Limitations

Thirteen

I eventually called Evie- Steve's girlfriend- and we talked for a while before she had to go.

Finally, after what felt like hours- or maybe it was hours, I couldn't tell- everyone was back.

"So?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.

"We won, obviously," Soda replied.

"Good. I was- wait, where's Dally and Pony?"

"Hospital, went to visit Johnny," Soda said as he sat down next to me. "Didn't say anything about how he's doing, though, guess we'll have to wait and see."

.

Nobody really did much for the next few hours. We didn't even have the TV or the radio on. The atmosphere felt strange and thick, and it had started thundering outside. There was no rain, just thunder.

I had an uneasy feeling in my chest, and I couldn't make myself sit still.

"Oh my god, stop moving." Steve said.

"Everybody is always moving, Steven. The earth is orbiting the sun at thousands of miles per hour." I replied, continuing to bounce my leg. He flipped me off and I stuck my tongue out at him.

It was 2:00 AM when Pony walked in.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Darry asked.

"Johnny is dead." He said, as if he hadn't even heard our brother. "Dallas is gone. I don't know where he is."

Everyone was silent before the phone rang and Darry answered it.

"It's Dally. He just robbed a gas station and we gotta hide him. He's gonna meet us at the lot."

And then we were all running. My lungs were burning and I couldn't breathe, but I tried to ignore the feeling and hoped it would go away.

You know, I always told myself I was used to things. Used to life, used to now things were. But something you can never get used to is people dying.

Mom, Dad, Johnny, Dally.

And the worst part about that is is that people continue to die all around you, and you can't stop it.

Also I felt like I was suffocating because I just ran two blocks and I didn't have my inhaler with me.

"Darry," I coughed, but I passed out before I could say anything else.

.

"What happened?" I half slurred when I woke up in my room.

"You had an asthma attack," Darry replied.

"I don't got asthma."

"We took you to the hospital, the doctor said you do."

"That's illegal, he can't do that," I muttered. "Where's Pony?"

"He's sick, hon."

"He's dying?"

"No! He just hit his head, he's been stayin' in Soda's room." Darry ran a hand through his hair, looking exhausted.

"Oh," I breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."

.

Two days later, Darry let me go back to school. Pony was still out of it and had barely woken up, so Steve was driving me.

"You feelin' alright, kid?" He asked. "You ain't been talkin' much."

"I'm fine." I said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm okay, Steve."

He parked his car and I went off to find Curly before school started.

"Hey, babe," he kissed me. "I missed you. Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," I assured him.

"I'm sorry about what happened."

I shrugged. "What happens, happens, I guess. I'd rather not talk about it."

He nodded. "That's okay. Say, homecoming is in two weeks, do you wanna go with me?"

"Really?" I gasped. "I totally forgot about homecoming."

"So, is that a yes...?" Curly prompted, raising an eyebrow.

"Duh," I rolled my eyes. "I'd love to."

"Okay, good," he grinned. "You look really pretty with your hair like that. But you always look pretty."

I blushed and laughed slightly. "Thank you,"

He kissed my temple. "No problem, babe. C'mon, you want me to walk you to your locker?"

.

"Soda, Soda, Soda, guess what," I beamed as I walked in the front door.

"What's up?" He asked.

"I'm goin' to homecoming."

"Oh, really? That's great," he grinned. "With Curly?"

"Obviously," I said as I flopped down on the couch.

Everybody had given up on trying to break us up, but I had a hunch that it was because Tim yelled at them for it.

.

That Friday, I had to stay home from school again because me and Pony had to testify in court about what happened.

The whole day felt like a blur. It was hot and crowded in the courthouse, there were too many people, it was too bright, and the air was too thick.

But at the end of the day, it was a good day because the judge legally declared that Darry had full custody of me and Pony.

"Nice," we fistbumped up at the front table.