Next to Me ll Sodapop Curtis

9 ll I'll Kill Ya, Savvy?

Val ♡

"As soon as we get a parent or guardian signature, you can leave," smiled the nurse.

My stomach dropped. I couldn't imagine what my mother would say if she had to drive across town to sign me out of a hospital.

She would call me irresponsible and incapable of living on my own, then I would get ripped away and forced to become a Soc.

I had been in the hospital for three days, and I was finally told that I could leave. I wasn't gonna stay in that disinfected prison any longer.

The only thing from outside I had were the constant burgers Dally brought Soda and I, which bothered the nurses and doctors.

Sodapop had stayed with me for most of the time, and I was thankful.

"Okay, thanks," I told the nurse, realizing how long I had been lost in thought.

Soda hissed, "What are you gonna do?"

"Don't worry," I replied, punching ten digits into the keypad of the phone.

While it rang, I turned to see the nurse still standing there.

"Hello?" Darry's voice asked.

"Hey... Dad..." I choked out.

"Who is this?" he asked.

"It's Valerie, your... daughter."

"Val? What's going on?" he demanded. "Why are you calling me-".

"Dad... I'm, uh, in the hospital and I need ya to come get me."

"What's going on? Is someone putting you up to this?"

At that moment, the nurse left the room.

"Jesus, Darry, you coulda just played along. Now come sign me out and look old, ya dig?"

-

Darry scrawled his name on the sheet and the two of us hurried out before the doctors got suspicious.

"Thanks, Darry," I grinned, and hugged him around his midsection.

"No problem," he said, ruffling my already messy blonde hair.

I waited for Sodapop and we walked down the sidewalk.

"So, you guys need a ride?" asked Darry.

"Actually, I wanna walk home. Need some fresh air, ya dig?" I replied, fishing a weed out of my pocket.

"I'll go with her," Soda volunteered, standing next to me.

"Okay, I'll be at home."

Soda and I walked down the street towards his house, a peaceful silence in the air.

"I thought I'd lost ya there for a second," he told me, looking over.

I laughed and blew out some smoke. "Valerie Cook ain't gonna die from falling out a window, I'll tell ya that much."

Soda reached over and grabbed my hand, intertwining them. "Yeah, you're pretty tough, ain't ya."

"Yeah," I trailed off, looking down at our hands.

"Let's do something tonight," I blurted out.

"Okay," smiled Soda, "What?"

"I dunno, somethin'."

"Alright," Soda grinned. "I'll figure something out."

We reached the Curtis house and I went upstairs to shower.