Forever - Johnny Cade

Chapter 18:

I woke up from a terrible feeling in my stomach.

I sit up in pain, and clench around the lower part of my stomach, clenching my shirt with my fists from the pain.

My eyes started to water from the constant twisting and pulling going on in my stomach, but before I could start to cry, they slowly got better, and eventually stopped.

I figured I must've finally gotten a stomach ache from all the cookies I ate, and that it just took a while to hit, so I got out of bed and started the day.

It was a quiet breakfast, just Darry, Soda, Pony and I, Johnny went back to Buck's to make sure he was okay, and Steve and Two didn't show up this morning.

I was stuffing my mouth with perfectly crisp bacon when I got the same feeling I did in the bed.

The pain.

It started of bearable, but then it got really bad.

I barred my teeth in pain, trying to act normal in front of Soda, Pony, and Darry, but I didn't do a very good job.

"Everything okay, Kinsley?" Darry asks concerned.

With one last agonizing twist in my stomach, it went away, just as fast as it came.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just eating to quickly" I tell everyone.

They hum in response, and continue on eating.

Please let that be the last time I get that pain.

I finish eating and put my dishes in the sink, and help clear the table.

Pony was on dishes duty, so I got to relax on the couch while he worked away, scrubbing away our messes.

***

Around lunch time is when everyone started to show up, Dally included.

I guess whatever shenanigans he had going on last night was nothing he couldn't handle, or maybe it wasn't anything at all... who am I kidding, it's Dally we're talking about, of course it was something.

It was another scorching hot day, but not as bad as it was the one time Johnny and I went swimming in the lake with only our underwear on... thank goodness.

 Everyone was too hot and too tired to do anything exciting, so we resorted to the usual; watching TV, and talking.

It's funny how with the right people, just sitting and talking is enjoyable.

I was sitting on the couch with Johnny and Steve beside me. Whenever I sit on the couch, I always get squished in the middle, but I never mind because it's comforting to know that I have people who care about me, right next to me, guarding me. 

Everything was going great when all of a sudden I got that sudden, piercing pain in my lower stomach again.

I subtly ran my arm across my stomach in pain, not wanting to worry the gang, and hoped that it would go away soon.

I'm never going to eat that many cookies again.

No one noticed my minute of pure pain, and after it went away, I went back to normal, thinking it was gone for good.

Dally was telling a story on how he ended up in the cooler once, although it wouldn't have been funny for anyone back then... it had everyone laughing now.

I was laughing along with the rest of the gang to Dally's story when I felt something wet on my inner thigh.

My eyebrows narrow in confusion, and I look down to see my inner thigh is dripping blood, and my shorts were also stained red from blood.