Stay - Dallas Winston

45

As we got closer to the park, everything started to move in slow motion.

We could hear the police sirens in the distance, getting closer, and closer.

As we approached the park, we could see Dallas Winston running through it.

Cop cars pulled up on all sides.

Oh no.

Dallas stopped, and looked in all directions, looking for a place to run.

"Stop!" One of the officers yelled.

Dallas reached into the in side of his jacket, and pulled out his hand gun.

No, Dallas!

They don't know it's not loaded.

"Drop your weapon!" Another officer yelled.

Dallas raised his gun into the air.

"You'll never take me alive!" Dallas hollered, pointing the gun at one of the officers.

No!

God fucking damn it!

"Dallas, no!" I screamed out.

The officers fired their guns, hitting Dallas.

"It's not loaded!" I yelled out again, running towards him.

Dallas's body jerked violently, and he fell down to the ground.

He rolled down the small hill, as blood poured from his abdomen.

"He's just a kid!" Twobit cried out, as the rest of the gang ran after me.

Dallas tried to crawl for a moment, before he flipped onto his back.

"Dallas!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, "Please just stay with me!"

I fell to my knees at his side.

I wrapped my arms around his body, and screamed.

I screamed and cried as loud as I could.

I guess I was hoping the spirit of Dallas would hear how ripped apart I was, and come running back to me.

Dallas mumbled something out, before he took his last breath.

No.

Not Johnny and Dallas in the same night.

Please let this be a bad dream.

And from that moment on, I knew I would never feel warmth again.

It took four officers to pull me off of Dallas.

I knew if I let go, I was never going to see or touch him again.

"No! Please just let me stay with him! I don't want to leave him! Please let me stay! I don't want to go!" I begged as they held me in the air.

The officers restrained me with their arms and two sets of hand cuffs, one on my wrists and the other on my ankles.

The other officers covered Dallas's body with a sheet, as they dragged me to a cop car, and locked me in the back seat.

"No! Please don't take him away from me! I love him damn it!" Flailing my limbs around, and hitting my head against the window.

I was trying everything I could to get out of that car, and get back to Dallas.

Everyone in the gang was crying and yelling.

After about 20 more minutes of me yelling, I had completely lost my voice.

By the time the coroner's had lifted Dallas into the body bag, and carried him away, there was nothing left of me.

At that point I was just a body that was still alive, when I wish I wasn't.

I had lost everything.

...

I didn't stop crying for weeks.

I hardly slept, I hardly ate, I hardly drank anything.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Johnny and Dallas laying there dead.

Ponyboy and I laid on his old bed in his old room.

The only time we left each other's side was to use the bathroom.

Well, and to attend Dallas's and Johnny's funerals.

They were both buried at a cemetery near by in town.

I just wanted to dig my way down, and lay with them for eternity.

I think both Ponyboy and I were scared to leave each other alone for too long.

I don't know if we were more scare to be alone with our minds, or more scared of what would happen if we left each other alone.

...

"You've got to eat something." Darry scolded me, as I picked at my plate with my fork.

The curtis brothers and I sat at the dining room table, after Darry forced Ponyboy and I to come out of the room.

"I can't." I managed to say.

I felt like I was going to cry again.

"You can't stop living because you lose somebody." Darry spoke harshly.

I looked up at him, my eyes were filled with tears.

"I loved him, Darry! I loved Johnny too, he was my best friend!" I threw my fork onto my plate, and pushed it towards the middle of the table.

Darry took a long deep breath.

"You can't keep holding onto this grief. It's not good for you, look at you! You're drifting away." Darry argued.

I stood up from my chair, and slammed it into the table.

I narrowed my eyes at Darry.

"Grief is all I have left of them, so I will hold onto it." I spat, before running out of the house.

I started crying again, as I ran all the way to the park, and sat down on the ground.

Soda ran after me, bawling as well, as he sat down next to me.