Hey, Cherry! - chapter 24
The next day, I woke up and my brothers and friends were already at work and school. I went downstairs and there was a huge slice of cake on the table. There was a note that said:
"I made a cake and saved you a piece because I didn't want to wake you up. (Who am I kidding, I saved ya half the cake.) Have a good day and try to stay out of trouble.
~Darry"
I smiled, nearly swallowing the slice of cake. I was starving because I didn't eat much the night before. I was to busy acting "lady like", which I believe should be classified as a form of torture.
After devouring the cake, I went to the movies.
While I was there, I met this girl. Her name was Sheryl. She said to call her Cherry... What?
When I sat down at the movie, there was a girl(Cherry) sitting nearby. A dollar fell out of her purse. I could have taken it or I could have done the right thing and given it back. I went to grab it(yes, steal it) and she looked at me. So, I picked it up and handed it to her. "Thank you." she said.
I nodded my head, "No problem." I said.
I must have startled her because her eyes went big. I looked like a Soc but I sure ain't actin' like one.
"You're... Different." she said, smiling. "In a good way."
"Thanks." I said.
She patted the seat next to her. "Come sit next to me..." she said.
"Um... Sure." I said hesitantly. I sat down next to her.
"So," she said, "I really can't tell. Are you a Greaser or a Soc?"
"I don't know." I said, stumped. "I've always been a Greaser, my brothers are Greasers, my friends are Greasers... But... My old boyfr- my old acquaintance is a Greaser and when we broke up, he called me kind and sweet and innocent, trying to win me back... And now... I'm a Soc."
"Who are your brothers?"
"Ponyboy, Sodapop and Darry Curtis."
"And you are-?"
"Ashley." I said, "I'm Ashley Curtis."
"Nice to meet you, Ashley." she said, "I'm Sheryl, but you can call me Cherry, if you'd like."
"Nice meetin' ya, Cherry." I said, shaking her hand.
"So," she continued, "who was the boy that you broke up with?"
"Dallas Winston." I said, rolling my eyes.
"I've heard of that one." She looked like she was gonna gag. "What happened?"
"He was drunk." I said, "He... He hit me. He was drunk and he hit me. While I was at the club with my friends."
She looked sad. "That's horrible." she said, "You know, my boyfriend, Bob, he's always drunk. I hate it... I wish I could break up with him like you did."
We talked throughout the whole movie. After the movie, she was gonna head back to Soc territory when I said, "Wait, you wanna come over my house? You can meet my friends and I doubt that Dallas will be there. Wanna?"
"Well," she said, "I'd love to, but I don't know if my parents will want me to go."
"Come on." I said, "It's not like you're gonna walk home. You can come to my house to call up your parents and if they say no, Sodapop or Darry can drive you home. You wanna?"
"Ummm..." she gave in, "Okay."
"Cool!" I said, "Let's get going." I practically pulled Cherry along behind me. When we got to my house, I walked her through the door. Everyone was there,... Including Dally.
When everyone looked up to see us, everyone froze again. But Ponyboy,... Ponyboy's mouth was hanging open and he might have even been drooling. Aaaaaaaaaaaaw!
I walked over to Pony and closed his mouth. Cherry giggled when his mouth flew back opened.
Once again, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw!😍
I introduced Cherry to the gang.
"This is Ponyboy." I said, "Say 'hi', Pony." Ponyboy waved, grinning like crazy.
I turned toward Soda. "This is Sodapop." Soda smiled, shaking her hand. He said, "Nice ta meet ya,...um..."
"Cherry." she confirmed, "My name is Cherry."
"Well, nice ta meet ya, Cherry. Any friend of Ashley's is a friend of mine." Sodapop continued.
Then, I pointed to Johnny. His head was down and he was refusing to make eye contact with Cherry. "This is Johnnycakes, also known as Johnny." He sorta smirked and punched me in the arm, playfully. I ruffled his hair and said, "He's the nice one."
Next, I turned toward Steve. "Steve, say hello to Cherry."
"Hello to Cherry." he groaned, making Two-bit laugh. I rolled my eyes and continued.
I gestured my hand toward Two-bit. "This is the annoying one, Two-bit." I said, making Two-bit roll his eyes.
"Hey there." Two-bit said, trying to hit on Cherry. "How's it goin'?"
I could tell that Cherry was smart because she ignored him.
The then looked at Darry who was walking down the stairs. He froze when he saw Cherry.
"And that's Darry." I said, "My oldest brother."
Darry was probably overflowing with questions, but he didn't ask a single one. He just said hi to Cherry and continued his errands.
I skipped Dally on purpose... I didn't want to talk to/about him.
Then, Cherry whispered in my ear. "The one you didn't introduce,... Is he... Dallas?" I nodded and she looked down.
I then showed her the phone so she could call her folks. After she talked to them for a while, she said, "They'll let me stay over if your brothers can drive me home in the morning. If it's not any trouble..."
"Nonsense." I said, "Of course they can drive ya home."
"Thank you." she said.
"Don't mention it." I replied.
Then, went back to the living room to tell the boys that Cherry was staying over for the night.
After the fact, Dally told me that he had to talk to me. I rolled my eyes as I followed him outside.
"I love you." he pleaded. "I know that what I did was wrong and I don't deserve you,... But I can change... I'll never drink again... If you'll take me back."
"I'm sorry, Dallas." I said, "I just... I can't take any chances... And my brothers,... My favorite people in the world... They don't trust you... So, I can't trust you... I'm sorry."
He looked like he was gonna cry. I love him... I always wanted to be there for him because of his hatred for life... I didn't want him to give up on it... But I can't help him anymore... But I do love him... Deep down.
"Please." he begged. "I love you, Ashley... I need you... I love you... Please... Help a brother out." He put his hand out. I pushed his hand down, refused to take it.
"I'm... I'm sorry..." I said, walking back inside.
When I was inside, he ran back in after me. "Wait!" he screamed, catching everyone's attention. "I have something to say."
No one stopped him, so, he continued, "I sincerely care about Ashley... And I am so very sorry that I hurt her... I will never do that to her again... I will never drink again in my life... I really do... Love her..." The room was silent expected for the sound of people breathing... Dally continued, "Doesn't anyone believe me?"
After a moment of silence, Johnny stood up. "I do." he said.
Then Ponyboy followed, "Me, too."
Everyone was silent again. Until Sodapop stood up. "I do." he said, completely serious. "When I told him what he did to Ashley... It really hurt him... More than I've ever seen him hurt... Even after a rumble, he wasn't this bad... And... He let me hit him... He wanted me to hit him... And when I was done hitting him,... He told me to do it again..."
Steve stood up, "I don't typically see Dally smile..." he said. "But,... When ever Ashley's around,..." He grinned. "Shoot! He looks like Wile E. Coyote looking at that bird."
Two-bit stood up. "Usually, he smiles less then Yosemite Sam,... Then you walk up to him."
Darry stood up, fairly angry. "Look." he said, making everyone nervous. He grinned. "Let's cool it with the Looney Tunes references, okay?" We all nodded and he continued. "I must say, I'm not to fond of ya, Dally." He turned toward Dally. "But,... If ya really do care about her,... I can respect that..." He put his hand on Dally's shoulder.
Dally thanked him and turned toward me. "Ashley... Can ya ever forgive me..."
To be continued...
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