Forever Apart (Johnny Cade) {The Outsiders}

Twenty

Ponyboy and I sat in the backseat and Dally sped and slid down the roads of Tulsa. Ponyboy looked like he was gonna puke. I cradled him with one arm and held onto the seat with my other arm. Dally swerved as he turned and the tires skid on the pavement. "Damn it, Dally!" I yelled.

Then sirens echoed and I saw police lights behind us. Dally slowed down and pulled over. It was a single cop on a motorcycle that pulled him over. "Alright, act sick. Pretend I'm taking you to the hospital," Dally said.

"He needs to go to a hospital, look at him," I hissed.

"You've gotta have a good reason for driving like that, son," the officer said. He shined his flashlight into the car and at me and Ponyboy.

"Uh, the kid, he fell off his motorcycle. I'm taking him to the hospital," Dally said. The officer looked at Ponyboy. He had blood coming from his lip and his nose. His left eye was swollen and his face was pale.

"How bad is he?" The officer asked.

"I don't know, man. Do I look like a doctor?" Dally replied. "He looks pretty bad to me. I-I don't know..."

"Follow me." The officer went back to his motorcycle and drove past us. He motioned for Dally to follow and he did.

"Sucker," Dally laughed.

Ponyboy opened his eyes and let out a chuckle as well. "Are we gonna go see Johnny?" He asked.

"But Ponyboy, you don't look to good," I said.

"Don't go acting like Darry now, worrying all the time," he said.

"Someone's gotta worry, otherwise things like this would be happening every day."

"I snuck in and saw Johnny before I came to the rumble," Dally said. "Man, if he was smart like me, he wouldn't be in this mess. I don't him to run and hide man, why didn't he run and hide? If he was smart like me, he wouldn't have run in that church man." Dally looked at me in the rear view mirror. "You better wise up, Peggy. You better wise up, man. You hear me? You wise up! You needa watch out for yourself. You gotta get tough so nothing can touch you." He looked like he was gonna cry. Dally banged his fist on the steering wheel and sniffled.

I bit my tongue to keep me from crying as well. We didn't both need to be complete messes.

In the hospital, Dally and I helped Ponyboy walked through the halls. He had his arm around both of us on each side and we helped him limp to Johnny's room. But Dally was walking a little too fast, making the limp uneven and hurting Ponyboy.

We walked in Johnny's room one at a time. Dally and I stood on one side and Ponyboy stood on another. Johnny was on his back and his eyes were closed. His breathing was raspier than when I saw him earlier that day. The skin on his neck and shoulders was covered in burns. "Hey, Johnnykid. We beat the socs, man. Chased 'em right out of the neighborhood." Dally always spoke to Johnny with a gentle tone. It was like a dad talking to his favorite son.

"It's useless," Johnny replied. His voice was raspy and slow. "Fighting ain't no good."

"You know, they're still writing about you in the paper," I said. "About you being a hero."

"It's gonna be alright, buddy," Dally's voice shook.

"P-Peggy? Peggy?" I moved to Dally's other side and closer to Johnny's face.

"Johnny," I cried. "Johnny, I should've said it in the lots, that night. But I love you, Johnny. I love you." He tried to smile. I watched his lips curve only a little.

"Look for me in the stars, will ya?" He said.

"Don't say that, Johnny, everything's gonna be alright." I sniffled some more and held onto his bicep where there was no burns.

"Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold." Johnny's head weakly turned and then froze pointed at Ponyboy.

I no longer could hear his raspy breathing. I bit my lip but it didn't stop the tears.

"Johnny, come on." Dally moved Johnny's arm but he didn't react. Johnny laid still on the small hospital bed. "Johnny." Dally shook him but again, nothing happened.

I let out a wail and cried into the hospital sheets.

"So this is what you get, huh? This is what you get for helping people," Dally angrily said. "Come on, Johnny. Don't die on me. Don't die!"

Dally's sadness quickly turned to anger. He stumbled from the hospital bed and pinched the wall. He punched it twice before looking back at Johnny and running down the hospital hallway.

I brushed through Johnny's soft hair and kissed his forehead. One of my tears dropped onto his face. Ponyboy was across from me sniffling and crying as quiet as he could.

"Dally?" I looked up at the doorway. "Dally!" I ran after him, leaving Ponyboy behind.