"I didn't want you to think of me differently."
Spring of 1958
"What's wrong mom?" I asked.
The Curtis kids and I were all gathered in the living room along with their Mr. Curtis, Mrs. Curtis, and my mom. I don't know what's going on, but my mom looks nervous.
Soda and I are nine now. Darry is thirteen. He's either in his room, or out with his older friends, playing football. I miss when he hung out with us. Ponyboy is seven, so he's old enough to hang out with all of us more often. We're all older than him, but Soda and I try to slow down the group so he can keep up.
Steve isn't very fond of him. Maybe because it's annoying to have a little kid run around with us all the time, so he can't do what he wants. Or maybe it's the fact that Ponyboy is a pain in the butt. He's always outsmarting the rest of us, but nobody takes it personally like Steve.
Keith is eleven now. He's the oldest in our group since Darry doesn't hang out with us as much anymore.
"Well, we decided it would be best if Elle comes to live with us for a while." Mrs. Curtis said. Sodapop and I jumped up and high-fived each other.
"Yes!" We both cheered.
"But, that means you will have to share a room with Ponyboy." Mr. Curtis said, looking right at Soda.
"That's alright, I love my little bro." Soda messed up Pony's hair. It was like a dream come true, I was going to live with my best friend.
"Can Elle and I ride our bikes to the park?" Soda asked his mom.
"Sure, just be careful, okay you two?"
"Alright." Soda said. They both looked at me for an answer as well.
"Okay." I said.
Soda doesn't know that I was diagnosed with Dyslexia two years ago. He thinks it's normal, not a disorder. I feel bad for hiding it from him, but I don't want him to think of me any differently.
"Hey, Elle." He said, waving his hand in front of my face.
"Huh?" I asked. I didn't even realize I zoned out.
"Are ya alright?" He asked me.
"I'm fine, just tired" I used that lie way more than I should've. Soon he was going to begin to question it.
I use that excuse for everything. Zoning out, forgetting words, the sounds letters make, and numbers. Although, I'm finally starting to understand the sounds, but the rules are all still confusing me, so they make me second guess myself.
"You're tired a lot." He said. I knew what he was getting at. He's trying to suggest that I've been lying to him. I mean, I have been, but I don't want him to know that.
"Yeah."
"Is something wrong?" He asked me.
"No, everything's fine." I said. He stopped walking, so I did too.
"Ya'know I don't like to be lied to, Elle. What's wrong, why are ya lyin' to me?" He asked. I grabbed his hand and brought him to the lot to sit down for a few minutes. Time to have a serious conversation. I don't like serious conversations because they always mean big words, and understanding them.
"Do you know what Dyslexia is?" I asked, hoping I wouldn't have to explain it to him.
He didn't respond for a few seconds. "Not really."
"Well, I have it. It affects the way I need to learn. I have a hard time learning words, letter sounds, numbers and their patterns, all of that." I explained. I gave him a hug because I needed one. He hugged me back.
"Why didn't ya tell me sooner?" He asked sadly.
"I didn't want you..." I needed to find the right words. "I didn't want you to think of me differently." He nodded. After a few minutes, we left for the park.
We were riding our bikes around when we saw the kid from the yelling house. He looked really badly hurt. He was sitting on the ground under a tree. He looked like he was hiding from the world. He was hugging his knees and it looked like he was crying. I brought my bike to a stop.
"Soda, it's the kid from the yelling house." I pointed to the tree he was sitting under. I got off my bike and started to walk over, making sure I wouldn't scare him away.
"Hey." I said calmly and quietly. I glanced behind me and found Soda just staring at me and the kid. I thought he would've followed, but I'm glad he didn't. He might've gotten scared.
"Hey." The kid sniffled and looked away from me, as if he was scared to show me he was crying. I sat down on the ground in front of him. I was silent for a moment. I started to think about what to say, and how to say it. I feel like I overthink it when it comes to stuff like this.
"Are ya alright, ya don't look so hot." I chuckled nervously. He turned his head to look at me. I saw some bruises on his body and blood running from his nose. I couldn't leave him like this.
"Do ya need help?" I asked.
"I'm alright." He said. I could tell he was nervous and I knew he was lying to me. I scooted closer to him.
"I can't leave ya like this. I won't ask what happened if you don't feel comfortable, but at least come with me and my friend so ya aren't in this condition." I said. He looked at me for a second, deciding. He finally nodded. I smiled.
I stood up and held my hand out for him to get up. He grabbed it and got up. He stumbled a little. He seemed to be having trouble walking.
"I'll help." I put his arm around my shoulders.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Johnny. Johnny Cade" He responded.
"I'm Elle."
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Published January 27th, 10:01 PM EST
970 Words
YOU ARE READING
Evermore | Sodapop Love Story | The Outsiders
Fanfic"Elle, why? Are you not happy here? Am I doing something wrong...?" His voice seemed to break when he was asking that last question. "No, it's not you." I was taken aback. "Did I do something to make you think that?" I asked, feeling pretty shitty. ...
