Stay - Dallas Winston

37

That next morning I was woken up by one of the nurses coming into my room. 

"Huh?" I groaned. 

"Your father is here to see you." The nurse replied. 

My eyes shot open, and I sat up quickly. 

"No. Please, no." I winced in pain. 

Dallas was still sitting in the bed next to me.  

My heart was beating so hard I could feel it in my ears. 

"But, he's your father." The nurse replied. 

"I don't care!" I hollered at her, "he probably came here to just yell at me, and tell me how much trouble I've caused! He's just gonna bitch about how much money this is gonna cost him, too!  Just go out there and tell him to go back to where ever he was!"

The nurse was unfazed by my plead. 

"I'm going to get him from the waiting room." She spoke with a blank expression, before turning and walking out the door. 

God fucking damn it. 

Dallas got up from the bed, and sat in the same chair next to the bed, as he did the night before. 

Dallas sat up tall, crossing his arms over his chest, as he made his face look stone cold. 

"Be cool." Dallas nodded to me, as the door began to open again.  

My father barged into the hospital room. 

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?! What the hell where you thinking?!" He yelled, as his arms flailing in the air. 

He reeked of cheep liquor, and dirty clothes. 

"No! Because your dumb ass doesn't think! Do you know-" my father stopped mid sentence, as his eyes met Dallas.

My father stumbled closer the the hospital bed I was in. 

"Who the hell are you?!" He spat at Dallas. 

"I can ask you the same fucking question." Dallas tilled his head at my father. 

"I'm her father." He snarled. 

Dallas looked him up and down, almost sizing him up. 

Almost as if he was trying to determine how easy it would be to beat him in a fight. 

"Barely." Dallas scuffed. 

You could see that as soon as my father heard those words, he had become more irritated and angry than he was a few moments ago. 

I was so scared and in so much pain, I was shaking like a wet dog. 

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" My father's eyes narrowed at Dallas.

Dallas could see how scared I was, his eyes drifted over to me for a moment, before they went back to my father. 

Dallas stood of from the chair quickly, and marched up to my father. 

Dallas was quite a bit taller, and way more muscular. 

My father didn't care, he was too drunk to care. 

I don't think my father really knew what was going on, he was so blasted. 

Dallas stopped about a foot from my father. 

"Dallas Winston." Dallas’s eyebrows scrunched together, as he looked down at my father. 

"So? What's it to ya?!" My father then pushed his hand against Dallas’s chest, as he tried to push him farther away from him. 

Dallas quickly reached his hand up in a split second, and grabbed my father's wrist, holding it with a very tight grip.

Oh no. 

"I'm her boyfriend.  Her fucking Boyfriend. And you've got about 20 seconds to get your ass out of here, before I beat the fucking piss out of you!" Dallas snapped. 

Boyfriend?!

Well, that's a fucking surprise. 

Dallas was gripping his arm so tight, his fingers began to turn white. 

"What if I don't? " my father argued back. 

Dallas quickly, and harshly pushed my father to the door of the hospital room. 

He stumbled sloppily, but caught himself on the door. 

"Get the fuck out of here you damn, no good drunk!" Dallas yelled at the top of his lungs.

I quickly covered my ears with my hands and closed my eyes. 

They sounded like my parents arguing when I was younger, I fucking hated it. 

"You are a no good piece of shit! You make my stomach sick! And if I find out you ever lay another finger on her, I will beat the living day lights out of you! After I'm done with you,, you will be begging for me to kill you!" Dallas screamed till his voice went raw. 

I don't think I had ever heard Dallas sound so angry, so upset and loud. 

I could hear foot steps scurrying out the door. 

Dallas walked back over, and softly pulled my hands away from my ears. 

"He's gone now." Dallas said, as I opened my eyes. 

Dallas sat on the edge of the bed.  

I pulled myself to move over and sit next to him, as both of our legs dangled off of the side. 

"It's just one thing after another, isn't it? We can't even catch a break.  I mean, fuck man! Can't we have one day where it's fucking peaceful? One God damn day that I don't have to worry about nothing?" Dallas rambled on.  

I could feel chills go down my skin as soon as he said that. 

"Your life is not supposed to be a punishment.  You know that, Dallas?" I asked him. 

Dallas looked down at his hands, as he picked at his fingertips nervously. 

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean it doesn't feel like a punishment." He replied quietly. 

"Were just kids, Dal.  You've gotta remember that.  Just two 17 year olds that were dealt a shit hand at life.  But, we've got each other.  That's gotta count for something?" I spoke again. 

Dallas face perked up a bit, as he looked up at me.  

"Yeah, we do." Dallas put his arm around me, and I laid my head against his shoulder, "something about you makes me a hell of a lot less lost in this fucking world."