Porcelain

Chapter 17

Estelle smiled. She said nothing, she simply had a look on her face of pure joy. Something neither of them had seen in a long time.

"If there's anything in this house that you want, take it. After this, I'm letting the Curtis' do what they want with it."

Dally slowly looked around, connecting bits from the house to Estelle's story. The kitchen where the plate was thrown. The bedroom with the bloodstains. The jewelry box full of beautiful jewelry. He sifted through, looking for anything of value. A small box at the bottom called to him, lifting the lid revealed a diamond ring. A small attached note revealed that it was an engagement ring that had belonged to Estelle's grandmother. It felt wrong to leave it behind, so he slipped it into his jacket, along with some other jewels that could be sold in a pinch.

He poked his head into the small pink room at the end of the hall. Other than being coated in layers of dust much like the rest of the house, unlike the rest of the house it was in perfect condition. It was clearly the room Estelle had grown up in. But something about the room just didn't feel right. It felt too perfect, artificial, like it wasn't loved and broken in. It wasn't part of a home. It looked, in all honesty, like something out of a dollhouse.

He met back up with Estelle in the attic.

"Find anything that caught your eye?"

Something compelled him to lie, to shake his head no.

"I'm not surprised, it all feels like it should be left alone. To be left in peace, like an object in a graveyard. Hey, if you don't have anything else to do, go sweet talk Buck, would you? I need another car. I'm sure he can cough one up from somewhere."

He scowled. "I'm not the sweet talker here."

"Then go threaten him with a knife, dumbass. It'll work just was well. You can get your shit from there as well."

"Fine," he groaned. "If it gets us out of this shit hole faster."

"It does, thank you."

She watched him walk out the door, to go and do another simple life task. It was incredible, really. How fast life could change. The insane path it took. And here they were, about to start another crazy chapter.

It was already quite strange for her, slipping back into some of her old personality. Some of it obviously wasn't going to ever come back, Babydoll would always be part of her personality. But it was just so different, living as a girl again. How much of it was actually her, and how much of it was her acting the way she thought a seventeen year old girl should act?

The thought disgusted her, if she started to become a pretty little housewife, she'd have someone kill her. But then again, after all she'd been through, it was unlikely she'd ever be that girl.

Maybe it would be nice though, to have a life that simple.

_____
After she had everything she wanted packed, Estelle put on her denim jacket and walked over to the Curtis house for what was most likely going to be the last time.

Even though it was too late to back out now, she was reminded of all of the things she liked about living in Tulsa. She had grown up there, of course there were things she was going to miss. But there wasn't enough to hold her there, and she could remember the good things from somewhere else.

The house was unusually silent, it was usually full of life and full of noise, but this time it was eerily quiet, if she didn't know any better Estelle would have thought no one was there.

She poked her head into Ponyboy's room, where he was asleep and Darry was asleep in an armchair.

She smiled, they both looked so peaceful asleep. Darry finally looked 20 without the stress of the whole gang's worlds on his shoulders.

Ponyboy looked like a fourteen year old kid, not the man the world had forced him to be in such a short amount of time.

She left the room, and pulled a notebook and a pen from her backpack.

Dear Darry,

I really haven't known you for long. But you've still had a pretty big impact on my life. Thank you for doing what you've done for the gang. Even if I'm not a part of it. Had it not been for you, I probably wouldn't be able to be doing what I am now, leaving this place for good. So thank you for what you've done for me, from the bottom of my heart. You didn't have to help me, you didn't have to keep the door unlocked so I could sleep on your couch. But you did. Thank you. Also, I can't guarantee what Dally'll do once we leave Tulsa. It's his choice, it's his life. But I promise I won't give up on him.

Estelle Parker

Dear Ponyboy,

I think there's words I wish I could tell you that I just can't put into a letter. Even though we spend just around a week as friends, I'd like to think that we spent time time learning from each other, even if we didn't really realize it. I learned from you that it's important to take the time to appreciate what we have. Like how you appreciate sunsets and shit. I was gonna try and make this sound smart, but I don't think I can. Pony, please know that I love you. You're a brother I never got to have, and I'm glad I had you in my life even if it was only briefly. I'll value that time forever. Listen, the place I'm going is to my uncle's farm, over in Arkansas. I used to go there as a kid. He's dead now, but he left it to my aunt, who moved away, and pretty much said it's mine whenever I want it. Actually, she might be dead too. I'm not sure. But anyways, I'll send you a letter once I get there, just in case you ever want to hear from me again, or if you ever wanna talk. I'll add the phone number too. You're a good kid. I say that, because you're 14. Remember that. Let yourself be a kid. Don't force yourself to grow up. You'll end up like Dally. Enjoy your time in the present. I won't forget you, Ponyboy. Don't forget me once you're famous.

Love, Estelle Parker

She folded them up and carefully walked back to Ponyboy's room, and carefully put the notes under their hands, before walking out.

She didn't look back.