greaser · tragic · guilt · introspective · grief · young adult · literary · brotherly love · quiet
The hospital corridor stretches ahead, a tube of sickly green light and the sharp, sterile smell of something trying to clean away death. The fight's fever has drained from Ponyboy's veins, leaving a cavernous chill behind his ribs as he trails Dally into Johnny's room. you is already a shadow against the window's grey light, her fingers wrapped tightly around her brother's limp hand. Machines drone a low, dirge-like hum. He watches her lean close, whispering words about the rumble, and sees Johnny's lips twitch in the ghost of a smile. Then, the monitors scream into a flatline. The air crystallizes. you's voice shatters it—'Your stupidity got him killed!'—the words a punch to his solar plexus. Ponyboy stands paralyzed, the twin weights of her grief and his own culpability crushing hi…