The Girl who Saved Dallas Winston (A Dally Fanfic)

4. Its Just a Cigarette

  We finally made it to the Curtis house and I have found myself sitting at the small couch placed in their living room. I can easily tell that the house is run by boys considering the decor and atmosphere. I don't mind though, it feels homely and loved.

  "Here, dab this on your road rash. It should help clean it up," Darry, the oldest Curtis brother explains handing me a wet towel.

  "Thank you," I accept taking the washcloth. Putting the cloth to my burns stings like hell and I can't help but let out a quiet cry.

"So how exactly did this happen again?" Darry asks questions not only to me but also to his brothers and friends.

  "Christine jumped out of Bob's car. We already explained it a few times and I don't know how else to phrase it," Soda answers swerving the attention away from me.

  "And I must ask again, why would you do this?" Darry asks me directly this time making me realize that I haven't given the clearest answer to this question yet.

  "It's a long story-"

  "We have the time," Darry rebuttals.

  "Fine. I was there for Cherry Valance. She was the first person to treat me like a friend when I got to town. Maybe I should have looked around for friends a little longer than I did. She wanted me to go on a double date with her and her friend so that's how I ended up in a car driven by Bob. David was my date and I dreaded the idea from the start, I guess I felt like I owed Cherry something for her kindness and she pressured me into it. It turns out Bob and the other boys were drunk and looking for trouble. That's how we ended up on the east side of town,"

  "But why did you jump out of a moving vehicle?" Ponyboy interrupts unable to connect the dots just as Dally busts through the door.

  "Huh, the princess is still here? Superseded she didn't run home and call the cops on us right away," Dally teases as he struts inside.

  "Shut your trap Dally," Darry demands his voice stern and serious.

  "Fine, fine," Dally chuckles holding his hands up in the air before walking into some other room.

  Not ready to tell the whole story, how David was assaulting me, I reply with some truth, "I jumped out of the car because I was terrified of staying in the car as I said earlier. Crashing onto the road felt safer. It wasn't just because I was scared of Bob's drunk driving or the idea of hitting someone. But I'm not ready to talk about that yet,"

  The room draws silent for a minute. Even Dally keeps his mouth shut as I realize he has simply been waiting at some doorframe.

  "The truth is I don't even like Cherry Valance too much. We had a few conversations and she led me into that trap. I'm new here and I was naive. I just wanted to make a friend, I was trying to be nice. I've always been a people pleaser, I had no idea it would lead me to a group of rotten kids," I explain finally breaking the silence, "And you, Dally, don't you dare call me a soc. I don't know what I am in this dammed town but I sure as hell ain't one of those guys,"

  "Huh," Is all Dally replies before lighting another cigarette.

  The silence returns and I feel as though everyone here is regretting their decision to help me out. I feel as though everyone's eyes are locked onto me. To ignore it I continue to clean up my road burn wincing in pain every so often while paying no attention to anyone or anything except for my bloody burns.

"I'm sorry," Sodapop says before brushing his hand against my back in an apologetic way. Even this gesture, as innocent and well meaning as it is, causes a wave of unease to crash over me. Picturing Soda's gentle self is impossible, all I can remember is David.