I really don't even know where to start. I'm so happy that everyone enjoyed the last chapter :) Like really, I'm just so ecstatic that ya'll liked it. Means so much to me. Thanks to Ber1719 for her page long review, she took such time to comment and let me know how she felt, and it's just so appreciated. Also a huge thanks to BloodUpontheRisers and BerthaJorkins for their kind comments- ya'll are the best reviewers ever! Here's a short chapter i managed to write his weekend, since school just started for me.
Bleh. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys.

"Get away from her!" Tallulah's father roared, as his flashlight beam illuminated the sight of his daughter pressed down by Sidney Phillips.
."You get your hands off of her now!"
Sid removed his hands from Tallulah's side, but remained atop her, protecting her own modesty.
"Now boy, you can either get your clothes on now, or I'll take you to jail naked-"
"Sir."
"Is that where they send rapists these days? Military prison?"

Tallulah held out a hand, her eyebrows wrenching together. "Dad, no. This is not-"
Sid glanced down at her, and she could see her own reflection in the blue of his eyes. She could see herself pinned under him.
She could see her sweat covered skin, and the scratches she had left on the table.
She knew what this looked like.
And she could have blamed it all on him.
But she would have never.
Not when she loved him like this.

"I wanted this." Tallulah whispered, placing a shameless kiss to Sid's burning cheek. "I wanted this."
"So this is what I have been paying you for?" Tallulah's father thundered, approaching the table quickly. "This is what you've been doing out here all summer? Fucking my daughter?"
"Stop it dad." Tallulah screamed, pointing a finger towards him. "He didn'tt."
Donnie was shaking mad, his fingers clenching up into fists. "Get off my daughter." He seethed, his flashlight beam reflecting off their naked bodies. Tallulah clung to Sid's shoulders, while her nails almost pierced his flesh. "Stay." She muttered, delivering her own contradicting command. "Don't leave."
"Get off her!"
"Leave. And he'll get off me." Tallulah countered, adjusting her hair to cover her exposed breast.
"You've got five minutes, Tallulah Kendall, before I rip you out from under that boy."

Donnie slammed the door, and Sid banged his head against the table.
Tallulah gazed up at him, her hands trailing down his back. "It's alright." She soothed, "Everything will be fine."
In exasperation, he pushed sweat soaked curls out of his face. "Tallulah, your father just walked in on us, almost having…" His words trailed of. "Your father just walked in on us!"
"I don't care."
"He's going to have your hide. And he'll probably have me castrated!"
Tallulah let a hand snake down his abdomen, and wrap around his endowment. "Oh, that would be such a shame."
A pained grimace passed over his face, and he shivered at her provoking touch. "We don't have time for this." He muttered, slipping his lips to her cheek.
"Screw his timeframe."

Moaning, Sid sat up and lifted her to her feet. The word 'screw' didn't need to come from between her wet lips.
He could not help but admire her ample contours in the darkness, as she slipped back on her silky dress. She stepped into the skirt, and bend over to pull up the front.
The bend in her shapely back was far more beautiful to Sid then that dress. Sid slipped back on his boxers, and then his uniform.
Tallulah took one last look at his bare body, before his dress blues covered it.
She took his hand, and he attempted to brush off her scarlet gown.

"Don't be sorry." Tallulah demanded, her eyes begging him to be unapologetic.
The squeeze his hand delivered to hers almost bushed every one of her finger bones together. "Like hell I'm sorry about this." He murmured, letting their lips meet once again. "This had been the best night of my life." He planted a quick kiss against her cheek, as there was a knock on the door. "And it's because of you."
She beamed up at him, her lips parting to reveal teeth that glinted in the dimness.
She slung open the door, her hand in his.

Her father glowered at the both of them, before he finally spoke. "As of this moment, you're trespassing on my property." He jabbed a finger at Sid. "And you've got exactly 1 minute to get off it before I call the cops on you."
Tallulah flicked away an indifferent strand of hair. "Dad. This is ridiculous. Calm down! You're just angry."
Donnie grabbed at both sides of his head. "Tallulah I've every right to be angry with you! You are my daughter! My beautiful, lovely, honorable daughter." A fist flew in Sid's direction. "And he ruined you."

