I Could Use Somebody

I woke up and felt horrible. I slowly got out of bed and went downstairs to get coffee.

"You're a fucking liar!" I could hear my cousin screaming on the phone in the other room. She always thought that her boyfriend was cheating on her. I heard the phone hit the wall, followed by her storming into the kitchen. She started opening and closing drawers and cabinets.

"Can you stop doing that maybe?" I had a head ache and she wasn't helping.

"Can you stop drinking maybe?" She said without looking at me. I said alright then got up and walked out of the house. I walked to the Curtis's and let myself in. Two Bit was standing next to the door drinking a beer. I could tell that he was hungover so I just nodded at him. A beer actually sounded pretty good right now. I found that alcohol was the best cure for a hangover. I went to the fridge and got one, then fell onto the couch.

"One too many last night, huh Two Bit?"

I was waiting for his usual stupid come back but instead he blurted out "Have you seen Pony or Johnny?"

I sat up a little on the couch. "Yeah I..." I lowered my voice, realizing that Darry was probably still in his room and I didn't wanna get Ponyboy in any trouble. "I ran into Pony last night, around two in the morning. He said he was going to find Johnny in the lot 'cause Darry hit him."

Two Bit came over and sat next to me. "Yeah, well he didn't come home. No one's seen Johnny or Pony." Soda came out of his room, looking like he was half dead. He said nothing to either of us and walked into the kitchen. "They found a dead soc last night." Two Bit was whispering so Soda couldn't hear him, I guess. I followed his lead and kept my voice down.

"Are you kidding? Where? Who was it?" He scratched his head then finished the rest of his beer.

"In the lot. And it was Bob Sheldon or Shepard. Somethin' like that."

I let out a long sigh. "Bob Sheldon." I used to know Bob Sheldon. I never had a problem with him, until he beat up Johnny really bad a few months back, but before that, I actually liked Bob. He used to throw some good parties.

"Shit. Wait. In the lot...you don't think..." Two Bit knew what I was thinking, probably because he was thinking the same thing. He just shrugged his shoulders. Soda came out into the living room at the same time Darry came out of his bedroom.

"Neither of you need to be drinking. It's not even ten yet."

"Morning beautiful." I said to Darry, as I put my head back on the couch. He ignored me and went to make coffee.

"Hey Nicole." I picked my head up and saw Soda standing in front of me.

"Hey Soda..." He looked like shit. I could see the bags forming under his eyes.

“You haven't seen Ponyboy, have you?” Darry came out of the kitchen and was standing against the wall drinking coffee. I knew he was waiting for me to answer Soda. I had to lie because I knew that if I said I saw Pon y,Darry would kill me for two reasons. One, I let him go to the lot by himself, and two he would know that I was walking around at night.

“No, I stayed out at Buck's last night. I haven't seen him since the movies, I'm Sorry.” Darry raised an eyebrow at me, then walked back into the kitchen. “What's wrong with him?”

Soda sat down on the arm of the couch next to Two Bit. “Well, he hit Ponyboy last night, then he ran off.”

I shook my head. “I get that, but what did I do?”

Soda let out the longest yawn I have ever heard before answering me. “Probably just wondering what you were doing at Buck's, that's all.”

Darry knew better than anyone that I didn't like Buck. He always annoyed me. Darry also knew that the only reason I would go to Buck's would be to see Dally. Then I heard the door open. “Christ, speak of the devil.” I saw Two Bit look at me and I was hoping that he was the only one who heard me.