Chapter Eleven
Author's Note: I know... it's been another year or how ever long since the last time I updated. Sorry. I always get like this, but I'll do my best with updating. I was reading this story again, deciding whether I should continue or not, and decided I should. I also noticed the countless switches to present and past tense. It's too late to fix, so please bare with me. It's kind of nice though realizing that I've improved from the past years. Anyway, the story is almost over, but be prepared for a sequel. Hope you guys enjoy this while it last! Thank you for being so patient, being so great!
I completely bawled. I buried my face in my knees and just cried. I never cried so hard. I never felt so many emotions running through my body. I hated it. It was awful. It was unbelievable. He was finally dead. I never thought it would happen. He was such a good kid. He didn't want any harm done.
I didn't know how long we stayed in the lot. But we didn't want to move. Dally had locked me in a long embrace, and we were crying in each other's arms. It was a horrible feeling knowing Johnny was dead before our eyes. I seemed as if death had knocked right at our door and the person unfortunate enough to answer it was Johnny. Any one of us could have died. He was innocent.
It was a horrible sight. Not just the fact that Johnny's dead body laid on the lot, but the fact that Dally broke. Dally finally cracked. He couldn't take anything worse, and this was his biggest nightmare. Dally Winston could have lived through anything, but this.
He pulled away from me and looked at me with eyes staring deeply into mine. His eyes were full of hurt and confusion. When he knew that he couldn't stand looking at me, he turned away. Suddenly, sirens were heard.
We didn't move. We all looked at each other hesitantly. The fuzz surrounded the lot and they held their guns out. What's the use? I thought. There's nothing worse that this.
"We can't leave," said Darry. "We have to stay for Johnny."
We couldn't leave him alone. I still had a deep connection with him even though he was far beyond my reach.
"What happened here?" called a cop.
I spoke. "Some socs beat our friend to death..." to death... I leaned forward and sobbed. It was hard saying those words.
The cops were a little sympathetic. They told us to hold still, but Dally thought otherwise. He pulled out the heater he showed me when he broke into my house. No, I thought, don't be an idiot.
"Put it down son," the cop said but before he could continue Dally took a approach. What are you going Dally? I thought hopelessly. Why was he taking the coward's way out?
Dally took a few paces toward me and it looked as if the cops were going to fire. He acted quickly, and suddenly took grab of me. Surprised, my first instinct was to struggle. But something in me knew that he wasn't going to hurt me. He twisted both my arms back and held them tight. It hurt like hell, but I tried not to worry. The cops gradually let their guns down.
"We don't want you to hurt her," said the cop.
"Dally, what the hell-?" asked Pony but then stopped. He knew his next move.
Dally pulled my arm back twisting it more. I cringed. He held my palm tight, in a last emphatic move. He got close and whispered very softly, "Close your eyes and hold your breath. This may hurt a little... I'm really sorry Danny." He jerked me hard and turned me around so I would face him. He clenched his grip harder, and it felt as if he were pressing brass rings into my palm. I held my breath. And with one dignified glance from his face, I shut my eyes, and he slapped me with the back of his gun. I fell to the floor, and the air rushed out of my lungs. My fists were clenched.
The scene happened fast as I landed to the ground. Dally had taken a run for it, still aiming his unloaded heater at them. He took three bullets in, and I knew he was dead. He was dead and it was exactly what he had hoped for. He wanted to be in the same place Johnny was. I guess he figured with the only thing he loved most gone, there's nothing left living for. I still haven't figured out Dally Winston much. Unfortunately I never will.
When I woke up, I was sore and weak. I don't know how long it had been. It could have been a couple of hours. It could have been days. My parents were sitting beside me, and the guys were there too.
"I'm never trusting you again Daniella," my mother said. I understood why.
"What happened?" I asked trying to sit up.
"Don't hurt yourself, hun. You don't need to know now," said Mom.
I had a terrible headache, and it felt as if I still had my fists clenched. As it seems, I still had, and I slowly opened them. My left hand was all scarred ad bruised, and it ached badly. My jaw almost dropped. I held out my chain. Dally must have slipped it in my hand when he had me tied. He must have seen those Socs before he left...
The men didn't say anything. I supposed they would still be overthrown with grief about the whole incident. It was like the suddenness of what you thought can never happen to you actually happened. The guys just looked at me worriedly, and I wish they wouldn't. We all had enough things to worry about.
"Mom," I croaked, "they're dead..." I bursted out crying. I couldn't take it. My dad told the gang to leave, and that they could visit tomorrow. It was at that time I took the liberty in telling my parents what happened. And that night I told my mom how I really felt about not Dally. But of Darry.
—time lapse—
It had been a bit over a week since my big fall. Ponyboy wasn't it great shape- he had suffered a slight concussion and stayed in his room most of the time. The guys were all down and I found that we had less and less to talk about. It was hard to talk about stuff when your whole world collapses like ours did. Soda was being very detached lately and I couldn't tell why. He tried to talk it out with me, but kept stopping himself before he got to the point. I wasn't much help either. I was feeling so distraught about everything, that I gave up about giving advice because, well... I needed some myself.