Her fingers rubbed comforting patterns into the back of Sid's hand, while answer came in one confidant breath. "He fixed me."
"What did you say?"
Her gaze did not waver, and her voice remained resolute. "He fixed me."
Her father lunged at her, and shook her shoulders as if to wake her from some daze. "Fixed you? Tallulah he ruined you."
With the back of her hand she slapped her father against his chest. Her eyes flashed dangerously, and another set of hands came to her shoulders- this time restraining her.

"How dare you say that he ruined me!" Tallulah screamed, her voice blaring in the quiet darkness that was only disturbed by the sounds of crickets and cicadas. "How dare you? Am I of any less worth to you because of this? Do you love me any less? Because he didn't even touch me like that." She jerked downwards on her skirts, unleashing her anger on the ballooning gown. "What if I told you that I had already been 'ruined?' If I told you that Eugene Sledge ruined me about a year ago?"
Her father's face dropped, and he gaped at her. Sidney cringed at the words.
They stung him.
He didn't like to think about sharing her body with anyone- especially someone he knew had hurt her so deeply.

"Eugene? Did he?-" Her father's voice trailed off, as if he couldn't bear to say the last words. The thought was too painful- how had he ever allowed himself to trust these boys?
"He did."
Her words were black as the darkness, and equally unnerving.
Her father plastered a hand to his face, and pulled it down.
"Get off my property." He growled pointing away from the house. "Get off."
Tallulah's lips pursed, and she glanced up at her father. "How did you find me?"
His forehead wrinkled, and for a moment it seemed the anger maybe subsided. "Someone called from the ball, said they saw you leaving."
Tallulah gnawed on her lip, and didn't stop until she could taste the blood pooling in her mouth. "They called? Someone called you? Do they think I'm still 16 years old?"
"Tallulah-"

"I'm still a child here aren't I?" Her words hissed out, angry little musings striking at the blackness. "Even after living and modeling in New York City for a whole year- I'm still not allowed out past 12:30? I still need to be monitored?"
She shook her head slinging blonde curls around. "Well, I may hate my job. I may not be too damn proud of it. But I have a job, I live in a different city, I provide for myself. And hell, I provide for You, Mamma, Teola, Trula Bryan, and Tara! So don't treat me like I'm thirteen and live under your roof. Cause I'm 18, and you, well, you live under mine."

She grabbed Sidney's hand and tugged him away from her father. She marched across the yard, and hopped into the driver's seat of her car. She snapped her fingers, demanding for the keys. He dropped them into her hand, and she then stabbed at the ignition. She roared out of the driveway, her toes curling around the gas pedal. "Do you need to go home?"
He looked surprised by her question. He'd already packed his bags, and told his family goodbye. They didn't expect him home again. He told them that's he'd leave from the dance.
His grimy duffels laid in the back of Tallulah's trunk, along with his gift for her.
"No." He muttered, staring angrily at the sky, which had seemed to brighten.
"It's three in the morning." Tallulah noted, pointing towards the dash.
"Don't tell me."
"Your train boards at four."
"Don't talk about it."
She smiled, and attempted to push the impending number from her mind. "Alright."
He gave a frustrated grunt. "I'm sorry about your dad."
"Don't talk about it."
Her words earned her a grin from him, as he rubbed her leg. He appreciated her wit.
"Alright."

A small silence dropped over them as they arrived at the train station. Already men were throwing bags and suitcases and duffles into luggage cars. The train was already smoking, rumbling idly on its tracks. Conductors were readying the passenger cars, while some workers were still shoveling coal.
It seemed everyone was eager to head out, to head off to war, maybe to get it over with.
But not Tallulah.
She felt the tears springing to her eyes as she watched the train's steam shoot up into the moonlight.
She didn't want him to go.
She parked the car, and grabbed one of his bags hoping that by being useful she could stifle her emotions.
But it couldn't. The tears began dripping from her eyes when she saw him hoist the dufflebag over his strong shoulders.

