Shattered

lost my mind

Soda had to stay in the hospital for two more weeks after that. He's coming home today but for some reason, I feel very uneasy. I feel like something bad is going to happen and my gut is never wrong. When Soda hobbles through the door and sits down on the couch, I breathe a sigh of relief. So far, so good. "Ponyboy, can you keep an eye on things for a while? I just need to run to the store and grab some things for dinner. Two-Bit needed to do something for his momma but said he would stop by later." Darry asks, a genuine smile lighting up his face. He's so happy that Soda is back and so am I. "Yeah, no problem." I say, glancing over at Sodapop who is already asleep on the couch and Darry ruffles my hair and leaves. I sigh and try and think of something I can do to entertain myself. I wander up and down the stairs, admiring the old family pictures hanging on the walls. Then, I head to my room and try and clean up a little but then I realize it is a beast that can never be tamed. I'm hanging upside down off the bed and am about to go downstairs and see if Soda is awake when I hear a faint knocking on the door. I jog downstairs and look at Soda, who is still sleeping, before I open the door. I am immediately met with chaos. I look down to see Curly, beaten and bloody, in a heap on the porch. "Jeez, what the hell happened?" I ask, shocked. "I messed up bad, Pony. I ran out of money and was trying to get myself another fix and I tried stealing it. Please don't tell Tim but I really need your help." Curly says, breathing heavily. "Drugs?!" I say, my eyes practically bulging out of my head. "This is about you trying to steal some stupid drugs?! Curly, Tim is the least of your problems right now." "I know, I know. Can you just help me?" he asks, eyes wide with panic. I don't say anything else as I drag him through the hallway and into the downstairs bathroom. His back is against the tub and I kneel down and rock back on my heels. Curly has his hand pressed to his stomach and blood is running through his hands. Bracing myself, I gently push his hand away and lift up his shirt. There is a deep wound on his left side, I see stripes of white, the cut was so deep I saw bone, it was spurting blood everywhere. It is definitely from a switchblade. "Curly, did someone stab you?" I ask in disbelief. He nods weakly, his face getting whiter and whiter by the second. " I'm going to stitch it up but then you should go to the hospital and see if you have any internal injuries." I say, recalling everything that I've seen Darry do for people after really big rumbles. I stand up and am about to grab a needle when Soda appears in the doorway. He sees the blood on the floor and lets out a blood curdling scream. I clap my hands over my ears and Soda stumbles backwards until he eventually trips and falls on his ass. Soda starts to shake violently and continues screaming as I stand frozen with fear. With a rush of adrenaline, I crouch down next to Soda and shake him by the shoulders. "Soda, come back to me! You're okay, please stop screaming!" I say but Soda starts thrashing around, trying to get out of my grasp. Soda's leg is flying around and his foot connects with my jaw. Pain explodes through my head, I felt the searing pain. I couldn't think right, my vision for a moment blurred. but I fight through it and struggle to pin his leg down. I finally grab his good leg and force it to the ground before sitting on it. Soda reaches up and wraps his hands around my neck and starts to squeeze. I have never been so scared of someone in my life. I put my hands over Soda's hands and I try and wrestle them off me. This is not the Soda who I talked to in the hospital a few days ago. Soda doesn't even know who I am right now. Man, his amy training has really paid off because he suddenly has an iron grip. Everything starts to go even more blurry and then I hear the door open. "What is going on?!"Darry roars from the doorway, rushing towards Soda and I. Darry grabs me under my arms and yanks me out of Soda's grasp. I cough and wheeze and Darry puts me on the couch gently before rushing to restrain Soda. "Why is he screaming" Darry yells, pinning Soda to the floor. I point to the bathroom and Darry turns and sees Curly on the floor. "Shit." Darry says. "Ponyboy! Go up to my room and grab the bottle of pills off my dresser. The doctors said this might happen. HURRY!" Darry screams. I rush upstairs, breathless, and grab the pills. I run downstairs and hand them to Darry and watch as he forces Soda's mouth open and forces the pill down his throat. Soda coughs, choking on the pill a little, before he finally swallows it. Darry continues to hold Soda down until he stops thrashing and eventually slips into unconsciousness a few minutes later. Darry just sits there, shocked and so do I. Suddenly, I remember Curly and race back into the bathroom. Curly is passed out cold on the tile floor and is bleeding out. His breathing is getting shallower and shallower. "Darry!" I yell. "Ponyboy, you better explain quickly before I lose my damned mind!" he yells, punching the doorframe in frustration. I flinch, I've never seen Darry like this before. "Everything was going fine until Curly showed up on the porch like this, asking for help. He got himself in a bad situation and I was going to stitch him up. Soda walked in, saw the blood, and went insane!" I say, panicking. "Can you please help me, he needs to go to the hospital." I say. Darry lifts Curly up, rushes out the front door, and lays him down in the back seat of his truck. "Ponyboy, you're going to have to drive him. I can't leave Soda after an episode like that. He's dangerous." Darry says, begging me to understand. My chest tightens with anxiety but I grab the keys anyway. I jump into the front seat and Darry touches my shoulder, "Hey, it's okay. Hold it together." I don't respond before speeding away. The funny thing is, there is nothing left for me to hold together. I don't know what to feel anymore.