Disclaimer: I only own Bleu. R&R!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~Chapter 7: The Truth Escapes~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We entered the house and saw that everyone was in the living room except for Steve and Ponyboy. I asked where they were and Darry answered, "Pony's finishing up that book he's reading and Steve had to go home."

I nodded and sat down next to Johnny and Dally on the couch. Dally intertwined his fingers in mine and I raised my eyebrows. He smiled pleadingly and I gave his hand a squeeze.

"I outta be headin' home," Two-Bit said suddenly, "See y'all tomorrow."

When he left, Darry turned to me and said, "Hey Bleu, you gonna crash here tonight?"

I smiled weakly and answered, "If it isn't too much trouble."

Darry grinned. "Hey, no problem. We'd be happy to have you."

Johnny turned to me. "Bleu, I'm gonna go back to my house. I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"

I nodded and let go of Dally's hand. I gave my favorite cousin and hug and said, "Take care kid."

He smoothed my hair and gave Dally a warning look. Dally just grinned.

After Johnny headed out the door, I sat back down next to Dally and he held my hand again.

"DAMN!" Soda suddenly shouted. We all jumped and looked at him strangely. He turned around, gave us blank looks and replied, "What? I lost my solitaire game again…" He turned away from us and added, "I just can't win this stupid game!"

I muffled a laugh and Darry sighed and went back to reading his paper. I leaned against Dally and he put his arm around my waist, pressing my back against his chest.

"I'm goin' to bed! Goodnight y'all!" I heard Pony shout from upstairs. We all yelled 'goodnight' in unison.

Soda jumped up and gathered his cards. "I think I'm gonna hit the sack, too. See you guys later. And Dally," Soda cast a wink in our direction, "Don't y'all stay up too late."

Dally gave Soda an offensive gesture involving his finger and Soda just laughed and headed upstairs.

Darry put down his newspaper. "I'm gonna go upstairs soon too," he pointed a finger at us, rather, Dally, and added, "Don't do anything you're gonna regret. And if you wake me up, there's gonna be hell to pay, hear?"

I nodded and Dally saluted. Darry chuckled and went into the kitchen.  He came out thirty seconds later with a glass of water and headed upstairs. "G'night, Bleu."

"What, no goodnight for me?" whispered Dally ferociously.

"Nope," Darry answered, laughing to himself as he walked up to his room.

I giggled and snuggled up to Dally's chest. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close.

"So, where do you usually go at night?" I asked.

"A number of places; Buck Merril's, Shepard's, here, the lot-"

"You sleep outside in the cold?" My head snapped around to look Dally in the eye.

He stared back, about an inch from my face. "Yeah. I got no where else to go."

I frowned. "I'm sorry."

He touched my face with his hand. "Don't be. It ain't that bad out there. Really."

Dally ruffled my hair. "So what's up with your life? Where are your folks?"

I tensed up and closed my eyes. My parents. Did I really want Dally to know?

Dally held my face in his hands and forced me to look at him. "What's wrong?"

"My parents are dead."

Dally softened. Wait, Dally? DALLY soften? SOFTEN? This was a once in a lifetime opportunity!

"My mother was murdered. Right in front of me."

Dally looked deep into my eyes. "What happened, Baby Bleu?"

"It all began when my mother married my father. My dad and Johnny's dad are," I paused. "Were brothers, and it seems like they have the same traits. My dad beat my mother and I until when I was about seven. My mother died then. My father killed her. It was about 2:30 in the morning when I suddenly woke up and decided to go downstairs. I saw the light was on and I hid on the stairs, eavesdropping on my parents. My dad was screaming at my mom and hitting her with one of the table lamps. My mom kept fighting back, sticking up for herself and me. When my mother threatened to leave him and take me with her, he went berserk and whipped the lamp at her. It hit her in the stomach pretty hard and knocked the wind out of her. She just laid there in the corner, defenseless while my dad advanced on her. Then he pulled out a switchblade…"

My voice cracked then, and tears streamed down my face. "He pulled out his switchblade and stabbed my mother through the heart. And with her last breath," I broke down in uncontrollable sobs and Dally started to kiss my forehead. "She shouted, "I'll always love you Bethie!"

I started to cry really hard and Dally jumped up. "Come on," he said gently, "Let's go for a walk."

We walked slowly to the park and my sobs lessened. Dally kept rubbing my shoulder and saying soothing things to me. We sat down on the swings and I started to finish the rest of my story.

"After I heard her shout to me, I ran as fast as I could upstairs, trying not to make any noise, and pounced into my bed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my father enter the room and kiss me goodnight.

"The next day he woke me up early. 'Mommy got in a car accident,' he told me, 'we have to go to the church today, so get on your best dress ok?' I just nodded my head and kept my mouth shut. I guess he figured the shock on my face was from getting the news about the car accident, not what happened last night.

          "The next few years were a blur. He still continued to hit and punch me, and I finally found a couple people I could trust. They were my mom's parents and my next-door neighbors. I finally told them all that my father had murdered my mother, and I had witnessed the whole thing when I was seven. I told them all when I was sixteen; last month. Sixteen-I had waited nine years in silence. When my grandparents found out that their daughter had been murdered, my grandma was all shaken up and my papa was fuming. He marched right over to my house, along with my next-door neighbors. Grandma and I waited outside in the bushes. They all started a fight and my dad brought out a heater. He shot my next-door neighbor, and he shielded his wife. He didn't die, thank heaven. My grandfather picked up the exact same lamp used to hurt my mother and threw it at my dad. He got a taste of his own medicine; it knocked the wind out of him. My neighbor's wife called 911 and the police came to pick my father up. He got the death penalty; the judge told me that he had also murdered two other people in his lifetime."

          I looked up at Dally. He looked back at me. This time, his eyes weren't cold and bitter. They were warm and sympathetic. He leaned in and kissed me. I returned the kiss and we sat there for a while, maybe five or ten minutes. When we finally pulled away, Dally grabbed my hand and led me back to the Curtis'.

          When we entered, I tightened my grip on Dallas' hand. "Dally? Can you sleep here tonight? Please?"

          "Sure, honey. Anything for you, Baby Bleu."

          He grabbed a nearby blanket, settled down on the couch and beckoned for me to rest against him. I did, and he wrapped the blanket around us both. I fell asleep in a matter of minutes.