Everything was screwy. There was suppose to be a trial soon, and I tried with all my strength not to worry about it. Heh. A lot of Darry's characteristics were finally rubbing off on me. Ponyboy had been acting very different too. He wasn't paying attention to his education much and he declared that he just quit caring anymore. I told him he shouldn't do that, and that he had to keep strong, but he just shut me out. I wasn't hurt by it much. I understood how he felt. I tried to be strong for both of us. For all of us.
I stayed awake through the night. I just couldn't sleep. I rolled and tossed around in my bed, but I just couldn't stop thinking about them. They were finally gone. And what about the rest of the gang? We felt terrible. We didn't have any gumption anymore. I stayed home a little more, met my parents for dinner right before they went off to work. Told them I loved them more often.
I got up. I started to leave the house for the Curtis. I needed to talk to someone. The night was breezy and I felt an odd feeling in my nerves. I felt scared. Like someone was following me from behind. I felt a trickle behind my neck and I started to run. I felt really scared. And I had never really felt that way about walking at night before. Usually I'd get nervous, but I felt petrified I didn't know why. I guess I was afraid that some Socs were going to gang up on me... for once. I reached the Curtis house, and slowly entered inside. I looked over at the couch and saw Steve sleeping in it. Okay, that's taken. I jumped when I saw Two-Bit sleeping on the smaller sofa chair. I guess nobody wanted to be at their home tonight. What was I saying? This was our home.
I tiptoed to Darry's room, hoping that he wouldn't mind if we talked for a while. He was the only real person I could talk to. Everyone else was kind of distant. I pushed the door open quietly, and stepped inside. I heard Darry breathing softly. I closed the door. It was dark, but the moonlight from his window streamed on his bed, and left a little light so I could scour around. I moved toward him.
"Darry?" I whispered softly. He didn't move. I tapped him on the shoulder, but knew that wouldn't wake him. He was to big of a guy to be wakened by that. A little harder, I tapped him, and a little louder, I said his name. I kneeled beside him and called him again. He moved a bit and opened his eyes. At first he looked surprised, but then smiled.
"What are you doing here?" he whispered.
"Your house is a motel, you know that, right?" I said softly. "I wanted to talk."
He yawned, beat from work, from everything. But he tried to listen. "I'll try my best to stay awake. I'm awfully tired."
"I know," I said taking his hand. He closed his eyes, and I started to talk to him. I didn't mind if he was listening or no. "Why does life have to be so hard? I hate it all. If it weren't for you guys..." I paused to inhale. "I've been thinking about what Two-Bit was saying before. How we could have been Socs, you and me. Could we have been happy as Socs? I often wonder if we'd be better off. But, man, you guys are all I've got, all I want. It would kill me not to have known you guys... not to have known Johnny... not to have known Dally."
"Darry oepned his eyes and looked at me intently. He squeezed my hand. "I guess," I continued, "I guess it still hurts. When will we get over it?"
He pulled up the blanket, welcoming me in. I smiled feebly, and scooted under the covers. "You don't have to be strong," he said warmly. He wrapped an arm around my waist, and kissed me on the forehead gently. I hugged him close, just not wanting to let go. I felt so right with him. He stroked his fingers up and down my back, and I rested on his chest. He slid his hand toward my waist then pulled away to look at me.
"Danny, I love you," he said softly. "I've loved you for a long time." I smiled, but I wasn't quite sure how to respond. It was just so sudden. He continued, "When we first met, when we were kids- man, you were the prettiest thing I've ever seen. Your mom use to dress you in those nice clothes and all. And then you started to hanging around us, and you changed." He paused and I reminisced about those times. I was such a girl. I looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
"I was okay with that," he said smiling. "Even when you got your dress dirty, and rolled in the mud with us, you were still so beautiful." I looked at him shocked. Did he call me beautiful? I had never felt so... so... I didn't know what the feeling was. Like I wasn't one of the gang anymore. That I was more of a girl. It was strange.
"But Danny," he said softly, "Danny I've loved you ever since. God, how I wished you'd tell me the same."
I placed a hand on his cheek. "I love you too Darry," I finally confessed. I truly did.
He smiled. "Do you really?"
I smirked. "I have to. I promised Johnny." He pulled me over for a kiss. Our lips caressed each other, and yearned for more. We moved slowly in the blankets, our hands exploring each other's body. He rolled on top of me and moved his lips down my neck. I held on to his strong shoulders, as he caressed his lips further down. He stroke my waist tenderly with his hands. They crept in and out of my shirt, slowly teasing me. His touch was soft and gentle. His hands were rough, but they caressed gently over my body. I let my hands stroke his chest, and I loved how that felt. He was strong, well-built. He moaned softly. Gradually, his hands lifted my shirt and he bean to kiss my abs gently. They moved around, and I wanted more. My back arched up and I softly said his name.
"Wait," I said and tried to stop him. He tried to protest by rubbing his tongue against my stomach. But I pulled his face to mine. I held hi gently. I didn't want to say that he couldn't. Instead I told him how I felt. "I love you."
For some reason he knew. He knew what I wanted and rolled off of me. I hope he didn't feel rejected, but thankfully I think he understood. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. I slept with my head on his chest and dreamt peacefully.
Author's Note: hope you liked this chapter. I tried to add a light romantic scene. I wanted to add more but was afraid if it would be too much for my readers. I wanted to add a love scene, but it's up to you guys. What do you guys say?
