Fold (Dallypop)

Chapter Thirteen: Just Angry

This chapter is short, I really had no ideas for this one.

(Darry's POV)

Anger makes people do stupid things. I think I should know that better than most. I let myself get mad. I let myself hit him. I hit Ponyboy, hit him.

He ran out without looking back. I wish I'd run after him, I wish I did. Or even Soda. But we stayed home.

We knew he'd come home on his own.

The silence was loud, I could hear my own heartbeat. It was beating faster than usual. Was I scared, yes. For the first time in my life, I was scared. Not for me. Not for Soda. For Ponyboy.

He'd never come back. If he did, he'd never forgive me. I was supposed to keep him safe, to be his big brother. But I hurt him. I didn't mean to... I was just angry.

Just angry. And now he was out there by himself, in the cold. In the middle of the night.

The empty space where Ponyboy had been moments ago weighed heavy on my conscience. The harsh reality of my actions sank in as the silence enveloped the room, echoing the loud beating of my own heart.

I had let anger consume me, and in its grip, I struck my own brother.

Soda and I exchanged a look, the unspoken understanding between us cutting through the stifling air. We should have gone after him, chased him down before the night swallowed him whole. But pride, or maybe stubbornness, kept us rooted in place.

"He'll come home," Soda mumbled, his voice strained with uncertainty.

I nodded, but doubt clawed at me. This was different. I had crossed a line, one that might fracture the foundation of trust between Ponyboy and me. I was supposed to protect him, not be the cause of his running away.

The minutes ticked by, each one stretching into an eternity. The quiet of the house felt oppressive, haunted by the echo of my own mistakes. My fists clenched involuntarily as I replayed the scene in my mind.

I was his big brother, the one he was supposed to look up to, not fear.

The chill of the night crept in, seeping through the cracks in the window frames. I couldn't shake the image of Ponyboy out there, alone, vulnerable in the darkness. My anger had unleashed a storm, and he was caught in its midst.

"Soda, I messed up," I finally admitted, the weight of my words hanging in the air.

Soda's eyes mirrored my own, "Yeah, you did."

We waited in the stillness, my anxiety mounting with every passing second. I scanned the empty street, hoping to catch a glimpse of his silhouette against the shadows. The ache in my chest deepened, a mix of regret, fear, and a desperate desire to make things right.

"He'll come back, Darry. He has to," Soda whispered, more to convince himself than me.

I nodded, but the knot of uncertainty tightened within me. The bond between brothers was resilient, but I feared I had tested its limits. In the quiet of the night, all I could do was hope that Ponyboy would find his way home, that my mistakes wouldn't forever ruin the fragile trust we once shared.