Broken ||A Sodapop Curtis Love Story||

Chapter 15

Soda's POV:

"You kissed Emily. She said it was her fault, but I don't believe her. She wouldn't do something like that. And I don't think you would either, so tell me you didn't and I'll believe you," I tell him, talking quickly.

"I... I..." He whispers, not knowing how to respond.

"Yeah. That's what I though," I say getting up.

"Thanks for the towel. I'm done with it," I say, throwing it at him.

"Soda, wait!" Steve says quietly, just as I'm about to open the door. I look back, not sure if he actually said anything.

"Soda, it was me. I kissed Emily. It was my idea, my fault. She was covering for me, I guess," He says. I don't know how to respond.

"I want to know what happened. From the beginning," I tell him.

"I... I told her I loved her and that I always have. I asked her to be my girl, and we were making out. She and I, we were about to keep going all the way, but she got scared and ran home. And then Two-Bit found her in the bathroom, and they sent her to that special hospital or whatever. So.... I guess it was my fault. All of it. It was my fault we kissed, my fault she freaked out and completely my fault that she's in the hospital now. I'm sorry, Soda," He says. I stand there, speechless. That's the exact opposite of what Emily said, so one of them is obviously lying to me.

Like a mind reader, Steve says, "Soda, you know how much Emily cares about you. And she's never had a best friend like you and I. Maybe she was trying to protect us.... That.... Our friendship. I know her well enough to know that she would never want to ruin us, even if it meant losing you." I blink. I know it's true, but I don't want to believe it. Suddenly, I feel sick to my stomach. I can't believe I treated my Emily so harshly.... Especially when she was just trying to protect me.

"Steve, I gotta go talk to Emily. I have to apologize. Now," I say, getting ready to run back to her. But Steve comes up to me and puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Soda, no. You can't right now. It's late, visiting hours were done hours ago, there are Socs out there and you could have gotten killed for crying out loud! I can't believe you didn't just go home," He yells at me. I have to blink back a few tears when he says "home". I miss it there, I miss my brothers and I miss sleeping in my own room.

"Y-yeah. You're right, buddy. I'll just go home. I'll see Emily tomorrow. I can apologize then. Thanks for your help, man," I say. He shakes his head.

"It's wet, cold and filled with Socs out there. Just stay here the night, Soda. You can even sleep in my bed if you want. I can take the couch," He says.

"A-are you sure?" I ask quietly, and for some reason, nervously.

"It's cool, I promise. Just get in there. I'll drive you home tomorrow," I tell him. I nod.

"Thanks, Steve."

Emily's POV:

"Emily, it's late, honey. Why don't you just go back to bed? Like I said, if Soda really cares, which I think he does, he'll come back tomorrow," Sarah whispers, rubbing my back to calm me down.

"B-but what if he doesn't come back? What if he's too mad at me?" I sob.

"Then he's not worth it," She tells me, like it's the easiest thing in the world. But it's not. I'm in love with Soda, I can't just get over him like that. He means more to me than anyone. I think he's worth it. I think he's worth every second I've spent with him since we met when I was four years old. Two-Bit was seven and a half, but in a class with six year olds. Yeah, he had been held back at that young of an age. And he was hanging out with Soda and Steve, who were five. Shows how smart my brother is, right?

I remember it like it was yesterday, he has asked our mom if he could have a few friends over to play with. She said yes, but asked for their names.

"Sodapop and Steve. They're real cool," Two-Bit had responded.

"Sodapop? That's his nickname, right?" She had asked. Two-Bit, who was at the time still being called Keith, just shook his head and grinned like an idiot.

"But mommy, think Soda is a cool name! I wanna be named Sodapop!" I remember yelling. She had laughed, but I could tell she didn't find it funny.

That day Soda and Steve came over for the first time. Steve went right into Two-Bit's room, not even noticing me, but Soda came right over when he saw tiny Emily.

Just picture it: short, cute little five year old me who didn't go to school yet, sitting on the floor, crisscross applesauce, in pajamas with unbrushed hair, watching Elmo and Sesame Street while laughing hysterically, and the giant, older kid, the first grader came over and say next to me.

"You know, I watch this show with my little brother Ponyboy a lot," Soda had said. I giggle at the name Ponyboy and he smiles.

"Yeah, I know it's not the best name, but my daddy picked it out. He picked mine too. Sodapop. So what's your name?" He asks.

"Emily," I say, pronouncing the L as a W.

"Cool. Well, I'm gonna go play with your brother, Emily. Maybe we can play together today, too," He says. We never did get to play together that day, but ever since he said that, I felt like he and I have had a special connection. Most of Two-Bit's friends didn't care about me, until Soda came along. He's always made me feel that I belong here. That I belong in the gang, that I've belonged with him... Until now. I screwed up big time, kissing his best friend. I just wish there was some way to take it back.

All I can think of as I'm laying in bed is "Why did I do that? How could I be so stupid as to push away one of the only two people left in the world that care about me?" I have no tears left in me, and I just curl up into a giant sniffly ball until I drift off into a restless, uneasy sleep.

A/N: Not a bad chapter for something written at 1:30 in the morning, right? You wouldn't believe how many typos I had to fix😂. And I think I missed a few too... But it's ok because there is only going to be 3 chapters left of this fic...
Anyways, I have two questions for you guys! First, what do you think of the new cover? I think it looks neater and much prettier than the old one...

And my other question is: who's going to read my Ferris Bueller's Day Off fanfic that I'm going to publish as soon as Broken is over?! I've been writing it for months now and I'm so excited to share it. I hope you guys are too, because we need more of those here. :)