Trouble x3

Not Really Gone

Dalia's POV

I felt tears forming in my eyes. I always figured Dalton was dead. But just hearing it made me feel empty.

He was really gone. And it's getting confirmed.

Sodapop hugged me and I buried my head in his chest. I was unable to stop the tears from falling. "We're all leaving tomorrow to go back to Oklahoma. Are you gonna be ok?" Soda asked.

I wiped my tears with my sleeve. "No..." I said. "What do I do? My parents are in jail... they pay the rent. I don't have a job. Hell, they aren't good parents but they keep me alive."

"I'm so sorry." He said.

"Can I come down with you? Please." I asked, desperately.

"Yeah. Of course you can. But-"

I cut him off and stood up. "I'll be back in a couple hours. If I'm not back by 7, somethings wrong."

I ran out the door and bolted over to Lottie's house. She lived in an actual house and not an apartment. It was a little bit of a walk, but it was fine. I had to tell her goodbye, because this time I didn't plan on coming back.

I knocked on her window and hoped she'd hear it. I knocked again and she started to shift. I knocked one more time and she looked up. She was startled by me but I gave her a small smile and she opened the window.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm leaving." I said.

"Huh?" She asked, even more confused than the first question she asked.

"I'm moving out of the state. I'm going back to Oklahoma with Dallas." I mumbled.

"What? Why? I thought you didn't wanna let go of your memories here?" She questioned.

"Dalton's dead. They found his body yesterday and took my parents into custody for it."

She gasped. "What? Really? That's insane! I'm so sorry, Dalia." She whispered.

"I'm sorry, too. But I can't stay here. I wish you could come with me..." I mumbled.

"Me too. But where are you going? Tulsa, Oklahoma?" She asked. I nodded. "I'll be there every chance I get." She promised.

I grinned. "I look forward to it." I hugged her through the window and started to walk back home.

Sodapop's POV

I had the worst sleep of my life last night. I went to go get Steve up and do something cause I was bored, but as I went to open the door to mess with him, I heard people talking.

"Dally, are you sure you're ok?" Johnny asked.

"You don't get it, man. I know Dalton's alive."

"Look, I get it. It's hard to loose someone, but it's over now. There's nothing you can do."

"You. Don't. Get. It. Look, I'm gonna tell you this and you're not gonna repeat this." Dallas whispered to Johnny.

Are they talking about Dalton? A part of me told myself not to listen. Go back to the couch and stop eavesdropping. But it sounded serious and I really wanted to know what they were talking about.

"I won't tell anyone. What's going on, Dal?" Johnny asked.

"Daltons alive. He lives in Windrixville. I saw right him before I went and got you and Ponyboy outta that church." Dally whispered.

My mouth dropped. Is he gonna say anything else?

"What! Are you crazy?" Johnny asked.

"It wasn't my idea! When Dalton was 17, he said he wanted to get outta here. He had everything he could want in school, but he hated it here. So he came up to me in the middle of the night and asked for my help. So I said I would as long as I could eventually get outta here and go live with him. So we found a place and he moved to Windrixville as soon as possible."

Dally stopped for a second. "I was gonna move in with him, but I met Buck and I stayed in Tulsa instead. Dalton made me promise not to tell Dalia because she'd do something crazy. And he's right! She never cared for me. It was always about him. So if she found out he's alive and away from here and I helped him, she'd loose her mind on me. This is why this stays between us."

"Wait, let me get this clear..." Johnny started. "You helped your older brother leave and you can't tell your little sister about it because she hates you as it is and this would make her hate you even more?" He asked.

"Sorta. I mean, how else did you think I knew about the church on Jay Mountain? I've been to Windrixville a dozen times to help Dalton move in. Then I drove around. But as soon as I was about to move in, I decided to stay with Buck instead."

"This doesn't feel right..." Johnny mumbled.

"It is. Alright? And Dalia is never gonna know. The kid they found isn't Dalton. It's that Austin kid, or whatever the hell his name is. I know it. But I promised Dalton I wouldn't tell anyone he's down there. Grace and Dalia would lose their minds."

"Who's Grace?" Johnny asked.

"Daltons ex-girlfriend. They dated until he went missing."

I couldn't believe it. I had to tell Dalia. As I started to move, the door in front of me opened. "What are you doing?" Dallas asked.

"I came to get Steve." I said trying to play it off like it was nothing and I didn't just hear something that was ruining Dalia's life.

Johnny looked away from me. Dallas took the cigarette out of his mouth. "Whatever you just heard through this door, you won't ever repeat. You got that?"

I didn't say anything for a second. I tried to look confused. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I don't think Dallas or Johnny believed me. I wasn't a very good liar. "Yeah. Right. You say anything about Dalton to Dalia or ANYBODY else, you'll get your head knocked in. Got it?"

I didn't say anything. They both walked past me into the kitchen.

How was I supposed to keep this secret and not tell Dalia?