Darling

Ghost of You

Dallas coughed, laying on the ground. He turned his head to see Ponyboy on the ground to the right of him, Johnny and Darlene on the left. He heard sirens in the distance. He stayed laying there, catching his breath, waiting for the paramedics to come get them. He felt stiff and sore, and his ears rang from his pounding heart. He knew that they weren't out of the woods. None of them. They were all hurt, all caught up in a murder. There was no catching a break. Four ambulances pulled up, and paramedics came out with stretchers.

"Help him first. He's got the worst of it." Dally said, pointing to Johnny. He couldn't watch the three get carried away on the stretchers. Part of him felt like it was his fault. He should've stopped them from going in at all.

Why didn't I?

---

Darlene opened her eyes, first noticing the clean, fresh air filling her lungs...and the pounding headache. She scanned the environment. There was a IV drip, baskets and cabinets on each wall of the tiny room. It wasn't a room. It was an ambulance. There was a woman sitting next to her, figiting with the buttons on her sweater. She recognized her as the woman in front of the burning church.

"Where are they?" Darlene croaked. Her throat felt raw.

"Your friends are just behind us dear. Do you remember what happened?" The lady asked.

"Yeah, uh...I don't remember how I got knocked out though. Again." She closed her eyes for a few seconds, trying to think.

"Your shirt had caught on fire. One of your friends, the tall one, he pushed you pretty hard to get the fire out."

"Oh...that was Dallas." Darlene smiled weakly.

The lady smiled back. "That was real brave, what you kids did. How old are you?"

"I'm 16."

"You guys are real super heroes, ya know." The lady smoothed out her skirt and placed her hands neatly on her lap.

Darlene scoffed. "We're no heroes, we're greasers."

The lady looked taken aback. Of course she did. Greasers couldn't do any good. They're just there to cause trouble around town. Socs are the good, trust worthy ones, but only 'cause they look neat and pretty.

"Yeah, I know. Shocking." Darlene said blandly and turning her face away from the lady.

"No, no. That doesn't matter. What matters is that the kids are safe because of you and your friends." She said, trying to redeem herself.

Darlene was glad the kids were safe, of course, but that wasn't all that mattered. There was so much more that mattered that she had to focus on. She knew as soon as they were checked into the hospital they'd know who Johnny and Pony were. Not only that, but she didn't know the condition of any of them. She never even saw Johnny get out.

Her mind started spiraling with worst case scenarios, scaring herself more and more. Too many thoughts and not enough space to hold them all. It felt like her brain was crashing. Falling apart. There was too much.

---

They were all in the hospital. She saw Pony on the way in. He wasn't injured too badly, so he sat in the waiting room with the man from the church. The doctors checked her wounds. Her knee was bruised and scraped, her back was a bit burnt, and she had a minor concussion. She made the nurses let her go as soon as they were done checking her over, and she went to go sit with Ponyboy.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. I have a concussion, that's about the worst of it." She sat back in the chair, grateful Pony was okay.

Dallas was wheeled by. He didn't look to hurt, but he was in a bad mood.

He pointed at Pony amd Darlene. "If you ever pull another stunt like that, I'll kill you." He said, and they brought him to a room.

Darlene looked down at her hands in her lap. They were covered in ash, making the lines on her palms more prominent. She traced them with her eyes until she zoned out, staring down blankly.

"Darling..." Pony said, standing up.

She looked up and there they were. Darry and Sodapop. They ran up and wrapped each other in a group hug.

"Look at your tough hair." Soda said, touching Ponyboys bleached hair.

"I'm sorry." Ponyboy said, his voice muffled by Darrys shoulder.

"I thought we lost you guys like we did mom and dad." Darry sobbed.

Darlene nestled her face in Darrys shoulder, tears streaming down her face. For the first time, she felt truly loved by her big brother. It made her happy. The kind of happy you can feel in your chest and stomach.

All the Curtis siblings went home. Darlene let Ponyboy shower first, because it had been a while since he last was able to do so. Darlene went after him. It felt so good to wash the ash off. Her ringer tee was ruined. The back was burnt and it smelled like smoke. She liked that shirt, but that didn't really matter to her too much. Soda and Pony went to sleep immediately. Darlene didn't want to stay in her room alone. She wasn't exactly scared, but it didn't feel right to be alone. She didn't know why. She walked across the hall to Pony and Sodas room and knocked on the door before cracking it open.

"Darling?" Soda said tiredly.

"Sorry...can I sleep in here with you guys? I don't want to be alone."

"Of course." Soda scooted over and made room for her in between her brothers. She got under the covers and layed down.

So much better.

"Goodnight." She whispered.

"Goodnight." Soda said back, and Pony let out a loud snore making the other two laugh. Quietly of course.

She closed her eyes and fell asleep, happy to be at home with her family.

---
🥀🥀🥀
"If this is goodbye
I’ve got some things to get off my mind
If this is goodbye
I’ve got some things I don’t want to die with by my side"