TULSA - darry curtis

F I F T E E N

I sink onto the couch next to Steve, leaning against his shoulder and allowing my eyes to flutter closed. It is Saturday, and I just finished work at The Dingo. I stopped by for some supper that Darry cooked, but now I'm far too tired to even eat. I'd rather just get a few hours of sleep before I have to go work at the tavern tonight.

"Well hello to you too." Steve laughs, tossing his arm over the back of the couch and allowing me to scoot closer.

"Hi." I nearly whisper, my voice on the verge of failing me.

I instantly fall asleep after that, being jostled awake when Steve gets up to eat dinner.

"You want me to bring you some supper, Belle?" I hear Darry ask from the kitchen.

"Mmhmm." I nod, slumping over on the couch and briefly falling back asleep.

"Here you go, Babygirl," I hear a voice say in front of my face what seems like hours later, waking me up. "You need to get some food in ya."

"Thanks, Darrel." I sigh, sitting up and taking the plate.

He gives me a worried look, but I ignore it, immediately inhaling the food without even looking at what it was. The instant my plate is empty, I stand up and go put it in the sink. On the way back to the couch, I trip over Johnny's foot and end up sprawled across the living room floor. I don't even bother standing up, just falling asleep on the rug.

"I'm worried about her," I hear Sodapop say in the other room as I'm drifting to sleep. "She's been workin' like a dog lately at The Dingo and up at the tavern. Hardly has the time to sleep and eat."

"She's just having a hard time, that's all," I hear Pony say. "With her Mama leavin' and her Papa bein' so distant..."

"Well, we'll all just have to be there for her a little bit more then, won't we?" Two-Bit asks, and I hear murmurs of agreement from the guys in the kitchen.

I finally fully drift to sleep, too tired to keep my mind awake for another second.