𝙲𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝙰𝚜 𝚈𝚘𝚞

𝚝𝚠𝚘

| '𝚂𝚘 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚐𝚘, 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚎 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠' | 

After that first meeting with Bob, I found myself constantly wanting to be with him. Pershing Park quickly became our spot. We'd sneak out late at night and meet either at the fountain or the tree where we'd first met. We'd spend hours talking, just getting to know each other, telling each other things we'd never tell anyone else.

It had been almost three weeks of me sneaking out late at night and then sneaking in early in the morning before I was caught. I felt like a deer in the headlights when I crept through the front door and my mom was sitting on the couch waiting. Her hair was up in her usual rollers, and her bathrobe was tied tightly around her body.

"Ponyboy was up with another nightmare. Soda crawled into bed with him." She says simply, her gaze fixed on our small television. "I went to check on you and Darry like I do every time he has one. You were gone."

I sigh, looking down at my feet. "I'm sorry mama," I tell her quietly. I was sorry, I hadn't meant to stay out with Bob so late, but he was going through some things with his parents and I didn't have the heart to leave him. "I didn't mean to scare you."

When she finally looks up at me, I can see the disappointment in her eyes. It shone like a lighthouse drawing a boat into the shore. "I didn't know if you were dead in a ditch somewhere or if you'd run off..." She pauses to take a breath, most likely to keep her voice in a low tone so as not to wake the house. "Please just tell me where you went."

That was what I'd been dreading since I started sneaking out. I never wanted to tell anybody about Bob, knowing that it would stir up something I couldn't fix. I sit down on the couch next to her and grab her hand.

"It's nothing bad." I start softly, just looking at the age spots coming up on the back of her hand. "I'm not out drinking or doing anything illegal. I just go out to see someone."

Her eyebrow raises in a perfect arch. "Someone? And is this someone a boy?"

"Yes, mama." I nod.

"A greaser boy?" Her eyebrow raises up further.

"No mama."

She takes another breath and grabs both of my hands, squeezing them tightly. "A boy from the west side?"

I nod, unable to form the words to properly answer her.

She cups my face before bringing me into a hug. "Oh, my sweet sunny girl." She says with a smile on her face. "Does he know you're from the East side?"

I nod into her embrace. "He does... and I don't think he cares."

I could feel her press a kiss to the side of my head, trying hard to hide her smile. "Oh, my sunny girl. I'm so proud of you."