dor 【 sodapop curtis 】

thirteen.

there are no
goodbyes on the road

Sodapop woke up in a great mood. It radiated for what seemed like miles. Ponyboy noticed it the moment Soda emerged from their bedroom.

"Golly, what are you so happy about?" Ponyboy asked, clearly annoyed at his brother's attitude. Soda was usually rather cheerful but everybody who walked into the house could tell that today was different. When anyone asked, he'd say that there's always a reason to be happy or that today it's bright and the sun is shining.

"Basic boy in love responses," Two-Bit would comment. Steve was the only one who really knew why and sadly, he was the one who had to bring him down.

Agnes spent that whole night up. She went to Buck's to try and get rest but spent an hour tossing and turning before accepting that she wouldn't get any sleep with her mind racing back and forth. She didn't have much of a plan but stuck a cigarette between her lips and grabbed a stray piece of paper and a pen she found in one of the New York Kid's drawers.

After finishing with that, she folded the paper up and stored it in her pocket. She looked through the closet and found a mess of clothes. Big for her but she didn't mind. She grabbed a few t-shirts, mostly plain and black, after holding each of them up to her body and shrugging. She folded them up and stuffed them into an empty trash bag. She grabbed a pair of jeans, the ones that looked the smallest, and folded them up as well.

Searching through the closet, she found nothing else of much use to her. There was one nice pair of shoes, a weathered old book, and a pack of incense. She took them all and planned on selling the shoes. "If he wanted 'em so bad he could've stayed outta jail," she mumbled to herself.

She took one last look at the place she'd grown familiar with and walked down the stairs. "Buck," she called.

He looked at her from where he was at the table beside the bar counting up the profits from the night before, "What?"

"Leavin'."

"How long?"

"For good."

He nodded and looked back down, barely paying attention to the girl anymore. "Alright, if you're in town again, we've always got a spot for ya'."

"Thanks."

She'd gotten to know Buck as more than just an ass with a job for her. He was more of an ass with an interesting personality. Agnes was easily able to admit that he'd grown on ber just like everyone else in the bar. Lucky for her, it was still easier walking away from Buck's than it was Soda.

"Whose stuff is that?" he asks as she walked towards to door.

"Mine."

She saw him roll his eyes and didn't even bother to try anymore. "Dallas would kill ya' if he knew you was takin' his stuff."

"Good thing I'm leavin' then, huh?"

There wasn't much else to say and she left without another word. It was dark out and she hadn't checked the time but knew it was before five and after twelve. She didn't know what she'd do next but knew there was something she had to do before leaving.

She went to the twenty-four-hour convenience store and grabbed two packs of Camels, some snacks, and a six-pack of Mountain Dew then sat in her car and contemplated going back to Sodapop's house. Instead, she went to the DX and went in through the back. She left the note on the counter and sucked up her tears, ignoring everything in her that said to stay.

The last thing she did was find a car and switch. She went from her car to an old Ford pickup. She hit the jackpot as well. One of the drunks that patronize the bar she found the truck at left the keys. In a half hour, she was out of town. Going south towards Texas.

Soda saw Steve with a look that only could mean bad news but Soda tried not to let it diminish his enthusiasm. "What's up, man?"

Steve didn't say a word, just handed Soda over a crumpled up half sheet of paper.

I'm sorry.
You don't know, but there ain't no goodbyes on the road.
I'll write you until you tell me to stop.
I love you, Sodapop Curtis.

- Agnes.

Suddenly he fell apart but wasn't going to admit it. "This is a joke, ain't it?"

"Hey, I ain't laughin'."

"What's it say?" Ponyboy asks, taking the paper away from him.

Sodapop collapsed on the couch, shaking his head. His heart was racing and he probably would've cried if no one was around him. The light in the room seemed to fade around him as he felt his heart shatter into pieces. She was gone and it was making sense why she was acting so strange the night before.

She was gone.

"So that's it?" Sodapop says, more to himself than anyone in the room.

"That's it."