Kaleidoscope- a Cherry Valance fanfic

Guilt

My heart dropped and all I felt was worry. What did Darry mean Pony wasn't back yet? Pony wasn't one to stay out that late.

"I- we got into an argument because he got back late and I accidentally pushed him and he ran. I didn't mean to. I swear I didn't mean to," Darry confessed, choking on tears he was holding back.

Worry was all I could feel at this point. I sat on the couch and Dally dismissed himself, saying maybe they'd show up at Bucks. I sat next to Soda and as opposed to the bubbly cheerful energy he usually had, he was now sorrowful and reserved. He leaned his head on my shoulder, so I put my arm around him, gently caressing his arm in an attempt to comfort him. We sat in silence for a while before Darry decided to break it.

"You know I didn't mean to, right Y/N?" he asked, though it sounded like he was scared of the answer.

"I know you would never hurt Pony. I'm sure he just needed to cool off and fell asleep. I'm sure he'll be back by morning," I tried reassuring.

That began the deafening silence once again, the silence that I dreaded so much. It was a silence full of shame and worry, one I'd hoped I'd never have to experience again. Yet here I am. At some point, we'd dozed off, my head leaning on Sodas. When I woke up, it was because of the late sunrise. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, which in turn woke Sodapop up. Darry was no longer in his armchair, but in the kitchen making coffee. I could hear him pacing back and forth anxiously. When someone knocked on the door, Darry practically jumped to answer it, not wasting a second.

"Are you Darrel Curtis?" a man spoke.

"Yes sir," he spoke nervously.

"Officer Smith," the cop introduced.

By instinct, I stood up and began to walk into another room.

"Hey, young lady!" Officer Smith called.

I slowly turned around to face him. He was tall and had a thick mustache covering his upper lip that matched the jet black colour of his hair.

"Do you know anything about this?" he asked.

"About what?" I asked.

"Christian Johnson, you know him?" he asked.

"No, she doesn't," Darry answered for me.

"Actually, um, I did," I said, my voice barely loud enough for the cop to hear.

"He was found dead in the park this morning," he said.

"What?" I said, a lump forming in my throat. My eyes began to sting as I fought back tears and my cheeks heated up as I looked at the cop.

"He died of a stab wound. we have witnesses to the crime who say that Johnathan Cade was the perpetrator. Ponyboy Curtis was said to be a witness," he explained.

I saw Darry's face turn red in a mix of anger and sadness.

"What happened exactly?" I asked.

"Witnesses report that Christian was drunk. He was out with a couple of friends when he saw Ponyboy and Johnathan-" he began

"Johnny, call him Johnny please," Soda said, now standing next to me.

"Right. Well, Christian was angry and recognized the two boys as friends of this young lady, who according to Christian's friends, had just broken up with him, and began to pick a fight with them. It soon turned into a brawl and Johnny stabbed him in the gut. The witnesses are willing to testify that it was self-defence," he said as he read from a paper, barely looking up.

"Where's Ponyboy and Johnny?" Soda asked.

"That's what I'd come here to ask you," Smith said.

"We, um, haven't seen them since last night. They didn't come home," Darry said.