Trouble |The Outsiders|

16. The Ugly Truth

|December 1965|

The most things in life, the first time was the hardest.

Coming home to an empty house for the first time was difficult, especially when Danny kept asking when Momma would be coming home. Watching Eddy stumble into the house drunk for the first time was hard, too. 

Cleaning up after Eddy wasn't the worst thing she had to do, but listening to his crude words as he cursed the memory of her mother was near the top of the list. There was nothing she could do about it, either. Eddy was a sailor lost in a storm, searching desperately for the light to guide him back home, just like it had so many times before.

But this time there was no lighthouse standing out on the rocky shore. The sailors were left to their own devices, either fighting against the tide to return to their beds or accepting their fates in their watery graves down below. Abigail and Danny were a lifeline, the last thing pulling their father back from the crashing waves and violent storm.

Abigail knew once Danny joined the Shepard gang that she was the only thing tethering Eddy to shore. But now she was gone and Eddy's boat was being pushed further and further out to sea, not knowing if it would ever see the rocky cliffs again.

Going home for the last time hurt Abigal more than she wanted to admit. Even with Darry and Two-Bit by her side, the pounding in her chest was nearly deafening when Eddy opened the front door. She didn't know what she had been expecting. Maybe tears in his eyes, or an apology he barely managed to keep at bay. Yet all that greeted them was a repulsed snarl and the rancid stench of beer on his lips. Danny stood behind his father cautiously, glaring daggers into the back of his skull. Eddy gave them half an hour to gather Abigail's things. He promised if they weren't off the property in twenty-nine minutes, he'd call the police.

Climbing up the stairs with boxes under her arm didn't feel real. Neither did folding her clothes and dropping them in a suitcase while Two-Bit placed her books in another box and Darry folded up blankets, quilts, and pillows. Danny stood in the middle of the room, watching as the last memory of his sister this house held was slowly being erased. The uncomfortable pressure in his chest was back, so was the constricting feeling in his throat. He ran his fingers through his slicked-back hair, a lost look in his once harsh eyes.

"I don't...I thought he'd be over this by now."

Danny recognized his sister's false smile as she clicked her suitcase shut and pushed his hair back soothingly. Her eyes were focused on the faded purple bruise on the side of his face, her thumb rolled over the skin gently. "It's all gonna be okay. This ain't gonna change anything, alright? I'm moving, that's all."

His skin stung, but Danny fought to ignore it. The bruise was a reminder of what Eddy was capable of. A reminder of what he could do when he had too much to drink, and a reminder of what Abigail had always protected him from.

Beer and saliva flew over his tongue as his grip on Danny's shirt tightened and pulled him off the floor. His eyes were dark and bloodshot, his skin a sickly yellow tinge. "Do you hear me, boy? I catch you sneaking around with that lying bitch, an' I give something worse than a bruise. Don't make me hit you again!"

He spent the next week jumping between the Shepards' and the Curtis' couch when he needed to sleep. Other than that, he spent his days in the town, avoiding his home and father like it was some horrible sickness. It took seven days until Danny was sure he wouldn't break his father's nose the first chance he got. It took seven days for Danny to realize the ugly truth.

Abigail would never be Eddy's daughter, but she would always be Danny's big sister.

Abigail stood in her kitchen rinsing the chipped dishes before placing them on a dishtowel to dry. Her red radio sat on the windowsill in front of her, Christmas carols ringing out. Rocking Around The Christmas Tree was playing now, Abigail groaned.