The Delinquent's Daughter {An Outsiders Fanfiction - Sequel to Hope}

5

"You what?!" Both of my parents asked. Well, more like yelled. Screamed. I didn't have the heart to repeat myself, and you wouldn't believe how angry my dad looked. Or how sad and disappointed my tearstained mother's face looked.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. They didn't acknowledge me, but looked to Faith instead.

"You let her do this? I thought you were the responsible one!" My dad yelled at his niece like she was his own kid.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Pony. I... I didn't want her going alone," she said. Which wasn't a lie. Although I had to beg her to come, and she only said yes so I didn't get in too much trouble, she had spent hours trying to talk me out of it. Before my parents could say anything else, I decided to cut right to the chase.

"How long am I grounded for?" I asked. My dad stared at me. 

"How much is the ticket for?" He responded. My stomach clenched at the thought of having to tell him. So I didn't. I couldn't handle saying it out loud, hearing it again, so I just handed it to him. He looked at it, and then at me, very calmly. Too calmly, almost.

"How long?" I asked again, too anxious to wait any longer.

"Ten years," he said, still staring at me. I looked from Faith to my mom, wondering if I'd heard him right.

"W-what?" I asked. My mom scooted close to my dad to look at the number. Her eyes almost bulged out of her head. She cleared her throat.

"How long you're grounded for hasn't been determined yet, but we're taking your permit away, and while you're under our roof, you won't be getting our license. When you're 18 or you move out, feel free to get it, but in the meantime you're not going to," she said. I tried to speak, but was too upset. There was a lump in my throat, and if I spoke, I would start crying.

"And," my dad said after a moment of silence. Faith took my hand in hers.

"You are not to get in a car with anyone other than us, whether they have a license or not." He spoke clearly, stern and loudly, but I felt like I couldn't hear him. I guess that meant no afternoons out with Faith anymore. I started crying like a little girl, and as hard as she tried to calm me down, it didn't do anything.

I couldn't get the thought out of my head that I was being trapped in my own home. I wasn't allowed to go anywhere with anyone, even when I was ungrounded. I had always thought my license was my ticket to freedom, and as soon as I was old enough, I could get mine. I guess that wasn't the case, though.

"You can't do this to me," I sobbed. My mom looked like she felt guilty, but my dad wasn't backing down.

"I'm sorry, Hope. That's our decision for now. Now please go to your room while your mom and I talk," he said. I looked down.

"Fine," I said. Then I turned around for a moment. "Mom, Dad? I'm sorry." I walked out after that. Faith followed me, but walked out the door and left me alone.

"I'm sorry," she said, hugging me before she left. But it didn't matter. I didn't feel betrayed that she left. I wasn't angry. It didn't even matter, because whether she stayed or not, my life was over.

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It took an hour for them to come into my room. I laid face down on my bed and when they knocked on the door, I didn't respond. They called my name a few times, and when I didn't answer, they barged in. My mom, the gentler of the pair, sat down on my bed.

"We made a decision," she said, rubbing my back. I didn't look up.

"Don't you want to hear it?" I really didn't.

"Hope? Honey, what's going on?" She asked. What did she think was going on? She and dad were ruining my life for the stupidest little thing. I didn't answer her question.

"How long am I grounded for?" I asked, again cutting right to the chase. My dad sighed.

"After careful consideration, we've decided that you're only grounded for a week. But... that means you go to school and you go home. For the time being, we will not take you anywhere, even just to the grocery store, and if you're not in to the bathroom or eating a meal, you're in your room. You do something to disrespect us or disobey what I've just said, and you get an extra month added on. Understand?" He said. I didn't cry. I didn't want to cry. I wasn't sad, or mad, or surprisingly the least bit angry. I was just numb. It didn't seem to matter to me that I didn't get to do anything until next Saturday night. I could manage. Or I could sneak out, if I really had to.

"Yep," I said.

"Excuse me?" My father responded. I rolled my eyes, but they didn't notice, since I was still facing my pillow. I didn't want to do too much more to upset either of them, after what I'd already done. But I was silently begging them to leave the room so I could call Elliot and make a date. I couldn't get his smile out of my mind. Or the concern in his eyes when he saw me crying. Or how handsome he was in general...

"Yes, sir." I corrected myself. I could feel him nodding. And then he got up. With a kiss on the back of my head, my mother did too.

"And Hope? One more thing," she said. I held my breath nervously, but honestly didn't think it could get much worse.

"I would appreciate it if you looked at me when I'm speaking, honey." That was one of her pet peeves, and I knew it. I should have been doing in the first place. I sat up and looked at her.

"While you're grounded, we're taking the phone out of your room, and you may only use it for emergencies, either to call us or the police." My eyes widened.

"You're doing what?" I asked.

"Don't be rude, Hope. We're going easy on you. Your father wanted to ground you for a lot longer. This was our compromise," my mom explained. The anger in me yelled "'Father' my ass. He may have raised me, but according to mom, Dallas Winston is my 'father.'" And although I was a bit ashamed to admit it, I was starting to agree. Would my real father have punished me this bad?

It wasn't fair. I'd heard plenty of stories of Uncle Sodapop drag racing. He never got hurt or in trouble or anything. How come the one time I did I got in trouble? Obviously Ponyboy didn't take enough parenting advice from Uncle Darry. Or maybe he just didn't care...

A/N: I'm so sorry for having to keep you waiting so long, but I was busy writing the next chapter, thinking it was this one. I'm so excited for it, so 5+ votes and I'll post it? Love you!💕 -Katy