My Knight in Shining Armor

Chapter XI

I woke up late one summer morning, sunlight streaming in through the window. I gasped in pain—it felt like knives were cutting through my legs. I looked around desperately, but no one was there. I lifted myself into my wheelchair and rolled into the kitchen to find some aspirins. The house was calm and quiet—my parents were already at the record store.

I followed routine, like every summer morning. I would eat a bowl of cold cereal and get ready for the day. I would bring in the mail, then decide if I was gonna go to the stables, the record store, or the Curtis house. Sometimes, I would even go to Steve's.

I grabbed the mail out of the mailbox and rolled back inside. I shuffled through it quickly, like I did every morning. One letter caught my eye: the one from Vietnam. I ripped the envelope open and unfolded the paper inside.

Dear Mrs. Randle and family,

Our hearts ache to inform you that Kenneth Randle passed away from injuries on June the 31st, 1965...

My whole body tensed up with shock. No, no. This couldn't be happening. I buried my face in my hands, letting tears slip through the cracks in my fingers. The grief I was feeling eclipsed the pain in my legs. I felt cemented in place. After a while, I felt relatively emotionless, numb. I used my shaking hands to roll myself down the street.

I wasn't exactly sure where I was going. I figured I should probably go over to the record store to tell my parents, but I didn't think I could bring myself to confront them at the moment. With every sidewalk cracked I rolled over, the worse I felt inside.

1... I feel weighed down... 2... my heart aches... 3... every inch of me grieves...

"Penny, are you alright?"

I turned to find Dallas beside me. I knew I probably looked like I'd been crying—my eyes were probably red and puffy, and I probably looked pale. I mean, I knew I was shaking like a leaf.

I shook my head. I had a hard lump in my throat, and I knew if I spoke, I'd start to bawl again. Dally bent over and wrapped me in a hug. He held me for the longest time. "You wanna tell me what's wrong?" I shook my head but handed him the letter. He read over it quickly, and his face fell when he realized what it meant. "Oh, Penelope, I'm so sorry." He held me again, but only for a minute. He suddenly pulled away and started pushing me toward the Curtis house.

My wheelchair landed hard on the ground after flying over a large bump, and I yelped in pain. "What happened?" Dally asked quickly.

"M-my legs! It feels like someone's sendin' shock waves through 'em," I cried.

Dally gave me a strange look, and gentle lowered to his knees. He slipped my shoes off my feet. "Wiggle your toes."

"You know I can't—"

"Just do it."

I knew Dally meant business, so I tried. We watched in awe as my toes moved slightly. I winced in pain, but I continued to wiggle my toes—I hadn't had control of or feeling in my legs for nearly two months.

I smiled, but it quickly faded. "Dally, I can't be happy right now. I feel so incredibly sad."

Dallas took my hand and squeezed it. "I see no reason why you can't be happy and sad at the same time."

"Yeah, yeah."

We continued on our way to the Curtis house. Dally was more careful on the bumps and swerved around even the small obstacles.

As soon as we got in the door, Dally yelled: "Darry, you're gonna end up being a full-time nurse for us now."

Darry came around the corner. "What happened this time?"

"Penny's legs are hurting her." Then, under his breath, he whispered: "Her heart's hurting her, too."

Darry raised an eyebrow. "I guess that's probably a good thing, in a way. Alright, let's get her on the couch. Soda, see if you can ease the pain in Penny's legs. I've got an idea."

Darry left the room, and a thud followed. "Who's in the attic?" I could hear Ponyboy yell from his room. No one answered.

After a minute, we could hear someone stepping down a latter. A chair soon made a creaking noise, and a book slammed open. After about twenty minutes, Darry came back into the room. "I've figured out what's probably wrong," he stated, a thick book open in his hand.

Sodapop was wide-eyed. "You found mom's textbook," he sighed. When I gave him a confused look, he explained. "Our mother used to be a nurse and kept a couple of medical textbooks in the attic. "

"So, here's what's probably happening. You know when you sit on your foot too long, and it's got that pins and needles feeling afterwards?" Darry asked, and we all nodded. "Well, when you sit on your foot like that, you cut off blood flow to nerves. The nerve signals are also blocked, but then received all at once, once you get off your foot. If I'm correct, something similar may be happening here, Penny. The feeling is coming back to your legs all at once. It should go away, though."

We all stared at Darry, dumbfounded. "You shoulda gone to medical school or somethin'," I said.

Darry laughed. "I probably would have if I'd had the chance."

I tried to shift to another position, so I moved myself with my hands. I turned my ankle a little bit to get more comfortable, but I winced in pain when I did. I couldn't help but smile through the pain, though.

The boys who were there just stared at my foot, then at me, then at my foot again. "Did you just... move your ankle?"

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Author's note
Haha so that was a fun chapter... 😬
I'm not a doctor but I feel like I heard something like that once, and it just kinda made sense. Anyway...

Your friendly neighborhood greaser, signing off...
Stay gold y'all ⭐️