky, "you keep Ponyboy alive!" I demanded through clenched teeth, "or so help me."