We are all cramped into Soda's truck. There are only three seats in the car, so Ponyboy and Johnny decided to sit in the cargo bed.
Soda is more careful when he is driving. I really appreciate it. Driving fast makes me car sick. I'm always sick for awhile, even after I get out of the car.
Sodapop pulls me as close to him as possible. I hold one of his hands while he drives. Its really nice.
We aren't driving for that long. Johnny just lives down the street from us. I've never seen his house until now.
It is more run down than the Curtis'. The blue paint is faded and peeling. There is a hole in the door screen and several windows are broken. It makes me sad. Johnny has to live in this? My living conditions were never this bad, but I guess thats because I still had one parent who cared about me. Johnny's parents don't give a hang about him. It was hard enough with one parent who was abusive. I can't even imagine when there is two.
"Do you want us to help you?" I ask from inside the truck. Ponyboy and Johnny are already walking up to the front door.
"Yeah. That would be great," Johnny replies.
I nod my head and follow Soda out of the car. Ponyboy and Johnny disappear into the house.
"We need someone to keep watch. If my parents find any of you here they won't be happy. Especially you two." Johnny says as he points to Ponyboy and Sodapop.
"Why? What did we ever do?" Ponyboy asks.
"Mom doesn't like you guys because she thinks y'all are hoods. Dad doesn't like you all because you are always giving me places to stay. He misses his punching bag." Johnny explains.
I think I relate to Johnny more than I thought I did. The main reason I didn't have any friends in Missouri was because my dad didn't like them. He would never let them stay over, and if he did he would make it a point to show them that he was in charge. Usually it was by hitting me. Those were real fun times.
"This is my room," Johnny says as he opens a door. His room is nice and tidy. Everything has a spot. He has a lot more things than I thought he would. There are little trinkets all over. Cool rocks, bottle caps, pretty pieces of glass, cigarette cases, and lots of other things.
I take a box from Ponyboy. "What do you want us to pack?" I ask.
"Clothes and anything else you think I should keep." Johnny says. I nod my head.
I walk over to a shelf in his room. On it is s picture of him and the gang. They are all laughing. Except for Two-Bit which is kind of weird because he is always laughing. I gently put the picture in the box.
Everyone piles things into their boxes. Johnny is in charge of clothes. He really doesn't have that much. Just five shirts and two pairs of jeans. He only has one jacket. I decide get him some new clothes for Christmas.
I put all of the trinkets he has in my box. I can tell that this has taken him a lot of time to collect all of this stuff. It would be a shame to throw it away.
"Shit! They're here!" Ponyboy cries. I hear the front door open. We all stop talking. Johnny quietly inches his way to the window.
"Who's car was that?" A man's voice asks. His words are slurred together. He is definitely drunk.
Johnny starts to open the window. A loud creak rings out.
"Johnny? Is that you?" A female asks.
Johnny throws the window open not caring about the noises it makes. My eyes go wide as the footsteps get closer. Sodapop turns to the door and locks it. He stands in front of me.
"Monroe! Come on!" Johnny whispers harshly. I turn around. He points to the window. Ponyboy is already outside. He is beckoning for me to come. I get to the window as pounding hits the door.
"Give me the box!" Ponyboy yells. I hand him the box and stick my leg out of the window. Ponyboy holds his hand out to me once I get my torso out of the window. I grab it and he helps me down.
"Come on, Johnny!" I hiss.
"Soda, go!" Johnny orders. There is no point in whispering anymore.
The pounding on the door gets louder.
I turn to Ponyboy. "Get in the car," I tell him.
"Not yet," he tells me.
Johnny sticks a leg out of the window. He grabs it by the frame and falls out. Ponyboy grabs him just before Johnny can hit the ground.
The door burts open. A man comes into the room. I assume he is Johnny's dad. He isn't a whole lot bigger than Johnny. The women isn't with him. Sodapop turns to the window but not before Johnny's dad grabs him by the jacket. A small scream escapes my lips.
Sodapop pulls himself out of the man's grasp. He tries to get to the window again, but the man stops him. Sodapop spins and hits him square in the jaw.
Johnny's dad falls to the ground. Sodapop takes a running start and jumps out of the window. He does a flip in the air, causing him to land on his feet. I am momentarily impressed.
Someones arm wraps around my neck. They are cutting off my oxygen. I let out a struggled scream. All of the boys turn to looks at me.
I fight to get away, but the hold on me is strong. I scratch at the arm, but it doesn't do much good because my nails are short.
"Let go of her." Sodapop says sternly.
"Where do you think you're going Johnny? If you leave I think I'll keep this beauty. She could be of use." The woman says.
This must be Johnny's Mom. I turn my head enough to where I can bite her. Sodapop rushes forward as I clamp my teeth down. Blood fills my mouth.
As a reflex she pulls her arm away. I don't have time to release her arm from my mouth and when she pulls on her arm she leaves a chunk of it in my mouth. She screams and falls backwards. Sodapop rushes to me as I wipe her blood from my mouth.
He pulls me along with him to the car. I grab a box from the floor. Johnny's Dad rushes outside. He looks angry. A bruise is swelling on his jaw.
"You little shit!" He yells as he runs at Johnny.
"Get away from him!" Sodapop yells. Johnny's Dad turns to look at us. Behind us I can hear his wife get up.
"Look what the bitch did to me!" She shouts. Johnny's Dad turns to me. I spit the rest of the blood out. Sodapop pushes me behind him.
"You did that to her?" He asks.
"Maybe," I reply from behind Soda's back. Soda reaches into his pocket and pulls out the car keys. He throws them to Ponyboy. He catches them and starts to run. He is a lot faster than I thought he was.
The man steps closer to me. Sodapop takes a step back.
"Why are you protecting her? Seems like the little whore can take care of herself." He spits.
"Don't you talk to her that way." Soda snaps.
I hear the truck start. Tires whine against the pavement as Johnny's Dad takes another step closer.
Ponyboy drives the truck in between us and Johnny's Dad. Soda picks me up and gently drops me into the back of the truck. He jumps over the side and sits next to me. Johnny runs and slides into the front. His Mom runs after us but we are already driving.
Ponyboy takes a sharp turn and I slide into Soda. God, I hate driving with these boys. I'm already staring to get a little sick.
Soda reaches his hand above my head and opens the back window. "Slow it down, Ponyboy."
The car slows down and I instantly feel a little better. My headache doesn't seem to be disappearing.
"Are you okay?" Soda asks me.
"Yes. I'm fine. Are you okay?" I question.
"I am perfect." He smiles.
"Hey, I didn't know you could do flips like that," I say.
"We all can. Darry taught us after he took a class at some school." He explains.
"That sounds fun!"
"It is. Are you sure you're okay? She got you pretty good." He says.
"Huh?" I ask.
"You're bleeding a little. From your lip." He raises his hand and wipes some blood away. He holds it up so I can see.
"Are you sure that's not her blood?" I ask.
"Yep. Its yours."
"Oh. How bad is it?" I ask.
"Nothing too bad. It should heal on its own. It might leave a scar, though." He says.
I bring my hand up to my lip and press down where the bleeding is. It doesn't hurt too bad. I remember that she was wearing a bracelet. It must have clipped my lip when she ripped her arm from my mouth.
I wasn't expecting Johnny's parents to get home. It feels like I've lived two days in the last two hours. I snuggle up next to Soda. He twists his fingers in my hair. I let out a happy sigh. God, he makes me so happy.