𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐜 | 𝐃𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Chapter 74 - Moving

It was about one in the morning when I approached the familiar house of my parents. The bright porch light revealed the green exterior of the house and the white floorboards covering the wrap around porch. Small, dying flowers had been drooping in the wooden flower boxes that had lined the windows. I sighed as I went up the pristine steps of the house. I assumed the door was unlocked as I reached for the copper knob and turned it slowly. 

I crept inside the silent house, peaking my head through the door with caution. The living room was bright from the light emitting from the chandelier hanging high from the middle of the ceiling. I looked to down to the ground which had been covered in brown moving boxes. I was confused at the sight as I stepped fully into the room. My mom came walking into the living room from the hallway. 

"What's happening?" I asked. She only stayed silent as she folded down the flaps of a box that had "Kitchen" written on it with pen. As I looked to her with confusion, Matilda came out of the kitchen with a roll of packing tape. "Heres more tape." She spoke as she set it down on top of a nearby box.

"What's happening?" I asked her. She whipped her head around to look towards me as I inched closer to her and my mother. "Oh hey Y/n." She greeted me as she made her way closer. "What's happening?" I asked again, growing louder with every word I spoke. My eyebrows furrowed as I looked intently to her, waiting for an answer.

"Y/n..." She trailed off. "What's happening?" I asked with a more serious tone. She stood silently for a moment, fiddling with her hands. I felt anger grow inside of me as she wouldn't answer. "Wh-" Before I could tell, she cut me off. "We're moving." Matilda answered me. I stood in shock. Moving? Why? We couldn't move, we couldn't. What about the gang? What about Dallas? I just became his official girlfriend. "Y/n..." Matilda moved her hand to my shoulder. I swatted it away. "Why?!" I asked loudly. I was mad. "It's ok." She tried to comfort me. "No it's not!" I shouted.

Tears began welling up in Matildas eyes. "We have to." She stated. "Why?! Why do we have to?!" I started tearing up. I didn't want to move. I was finally happy, I didn't want that to go away. I loved everything I had in Tulsa. The gang. The north side. Dallas. I loved Dallas. I couldn't leave him, I couldn't. "Mom was gone for months! We ran away! Why are you listening to her now?!" I yelled as I began tearing up. "We have to!" Matilda yelled, ignoring me. I stood in shock. She never yelled, not once in my seventeen years had she shouted like that.

"I'm not going!" I shouted, tears running down my face. "I'm not going." I repeated with sadness in my voice. "Y/n please." She pleaded quietly. "I can't." I stated, sadly. "What about the gang?" I reminded her. She stood in silence for a second as tears ran down her face and neck. "What about Darry?" I asked. Her eyes widened. "You love Darry." I said. More tears ran down her face. "What about the baby?" I asked. She wiped away her tears impatiently.

"We have to go." She ignored me, annunciating every word. She looked to me with sadness in her eyes. I felt bad for her, but then again, I couldn't leave Tulsa. "No. I can't." I said. She grabbed my wrist. "Please..." She trailed off as she started to sob. "I'm sorry." I apologized. I pulled my arm away from her grasp and stormed out the door.

I didn't know where to go or what to do, all I knew was that I couldn't leave. I couldn't leave the gang. I loved them. I couldn't leave Ponyboy, I read books with him, I admired poetry with him. I couldn't leave Johnny, I looked at sunsets and stars with him, we comforted each other when we were down. I couldn't leave Soda, he cared for me, he was like a brother to me, he made me smile each and every minute of the day. I couldn't leave Steve, I played poker with him, we ate chocolate cake together, we yelled into the night in celebration of anything. I couldn't leave Two-Bit, he joked around with me, we danced and sung together, we got drunk together. I couldn't leave Darry, he told me what to do and what not to do, he was like the father I never had, he gave me life advice and everything.

I especially couldn't leave Dallas. We laughed about the insults that we made to each other, we pushed each other around, we annoyed each other to death. But, after all the commotion we had caused each other, we kissed, we cuddled, we had good times together. I loved Dallas to no end. I could never ever leave him behind. He changed me completely. I used to say that I would never fall in love with any boy, that I'd never even think about a boy, that I would never look at any boy with a hint of attraction. However, I did all of those things with Dallas. God I loved Dallas.

I walked for awhile in thought, my steps almost sounding like an earthquake in the quiet night. My tears felt like icicles in the cold air as they fell down my cheeks. I sniffled as I tucked into the jacket.

My mind was twisted in thought. I couldn't rap my head around the fact that my family was moving. I understood that dad was a bit much on mom, but I didn't know it was that bad. I guess it all went over my head. I hung out with the gang every day and hadn't noticed what was going on at home. I didn't realize that it became so bad that she even had the thought of moving away from Tulsa. She loved Tulsa. We had grown up in Tulsa, in that neighborhood, in that house. We had lots of memories in Tulsa, some happy, some sad. It would be incredibly hard to leave. I couldn't imagine us leaving. Her leaving.

Even though my mother didn't care much about me or Matilda she sure did care about Tulsa. She's lived her entire life in Tulsa. She was born in the same hospital that me and Matilda were. She grew up in the same house that we had lived in our whole lives. She had friends and family in Tulsa that she loved. She had a life in Tulsa that I never thought she'd be able to leave. Dad must've been real bad to her, I guess I tried to ignore it to much that I didn't see how much pain she was in. She was in enough pain to leave behind everything she ever loved. I felt bad for her in a way.