Annabelle's Daisys.

Chapter 10

The morning after my fight with Dallas was hell. Two-Bit had long since left to sleep in my dad's bed, after watching me all night. Making sure I didn't do anything rash. I lay with the sheet over my head, in the fetal position. I got up, and moped around the house waiting for someone to come home with some news, with anything.

Soda came in after work, and when I looked up at him hopefully, he only stated down with red-rimmed eyes. I took a long breath and put my brave face on. Standing, Two-bit grabbed my jacket and and gave it to me. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, my hand outstretched,

"What?" Steve asked me.

"Well, are you just going to stand there, or are you going to let me drive?" I snatched the keys from his hands, and brushed past him to get in the truck. Putting it in gear, Steve sandwhiched between me and Soda, I slowly pulled from the curb and gunned down the road.

Two-Bit watched me, looking a bit impressed.

Steve whistled, "I've never known a broad to drive stick!" He wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

I aimed a punch right between his ribs and said, "I ain't no broad, Steve Randle," I said, so angry I starting to cry. My hand shook as I pulled it back to the wheel. "and I sure as hell ain't in a good mood! And unless you aim to get your truck crashed, you had better remove your arm, and remove it now."

How dare he? Pony'd been gone for 12 hours. How dare he touch me, and put his arms where Ponyboy had?

"This place is a mess."

And so, I began to clean. Scrubbing on my hands and knees, doing Darry's laundry, but steering clear of the bathroom, I worked to keep my mind busy. On auto-pilot.

I didn't let the kitchen alone until I was sure it smelled of nothing but bleach. The living room was swept until the air reeked of that warm smell of the vaccum overheating.

I dusted the pictures on the walls of the hallways leading to the bedrooms and I couldn't resist.

I opened the door and saw Pony and Soda's room. A cold feeling was seeping down into my stomach, and making it hard to swallow. Making my way to the desk, and touched Ponyboy's books and his composition notebook for English.

Then I found the bed. His teeshirt and jeans. Untouched. Soda had not slept in here last night. I touched the edge of his sweatshirt and rubbed circles into the fabric. I picked it up and smelled the collar. I held the fabric close to my body and cried. Not like before. I'd cried last night because he had ditched me for other girls. Now, I cried because he was gone, and still was so tangible. His scent did not leave the room, or the shirt, but rubbed off on me and cried.

I didn't know that I wasn't alone until I noticed Two-bit in the doorway, watching me with warm eyes. He was crying. Crying or seeing me cry.

I scrambled to stand. "I was just... Just looking, I-" I folded the teeshirt over the chair and passed Sodapop who was next to Two-Bit.

Days flew by. It was like I was walking on a treadmill with a bag over my head. I was walking, but it was all dark. I was moving, alive, but I was blind.

Sodapop sat with me in the morning, when he wasn't working. The way me and Soda talked about him, it was like he was right there! With us, laughing. But then, I'd look over my shoulder, and realize how really gone he was.

I was tickling Two-Bits forehead with a feather duster while he slept, for fun when there came a knock on the door. Darry looked up from his checkbook, spectacles on his nose, and began to stand but I pushed him back down. "You just read your book, Clark Kent." Or pretend to, I thought. I noted the wad of hair stuck sweaty to his forehead.

He swatted my hand, but he laughed and said, "You know I don't usually like little girls... But you just been helpin' 'round the house so much and all-"

"Oh, keep your trap shut, 'fore I puke. Don't go gettin' soft on me!" I pointed, heading to the door.

I threw it open, and half stepped back.

Sherri Valance, the cheerleader from my school, looked back at me.

"Can I help you?" I said, as Two-Bit made it known he was awake (to eavsdrop no doubt) Cherry peered in, trying to see him or Darry or maybe even Soda, but I blocked her view. I knew why she was here. She's the little tramp that started it all.

"You must be Annabelle-"

"Who the hell told you my name?"

She shrugged... "Heard it around... Can we talk?"

Darrel asked if I was alright. Two-bit decided that he needed a smoke, and though it wasn't a rule, took his pack outside with us. I glanced back at Darry and nodded. "Yeah, it's the, uh, Soc girl. We're gonna talk on the porch."

I closed the door behind me. Two-bit tried not to look TOO conspicuous. "What do you need?" I wrapped my arms around myself and gathered the filmy white blouse close. "Because I know you'd've called if it had anything to do with this damn rumble... So, what is it you need?" My foot tapped impatiently. She stared over at me with tears in those big green eyes.

"I feel so very sorry, Annabelle, everyone knew you and Ponyboy were real good friends."

I gritted my teeth. "That it?"

"I'm so sorry." Two-bit spun around to see my reaction.

I leaned my head back, and counted the painted white boards of the porch roof as I tried to calm down. There were seven. "Sherri, take your damn pity party someone else."

"Pardon?" her voice squeaked.

I leveled my head, and stared straight in her narrowed eyes and said, very calmly, "The day I need sympathy from the pass-around West-Side hussy will be a day that Two-bit here has nothing to say."

Sherri stared back as if I'd hit her. "I don't need this.. My boyfriend is dead and-"

"You may not need this, but you do deserve it. This," I glanced around, and gestured to the quiet house, " is all your fault. If you woulda kept your nasty hands to yourself, your boyfriend wouldn't be dead, Johnny and Pony would be home and you'd still be pretending like I don't exsist!"

Two-Bit cracked a smile, and stepped back on the steps trying to defuse the situation with a joke that I couldn't hear because the next thing I knew, something was flying into my face at that exact moment.

I cringed back, and wiped the Soc's

saliva off my nose, but before I could pull my fist back and hit her in that stupid little face and stain her ski jacket with her stupid little rich girl blood, Two-BitNot had already grabbed me by the waist and hauled me inside. I was struggling so hard, Two-Bit cursed at me and he never did. My forhead burned.

Darry saw me, on my ass next to the stove, with my frazzled expression and I spit hair out of my mouth and he stood up.

"She hit you?" he kept his distance but hunched down to touch Soda's wadded up, grease-stained T-shirt to my forehead. He pulled it back and I saw a shock of blood on the white cloth.

"Nup, that was me. She just spit at me." I laughed, and gently took the shirt from him. I could tell that Darry didn't like me all that much, but he liked me enough to care, and that was okay, because at the moment I didn't like anyone very much.