This Might Hurt A Little-A Dallas Winston Fanfiction

Bend And Break

Maybe everybody in the whole damn world is scared of each other.-John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men

Dallas didn't get out of bed for two days. And the first time he did get up was to throw up and then he went back to laying down. Memphis and Phoenix wouldn't leave my house. They wanted to help him somehow but, they just didn't get it. Nobody really got it. It wasn't until later that night where Dallas really "woke up."

I had walked into my bedroom, expecting him to still be laying motionless, buried underneath my covers but instead he was sitting up on the end of my bed.

"How many days has it been?" He didn't have to say specifically what he was talking about.

"Two." I answered, trying my best to keep the surprise out of my voice at him speaking.

"You've just been letting me stay here?" He frowned.

I nodded, not sure what to say.

"You shouldn't have done that. I don't deserve that."

His words didn't make sense to me. They still don't.

He could see the confusion on my face, "Don't you get it? I'm the real reason Johnny's dead. I know I blamed it on Ponyboy and all but, this is all on me. You can't help me. It ain't right."

I started to speak but he cut me off, "I ain't good for you, Scarlett."

"Yes you are."

I could see him getting angry, "No I ain't! You think you can just fix people but, you can't! I'm broken, I'm run down, I am ruined! You can't fix me!"

He talked a lot more that day but I don't remember. I was too stunned to even retain the information. He left shortly after, leaving me sitting on the bedroom floor, completely alone. Funny how fast time passes when you're too busy thinking about something. By the time Two-Bit came over, four hours had passed.

"You seen Dallas?" He shouted when he walked in through the front door.

He didn't notice me motionless in the corner for a few seconds. "Hello? Scarlett? Have you gone dumb?"

I blinked and suddenly his face came into focus, "What?"

"I asked if you've seen Dally. He ain't at Bucks or the Curtis's and Steve thinks he's getting into trouble."

I shook my head, "I haven't seen him."

"Well, come help us look then."  I didn't move. "Hey, you alright? You're acting awfully funny."

I couldn't explain to him when I didn't even know what happened. I wasn't sure if Dallas had ended things or just wasn't in the right mind. "I'm fine. I'll help you look."

I had gone looking alone. I knew it was a bad plan at the time but I didn't care. I had assured Darry and Ponyboy that I would be fine. I guess they believed me. I didn't really do much looking. I mostly just walked back up and down the Curtis's street. I figured Dallas would come back to the closest thing he had to a home. I was right.

I heard him before I saw him. He was screaming pretty much every swear word you can think off and knocked over a few trash cans on his runway walk down the sidewalk. When I ran over to him I was attacked by the smell of alcohol that seemed to be leaking from every one of his pores.

He shouted when he saw me, "Hey baby!"

I didn't respond. I grabbed his wrist and pulled him along the sidewalk. I was glad I had stayed by the Curtis's. I don't know what I would have done if we would have been miles away.

"Scarlett, slow down." He whined when I opened the gate for the fence in the Curtis's front yard.

A light flickered on inside.

"Just walk, Dallas." I growled, trying to pull him forward.

He pushed me against the metal fence, the pole digging into my shoulder, "Come on, don't you want to get out of here?"

"Get off me." I said through gritted teeth.

I had hardly any experience with drunk Dallas.  The boys handled him when he was like that, not me.

"Hey, don't fight it." He cooed, running his hands up my sides, "I want you."

"You're drunk." I spit back, "I don't want this."

His hands were grasping my wrists so hard it was starting to get painful.

"What'd you say?" He asked, tilting his head. I heard the danger in his voice.

"I said, I don't want this." I held his eyes, looking for some part of Dallas who was still there.

But, there wasn't any. The person standing in front of me that night wasn't Dallas. It was a drunk and angry boy who I had never encountered before.

He looked away for a moment, "I thought so."

I heard the click of something I had learned by sound long ago. I could see the blade glowing underneath the streetlamp. My heart was racing harder than it ever had. I had seen the damage Dallas could do with a blade first hand. He pressed the blade against my collar bones but, didn't push hard enough to break the skin. It was all about the threat.

"Don't do this..." I managed to get out in between my short breaths. 

I tried to wiggle free but, I couldn't. He had me too tight.

A familiar voice from behind us spoke up, "Dally? Scarlett?"

I looked up to see Darry squinting at us through the darkness. It must have been something on my facial expression because Darry came running over, yanking me away from Dallas so fast it made my head spin.

"Hey! That's my girl!" Dallas shouted, taking a shaky steps towards Darry.

Darry was quick on his feet though. He swung once, hard. Dallas faltered backwards but, didn't fall. Darry turned to me, "Run inside and go upstairs. Lock the door and don't come out."

I didn't question him or even look back when I ran up the porch steps with Dallas shouting from behind me. I slammed the door behind me, twisting the rickety metal lock. I doubt it would have held if Dallas would have made it inside that night. At first there was silence. Later, more voices showed up. I tried to listen to what they were saying but, I couldn't make out words.

A knock at the bedroom door almost sent me flying. "Scar? It's me."

I knew it was Soda. I unlocked it and peered around the corner. He was alone. I opened it up and then shut it almost immediately.

"What happened?" Sodapop stood dumbfounded, his eyes looking at my wrists that were already starting to bruise.

"He's drunk and he pulled out his blade." It was the only explanation I could give.

"He pulled his blade on you?" Soda respected girls. He loved his mom and figured if he came from a woman that he should respect them. Sure, maybe sometimes his flirting went a little too far sometimes but, he would never dare lay his hands on a girl.

I nodded and he sat down next to me on his bed that protested the extra weight. As soon as he sat down I leaned into him and nearly cried so much I made myself sick. Sodapop's familiar arms wrapped around me-the arms that had protected me for nearly a year. He was safe. At that point I wasn't sure if I could handle Dallas. I had given him everything I had at the time. My mom used to always tell me to never stay with someone who scares you. Even if it's just once.