Hi there!

This the next chapter...c: Thanks to all the brilliant reviews I've received as of late! Nothing makes me happier than a review, aside soup from Panera of course, but that doesn't really count in my opinion.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

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Didn't want to post a full author's note chapter, so I just slapped this on here..:P (June 18)

Hello!

I just wanted to let you know that the next chapter won't be up for at least a week. If you've been on my profile, you may have read that I suffer from Bipolar Disorder, which makes it really hard for me to be a consistent updater. I'm kind of in sunk into a depressive state and will mostly be effected for the next week or so.
I can only write passionately when I'm manic or having an "up" mood, which currently isn't the case. The medication that I'm on right now hasn't really been doing its job as of late, but I have a psychiatrist appointment this Saturday, so hopefully that will clear things up.
I'm hoping that in a couple days I'll be back in commission, so I hope to see yah then!c: If anyone has any questions or comments on this, please drop me a PM!

-xXCowboyDanXx

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All I wanted to do was curl up into a little ball and die, but someone was nudging me repeatedly in the ribs. Why couldn't they just leave me be? Couldn't they tell I just wanted to be left alone?
"Stop it..", I mumbled, but it came out as an unintelligible, garbled mess of vowels.
"Charlotte? Is that really you?"
The voice was close to my head, and I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders.
"Hey, kid; look at me!", they commanded, but the last thing I wanted to do was open my eyes due to the incessant pounding in my temples.
They gave me a small shake and my head lolled on my shoulders. I groaned quietly at the slight movement, but my eyelids managed to flutter open.
At first I was momentarily blinded by the bright street lights, and my vision was unfocused and blurry. My head reeled and I blinked repeatedly, but after a few seconds my double vision merged and I was able to see who was in front of me.
His blue eyes were searching my face, and a small smile played at the corner of his lips.

Dallas.
"Jesus kid, I almost didn't recognize you..", he laughed, ruffling my hair.
I was suddenly overcome with emotion.
I'd always been one to keep my feelings bottled up inside, but I guess seeing him for the first time in three years brought everything I'd been repressing bubbling to the surface. It was as if the damn had burst, my true feelings from my childhood of betrayal, hurt, and disappointment rushing forward in a torrent of tears.
My bottom lip trembled and my brow knitted together as I began to cry, my shoulders shaking as I sat sobbing on the sidewalk. I guess I was just so happy to have found him after so much searching and desperation, that it all felt utterly surreal. Finally, after three years, I had found him.
His smirk disappeared and he seemed taken aback at my sudden breakdown.
"G-golly, I-I gue-guess I'm ju-just real glad-d to see you." I managed in between sobs.
However, all the crying had aggravated my cough, so I sat hacking up a lung for a good minute or two before finally being able to catch my breath.
"Man, you sound rough.." he remarked, taking in my less than stellar appearance and apparent illness as I sat sniffling on the pavement.
"It's just a cold. I've been outside too long." I explained as a shiver wracked my body.
"You don't say? Your lips are fuckin' blue, kid." he replied with a smile.
He looked down the street and then back at me before pulling on the collar of my jacket.
"C'mon, lets get outta this weather." he offered, and I stood up, momentarily forgetting how lousy I felt. As soon as I was on my feet, my knees buckled, and the pavement rushed towards my face at full speed. Everything seemed to be spinning, but Dallas grabbed me before I could hit the ground. I managed to get my footing after a minute, but my head still felt all floaty.
"Christ, you're real white. Don't faint on me now, we've got catching up to do!" he exclaimed, a touch of concern lacing his tone. He wrapped an arm around my waist and started walking down the sidewalk with me half walking, half being dragged alongside. I was just too tired to keep up on my own, but too independent to be downright carried, no matter how weak I was. I don't remember much of the walk, just that I was too tired to really pay attention to where we were going and that it was awful cold. We didn't talk either; I think Dallas knew that I was too out of it to put together a coherent sentence at the moment.

Before I knew it, we were entering the front yard of a sagging, white house. The gate creaked when Dallas pushed it open with his foot and we made our way down the crumbling sidewalk, weeds squeezing up through the cracks towards the sky. All the lights were out in the windows and the shutters were falling off their hinges with peeling paint. I decided that it would be a pretty house if someone spruced it up a bit and gave it some attention.
We climbed the splintering front steps slowly and the front door squeaked as he swung it open.
It was dark inside as I stepped over the thresh hold, but I could make out the silhouettes of a couple of chairs and a small couch. It smelt like sawdust and laundry detergent with an after taste of smoke, a homey kind of smell. My family's apartment had always reeked of stale alcohol and cigarettes, and I guess I never thought that anyone else's house would smell any different.

Dallas reached over and flipped on a lamp and my eyes burned at the sudden bright. It finally occurred to me that I wasn't sure where I was..

"Is this your house, Dallas?" I finally whispered.

"Naw, it's a friend's place." he replied, leading me over to the overstuffed sofa, the arm rests worn and threadbare.

He must've seen something flash across my eyes, because he added, "Don't worry, they're good people."

I didn't really give it a second thought; what was I going to do, go back outside and freeze to death?

"Here.", Dallas stated, holding a sweatshirt out to me that he picked out of a laundry basket resting on the coffee table. I peeled off my jacket and slipped it over my head. It was a few sizes too big and I had to roll the sleeves up three times before I had proper use of my hands, but it would keep me warm.

I was still real cold though, and my teeth were chattering loudly. A blanket was tossed over the back of the sofa, so I draped it over my lap in hopes that it would provide some heat.

I let my head lean against the armrest and soon enough, my eyelids began to droop. But of course, I began to cough, reminding me of how rocky I felt. It seemed like someone had been sitting on my chest, and I felt congested and utterly miserable.

"You're going to wake the whole house up..", Dallas muttered before walking out of the room. I heard some cupboards opening and closing quietly as I tried to stifle my obnoxious hacking. He came back soon after, tossing a small box at me, and it hit me in the shoulder with a small thump.

"Oops.." he said smiling, but I was busy investigating its contents. It was clearly cough medicine, the kind that is thick like syrup and tastes like cherries on steroids. I frowned, remembering how awful it tasted, but I knew I'd feel better in the long run. Still, I wasn't looking forward to downing the fowl stuff.

I twisted the cap off with shaking hands, and took a swig straight from the bottle before I could think about it too long. I grimaced and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand before putting the cap back on and placing it on the coffee table.

I kicked off my shoes and pulled my legs up onto the couch under the blanket to try to warm my feet up. Despite the blanket and cozy atmosphere of the house, I was still shaking with cold. Dallas passed another blanket to me, and then another, and another. Eventually I could barely see over the heaping pile, but I was still freezing. I guess the blankets didn't have much to heat with my lack of body fat.

I laid shivering for the longest time, but I was too exhausted to say anything.

"Scoot over." Dallas ordered, and he sat down by my head, and laid an arm over my trembling frame.
"Glory, you're shaking like a goddamn leaf.." he remarked.

He was thankfully warm and after a small fit of coughs and a couple more frigid minutes, I began to drift off. I seemed to melt into the sofa, and for what seemed like the first time in weeks I felt safe and sound with a roof over my head.

Goodnight, Tulsa.

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This chapter felt really long to me, and it seemed like just a lot of fluff, yet when I tried to slim it down it sounded too choppy and rushed. Ah well...

Please review, it would mean the world to me!

Much love,

xXCowboyDanXx