When Dal woke up it was afternoon. Nobody was in the room with him. He sat up, but that proved to be a mistake. His head exploded into fireworks of pain. He lay back with a groan, throwing an arm across his eyes.
The door opened and a voice sounded from the door way, "Hey, you're aw- are you okay?" Footsteps rushed to his side, and he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Here, take some more pills," the voice said with concern. Pills were placed in his hand, and Dal plopped them in his mouth. Next a glass of water was put in his hand, and he gulped the pills down with the water.
He didn't move from his position for a while. Only when the pain had lessened somewhat did he feel safe enough to take his arm down and open his eyes.
The outline of a man was standing next to the bed. The figure shifted, but the lights were still blinding Dallas, making the man only a blurred image.
The figure spoke: "You okay, man? Take it easy; eyes are really sensitive after a concussion."
Dal's eyes slowly adjusted to the light, and he could finally see the man standing next to him. He had expected it to be the father of the house, whatever-his-name-was, but it wasn't. The man looked to be his own age, or perhaps Soda's.
Suddenly defensive, Dal sat up and slouched against the headboard. His ice blue eyes drilled into the stranger. Cool. Tuff.
"Who the he-"
"I'm Jason Mathews," the kid broke in. "I'll be here if you need anything. The rest of the family's out." Jason reached out for a chair, dragged it closer, then straddled it backwards gazing thoughtfully at the injured teen.
"So, how'd all this happen to you?"
"What business is it of yours?" Dally shot back.
Jason shrugged. "Well, since my family is the one that took you in and patched you up I just thought we had the right to hear some details."
"Well, you thought wrong."
Mathews raised his eyebrows but didn't comment. He rested his arms on the back of the chair. He stared at Dallas, who was staring in turn at the ceiling. He decided on a different approach.
"Dad says you won't let him call your parents."
Dal stayed silent.
"Why don't you want them to know you're okay?"
He took a deep breath, clenching his teeth. Control Dallas, control, he thought.
"I just don't."
Jason knew not to push it. "Hey man, I won't make you tell me. But you can be sure that my dad will pester you until you finally give it up and tell him."
"I'll keep that in mind."
And that was the end of their conversation. Jason tried to get Dallas to talk several more times, but Dal rebuffed every attempt. Finally, Jason gave up, took out a deck of cards and began playing solitaire, after Dallas refused to play.
Dal liked to play cards, but he wasn't going to try to be friends with this creep. He just stared into space. He refused to let his thoughts wander to Johnny or any of the gang. But inevitably they always came back to one of them, and that made him angry.
He forced himself to just think about how to survive this place and go back. Why he wanted to he didn't know. Maybe he just wanted to be able to return Two-Bit's switchblade. Two-Bit did love his switchblade. Yeah, that was it. It had to be it.
"Hey you two, dinner's ready," Lisa called from the doorway. She had started working on dinner the moment she got home, and the aromas had been tormenting the boys for hours. "Dallas, I bet you're sick of this room. If you think you can make it we have a place set for you."
"I can make it," Dal snapped back. He got up and trekked slowly across the floor. Jaw clenched, he followed Jason and his mom to the dining room. Entering he stopped in amazement. The room was unbelievable!
It probably wasn't a socs dining room, but it definitely wasn't a greasers'. It had a beautiful oval table, with matching chairs. The silverware was pristine and perfect and there was lots of it. It was unbelievable in the eyes of a greaser. But then, Dal saw something that broke him out of his trance. Food.
He moved forward and sat in the seat Brian gestured for him to sit in. It was to the left of Jason, with Carly opposite him, and the parents at both ends. Dal reached his hand out to grab a roll, but Jason quickly spoke.
"Carly, why don't you say grace tonight?"
Dallas froze. But thankfully, no one but Jason had seen him reaching for the food. He lazily withdrew his hand, then quirked an eyebrow at Carly.
"Okay, Jace." The family all bowed their heads, and Carly gave a simple, sweet, and short blessing. Dal sat there watching them, a cynical smirk on his face.
The prayer over, everybody started reaching for the food. There was a general hubbub, as everyone piled their plates with the food, then passed it on to someone else. Dallas didn't even try to conceal his hunger; he grabbed liberal amounts of everything.
A few minutes were passed in silence as everyone dug into their food. Then Brian finally broke the silence.
"Dallas, you know what I'm going to say. I need your parents' phone number so I can call and tell them you're okay."
Dally twirled his fork, not answering. Here we go. But once again, Jason saved him.
"So Mom, what time does Lori want me to pick her up?"
"She said she would be ready at 7 in the morning. That means you will probably need to leave at 5:00."
Jace nodded. Then, seeing Brian about to speak again, he proceeded to explain to Dally. "Lori's my sister. College let out a few days ago, so she's coming home to stay with us for a while."
"Another sister? How many people you got in this family?" Dal questioned sarcastically.
"Relax, Lori's the last one."
Carly was excited about her sister coming. "You be sure she has something for me, Jace. She promised me she would. It's my birthday in a few days, Dallas." She turned her eyes on Dallas, who was still gobbling up everything in sight.
When he didn't respond to her statement she said again, "It's my birthday in a few days. I'm gonna be eight." She held up eight fingers happily. "What you gonna get me?"
He looked up at her then, perplexed. "Why, nothin'," he snorted.
"Nothing?" Carly's mouth turned down in a frown.
"Carly he just met you, he doesn't need to get you a present," her mother said sharply.
"Yes, Mom," the little girl grumbled.
Jason grinned at her. "I'll make sure Lori brings something for you."
Carly smiled at this. She leaned across the table, grabbed a roll, and shoved it into her mouth.
