The Other Story

Sodapop

Soda's P.O.V

Dawn comes rushing out of the room just as a doctor rushes in with an oxygen tank.

"What's going on? Is the kid alright?" Dally asks.

"I don't know.. She couldn't breathe and then she passed out." She tells us.

"It's because of me.. I let her get beat while I got off with barely a scratch." I say sadly.

"Hey. She'll be okay Soda.." Darry tries to reassure me but it doesn't work. I watch her through the glass. I watch the doctors rushing all around her trying to get her to breathe. She has the oxygen in her nose but she still coughs as she starts to come to her senses. It's bad to watch as her body rejects any form of air. She gets sick several times just trying to breathe.

"She's dying." I hear Blair whisper beside me.

"No she's not." I tell her.

"Yes she is."

"No she's not. She can fight."

"Don't give me that fighting bullshit okay?! In the end we will all die and no one will remember her no matter how hard she fought!" Blair screams at me all of a sudden. Tears run down her face as Pony takes her down the hallway kicking and screaming. I look back at Noel and see her chest moving up and down. She's asleep but she's breathing.

-three hours later-

The doctor comes out and we all stand.

"How is she?" Dawn is the first one to ask surprisingly.

"She's okay right now. She has had mild trauma to her air passageways and her lungs which makes it harder for her body to accept oxygen, especially the oxygen we are giving her." He explains.

"What about her face?" Dally asks abruptly and the doctor makes a face.

"We were able to stitch up the cut but there will be a scar on her face for the rest of her life." He says sadly but then his face lightens.

"We did notice something very remarkable though.. She was able to get out a sentence despite her breathing fluctuations." He tells us and we all give him a confused face.

"She said 'When I wake up let me talk to Pop.'" He smiles as he looks over to me. Then he leaves. I stare at her through the glass and her eyes are slightly open. She smiles as she sees me.

"Nurse. Can I go and talk to her?" I ask the nurse and she smiles.

"Are you Pop?" She asks and I nod.

"Yes but only for a few minutes." I open the door and basically run over to her.

"Pop." She says weakly and I smile.

"You're okay." I tell her as I kiss her forehead.

"I need you to listen to me.. Pop i'm dying." She says but I shake my head.

"No you're not." I try to deny it but I know I can't.

"Yes I am. If I don't die while I'm in the hospital then I will won't live long. The doctors told me that even if I did survive that I would only live till i'm twenty five.." Tears are falling but not from her eyes, from mine.

"If I die.. Tell my mom I'll see her in hell." She laughs weakly and I laugh too.

"Whenever I do die.. Just remember that I hate dresses and if you bury me in a dress I will come back and haunt your ass." Even as her lungs stop giving her oxygen she still keeps her humor. She kisses my nose and smiles.

"Pop? We need to let Noel rest." The nurse tells me but I don't turn around.

"Go. I'll be fine." She kisses me as I'm pulled away by the nurse. I make a promise in my head to stay with her till the end.. whenever that might be.