Author’s note: The Outsiders are owned by S.E. Hinton.
The waiting room walls were mind numbing white. As I come out of my fog I notice the clock on the wall behind the nurse’s station. 2:18 am. It’s been over 2 hours. Great. I lift my head from Soda’s shoulder and realize the chairs around us are empty.
Soda’s eyes are wide open, but I can tell his mind is somewhere far away. I can’t blame him. I wish I could escape the images so deeply burned into my brain. There she was almost lifeless on the couch. My invincible big sister was no longer invincible. She was small, fragile and precious. “Angels need special attention.” Where was I? No! Stop thinking like that!
“Where is everyone?” I try to rub the sand out of my eyes.
“Darry sent Steve and Two-Bit home. He’s down the way talking to the doctor.”
As I look up I can see Darry in his tough man stance talking to a balding, shorter man in a white lab coat. Darry seems so attentive, but quickly shifts his sight to the floor. What did he say? Darry’s eyes turn down to his feet. I can see a tear fall from his left eye. What could possible break Superman’s super hero stance? Darry brushes away the tear and looks toward me and Soda.
As Darry approaches us all I can think is ‘No, I don’t want to hear it.’ Soda tenses and sits up next to me. Where ever he was, he came back from as soon as Darry started toward us.
“How is she?” Soda’s anxious question almost comes out in a squeal. Darry sits across from us.
“She has woken up a few times, but it hurts her to talk. Doc says she’s going to need to stay here a few days, but, with sometime, all of her wounds should heal up fine.”
“Did she say what happened? I mean…was she?” Damn it, Soda! Why did you have to ask that?
Darry’s eyes begin to turn red and the clear liquid in them starts to come pouring out. He puts his head in his hands as he nods. My eyes turn to the floor. How could I just let her go? How is she ever going to forgive me?
“Can we see her?” Darry just nods into his hands again. His words are muffled “If she wakes up just don’t let her talk.”
Soda and I stand in unison and begin walking down the brightly lit corridor. It was such a long hall or maybe it just felt that way. It seemed like the longest walk of my life. Soda entered first and as I turned the corner I could see the horror on his face. There she was, black and blue and unconscious. Her face was almost unrecognizable through all the swelling. She has obviously been cleaned up, but…stop thinking about it! This is your sister and she needs you now. I sit in the chair next to her as Soda takes a seat beside her on the bed. I notice him raise his hand to touch her, but pull away. I guess he’s afraid he might hurt her. I know I am. I hate to say it, but I’m relieved she’s sleeping. I just don’t think I could look her in the eyes right now.
After what seems like forever, Darry enters the room. As he puts his hand on my shoulder I look up to see the tears gone, but the evidence of them remains in his red puffy blue eyes.
“You two head home now. Get some sleep. Soda, you gotta work in the morning.”
“Darry, come on, I wanna stay.” Soda’s eyes begin to tear up.
“Soda, I’m going to be taking at least the next week off from roofin’. We’re going to need that money. We can’t afford for you not to work.” I could tell Soda wanted to protest, but he knew Darry was right. I wasn’t going to argue. I let her down and I just couldn’t handle staying in that room with her much longer.
I watched as Soda picked up her hand and kissed it as I stood up and moved to the door. Darry quickly picked up the chair and moved it closer to her bed. He picked up her hand and placed his head down on it and his tears became evident again. “Come on, Soda.”
We began that long walk down the corridor out the front doors. The walk home was in complete silence.
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