Dal watched her before glancing at Jason. Jace caught the look and shrugged. "Kids," he whispered. Dallas nodded his head in agreement.
"All right everybody into the living room." Lisa got up and started clearing the table. Brian started to help her, but before he did he turned to Dallas, who was getting out of his chair.
"Get up easy, Dallas. If you do it too fast or too sharply your ribs could mess up some more. And even if they don't mess up, you'll get a lot of pain."
Dally took the advice and got up slowly, then went with Jason and Carly into the living room. They sat down on the couch, Carly in between the boys. As soon as they sat down Carly started pleading.
"Let me choose this time. Please, please, please, I'll pick a good one this time! I promise!" She turned on the charm, using her smile and her cute face to her advantage. But Jason wasn't falling for it.
"Nope. It's my turn tonight, and you won't dupe me into giving it to you."
Brian came just in time to hear his statement, and he joined in the argument. "Come on, Jason, give it to your sister. Her birthday is almost here. This can be one of your presents."
"Fine. But I get your next turn Dad." Jason handed the remote over to Carly who squealed with delight. She started flipping through channels until she found the one she wanted.
"No, not Mickey Mouse again," Jason groaned.
The little girl giggled. "Yep. Mickey."
Dallas hadn't been listening to the conversation, but when he heard the show they were watching, he flinched. Not Mickey Mouse. The gang loved Mickey Mouse.
He couldn't take this. He had to stop thinking about the gang. If he didn't he would go crazy. But he couldn't figure out why. Why did get so emotional whenever he thought of the gang? It was something he couldn't figure out. No, that wasn't true. He could figure it out. He just didn't want to.
Because his feelings to the gang came too close to what he had felt towards Johnny. He had cared for Johnny, cared for him like a brother, and it had only ended up hurting both of them. Johnny was dead, and Dally was left with this empty feeling inside. He didn't need it or want it. He told himself he didn't care about the gang, that they were just good people to have around when you needed them. He couldn't allow himself to think of them as friends. Friends only hurt you in the end. Johnny had proved that.
"No!" Dallas jerked himself off the couch, startling the family. "I don't want to watch Mickey. I don't want to watch-" he cut off as an intense wave of pain slammed into him. He fell down on his knees, clutching his side. Brian was there in an instant.
"I told you to get up easy!" He put a hand next to Dallas's ribs and the boy gasped in pain. "Jason, help me get him to his room."
Jason slung one of Dallas's arms across his shoulders. Brian copied on the other side. Then together they helped him walk to his bedroom and placed him gently on the bed. Brian checked him over, trying to be careful, but still causing Dally some more pain. After some agonizing minutes for Dallas, Brian finished his examination.
"Well, it doesn't look like they were messed up that much. But it might take just a little longer for those ribs to heal. I guess you want some more pain relievers?" At Dallas's glare, Brian stopped his joking and went to get the pills.
When he got back he asked, "How many of these pills have you taken?"
Jason told him. "The two you gave him, and then I gave him two when he woke up."
"Okay, that's all right. Well, on the other hand," Brian's eyes held a mischievous gleam in them, "I don't think you should have any more."
Dal groaned. "Come on man," he gasped out.
"Do you really need them, Dallas?" Brian questioned him.
"Yes!" he yelled at the man.
"Dallas, I need to call your parents. Give me their number."
He stared at Brian, searching for words. "Come on. First off, it's only my old man, and he wouldn't care one bit if you called him. Give me the pills."
"Not unless I get his number."
Jason stared at him incredulously. "Dad, that's blackmail," he whispered.
"So it is."
Dal groaned again. Thoughts raced through his mind. Finally he settled on one plan of action. "All right, I'll make a deal with you."
The older man pursed his lips. "I'm listening," he replied.
"Okay, I'll give you the number for my old man. But you can't tell him where I am. Just tell him I'm okay, and I'll probably be coming home soon. Got a deal?"
Brian hesitated for a moment then, "We got a deal." He wrote down the number Dallas gave him and the name of the old man. After that, he handed over the pills and watched Dally swallow them down.
When the kid appeared a little calmer he left saying, "Well, I'll be going. No more sudden movements, you hear me?"
Jason watched Dallas skeptically. "I can't believe you gave in so easily. I thought you would've have resisted a whole lot more."
"Do me a favor, man," When Jason nodded, Dallas continued, "Don't act like you know me, 'cause you don't. Not one bit. Got it?"
Jace took a deep breath then responded slowly, "Yeah, I got it. Sorry I bothered you." He turned and walked out of the room. "Get a good night's sleep, Dallas." He flicked off the lights and Dally was left in total darkness.
Scarlett7- I'm glad you like the train scene. I couldn't have done it without you. Your helpful words have made this story even better. Thanks for all your help.
Miyame-Faith- I'm flattered that you think I've captured Dallas's personality. That is what I've tried to do; stay as close to the book as possible (except of course for Dally not getting killed). ( Thanks for reviewing.
steves-girl- Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you like it. Hopefully, you will still like it as the story progresses. Please keep reviewing. I love 'em!
Tensleep- Wow! You are very kind. I'm thrilled you like it so much. I just looked at your favorite stories and I found I'm on there! Thank you so much, that means so much to me! Thanks for reviewing and I hope I don't disappoint you.
CinderBrat- Don't worry, I won't abandon it. I will stick with it until it's done. Sooner or later, this story is getting done. Don't know when that will be, but just sit back, and I'll try to dish out some chapters for you. Thanks for reviewing. These reviews mean a lot to me.
Hope you liked it. Please read and review, people. I love reading them. They make my day!