After Tim, Curly, and Angel left, I got to know the gang again. The only one I didn't talk to was Soda. He looked like he wanted to talk to me a few times, but every time he tried, Steve or Two-Bit would ask me a question or Dallas would bring me to someone else.

"Hey, Rosalie. Can I talk to you?"

"What? Oh, Soda, sure." He brought me outside, and it was really cold for a September night.

"So, I've just been wondering why you came back. 'Cuz of Dallas? Was Seattle not fun? How come?"

"Well…kind of both of those reasons. I missed my brother and all of ya'll, but my uncle also hated me. He hated that I was living with them and always asked me why I didn't go with Dallas. He pretty much kicked me out." I felt like I was going to cry, but growing up with a rough-and-tough brother like Dallas, and a father who hated you, somewhere in between my mom dying and the day I turned seven, two years after she died, I forgot how to.

"Wow…I didn't realize that…" he trailed off, murmuring to himself. "I've been goin crazy trying to figure out why you came… I thought it had something to do with me." He laughed, and I remembered what Dallas had told me a few minutes ago.

"Sandy went to Florida, Rose. Something happened that I don't want happening to you."

"Dal, c'mon, what happened?"

"…Sandy…well. Something happened with another guy, so she had to leave."

"Wait, was she…?"

"Yeah. Soda's still a little mad about it though. Don't tell him I told you, okay?"

"Yeah, I won't don't worry."

"I'm sorry if this opens old wounds, but Dallas told me…a-about Sandy." I saw Soda wince when I said her name.

"He did?"

"Yeah, he did…and any girl that does that isn't worth your time. She was a little, again, sorry if this opens old wounds, but she was a little bitch."

"No she wasn't! She was the best girlfriend I ever had!"

"If she was the best then why the hell did she do that to you Soda? Why?" He was quite for a minute, and I realized what I had just done. "…Soda…I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned…her."

"…Wish you didn't."

I felt terrible. "Soda, c'mon, please. Don't be mad at me…please…" my voice broke when I said that last word. And I started to cry. And I'll tell you something, crying hurts. A lot.

"Rose. Are you…are you crying?"

"Yeah, I guess I am. Can we go in? I'm cold."

"Yeah, sure."

He stood up, while I was still sitting. He offered me his hand to help me up.

"C'mon. Let's head in."

I took his hand. "Okay." When he grabbed my hand, I felt an electric current jolt through my body at a million miles and hour. When we walked in, everyone was in the living room, and they looked like they had seen a ghost.

"Rosalie, Soda can you guys sit down?" Darry instructed us. "Please?"

Soda and I exchanged a worried glace, and he gave my hand a light squeeze. I had completely forgotten that he was still holding my hand. Shouldn't we have let go by now? I let go immediately.

"What's up Darry? What happened?" Soda asked impatiently.

"Dal, c'mon you're scaring me! Please, what's wrong?" I pleaded. I hoped it was nothing too serious. "Please Dal, just…please…" I pleaded again.

"Okay…well, two things really…one. Rose, our dad just had a heart attack." Dallas said, and I immediately fell over. I had been feeling dizzy all day, probably because I hadn't eaten anything all day. Soda caught me, not very well but he still caught me. Dally came over, picked me up and plopped me on the couch. He sat down beside me. I was breathing slowly, trying to stay calm. "He…had a heart attack?"

"Yeah, he did, he's in the hospital now. I honestly don't care, he's a damn drunk. We can take care of ourselves."

"Well, yeah we can, but still, Dallas. He's our father."

"Rose, c'mon, you don't even care, just admit it."

"Dallas, yeah, he's a drunk, but still he's our father!"

"Stop saying that! Rose, do you care or not? Just tell me!"

That was a hard question for me to answer. On one hand, he was my father so I think I had to care. On the other hand though, I haven't had one decent conversation with him in about five years. "Okay, Dal. You're right, I guess I don't care. But still, we should see him in the hospital. Okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

Thank goodness. "But, what's the other thing?" I asked Darry.

"Oh, right. Soda…uh, yeah. Sandy's back. It turns out she wasn't, she thought she was, but I guess it was a false positive. She called when you and Rosalie were outside. She wants to talk to you, explain what happened."

Soda's face was as white as a ghost. "How long?" He asked Darry.

"If her mom drove her, then about five minutes. If she walked, then about seven. But her mom probably drove her, considering she's a grease. She probably doesn't wanna be jumped her first day back." His face was nervous, for Soda, or someone else? Dallas, in an attempt to be a "good big brother", put his arm around my shoulder. I guess that Dallas realized how I felt about Soda, and with Sandy coming back, things just weren't going to get better. The Winston family seemed to be bad-luck magnets. Dallas goin' to jail when he was ten, then mom dying, and now dad's in the hospital. I was next. But what would happen to me? Nothing too bad, right? Well, at least that's what I thought. I heard a knock at the door, and we all turned our heads. I heard a soft voice.

"Hello? Soda? Are you in there? It's me, Sandy."