𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧 , 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬

nineteen.

MADELINE WINSTON

i gasp awake at the telephone ringing. the lamp beside the armchair has been on since before we all drifted off to sleep—however long ago that was.

steve happens to be the one most awake and braves answering the phone.

i sit up from my position on the couch, a blanket slouching off my shoulders that i don't remember falling asleep with.

as steve picks up the phone, my eyes land on soda at the opposite end of the couch. his tired eyes flick open and that's when i remember it was him who gave me the blanket to sleep with.

"no, it's steve. dally, is that you?"

i stand up at the sound of my brother's name, my legs wobbling from the deep sleep still clinging to my body. i pull the wool blanket tighter around myself as i begin to impatiently wait.

"yeah, he's right here." steve hands the phone off to darry.

"dal, are you all right?" darry speaks into the phone. "we know." his tone drops, and i can tell they're talking about johnny.

"is he okay?" i whisper.

darry holds up his hand to me, concentrating on dally's words.

"where is he?" i try again.

"hang on, we'll be right there." darry hangs up and then his eyes meet mine.

"well?" i press on further.

"he said the cops are after him."

"what did he do?" worry sinks in my chest as everyone else stands to their feet.

"he didn't say, but he said he's almost here and the cops are on his tail. come on!" he motions for us to follow him out the front door and to his truck.

"you can hear the sirens from here!" steve exclaims as the police sirens wail softly somewhere in the distance.

"no point in all of us takin' the car." darry decides, tossing soda the keys over the back of the truck. "soda, take pony and madeline. steve, two-bit, come with me. we'll get dally to veer off into the woods. soda, meet us there!"

the second he voices his plan, he, steve, and two-bit follow through with it; taking off down the street with adrenaline pushing them fast.

i open the door for pony, allowing him to get in before me. soda hops in the drivers seat and twists the keys.

i pull the door shut, enclosing us in the front seats while the engine steadies itself out with a low rumble.

pony's head is hanging low, missing the glance soda gives me—a worried, here we go. he backs the car out of the driveway and coasts down the street. the further we drive from the house, the louder the police sirens grow.

the lights come flashing around the corner and down the street on the opposite side. soda slows, pulling over to make way, and i try to ignore the urge to vomit out of fear.

i look down at my hands instead as the flashing lights shine through our windshield and wash over our faces.

"they passed us." soda speaks up as the cops are now behind us and the sirens are drowning out further and further. "that's a good sign."

"pull up over here." pony sits up straighter, pointing ahead to across the street where the woods start.

the three of us step out of darry's parked truck and begin making our way through the trees that line the street across from the park.

a few feet inward, the shadows of our friends stand. their hushed conversations come to a halt at the sound of us creeping up behind them.

"it's just them." darry tells the group at the first sight of me and his two younger brothers.