dor 【 sodapop curtis 】

aftermath.

One year.

A year since Agnes stopped in the small town of Tulsa.

A year since she'd stolen the heart of a charming boy.

A year since that same charming boy stole hers.

A year since she smashed his heart just like his last girl.

She thought about him a lot and wrote lots of letters to him. None of them were ever sent but she knew they were there. She imagined every possible scenario of the two speaking or meeting again or being back with him but she knew it wouldn't be fair to hurt him by showing up unannounced.

She remembered the number he told her to call when she stayed there and, while standing in the phone booth getting ready to put some change in, she hoped it was still the same ten numbers that he scrawled on the napkin a year ago.

"Hello?" It sounded like an older man. Likely the older brother she only knew by what she'd been told.

"Um, is Sodapop there?"

"Who's askin'?"

She bit her lip, "An old friend. I won't be long."

She heard him call Soda's name and tell him it was a girl. Soda liked to think he knew what girl it was. "Sodapop here."

"Hey, Soda!" Agnes got a rush just hearing his voice and hoped he wouldn't be angry with her and hang up because it was the most excited she's been in a while.

"Agnes." He sounded indifferent. She took it as a good thing. Not angry is a good thing.

"Hi, uh, h-how are you?"

"Uh, fine. I'm fine." There was a moment of silence and she wasn't sure if she should break it or if he would. "Where--uh--where are you now?"

She paused, she still wasn't used to calling where she was home yet. "Um, I'm home. In Alabama, actually. With my dad."

He couldn't help but be a little happy for her, for finding somewhere to stay. "Yeah?"

They both chuckled a little at the irony. "Yeah."

"How'd that happen?"

She scratched her hair and laughed again, this time at the embarrassment. "Well, uh, I was in Texas, then I was in Arizona and it was a lot of dessert so I decided to go back to Texas. I was trying to get a different car and it turns out I messed with the wrong guy's stuff. He came at me with a huge heater, screamin' at me. Someone called the fuzz and I was hauled in for grand theft somethin' they called it. Said I needed a place to be released to. Been with my dad for a few months now."

He laughed as well, didn't think that was what would be sending the girl home. "You gonna stay?"

She nodded before remembering that he couldn't see her. "Yeah. Yeah, I actually forgot how great my dad's farmin' stuff is."

"Well, uh, well that's great."

"What about you? How've you been?"

"Well, I'm good. Got promoted to a lead at the DX so I've got Steve and the other people workin' under me. I met this girl a few months ago, Elsy. Actually moved here from Southern Texas, she said. Her folks didn't so much like me at first but that's 'cause I'm workin' at a fillin' station, a high school dropout, and white. They've been warmin' up to me, though."

Agnes didn't really know what she expected. She left and he deserved someone much better than her. Not to mention someone who was there. "I'm glad."

There was another silence before the operator reminded them that they had a minute left. She swallowed her pride and apologized. "I'm sorry I left like that. I really am. I was real selfish and scared and you didn't deserve that."

"It's alright," he assured her, "I'm doin' good now. I could thank you, actually. We'll never really know how it could've been but I like how things are now."

She smiled. "Good. Goodbye, Sodapop. Never got to say that to you before."

"Yeah," he chuckled, "Goodbye."

well that's the end for sodapop and agnes.
gosh, this is the first book that i've finished and am actually thoroughly proud of.
um, to anyone who's read this, thanks sososo much
to anyone who will read this, i look forward to seeing your feedback.
love you guys and thank you.
please tune in to my other books, i'm pretty sure all of them will be longer than this one.