Part 12

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Soda drives me to Dally's on the way to work. He jokes that with me staying here we're going to have to get me a car but I tell him since everything is within walking distance it almost feels pointless. Our moods are still high despite everything. We talked all night, planning and discussing my coming to live with him permanently. He thinks we should get a bigger place. I told him we have all the time in the world.

I kiss him deeply when I go. I want him to know I'm coming back. I want him to know this 'talk' is just that - a talk. Nothing more.

Dally's house is nothing like I pictured. I thought maybe something small and run down and while it's definitely small it's kind of cozy - almost something warm about it. Not like Dal at all. 

It's got blue siding and white trim around the windows, a white mailbox in front, and the lawn is kept pristine. Dally always did take pride in his belongings though so I guess I shouldn't be that surprised.

Holding my breath I knock on the door. I hadn't told him I was coming. It's not like I had his number and this all felt pretty last minute. 

When he opens it he doesn't look surprised. He takes in the surrounding area, looking at me and over my shoulder to the car. "I'm guessing it's a no, then?" He says, watching as Soda pulls out of his driveway. 

"Can I come in?" I ask, sidestepping the question. He holds the door open as I step inside and honestly, the place is like a dream. He has a blue couch with a blanket draped over it and a mini bar set up to the side of a big screen tv. He has a long dining room table to the back and I pause. Dally has a dining room table. Dally has...Dally really did it. So many people who told him he'd amount to nothing, so many people who didn't even think he'd make it this far, and here he was. Thriving. 

"So?" Dally says, putting his hands in his pockets. He's wearing faded old jeans and a dark black sweater, and he looks so mature and adult I keep getting stuck in thought. "Why'd you come, Vee?" He asks, looking around the room. I wonder if he's looking at it and trying to see it through my eyes. I hope he knows it's impressive. I hope he knows I'm proud.

"I'm, uh, I'm staying. In Tulsa." I tell him. 

His brows bunch together again in the way he always does whenever he's confused or annoyed. The infamous Dally look. I try to tell myself to ignore it, to not get suckered in by him again. "Why would you do a dumb thing like that?"

I scoff. Not surprised Dally would take it like this. "Gee, I don't know, Dal. It's my home? New York is expensive as all hell? My friends are all here? I miss it?"

He shakes his head. "No one wants to stay here. This place is a dump. You have a whole life in the city, there's things happening there. You can go out and do anything you want - why would you throw that away for...this?" He says, gesturing broadly. "I mean, why did you think I was so okay with leaving?" He laughs. I know he's referring to saying he'd go back with me and I bite my lip, feeling nervous now.

"It doesn't matter." I tell him. "I'm going to stay. I've already made up my mind about it." I watch as he sits on the arm of the couch, studying me. I don't like the way he's looking at me. It's like he's trying to figure something out and I feel my skin crawl. God, I needed to get it together. Needed to rip the bandaid off. "I'm moving in with Soda. Permanently." I tell him, watching his eyes for a reaction. To my surprise, he doesn't give me one. He's unchanged by this news. 

"Uhhuh." He says, nodding. "So, that's it then?"

"Yeah...that's it." I say, trying to stand a little taller and more confidently. "I just wanted you to know."

"So answer this, then. If you had come back here and came into the bar that night and I had been single - would you be with Soda right now?" He asks, throwing a curveball into our discussion. I purse my lips and think - not sure what he's getting at or why it matters. I open my mouth to say this but he cuts in again quick. "If you came back and me and Soda were both 'fair game' would you have still been with Soda?"

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