Running Towards Home

CHAPTER 11

SAM'S POV:

"Hey Sam, want to come on a walk with me and Johnny?" Pony asks me. "Sure." I put on my jacket, the tear now sewn up by Darry. We walk together, chatting and laughing. We get to the lot and sit down. We talk a bit more. We lay on our backs together, staring at the stars.

"The sky is really pretty tonight." I say, and Johnny agrees. As we sit together, I start to get drowsy. Pony notices, and pulls me a bit closer. I lay my head next to him, grateful for the warmth. I blush a bit, and Pony does too. The sound of his breath is calming. Before I know it, I've dozed off.

I wake up to Johnny shaking me. "Sam! Sam! Wake up! We fell asleep in the lot. You and Pony have to get home! I'm going to sleep in the park. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Pony is already up, and he grabs my hand to pull me to my feet. We start running to the house, Johnny choosing to sleep outside at the park. We get inside, and see Darry. He. Is. Pissed.

"Where were you?" Darry shouts. I speak up. "We fell asleep in the lot." I look down at my feet. Soda comes out, brushing sleep from his eyes. Darry keeps going. "We were worried sick!" Pony says "I didn't think-" Darry interrupted. "All you can say is you didn't think? That is all I ever hear from you."

"Darry..." Soda tries to calm Darry down. "Shush! I'm tired of you defending him!" That was when I knew Pony had enough. "Don't yell at him!" he shouted. Before I could do anything, Darry slapped Pony. Pony fell hard on the floor, and the slam of his head on the wood made me gasp. Pony stands up, tears in his eyes. Darry looked at his hand, not believing what he just did. "Pony..." then Pony runs. He tears out of that house faster than I have ever seen him run before.

I shoot Darry a look of pure hatred then run after Pony as fast as I can. He's too fast for me. But I still follow. I finally caught up to him in the park near the fountain. He's sitting there with Johnny, and I see his shoulder shaking as he cries. I walk over to him, and rub his back.

"Pony, it's going to be okay, I promise. We'll figure this out." Pony lifts his head and I see the tears running down his face. I pull him close to me, hugging him. I wish I could take his sadness away. I can't believe that Darry did this. I thought I knew him. I guess not. Darry yells at Pony a lot, and I get why. Darry gave up his college career and his football to take care of him and Soda. Darry has a lot on his shoulders, and he is terrified about losing Soda or Pony, that the state will take them away. He loves his brothers, but he should never have hit Pony like this. I'm worried about calming Pony down when I hear the rumbling of a car.

My heart stops. I look up. It's a blue mustang. A bunch of socs come out, all clearly drunk. Johnny's eyes go to a man with rings on his fingers. He suddenly looks terrified. He recognizes the rings. I just don't know why. Pony starts to dry his tears and stands up. We stand with him, holding our ground. We won't let these socs get what they want.