Trouble |The Outsiders|

13. Tough Love

"I'm only sayin' this 'cause I love you, but you look like shit."

Abigail was too exhausted to reply as she poured Sylvia her third cup of coffee. Sylvia sat on the inside of the booth with Angela beside her, Kathy was across from them, fishing a few coins out of her purse. Evie tutted her tongue as she walked past, "yeah, working eight twelve-hour day shifts can do that to a person."

Today marked two weeks after Virginia walked through the door of the Mason household. All four of the girls had been quite understanding, yelling profanities and cursing when Abigail needed a distraction, or simply holding her hand when the tears bubbled over. Things weren't as rough as she imagined. No one really questioned Abigail about her father's identity. If they did, she simply said he was a drifter Virginia met at Buck's after one too many.

The first night was the hardest. Sodapop bombarded her with questions the second she stepped through the door, tears still running down her cheeks. She couldn't stomach the reality of what had happened, so she just cried. Darry was the one to throw a quilt over the two, Ponyboy stood by the doorway, watching awkwardly.

"Please, just tell me what happened. Are you hurt? Was it socs?"

Soda's own voice was watery as he traced gentle lines down her back and over her arms. Yes, she was hurt, but in a way that the Curtis boys could never comprehend. Once the tears finally subsided, her hoarse words were barely audible. "He hit Danny. D-Eddy hit him an' told me to leave. God Sodapop, there was so much blood."

Then the tears started all over again.

The boys tried their best to understand, which was a small comfort. Darry offered her the couch for as long as she needed. Ponyboy offered her his side of the bed he and Sodapop shared. Steve, however, provided her with the most comfort. Darry must have filled him in on what she'd said the night before because he sat down on the couch next to Abigail as she tried to smooth down her hair. "Moms suck. Who needs those old hags anyway?"

"People who don't have dads," Two-Bit shouted from the kitchen.

Word got around Tulsa fast. It took seven hours before Sylvia stormed into the Dingo, her hair a mess and makeup half done, but she grabbed Abigail by the shoulders, not caring about the coffee she split. "I'm gonna fucking kill Eddy."

Angela took small sips of her coke and picked at the fries she agreed to split with Kathy. There was a small mirror in the palm of her hand as she traced her lips in a dark red. "We need to go shopping or somethin', you've been working yourself to death, Abigail."

Working gave Abigail something else to focus on. When she was in the Dingo, all she had to worry about was people's food and drinks. When she was here, she didn't have to think about her half-sister was sitting less than a foot away and had no idea. But when she was here, all she could picture was Danny walking into the diner, a purple bruise high on his cheekbone. "Dad says I ain't allowed to see you, anymore. That son of bitch- I don't care, he can't stop me."

He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as she stared at his nose. It was bruised and swollen, a pale scar formed on his bottom lip. "Hey, it's okay. I got plenty of scars, what's one more?"

Kathy scoffed and shook her head, blonde hair bobbing to and fro. "You need money to shop, Angie. Sorry babe."

"That's a load of bull. What does your boyfriend call it again? The five-finger discount?"

"I don't care how you go shopping," Abigail scolded, "as long as you pay your bill. I'm still broke from the last time y'all decided to dine n' dash."

Sylvia snorted into her coffee at the memory. "I said I was sorry, I didn't know you were gonna get billed for it!"

By seven o'clock the diner was mostly empty. Sylvia and the rest of the girls intended on waiting for Abigail's shift to finish, but she waved them away, saying her last hour wouldn't be very interesting for them to watch.