Outsiders-Sick ponyboy

Chapter 14

Pony POV

When I awoke next it was still dark out. I was sweating slightly between the heat from Soda and the blankets. I blinked, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the dark while I tried to figure out what woke me up. Then I heard it. A soft whimper came from Soda as he shifted in his sleep, clutching the blanket to himself.

I watched Soda's pale face illuminated by a sliver of moonlight twist in pain. He cried out in his sleep a bit louder this time, and it finally hit me through my muddled brain. Soda was having a nightmare.

I froze. For the first time I could remember the roles were switched. Soda was trapped in his own fear riddled mind and I was on the outside, helpless. He rolled over again, this time nearly sobbing and mumbled incoherently. I didn't know what to do. 

My instinct was to jump up and get Darry, but I didn't want to wake him up after he was so exhausted from working and taking care of us. I figured since it was me who got Soda in this situation, it was my job to help and comfort him. I opted for trying to wake Soda out of the dream.

I nudged him lightly. "Soda? It's okay. You're dreaming." He didn't wake up.

I placed my hand on his shoulder and gave him a slightly harder shake. This too did nothing. However, I noticed that his fever was still just as high, if not worse than when he fell asleep. I assumed this was causing the fevered dream to disturb his sleep. I grabbed the washcloths that were now dry and scattered around our bed. Careful not to jostle Soda too much I managed to climb out of bed and walk to the bathroom on shaky legs. 

The hall seemed to be spinning ever so slightly as I made my way to the bathroom. I turned on the tap and placed the washcloths under the stream of cold water. After a few seconds of standing still, the edges of my vision started darkening and my legs felt weaker than before. I had one thought on my mind: sit down. I turned around and collapsed on the toilet seat to shove my head between my knees. I focused on my breathing and staying conscious with all my concentration. My eyes were screwed shut as I willed the contents of my stomach to stay where they were. It felt as though the ground was falling out from beneath me and I was going to black out at any moment. 

Finally, I felt the passing out feeling fade so I lifted my head. When I opened my eyes, I felt the world tilt and I slid to my knees on the ground. At this point, I decided it was time to admit defeat.

Darry POV  

"Darry?" My eyes snapped open. Someone called my name. I looked around, squinting through the darkness to see who it was, but I couldn't find anyone.

"Darry?" there it was again. It sounded like Ponyboy.

"Pony? that you?"

"Yeah" Pony said. Then I heard him cough lightly. It wasn't the same type off cough that wracked his body last week, but there was still enough force behind it for me to worry about the state of his lungs. 

I rolled over in bed and peered down at Pony kneeling on the ground. "What are you doing down there?"

"I'm dizzy" Pony said in a scratchy voice. It sounded like his throat was acting up again.

I felt anger boil in my chest, but I had to suppress the urge to lecture him right now. "What are you doing out of bed?" I managed as softly as possible. 

"Soda's fever is getting bad again"

I mentally cursed. I should have known. Soda always got bad fevers, even when he was little. He just burned hot when he was sick.

I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. "Okay, let's get you back in bed and I'll help Soda"

I stood up and bent over, pulling the kid to his feet. I noticed how light he felt and made a mental note to make him eat more in the morning. I knew Pony said he was dizzy, but I was surprised to see how little he could support himself as we made our way back to his room. I half carried him back to bed. Just when I thought both of them were starting to get better, their illness hit for another round; meaning another sleepless night for me.

"Pony, I think your fever is spiking too" I said, handing him the thermometer. There was no way he was so dizzy without a fever.

While Pony waited for the thermometer, I went into the bathroom to retrieve the washcloths and shut off the faucet. I appreciated Pony's attempts to be self sufficient, but I was glad he woke me up. I needed to be informed about my brothers' conditions.

Pony handed me the thermometer when I made it back into the room and I frowned. It was still over 100 which made me uneasy. This was going on for over a week now.

I bent over Soda and shook him lightly. "Pepsi, I need you to wake up"

Soda groaned slightly, but didn't open his eyes.

"I tried to wake him earlier. He was having a nightmare" Pony croaked this time. His voice was completely shot.

I started piecing together the events that landed Pony on the floor beside my bed a two in the morning. 

"Mm wake" Soda mumbled, still not opening his eyes too look at us.

I ran my hand through his hair, shuddering at the heat. "We gotta get your fever down little man, can you help me do that"

Soda nodded once, slowly and from the look on his face, painfully. 

"What's wrong right now?" 

Soda's hand fluttered to his throat and he clutched it, the he slid his hand to rub across his forehead.  

"I can give you some more Aspirin if you want" I suggested.

Another slow, painful nod.

I reached for the bottle of aspirin and a half drank glass of water on the bedside table and handed them to Soda. For the first time since I stepped foot into their room, Soda opened his eyes to sit up. He winced as the aspirin went down, no doubt irritating his throat, but at least he was getting medicine in his system. I then offered them to Pony, but he looked at me kind of funny. I'd never seen the kid refuse aspirin.

"It hurts to swallow" he whispered, barley audible. 

"It's up to you, baby" I said gently. "You don't have to take any if the pain is manageable.  

Pony nodded and handed the medicine back to me which I restored to its temporary home on the bedside table. 

I took some of the damp washcloths and placed one of each on the boiling heads of my brothers. Soda's face clearly relaxed when the cool cloth touched his forehead, but Pony winced away from it.

"Darry, its cold" he whined, trying to turn away.

"Pony, it'll help you feel better. You just have to get used to the temperature." I finally convinced him to accept the cold, wet cloth.

"Soda move over" I whispered while helping to push Soda closer to Pony. When there was just enough space for me to fit, I laid down with my two frail, ill younger brothers. Soda quickly curled up to my side and fell asleep. I could tell Pony was awake for a while after, but once his breathing evened out and deepened I felt myself relax. For tonight, I was going to have to stay in here to monitor Soda's condition and prevent Pony from any more late night excursions. 

After laying awake for about an hour, making sure both of my brothers were sleeping soundly, I managed to drift off to sleep as well.