Shattered

Cherry

I groan at the pain in my stomach when the nurses move me from the stretcher to the hospital bed. I felt each second pass and more pain erupts. I reach out for Darry before I realize he isn't here. He's never there when you need him. He's being questioned by luke and so is Soda. I feel myself slip into absolute panic and I struggle to regain control of my breathing. Was i dying? goddamn it! Let me see him!" Someone yells pushing through the crowd of medical personnel. I laugh weakly, I've never been so happy to see Two-Bit in my life. "Hey, Ponyboy, you look like shit and Satan had a baby." Two-Bit says jokingly but I know it's probably true. "I know I'm not Darry or Soda but I'm here and I'm all you got." "No, it's okay. Thanks for being here." I say even though it's getting harder and harder for me to breathe. "Sir, are you family? If not, I need to ask you to leave because we have to take this young man in for some tests and you really can't be in here." The doctor asks impatiently. "I'd like to see you try to remove me from this room, buddy, I'm 200 pounds of pure stubborn asshole ." Two-Bit says as he sits down in a chair next to my bed. The doctor rolls his eyes and continues his poking and prodding but he lets Two-Bit stay. "Alright, we're going to sedate you so that we can perform an endoscopy to find out if you have any upper gastrointestinal bleeding." He says. "If we find anything then we will have to perform emergency surgery." I sit up and try and get off the bed. "Ponyboy, I can't let you leave. Your brother signed papers up front saying that he would let us do what whatever it would take medically to get you healthy again since you are still a minor." The doctor says "I'm not having surgery." I say weakly but the nurses push me back onto the bed and tie me down. Two-Bit puts his hand on my shoulder, "Pony, don't worry. There just going to fix you back up and then you can go back home. Darry, Soda, Steve, and I will be right here when you wake up." The nurse puts an IV in my arm and squeezes the bag it's attached to. I feel my muscles relax and I know they are putting me to sleep and there is nothing I can do about it. That's the last thing I remember before my world goes dark.

///

I open my eyes and a grunt escapes my cold, cracked, lips. I bring my knees to my chest as closely as I can and wait. Pain and nausea tear into my body and I'm immediately relieved when the nurse walks into my room. "Hey, how are you feeling?" She asks in a soft, soothing voice. "I feel like I'm going to throw up." I tell her and she nods and walks out of the room. She comes back with some ice and a needle. She injects the needle into my IV bag and hands me the cup of ice. "Here, these will make you feel a lot better." The nurse says before taking some tests. "Well, everything looks good! The doctors found the source of the bleeding and they sealed up the perforation in your stomach. You just need to take it easy and get better now, okay? I'll send your visitors back in a little while." "Thanks." I croak and she walks out of the room. I put the ice chips on the bed side table and pull the blankets over my head. I can't eat anything right now. "Ponyboy?" Someone says and I don't pull the blankets off of my face because I know it's Cherry. I'm just not ready to see her yet. "How are you feeling?" She asks and I feel her sit at the bottom of the bed. I sigh and pull the covers off of my face knowing very well that she wasn't going anywhere. "I don't feel anything," I say, "They've got me on some pretty heavy pain medication." I say and Cherry laughs. "Cherry, why are you here?" I ask, suddenly realizing that there was no way she could've known I was sick if someone didn't call her.
"Darry called and asked me to stay with you. They're still talking with the agency man." Cherry says, trying to avoid making eye contact with me.
"Cherry, what's going on?" I ask. "Don't even think about lying, I can tell when you're hiding something."
"Ponyboy, I don't want to upset you." She says. "I have to go to the bathroom but I'll be right back."
Cherry starts to walk away but I grab her arm. "Cherry, please just tell me." I say. "Okay, okay!" She says, turning around to face me. "Pony, Child Protective Services wants to take your brothers to court and they want to take you out of Darry's custody." Cherry says before she squeezes my hand comfortingly, "Hey, don't worry, there's no way Darry would let them take you away." "That's it." I say, pulling gently the IV out of my arm. I force myself legs off the bed and when I sit up, I get a sudden head rush and have to pause. "Ponyboy, what the hell are you doing?" Cherry whispered loudly anxiously. "I'm getting out of this hell hole." I say, grabbing my clothes from where they lay neatly folded in a bag on the bedside table. "Ponyboy, get back in bed." Cherry commands. Every sudden movement is agonizing but I keep getting dressed anyways. I didn't come here with any shoes so I put my bare feet down on the cold tile floor and I stand up. My legs immediately starts shaking and I don't think I can take another step. "I'm getting a nurse." Cherry says, as she turns to go.
"Your crazy freaking ex-boyfriend is the reason I'm in here, can you at least give me a chance to get out of here please?" I say as i take another slow, burning step. "What?" Cherry asks in disbelief. Whoops, I had forgotten that she didn't know anything about what happened at school. I ignore her and continue with my rant. "Cherry, in all my life I've never been without my brothers and I'm not about to start now." I say. "Cherry, please help me, please! I can't do this!" I beg and I feel anxiety building in my chest. Breathlessly, I lean against the bed for support as I struggle to control my breathing. I begin to panic at the lack of air and a strangled noise escapes my throat. Cherry rushes over to me and forces me to sit down. "Ponyboy, you're having a panic attack. Breathe Pony, just breathe. Focus on my voice." Cherry says, putting her hands on my shoulders. Involuntarily, I start crying and Cherry hugs me tightly. I bury my face in her neck and focus on each and every breath until my breathing starts coming naturally again. "Thank you." I say quietly, leaning back and wiping my eyes. I wince when I go to stand up again so Cherry helps me out of bed so I can get back in it and lay comfortably. I pull the covers over myself and try and relax. Just then, the nurse walks in and notices my outfit change. "He had a moment but everything is okay now." Cherry explains. "Pony, I'm going to go to the bathroom now. I'll be right back." I nod and sigh as she walks away. The nurse tugs my shirt off so that it doesn't stick to my bandages and she plugs the IV back into my arm. By the time the nurse is done her series of tests, the drugs start to kick in and a sense of peacefuless washes over me.
I don't know when the nurse left or when Cherry came back but when I open my eyes, Cherry and I are the only ones left in the room. Cherry grabs my hand, "Pony, you can get through this. I'll be right here with you." "Cherry, can you promise me one thing?""Promise you what?"
"Please don't stay with people that don't treat you right." I say softly.
"I won't anymore, I promise." Cherry answers and I know she means it because, this time, one of her terrible relationships has affected more than just her. I nod in satisfaction and a warm feeling runs through me when I realize that pieces of my life are falling back into place.