Inconsquential Love ((Part Two))

Part 8

I march over to the door behind the bar, not caring that I don't work here. If it's Dally's place I didn't really give a damn - I'd be wherever I wanted to at this point if it meant he couldn't just walk away from me.

I bang on it harshly and it opens before I can even get it another loud fistful to the door and Dally stands there, still heated, looking at me slightly in surprise. "You're not supposed to be back here." He says, but I push past him and into the room.

"You own this bar? You built it? You just somehow forgot to mention that?" I get out, flustered.

He stares at me and just kind of shrugs. "When was I suppose to tell you? When you first walked in out of nowhere after years of being missing?"

"Uh, yeah, then would've been fine. Or just now when I asked how things were. Or at any point - Christ, Dal. What else don't I know about you?!" I'm irritated and I get that I have no right to be. It isn't his fault I don't know these things. I know that. But still, I'm mad. I'm mad at myself.

The backroom is small and there are papers and things scattered around, empty boxes, it must be a makeshift office/storage room of sorts. I couldn't believe he owned all of this - AND a home! Dally...Dally was okay. Sure this was a blow to me and wasn't what I expected but honestly, he was out of the cooler, he was alive, he was managing. Isn't that all I could have wanted and hoped for? "What -" I clear my throat, try to control myself. "What else did I miss?" I ask him genuinely. I wanted to know all of it, every little detail.

"I bought a bike." He tells me. "Motorcycle. Real nice. Real fast." He laughs a little. "I, uh, I hate avocados. Tried one. Hated it." He takes a step toward me and I take a step back, listening to him list all the things I missed. "I got into a fight with Johnny over you. Didn't talk to him for a while. It was rough. Punched Darry in the face one night. Didn't exactly end well. Banned Steve from the bar, feeling guilty as hell about that..." He takes another step forward but there's nowhere for me to go, I'm pushed against the wall as he nears closer. "Started reading, for fun. Johnny got me into it. Kinda calms me down. Broke my collarbone after a bar fight one night. Got a little house near Two's new place, so we're neighbors." He pauses, takes in a breath. "Still got that scar from the night you saved my ass, by the way." He says, touching the spot where his wound had been. "What else..." He looks down at me and I feel like I can barely breathe being this close to him. I stare up into his eyes and feel myself sinking, falling for him all over again even though I know I shouldn't be. "And," He says, not breaking eye contact. "I thought about you. Every day. I thought about you. And where you were. And what you were doing." His hands reach out gently and land on my arms, holding me there softly. I put my head down, swallow the lump in my throat.

"Dal...You've got someone waiting on you." I remind him, not wanting to say her name and ruin this.

"Let her wait..." He leans down, staring at my lips and I can already tell what's going to happen. I squirm out of his grasp, stepping to the side and pushing a strand of hair behind my ear, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, Dal. I'm sorry. I just can't. I'm not about to be the other women." I put my hand on the doorknob quickly and walk out, away from him and the bar and passed Soda and Two on my way. Soda gets up quickly and follows behind, out to the parking lot where rain is downpouring on me now. I hesitate, startled by the storm and unsure what to do. "Look, Soda, I'm just going to go to bed - It's been a long night."

"Wait, Vee, hang on." He calls and I turn, panting and unable to catch my breath. "I thought maybe we could-"

The door to the bar opens again and Dally steps out, about to chase after me but stops upon seeing Soda. His face falls in a way that says 'why am I not surprised?' as he kind of lingers there for a second. "Come back to my place." Soda says, staring at me and not even turning around to see who had just come out. That was the one thing I can easily say about Soda, when he's with you he's really with you. He doesn't give a hang about what's happening around him, he'll always be fully focused on you and you alone.

"Vera." Dally's voice breaks in and I look past Soda to him.

God fucking damnit.

"What Dally?" I ask, throwing up my hands. Honestly, I don't think there's anything else to say. He's with Slyvia. As long as he's with Slyvia that's about as far as the conversation can go. Dally steps forward, moving past Soda and tries to reach out for me again but I push back, out of his grasp. "Don't touch me, Dal, please." I say, putting my arms around myself.

"Please, just let me talk to you, let me explain I just-"

"No!" I yell, surprising myself. "I don't want to talk to you anymore, Dal! I don't want to hear it, please." I didn't want to hear about how he missed me. How he thought about me. It was too much. There was nothing that could be done about it now - didn't' he get that?

"Vera, please." His eyes have a glass-like quality to them and I realize they're wet, glistening with tears threatening to spill over. I gape at him, unable to grasp Dally almost crying in front of me. "Please, let me just-" He reaches out to try to grab my hand again and pull me to him.

"Dally, leave her alone." Soda says gently, taking a step toward us. "Come on, she doesn't want to talk to you right now."

"Shut the fuck up, Soda." Dally snaps, not bothering to look at him. "Vera, come on. It's me. Please. Can we just talk about this?"

"What is there to talk about, Dally?" I ask him. "You're in love with Slyvia, right? You have to go home to her, so go. Please."

"Yeah, Dally, come on. If someone sees you here and gets back to Slyvia about it this whole thing is going to be a mess and no one wants that." Soda tries to tell him. "Go back to your fiance, alright?"

I freeze. Dally's face falls as he looks at me, as the truth comes out. "You're...you're marrying her?"

The silence could cut like a knife. The wind sweeps around us and I feel myself get dizzy, I can't breathe, my heart is hammering in my chest as I search his face for answers. All the things I missed. How had he forgotten that one?

It feels like minutes tick by but it must have only been seconds as Soda steps forward and places a hand on my arm, which I let because it's not Dally. "Come on, let's get out of here." He says, and I don't say yes, or nod, but I let him start leading me to his car without hesitating.