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

29

I went to the mall with Alex, and was surprised to see that I actually had fun. We walked around for hours, not a care in the world, laughing and talking like we were old friends, and soon, I had forgotten that she didn't like me at one point. Or that I didn't like her. The constant afternoons of coming home from school crying because of something she had said were days of the past, and I was happy. She had a personality, and it surprised me to know she was very generous. 

She came from a very wealthy family, and any time I tried on a dress or outfit that I liked, she offered to buy it for me. She bought us both lunch and talked about how next year, when she's old enough, she'd have her own car and we could do this every day without having to walk here and home... Or without having to take her mother's. She told me about how excited she was to get her license, and although it was her fault I wouldn't be getting mine for a while, it was hard not to smile at her enthusiasm. 

She invited me to go out with her again the next day, maybe to go to the movies and then grab dinner or something, but I told her I wasn't sure yet. In the back of my mind, all I could think about was Faith. Although I had had fun with Alex, I felt guilty for being with her instead of trying to apologize to my best friend for hurting her. 

When we were ready to go home, she offered to walk me home, but I went to her house for a little while, and left by myself, hoping to clear my head a bit. I thought about my father, and the horror stories he had told me about walking alone 10 or 15 years ago in this neighborhood. You could get jumped, or even killed, and there weren't even any reasons for it. He told me about coming home from the movies and it happening, he spoke of Eli's brother, Johnny, getting hurt to the point where he was afraid to be outside alone, and I suddenly felt nervous. It was cool for April, and I tugged my coat tighter around me, feeling a chill go down my spine. I was about a mile away from home, and still had a while to decide where to go from here. I didn't know if I even wanted to go home. 

My cheeks were red from cold when I walked past Eli's house, which was on my way. I imagined Johnny walking out the front door, looking just like his younger brother as he ducked through the door, hoping his parents wouldn't see him.

And I thought about how different everything's become since then. How much better things have gotten. You can walk down the street, you can play in the park, you can go to the movies or the library without having to be afraid that you're going to get hurt.

Johnny Cade's parents changed. They have a son now, 17 years old, one year older than his brother was when he died. He's happy, he has a good life, good parents who loved and cared about him...

I wondered what had changed as I walked down the street. So much had gotten better, except my own life. I stood in the middle of the street, facing my house. The house that I had grown up in, happy and healthy. The house in which it didn't even seem like I was wanted anymore, I was being replaced by a new child my father wasn't happy about, and yet it would finally be his own. My parents were fighting, they could be right now. They probably didn't even notice I wasn't home last night. They were too worried about themselves. Their own marriage. 

Feeling nervous because of all of this, I whirled around and walked towards Faith's house. I peeked in through a window, and everything was dark, so I walked towards the back of the house and knocked on her bedroom window. It took a second, but she opened it.

"Hope?" She asked, yawning. I saw the clock then, it was after 10:00. 

"Can I come in?" I asked. She rubbed her eyes, but moved over to let me in. I climbed through and she went in the closet to get me a blanket and pillow.

"Hope, you can't keep doing this every night," she told me. Something about that broke my heart, although I knew it was true. I took a deep breath. 

"I know," I said, getting comfortable on the floor. I thought about Faith, and our crumbling friendship as I tossed and turned on the cold, hard ground. My eyes filled with tears as I thought about how the two of us used to be as close as sisters, completely inseparable, and yet the first time we fought, I had tried to replace her. 

I tried to replace her. I tried to replace my own best friend after one fight. My cousin. My sister. The person who had been there for me my whole life. I wanted to apologize, I felt like I needed to say something, but I took a deep breath, and found myself speechless. 

"Are you okay?" Faith asked me. Wiping a tear away, I nodded. I didn't want her to see me crying, after I was the one in the wrong. 

"Do you want to come up here?" She asked, scooting over on the bed and patting a spot. Just like when we were kids and we would take naps together.

"I'm fine," I told her. "And Faith? I'll be out of your hair tomorrow." I wasn't sure exactly where I would go, but I had a sort of plan in mind. I wouldn't be coming back to Faith's house. I wouldn't go to mine. I wouldn't be with Eli. I would be all by myself, but I could do it. 

A/N: I wrote this mostly in French and History classes and  I am SO excited for what's to come. Let me know what you think and I will start writing the next chapter R I G H T  N O W !