𝘙𝘌𝘋 (The Outsiders) ·Sodapop Curtis· [Finished]

Chapter 20

I opened my eyes to see a nurse pulling up my hospital gown. I sighed in relief and watched her work for a little bit. After looking at the bruises on my thighs, then around my pelvis, she glanced at me then looked like she was gonna throw up. I sighed and rested my head back on the pillow.

"He'll be lucky if he doesn't get the chair, sweetheart," she rubbed my arm, "nurses are refusing to work on him."

"Good. He doesn't deserve the help of women," I closed my eyes and with a shaky breath, I said, "I don't want a doctor seeing me... Or touching me."

She nodded, "We figured you'd have sensitivities to the male touch. Mose women do after this kind of act. We can make it work to where he won't touch you but he has to be in here to help us nurses confirm that he raped you."

"The bruises aren't enough proof?" I snapped. I then realized she's just doing her job, so I shook it off and slowly sat up to look around, "where's the boy that came with me?"

"In the lobby. We also called your mother and she is on her way," she lowered my gown, "hun, I can guarantee to you that your brother's judge will take one look at your autopsy and send him straight to prison."

I nodded my head, "have you ever..." I began to ask but she shook her head before I got the entirety of the question out.

"I'm lucky enough that I haven't. A lot of girls your age go through this," she put her clipboard down and made her way towards the door. Right then, my mom walked in.

"Elle," she walked towards me and looked like she had been crying, "they told me what happened."

"Have you talked to Pete?"

"They aren't allowing women into his room at all," she set her hands on my arm, "I'm sorry I haven't been there since your dad got arrested. I've been so caught up in work and maybe if I had been home this wouldn't have happened," she glanced up and down my body.

"He raped me, mom. Nothing would have stopped him, thinking back to it, with the state he was in he probably would have hurt whoever tried to stop him." I put my hand on hers and closed my eyes, "I'm sorry your son is going to prison."

She stuttered before speaking, "can I see..?"

I nodded my head and pulled my gown up. She gasped and looked away quickly. I put it back down and closed my eyes. "Go back to work, mom. I'm here with Sodapop, I'll be fine."

"il mio Dio ti benedica," she placed a kiss on my forehead and left my room.

-

I was sent home with the satisfaction of Peter being in police custody and I was ready to forget that anything ever happened. I was ready to forget that my innocence and self-worth was ripped from me. I loved Peter more than anything and he hurt me. He abandoned his gang and he abandoned his family.

Sodapop walked next to me while I was on my way to the Coyote's headquarters. I was summoned and Soda didn't want me to go alone because of what happened last time. He still hasn't touched me in fear of me screaming again. It's been a rough couple days and the White Blades have been tip-toeing around me.

I knocked on the door of the Coyote house and a girl in her early 20s opened. She smiled at me, "well, you must be Elle."

I gulped, "why was I told to come here?"

"Because we want you to be a Coyote," a guy moved in front of the girl, "your brother left us without a leader. It's your job to choose who is in charge."

"I can't be a Coyote, I'm 16," I glanced at Soda and crossed my arms self consciously. To be quite honest it's one of the first times I've felt completely insecure in front of anyone, even another girl in such a long time.

The boy Coyote chuckled, "with your brother gone, you have no one to protect you. If you became the youngest Coyote, you'd have all 37 of us. All you need is the tattoo," he stepped to the side and they already had a tattoo guy set up and ready.

I looked at Sodapop. We made conversation eyes back and forth with each other for a couple minutes before I looked back at the guy, "if I become a Coyote, I want to be THE Coyote." I walked in and Sodapop followed, "and I want things to change. Rules, I mean."

"We're listening," he nodded his head.

"I'm allowed to see people outside of the Coyotes. I'm not about to run off with some Soc or a Key Men or something, but I'm not dropping any and all relationships to be a Coyote," I sat on the couch, "and I want to take Peter's spot."

"You're a girl," he raised an eyebrow and a couple of the other guys in the room laughed.

I kissed my teeth, "that's exactly what my brother said before he raped me." Some girls in the room gasped or sympathetically 'awed'. "I don't care that I'm a girl. You want me in your gang, yeah?"

He turned to some of the guys and they all signaled back to each other for a couple minutes, "sure. Fine, whatever. You have no idea what it takes to run this gang anyways and when you can't bare it anymore, you must hand it off. And that, you must choose."

"Are we really putting the Coyotes in the hands of a 16-year-old girl?" An older looking Coyote stood up and walked towards us. "I don't care that her brother killed Sebastian. I don't care that Peter got caught raping her. Why should we listen to her?"

The one who had been talking to me turned around, "she has power, Al. Power is what we need. The Key Men want her because she's Italian. I even heard talk of the ManPatts, the all guy gang wanting her as their first girl. If we don't lock her in, we'll lose her," he said openly. He then walked towards me. "My name's Spencer. People call me Wiley actually. So just call me by Wiley."

He stuck his hand out for me to shake it but I couldn't bring myself to. I nodded at him, "this is my friend, Sodapop. He's a White Blade," I walked towards Soda who was awkwardly standing by the door. I crossed my arms and stood in front of Sodapop, "any and all grudges you hold with White Blades or the Brumly Boys, drop them. I hang around them all too often."

"You need your tattoo, Elle. You aren't in the gang unless you have your tattoo," Wiley walked towards the guy sitting at the table with very unofficial tattoo gear.

I held my breath and walked towards him, motioning for Soda to follow me. Coyotes scowled at Soda as he passed them but I didn't care. I exhaled sharply and slowly sat down. Soda noticed how unsettled I was and he muttered something in Wiley's ear. Wiley glanced at me, glanced at the tattoo guy then sighed.

"Alright, alright," he mumbled then said something into the tattoo guy's ear. They began mumbling back and forth until they both sighed and glanced around.

"Marina," the tattoo guy flagged a girl over and sat her down in his seat, "you're giving this one." He had a comforting Italian accent. It reminded me of my uncle actually.

"What? You can't be serious. Why?" She looked me up and down then huffed.

Soda began to speak, "she hasn't been letting guys touch her."

Marina smiled at Sodapop, "is she your girlfriend or something?"

Sodapop rubbed the back of his neck, "uh, not anymore... We broke up a couple days before Peter-"

She cut his sentence off, "so you're not seeing anyone then," she crossed her legs and grinned.

"He's 16." I flashed her a glare and took my jacket off, "let's get this over with."

"Watch it, Bovino," she turned the tattooing wand on and glared at me. "