Shattered

save the horse

Darry's POV :

"Soda, how could you do that?" I say in disbelief. "After what he did to us, after what he did to Ponyboy?" I hear a groan from the living room and cut Soda off, "Soda, I have to go. Ponyboy is waking up. You know what, just do what you want." I say, hanging up the phone with a loud bang. I rub my eyes and walk into the living room. "You really disappointed your niece last night, Pony." I say, leaning against the wall. "Aw hell, I'm sorry Dar." He croaks. "I totally forgot you were bringing her over." He goes to sit up but immediately turns green. "Hey, just take it easy. You had a rough night last night. You passed out before you even made it to the toilet." Pony lets his head drop back onto the couch and his shirt accidently rides up and that's when I realize how skinny he is. "Ponyboy, when was the last time you had anything to eat?" I ask curiously. He groans, "I don't know, Monday or Tuesday maybe? Please don't talk to me about food right now." "So you're telling me you haven't eaten in six or seven days?" I ask, not believing my ears. He doesn't respond and the only sound you can hear in this god damn apartment is the sound of our breathing. "So what, was your plan to sit here and starve or drink yourself to death? Whichever comes first, am I right?" I say, a lump forming in my throat. "No, Darry. I just can't bring myself to care about anything enough to live." He says and I think he's crying but I can't really tell. "What, am I, your neice, or Soda not enough?" I ask, anger burning in my stomach. "It's not that. The thing is, I had this girl. I mean she's the kind of girl you meet once and you never forget. And I loved her and I thought she loved me. But, it's been almost three months since I last saw her and I don't know where she is or how to reach her. She sure as hell hasn't reached out to me. Darry, I just don't know to live without her." He says and I feel my heart break a little more after each word. I didn't know an easy way to tell him, lily was dead and it was the same girl he's been talking about. I grab a chair from Pony's sad excuse for a kitchen table and I sit down right next to my brother. "The thing is I can't lose you again. It isn't healthy for you to be so dependent on this girl, no matter how special she is. You need help Pony and I'm going to give it to you whether you like it or not." "Darry, please d-" He starts but passes out beforeally he can finish his sentence. He's weak, his body is shutting down. I grab Ponyboy's hand and I stare up at the ceiling, trying to figure out what the hell I'm going to do.
...
I call Alaska and tell her everything and she said that she's coming over here to help whether I like it or not. Thirty minutes go by and there is a knock at the door. I open it and laugh at the site of Alaska balancing under the weight off all the bags she brought. I grab as many bags as I can hold and lean into and give her a kiss, "Hey, honey. Thanks for coming over to help out." Alaska wrinkles her nose and makes a face, "You smell terrible. After we put these bags down you are going straight into the shower." I laugh and have her follow me into the kitchen. We put all of the bags on the counter and her jaw drops at the state of Pony's apartment. I pull Alaska close to me and steal a kiss from her, silently reassuring her that we could do this. "Hey, not fair! Now I need to steal one from you." Alaska says, a smile breaking out across her face. She stands on her tiptoes and kisses me quickly on the lips. I laugh and lean into her and she stumbles backwards until we are both leaning against the counter. I lean in to kiss her again but something sharp pokes me in the chest. "Ow!" I yell, looking down at Alaska. She had whipped a toothbrush out from somewhere and had poked me with it. "Ah, ah, ah! No more kisses for you until you shower and brush your teeth. I brought an overnight bag for both of us." She says, handing me a small black duffel bag. I laugh and put my hands up, "Alright, watch where you point that thing! I'm going, I'm going." I take the toothbrush from her and she nods in approval. I pretend to walk away and then I turn on my heel and kiss her again. I obviously caught her off guard and she yelps. "Darry!" She yells, swatting me playfully and I run into the bathroom but not before I hear her laugh.
...
