awe sugar | johnny cade

chapter 13

CHARLOTTE BLARAKO

8 MONTHS LATER

the whole gang was at the curtis house, it was just yet another day in the life for the gang.

sodapop and steve were wrestling, two-bit and dallas were playing cards, johnny and i were cuddling and messing around, and darry was baking a cake.

after awhile, we all got bored of our activities and decided to go down to the lot to play football. all of the boys who worked had the day off and there was no school at the time, spring break.

we divided the gang into two teams;

darry, soda, steve, and two-bit on one team.

me, johnny, pony, and dallas on the other. my three favorite people in the whole entire world.

the game started and chaos was arising. i sprinted through the lot and tackled two-bit, laughing as we went to the ground. two-bit came next on my best friends list. i pulled myself off of him and threw the ball to dallas, who scored a touchdown.

"suck that, you losers! i win, you lose man! i'm
better!" dal screamed, earning a chuckle from the gang.

darry brought sandwiches and chocolate cake for all of us, so we sat in the grass and ate. i threw a chip at dal and he shot me a glare, followed by his famous winston smirk. my eyes widened and i grasped onto johnny for dear life, squealing when i was lifted into the air. dal hung me upside down over his shoulder and i giggled at the sight of the gang upside down.

but of course, all good things come to an end.

"hey sweetheart, you miss me?" a voice bellowed throughout tulsa, a voice i'd never forget. dal immediately let me go and put me behind him.

"dallas move, he's gonna hurt you." i tried pushing past him but darry got in front of me too, doubling the wall.

"i just wanna talk, babygirl. i'm not gonna hurt ya." my dad took a step forward.

"fuck you!" i screamed, eyes widening at my words. the whole gang turned towards me with wide eyes, as they never imagined a word of that matter escaping my lips.

"my little charlotte is finally grown up, huh?"
he smirked devilishly.

"who is this, your little boyfriend?" his smirk grew wider as he approached johnny.

"don't touch him!" i screamed once again, sprinting towards him. he pulled an object from his waistband and pointed it at my head. a heater. johnny was quick to stand up and as soon as he did so, a shot rang out in the air.

one shot.

a shriek escaped my lips as i fell to the ground, crimson blood leaking out of my stomach. johnny was too late.

two shots.

"charlotte!" dal yelled, running towards me. dally pulled out a heater of his own.

three shots.

my dad landed next to me, a bullet through his brain. just like my mom. johnny leaned down next to me, cries arising in this throat.

"you're gonna be okay, char. i swear on it!" he grabbed my hand and squeezed it desperately. soda wrapped his flannel around my small figure and ran a hand through his hair. i felt myself being picked up, and i looked up to see ponyboy. he was sprinting to darrys truck back at the house, the gang hot on his trail. it didn't take long considering pony was a track star.

next thing i knew i was in the truck, head on johnny's lap and legs on dallas'.

"johnny?" i whispered. i felt myself being pulled in and out of consciousness, struggling to breathe.

"cmon, stay with me charlotte!" he screamed, leaning down to kiss my forehead.

"johnny, tell andrea i'm sorry i couldn't live any longer." i gasped for air and johnny was sobbing.

"don't think like that babygirl, you're gonna be fine." he played with my hair and i smiled at him.

"just play with my hair, 'kay? tell the rest of the gang i love them, tell them what i said in the letter." blood trickled out of my mouth, and i felt it harder to talk.

"dallas, stay out of trouble for me." i weakly smiled but felt my eyes get droopy.

"i love you, johnny cade." i closed my eyes and was pulled into darkness.

i got my dying wish,
johnny.