Shots rang through the silence, echoing off the dark alley walls. Shouts to flee broke through the noisy din of the bullets...
Emma woke with a start, a scream of someone really close to her ringing in her ears. She tried to move but became aware of someone's firm hug around her. As she glanced up to see who the person was, Emma remembered the dream and realized it was she who had screamed. Now conscience of this fact, she nervously looked up at the boy who was holding her so tightly. Soda looked back down at her and gave her a crooked grin.
"Are you ok?" He asked as he unfolded his arms from around her. Emma nodded as she looked around the room. Ponyboy and Darry were waiting patiently by the bed. She had woken the whole house.
"I'm ok. Sorry I woke you guys up." Emma tried without success to shrug off the dream she had just had.
"What did you dream about?" Soda asked. He waited as Emma deliberated whether or not to tell him.
Deciding not to she said, "It was nothing. Just another nightmare. I'm ok now. You can go back to bed." Emma had no intention of recounting her days in New York where the dream had taken place. She lay back down and pulled the covers up to her ears.
She felt the bed shift as Soda got up. She heard the three boys talking and then there was silence. But Emma could feel someone's presents in the room; watching and guarding her from her thoughts as she drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Emma woke up to the sound of someone showering. She kicked off the covers and looked around the room. There was no sign that someone had slept there excpet the armchair had moved out of the corner and placed right next to the bed. As she walked through the living room towards the kitchen, Emma noticed the silent lump on the couch.
"Dally?" The lump stirred and moaned softly. Dallas Winston turned over on the couch looking tired and his eyes bloodshot.
"Ugh,what time is it?" Dally whined. Emma stepped closer to her brother. She looked at him from head to toe, looking for an injury. Finding none, she concluded that it was just a hangover.
"Its 8:30," she said without sympathy "and you better get up."
"Would you stop hollerin' "
"I'm not hollerin'. Get up and i'll make you something I used to make for Mom." Dally's head raised a little with the mention of their mother.
"What do you mean 'you used to make for Mom'?" Emma rolled her eyes at Dally. He had left New York before their mother had started drinking. He was the reason she had started drinking.
"I mean i'll make you something I made Mom when she got hungover but you wouldnt know about that would you," Emma said with sarcasm. Dally knew what was coming and prepared himself. He had known Emma would explode at him but he didnt expect her to wait two weeks before mentioning a thing.
"Oh yeah,she got drunk, brought random men over. Men that would beat me up after she passed out." Emma's voice had begun to raise,"then I would be the one that would have to be there for her when she realized those guys had snuck out in the middle of the night. And what about Peter, Dally?" Dally looked down at his shoes, "You left me alone to deal with that. It took me years to even think about him without crying," Emma noticed that the three brothers had come into the room, wandering what was going on, but their presents was not enough to stop her. But before she could add anything more, Dally stepped up and defended himself.
"Then why dont you go back to New York? Back to Mom. I never said I wanted you here and you clearly dont want to so just go back."
Emma stared right back at Dally and simply said, "Mom is dead. You're my guardian now,"and walked out, leaving behind four bewildered faces.