I come out of the bathroom feeling clean and refreshed. I towel dry my hair and then hang my towel off the top of the door before heading back into the kitchen. Alaska has stocked all of Ponyboy's cabinets and is bent over the stove, cooking away. I sneak up behind her and rest my hands on her waist. She makes a surprised noise and jumps, splashing me with whatever she was stirring. "Darrel Curtis, get out of my kitchen! You're already making a mess!" She says, hitting me playfully with the spoon in her hand. I wipe the mystery food off my cheek and lick my finger. "Whatever it is you're cooking tastes delicious." I say, peering over her shoulder. "I'm making chicken noodle soup. You can have some later, before we clean every inch of this disgusting apartment." She replies. I laugh, "Okay, thanks for doing this. I'm going to check on Ponyboy. I love you." I say, kissing her cheek. "I love you too." She says, smiling. I grab a glass of water and I walk into the living room. I can feel my good mood sinking with every step. "Wake up Pony." I say, shaking his shoulder gently. "Lily?" He asks, rolling over. "It's Darry. C'mon wake up." I say. Pony opens his eyes and I help him sit up. I put down the glass of water just long enough to prop Ponyboy up on a few pillows. "Here." I say, handing him the glass. Pony takes it from me with a shaking hand and rubs his head with the other one. Ponyboy winces with every sip and doesn't even finish the full glass of water before he pushes it back into my hand. "I can't drink anything. My stomach hurts so badly. It's cramping." He explains, leaning back against the pillows. His whole body is shaking now. "You're going through withdrawal." I say, standing up. "I'll be right back." I head into the kitchen, "Alaska he's going through intense withdrawl." "Don't give in, don't give him any alcohol. He needs to quit cold turkey. His liver can't take much more of this." She says, turning off the stove and putting her ladel on the counter. "Can you get me sone blankets?" She asks. I nod and we both leave the kitchen. I go into Ponyboy's room and grab two blankets off of his bed. "So you're Ponyboy, right? The one that terrified my daughter last night and the one who I've been postponing my wedding for?" I hear her say and I can't help but laugh. I love that woman so much. "The one and only." I hear Ponyboy say as i walk back ton the living room. "Sorry about all of that by the way." "Don't sweat it kid." Alaska says. "Here you go." I say, laying two blankets over Ponyboy. "Thanks." He says softly. "You don't need to do all of this though. I'll be fine by myself guys." "There's no way we'll let you go through this on your own. If Melissa or Brian is going to meet their youngest uncle then they're going to meet a sober one." I say and Alaska nods in aggrement, leaning into me as I wrap my arm around her. "Fair enough. I really do appreciate all of this." He says. "Oh don't thank me yet, you haven't tried my cooking." Alaska says and we all laugh. "You're a great cook." I say, squeezing her shoulders affectionately. "But maybe not as good as me." Alaska glares at me playfully, "Sleep with your eyes open tonight buddy."
...
Ponyboy wipes his mouths and flushes the toilet. He leans against the wall, completely exhausted. "I told you I shouldn't have eaten that chicken soup." He groans and I laugh. I help him up and he brushes his teeth before I drag him back to the couch. He's out the second his head hits the pillow. Tonight has been exhausting and it's not even five o'clock. I forced Ponyboy to eat something and that ended in disaster. I sink down to the floor next to Alaska and she puts her head on my shoulder. Neither of us want to fall asleep. "I'm happy the kids are with your mom tonight. I need to help my brother. " I say and Alaska smiles and nods. I can tell she's to tired to understand. Ponyboy has been talking in his sleep and is sweating so badly that I've had to wipe his forehead a couple of times. He's actually woken up twice now completely out of it with no idea where he is. Alaska and I have been watching over Ponyboy as he sleeps for two hours now. There is a knock at the door and relief floods through me. I need a distraction, it's been hard for me to watch Ponyboy go through this. I open the door and Soda smiles. I see Two-Bit standing behind him. "Hey, we got here as soon as we could." Soda says, hugging me tightly and Two-Bit follows. "It's good to see you, Dar. How's Ponyboy?" Two-Bit asks. "Not good and this place is a mess." I say, stepping aside to let them in. They both wince at the condition of the apartment before they follow me into the living room. Two-Bit greets Alaska but Soda immediately walks towards Ponyboy and rubs his head. Ponyboy opens his eyes. "Soda?" He asks, squinting slightly. "Hey little brother. You look like hell." He says, smiling bigger than I've ever seen him smile before.