something something darry slaps pony, pony runs out, thereās a stillness in the house, soda doesnāt even look at darry when he runs after pony, darry goes to his room and packs his bag.
hes got ten bucks in his wallet that he hadnāt gotten the chance to add to the rainy day jar in his closet yet. the jar has about twenty bucks; heās been adding to that jar since his parents first gave him an allowance. the selfish part of him wants to take it with him but heās already being selfish keeping the entirety of the ten dollars, the boys would need that more than he would, the least he can do is leave the jar for them.
heās wiping back tears by the time he gets in the car. he doesnāt remember writing it but heād left a note apologizing to pony, he probably shouldāve said more but he didnāt know what else to write. unconsciously he then the headlights off and slows down ever so slightly when he passes by the lot. squinting he can make out soda crouched next to two other figures sitting on the ground. that gives him peace of mind at least ā nothing bad happened to pony before soda could get there. so long as they have each other theyāll be fine, they donāt really need him. even though the thought makes him want to cry more, it makes him feel a little bit more confidant as he presses the gas pedal harder and turns his lights back on.
heās not real focused on where heās going but before he knows it heās standing face to face with paul holden and tears are still streaming down his face. heās not sure why he came here; he and paul havenāt spoken in a good while. all the same he find himself taking a shuddering breath as he says ādo you want to go?ā
paul looks exhausted like darry just woke him up but, under the glow of the moon as paul looks him up and down (checking for invisible injuries) he looks caring almost like heās concerned about darry. āgo where?ā
āout,ā he chokes back a sob and shrugs. āof town?ā
thereās a long silence and darry thinks he may pass out any minute now if hes not moving. he knows he must look like a crazy person with the way he canāt seem to catch his breath real well and he keeps looking over his shoulder like heās scared someoneās gonna come and drag him back home. to that house where he hit his baby brother. he knows itās not fair to blame the house but darry doesnāt ever want to go back there again.
he looks to the ground and wipes at his face trying to force the tears to stop rolling. āi messed up real bad paul. i canāt- i canāt stay.ā
when darry looks back at paul heās slowly shaking his head before counteracting himself. āyeah, alright, dar. let me go pack my bag first come on in.ā with a nod the door closes behind darry as he follows paul up the stairs.
