ANNALISE | Dallas Winston

four

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"well, we should go" i say, rubbing my hand on sodas head. he's older than i am, though i treat him like he's younger.

we all had to grow up pretty fast, so we're all a lot more mature than kids our age, especially darry, of course.

being the only woman of the house, i have to do most of the cleaning, taking care of the boys when they're sick, cooking, etc.

luckily, mom taught me how to cook a few things and i would clean around with her.

other than that, i read cooking books when we want to try something new.

"i'll probably be at work by the time you guys come back, so see you at dinner" soda replies.

with a worried look on my face i say "don't you think it'd be a better idea to take the day off?"

he smiles at me, not wanting me to worry. "no, it's okay. i'll be fine" he says.

ponyboy says goodbye and we head out. the walk isn't too far. we go quite a bit.

as we enter the library doors, the smell of the old books hits instantly; a smile forming on my face.

"evening, mr. rogers" i say to the librarian with a wave.

"evening, curtis! what are you looking for today?" he asks joyfully.

"i'm not quite sure, i think we're just gonna browse" i say, and we walk off.

my hands dance down the isles of books as i walk, thinking of what i would want to read.

i close my eyes and continue down, stopping on a random book.

a poetry book. i take it off the shelf, scan through it and decide it's good enough.

i wrap it under my arm and make my way to ponyboy. he had found a book, too.

we walk back up to the desk that mr. rogers works at and check them out.

we thank him and begin to leave. before stepping out of the doors, i pull pony back as i see a familiar mustang pass.

i feel for my blade in my back pocket "shit.." i whisper. "you got your blade?" i ask pony.

"yeah, of course" he says confused.

"great..let's just camp out here for a moment."

"what happened?" he asks.