Paul Newman and A Way Back Home

Chapter 15

PART TWO: TWO-BIT
I woke up to see Anna not by my side anymore. Could she have gotten up already?

If we have to say goodbye, then I'll just be waiting for you, even though you'd never come back. I'll tell everyone the story of our short and sweet love.

Anna must have gone, but I knew she did it for the best. Maybe I didn't treat her well enough. Maybe I loved her too much. I regretted falling in love with her, but then realized that I was just lovesick. It was a privilege for me to meet her. I got up and rushed to the Curtis house. I wondered if Anna's friends had been sucked back in time, too.
***
I rushed into the house, screaming, "Soda! Ponyboy! Darry!" Darry was on the couch crying, along with Pony and Soda.

"I guess they all left," Soda said, looking away.

"Sammy...my beautiful girl..." Darry cried, pausing to cry.

"Guys, we can't just sit here all day," I remarked.

"Yes, we can Two! You miss your girl, too, don't ya?" Ponyboy yelled.

"I sure as heck do, but I can't do anything about it. Pony, you know your saying. Nothing gold can stay. These girls were golden alright, but can't be with us forever."

That just made Darry sob even more. And you might be thinking, tough guys don't cry, but they do, really. They cry more than you think. And in this depressing situation, we cried together. You see, I couldn't go a day thinking about Anna like I couldn't go a day without watching Mickey. It was like one day, the show vanished and never came back. I couldn't handle it, and these guys couldn't either.

"I'm gonna go and get Johnny and Dal," Pony announced, slamming the door behind him.
***
Dally arrived with bloodshot eyes from sobbing so much.

"I saw Emma disappear. I saw it with my eyes, but she was sleeping very deeply. Since then, I just stayed in bed, balling my eyes out."

"I almost lost Lilia once, and now I officially lost her."

The day went on like that, just talk and tears continuing in one large circle. We couldn't accept the harsh truth. When Anna broke it to me that one night, I didn't understand. I thought she was just pranking me. But it hit me, then. I never knew what I had until it was gone.