He gathered her in his arms, whispering comforting promises in her ear as he inhaled the intoxicating scent of her. His fingers played down her lean neck, as his mouth met hers. She grabbed fistfuls of his curls and squeezed them tightly, hoping to anchor herself in the moment. She could feel the weight of the stares she was receiving as she stood there in her tattered crimson ballgown, platinum curls streaking wildly down her back. But all that mattered in that moment was the touch of Sid's fingers, the pressure of his lips, and the tangible affection in his cyan gaze. He broke away from her, and she practically yelped when he pulled away. But he calmed her with a smile, as he set down his bag and rummaged through it She watched him shift through piles of dungarees that she'd sew up for him. Finally, he grabbed something in his fist and Tallulah laughed.

"What, you have another rock I gave you?" He chuckled and shook his head, "The rock is for me. I'm always keeping that rock."
He dropped something into the palm of her hand, and left her to gape at it. "But this? This is for you."
Tallulah gasped and stared down at the little ring that lay in her hand. It was fashioned out of gnarled old driftwood, and as she ran a finger across it she would feel the patterns waves had etched into it's surface. The inside of the band was smooth, and silky to the touch. It had obvious been sanded over and over. He took the ring from her and placed it over the mark that Eugene's engagement ring had left.

"I'm going to wait for you Tallulah. I'm going to come back here, and I'm going to marry you. This-" He touched the ring that now sat where Eugene's once had. "This is my promise to you. My promise to come back, and well, to love ya every second until I do."
The streetlights from the train station painted dark shadows around the familiar curves of his face. But her expert hands caressed them anyways, knowing the curve of his jaw like a well-worn road.
"I'll wait for you too Sidney. I love you, I can't- Oh Sidney I love you!" Her speech flew out on a hasty stream of breath, and he reveled at her rushing words.

He grabbed her face and jerked it to his while his lips assaulted hers in a final attempt to make contact. Their tongues danced in a mournful, pleading waltz but even their feverish contact could not stop time's progression. Tears trickled down the sides of her cheeks, and as his hands touched face, Sid felt he was once again kissing her in the rain. She gripped to his strong back, patting it ever so often to assure herself that he was still there. The blowing of the train's whistle pierced the constant hum of the station, and their lips connected in a last, desperate effort to hold on.
He took a lingering step backwards, their lips sliding away.
She sniffed back another round of tears as she ran her hands up his chest, and straightened his uniform.

"Last call for the 4:00 train to San Deigo!" The conductor called once more, "Last call."

She removed her hands and took a step away, nodding towards the train. "Go."
He grabbed her arm, and squeezed it. "Wait right here for me Tal. I'll be back." He gave her arm a little shake, as if to demand her understanding. "Wait right here for me."
Tallulah flicked a few tears from beneath her eyes. "Okay. You come back to me."
"I will. I promise."
"Be safe in California."
"Be safe…" Her words trailed off, neither knew where he was going."

"Marine last call!" The conductor tapped his watch and Sid turned to face her once more.

"You don't need to help me say it this time." He joked, "I can say it myself. I love you Tallulah."
Tallulah pasted a smile to her face, and gave him a wave. "I love you Sidney.
He turned away from her, and shouldered his bag.
She fingered her ring, as she watched his lanky figure disappear into the plumes of smoke that were pouring from the train.

x.x.x.x

Tallulah pulled up to an old gas station, whose pumps had long rusted over. She hopped out of the vehicle, and dumped a few quarters into a payphone. Her fingers punched the dirty buttons, and she lifted the receiver to her year. She was greeted by what seemed to be an eternity of dial tones before there was a click on the line.

"Hello?"
Tallulah breathed a small sigh of relief when she heard Teola's voice on the other end.
"Teo, it's me."
There was a burst of static, as Teola gasped. "Tal. Good lord. Dad found you?"
"Yeah. Like two hours ago."
"I tried to keep him here."
"How'd that go?"
Teola snorted, "Obviously not well, because he's back here steaming mad. I pretended to call Tom and tell him that I was sneaking out. Dad didn't even care. And I said it when I was right next to him."
Tallulah laughed, smiling at the fact that her sister was trying to protect them. "Yeah? Wow, I guess he was pretty worried about me if he didn't care that you were sneaking out."
"You've no idea. And then I yelled that I was going to dye and cut my hair… He still didn't care."
"Well, thanks for trying."
"I'm sorry I couldn't help you more. I'm sorry he caught you."
"Doesn't matter. Sidney would have had to leave within the hour anyways."

