Disclaimer: I don't own The Outsiders, which means I don't own Dallas, Johnny, or any other S.E. Hinton character mentioned here.

Her head ached but she didn't dare sit up or open her eyes. She was awake and she regretted it. She wanted to groan out in pain and cry out for help, but she bit her tongue. She kept herself silent. Pain racked her body and she could barely make out the feel of sheets below her. Rough sheets, but sheets none the less. She could tell, even though her eyes were closed, that it was dark in the room.

She found hope rising inside of her. Maybe, just maybe, he wasn't here. Maybe he had left to do something, anything. She found her eyes opening, just barely. They had swollen and she was surprised she could open them at all. Her hand reached up to gently brush away dried blood from her eyes. Her shoulders, back, stomach, and ribs ached as she moved. She felt like she was being stabbed and wondered if this was what Caesar had felt like after he was stabbed by his own Senate. Wondered if he felt this betrayed.

"I saw you with him." the words were thrown out from a patch of dark. Her head inclined as much as she could make it and she realized that he was still in the room. He was in the corner, smoking. She could see the faint glint of the fire on the end of the weed. It was glowing, like a torch in darkness. She slowly dropped her head back down and tried to squeak out an answer, but her mouth was welded shut.

"I saw you with Tim." he went on. His voice was as cold as ice and she would have shivered if she was able. "You're cheating on me." It was a statement, not a question.

She wanted to protest, naturally, because they had been doing nothing near that, but she couldn't. She was too sore.

"Should'a known you would." he went on. The floor boards creaked as he pressed his weight on his boots. She could make out his footsteps as he made his way over to her and a whimper escaped.

A snort came from his direction and then his form pressed down on the mattress.

"I've had just about enough of you broads..." he trailed off as he blew smoke into her face. He was hovering now, right over her. His face was mere inches from hers and she found her swollen eyes welling up with tears.

"I guess I have to tighten the chain a bit more." he said matter of factly, as if he was talking about a dog that kept escaping.

She wanted to yell that at him, that she wasn't a dog. But she couldn't. She never could.

She was too weak. Too fragile. Too in love with him.

"I'm guessin' I should give you a chance to explain your self. I'm also guessin' you can't exactly do that right now. Seeing as how your jaw's as swollen as it is. So I'll let you sleep..." he trailed off and blew more smoke on her face.

"Dally.." she managed to croak out after a long thirty minutes. He was back in his seat, leaning against the wall and smoking weed after weed. He just sat there and watched her, like she was some prize he was trying to figure out how to get a hold of.

"You know I love you." she continued. Her heart pounded at she tried to gauge his reaction. Would he yell some more? Hit her some more? She groaned as she tried to move her body so she could look at him.

"Don't move." he snapped out. "You'll hurt yourself." his voice held an amused tone as he said the last part. He knew she couldn't possibly hurt anymore then this and even if she could she wouldn't be the one doing the hurting.

"You're a stupid, stupid broad." he said finally. His boots fell on the creaky floor boards again and then he was right beside her, stroking her swollen face. "You can't love Dallas Winston."

"Well I do." she whispered. Her eyes were filling with tears and it stung her cuts as they slid down her cheeks and landed in the sheets beneath her.

"That's why you're stupid." he commented, taking a seat beside her. He laid down then, right next to her, nuzzling his head in her neck.

"How many times do I have to tell you to listen to me? To pay attention? How many times do I have to tell you how to do things? I wouldn't have to do this if you would just do what I tell you." his voice was muffled by her hair and she could barely make it out. He sighed and his warm breath tickled at her ear and neck. She shuttered for a few seconds and then closed her eyes.

He always did this. Tried to make it out like it was her fault. Sometimes, she actually believed him. And other times, she knew better. She knew way better. How could anything she did wrong drive him to almost beat her to death? Was anything that bad?

It's because Johnny's gone, she told herself. She knew it was true. He couldn't take much so he took it out on her. Johnny, his brother, his best friend, was gone. He had to let the anger and hurt out somehow.

She woke up about three hours later, she guessed. The sun was shining through the window and her muscles didn't ache so badly. Dallas was no where to be found and she knew this was her chance. She had to get out, to get to her destination before he came back. She couldn't just stay here like a sitting duck and wait for him to come and beat her up again.

She moved, rather slowly, towards the door. Her steps were small and she ached all over, but she tried to forget about the pain. It was hard at first, to move and to walk, but she got the hang of it and started picking up on ways to walk that wouldn't hurt her.

She wouldn't have to walk much. Just till she got to her car and then when she reached Steve's house. She hoped he would be there. He had to be there.

She coughed loudly as a sharp pain rain through her middle section. She wondered how many cracked ribs she had as she walked down the stairs. The people in Buck's place looked away, ignoring the sight of her. Just like they always did in a time like this. They always looked away when she came downstairs, bloodied and bruised. She wasn't quite sure why though. Guilt, maybe?

Nah, she told herself, those people could give a damn less. She made it to her car, finally, and slid inside. It took a few turns of the key to finally get the piece of shit started but when it did start she was out of there like a bat out of hell.

She had to put a stop to this, but she didnâ–“t know how.