The Outsiders: A New Place

Chapter 4

me and the gang sat down to eat dinner, and im lucky i got what i did because those boys eat like crazy. we ate our dinner and steve brought out a chocolate cake, and it was gone in about five minutes. i cant say i can blame us though, it is really good cake.

nighttime came, and two bit, johnny, and dally all went home while me and steve stayed at the curtis brothers house. i realized i didn't have pajamas, so pony gave me an oversized t-shirt i could sleep in. soda, darry, and ponyboy all said goodnight to me and they headed upstairs. since steve was spending the night here too, and i made him take the floor.

"but why cant i have the couchhh? the couch is so comfyyy." steve said whining.

"because, as far as i have heard, you always have the couch when you come, so now its my turn. and besides, ladies come first."

i smiled and winked at him, and steve just rolled his eyes, grinned, and through a pillow at me. i started laughing and steve laid on the floor. i took my hair out of its ponytail and got comfy on the couch. steve was already asleep, and i didn't really know how one could fall asleep that fast. but i laid on the couch awake, just thinking about how i got here. just forty eight hours ago, i was still living with my mom, fearing about would would happen if i were to come home a second too late. just thirty two hours ago, i ran away.

i wonder if mom misses me. i thought to myself. is she looking for me? does she care?

i felt a single tear just run down my face. i knew she didn't care. i knew she only wanted me to be her human punching bag. all i've ever wanted was a loving relationship with my mom. more tears spilled out of my eyes. luckily, steve was dead asleep so i didn't have to worry about anyone hearing my quiet sobs. after a while, i felt myself slowly drift to sleep, but if i would have know what was waiting for me in my dream, i would have never fallen asleep.

i was running down the street, panting and breathing heavily. something was chasing me, i just didn't know what, but i knew it wanted to kill me. i ran farther and faster, panting at every step, and i ran into dead end. i was now cornered, and whatever was coming after me could easily get me. i heard footsteps approaching, but i still couldn't see what was after me. the footsteps grew louder and faster, i was started to sweat and shake. all of a sudden, the footsteps stopped with a halt. the only sound that filled the air was my heavy breathing. there was a pause, then i slowly saw the figure appear in my view. it was walking slowly, and as the figure got closer, my eyes grew wide at who it was.

it was my dad.

i hadn't seen my dad in years, and i never liked to think of him. he was abusive to me and my mom, and then once he left, my mom took up his habits of beating me. he was the cause of all the pain ive felt in my life, and all of the fear that i still held in me. just looking at him made me hot with rage. but an emotion that overpowered the anger was fear. i was deathly afraid of him, i was afraid of him when i was a three year old, and im afraid of him now. my sweating grew more intense as he slowly inclosed me in.

"no, no, no..." i started whispering. he got closer faster and i started screaming "no" louder, and right before he got me in his grasp, i jolted awake.

i sat up, panting hard. i was sweating something fierce, and my cheeks were hot with tears. i looked around me to see steve, darry, ponyboy, and soda all standing around me with a worried expression. i started crying again. that dream scared me so much, i have never been that scared in my life. i suddenly felt myself engulfed in a hug, realizing from his build that it was soda. he kept one hand on my back and put one hand on the back of my head, saying, "its ok ash, its ok. its all over." tears were no longer running down my face, but my back still heaved with occasional sobs. soda pulled away and ponyboy spoke up. "do you want to talk about it?"