Tallulah could hear yelling and crying in the background. "He's going on about how he doesn't want you to end up like Trula."
Tallulah suddenly understood the crying and screaming she heard in the background. Teola continued. "And obviously it's upset Trula."
Tallulah gave a little scoff. "What's so wrong with ending up like Trula anyways?"
"What's so wrong with being young, pregnant and in love with a soldier whose never home? I dunno. There are worse things."
"Exactly."
"Well are you going to end up like Trula?"
Tallulah was silent for a moment, as anger welled up at her. She was angry that she had been deprived of the chance to 'end up like Trula.' She was angry that she hadn't had the chance to make what her father would have called 'a mistake…" She was angry that she cwasn't able to make love to the boy she loved. She didn't even know if she'd ever see him again. No." Her answer was final, affirmative. "We never actually-"
"Alright. Yeah. You won't end up like Trula."

Tallulah sighed, and grit her teeth as she listen to the sound of Trula's distraught voice wailing at her father.
"Listen, Teo, I called to tell someone that I'm heading out to California, and I'm heading out now."
"You aren't coming to say goodbye?"
By now Tallulah could hear her mother attempting to regulate the fight, and the arguing quickly escalated. "Do you blame me?"
"No."
"Well, I just thought someone should know that I'm going."
"Are you taking the train like you were scheduled to?"

Tallulah glanced back at her convertible that sat idling in the darkness.
She couldn't wait to reach eighty miles an hour and still be urging the car onward.
She couldn't wait to feel a wall of wind in her face.

"No. I'm driving."
"Well, you be careful. I'll handle telling mom and dad. I'll cover your ass here."
Tallulah chuckled, and toyed with the hard cord that connected the phone to its booth. "I appreciate it. I, uh, I love you Teo."
"I love you too Tallulah. And there's no 'uhh's about it."
"Hold down the fort with Tom, and I'll fly you out to Cali for a while."
"Will do. When will we hear from you again?"
She could hear the quarters dropping into the slot, which would soon cut off the line.
"Bye Teola."
"By-"

The line went dead, and Tallulah hung up the receiver.
She hopped into her car, and threw it into reverse.
She sped out of the station's parking lot and down the road wondering exactly how long it would take her to reach the west coast.

x.x.x.x
"You think it's happening soon?"

Eugene stared over at Harper and shook his head. "No."
Mueller tugged the cigarette from his lips. "They can't train us forever. We've been doing this for too long. I thought the need in the Pacific was urgent."
Harper scoffed, "I hate this place." He stared longingly upwards at his poster of Essie Jo Adams, wondering when he'd actually get to stare at a real woman. "We only get in to LA about once every two weeks. Does anyone remember Camp Lejume? We got to town every other day!"
Mueller grinned. "That was nice. But hey, we're getting a shipment of nurses in on Monday to do a round of shots!"
Eugene tossed down his book. "Oh great. Shots."
"Hey, it's female company."

Harper's head cocked in puzzlement, and he pointed to his poster. "Ya know, I think I read in some tabloid that she's going to make a movie with Gary Cooper."
Eugene's eyebrows rose, and he adverted his gaze from the glossy picture of Tallulah that hung on the wall. He could just imagine the lasts words she had hurled at him. Those bitter, rhetorical questions.
"Yeah, what kind of movie?" Mueller asked, as he watched Eugene drift in to the same dazed state he always did whenever they talked about Essie Jo Adams.
The boy had issues.
"Western." Harper informed him, his voice excited. "Maybe we'll see her around if we ever got to go to Hollywood.

Eugene didn't listen to the rest of the conversation. Harper's proposition had been far too thought provoking.
if he could see her, if he could hold her, he could admit his mistakes. And she'd believe him.
He had to see her.

"Hey, when's she coming to town?"
Harper shrugged. "Ehh, the magizine estimated filming would start next week. We could cruise around next Friday night?"
Mueller nodded. "Sounds good. Nothing better to do."

"Yeah." Eugene added, his heart already racing at the thought of seeing Tallulah. "Sounds good."