They Are There For Me (book 3 of Running Towards Home series)

CHAPTER 8

KIRA'S POV:

I wake up to the sound of the bar below. It gets busy early. I stretch and blink the sleep away from my eyes. I get up and grab a change of clothes. I change into a white crop top with blue shorts, a comfy outfit. I go to the bathroom and brush my teeth and hair. My face has a few bruises, but it's not too bad. I put on some lipstick like usual and a little concealer to cover the bruises, but don't do any more makeup than that.

I walk down the hall to Dally's room to see if he's awake. His door is open, and I peak in. He's sitting on his bed, looking at something. I knock and walk in. "Mornin', Dal." I say, smiling. "How ya feeling?" He asks me. I just shrug. I ache a bit but it's not terrible. "I got you something. It's nothing big, but clearly you need it." He tells me.

He pulls out a switchblade with a blue handle. It's beautiful. He hands it to me, and I hold it in my hands. "Thanks Dal!" I say, hugging him. He tenses up, but he hugs back. I release him, and put the blade in my pocket. "I'm gonna head to the Curtis's for breakfast." I say. "Not alone, you're not." He tells me. I roll my eyes, but I don't argue. I could use the company.

We walk to the house, and come inside without knocking. The house is already chaotic. Two-Bit is sitting in front of the TV watching Mickey Mouse, Steve and Soda are arm wrestling, Pony and Johnny are eating eggs, Sam is trying to clean eggs off the couch, and Darry is trying to get everyone under control. "Good morning, everyone." I say in a sing-song voice. Pony waves at me, and everyone else just mumbles their greetings.

I go to the kitchen and grab some eggs and bacon. Most of it is gone, but there's enough for Dallas and me. I make myself a plate and sit down in the living room. Soda comes over to me, rubbing his wrist. I assume he must have lost, since Steve is mocking him. "Hey, how ya doing?" He asks me, a concerned look on his face.

"I'm okay. It's not the first time I've been in a fight." I remind him. He smiles at me, and I smile back. Steve tries to change the TV channel, but Two whines and Steve turns back to Mickey Mouse. "So what are we gonna do today?" I ask the gang. "Something illegal." Two-Bit suggests. Darry shoots him a glare, and he says "Something not illegal."

"We could go and play some football at the lot." Sam suggests, and everyone agrees. I suck at football, but it will be fun to play with the gang. When everyone is ready, we head over to the lot. We divide into teams. I'm on a team with Soda, Dally, Johnny, and Steve. The other team is Two-Bit, Pony, Sam, and Darry. We start to play.

Darry is an amazing player, and he scores multiple touchdowns. I, on the other hand, am terrible at this game and miss almost every throw. We're about to try and make another touchdown. Dally illustrates a strategy, one that ends with me catching the ball in the end zone. "I don't know..." I say. "You'll be fine." Steve says, and that seems to settle it.

I get in my position in the end zone, and wait for the throw. Dally dodges, throwing to Steve, who throws it to Johnny, who throws it to Soda, and then he throws it to me. I jump, my hands meeting the ball. I grab it, pulling it down with me. I caught it! We scored! Soda comes running over, and he lifts me up in a hug and spins me in a circle. We both laugh, and he lets me down. I blush, and so does he. The rest of the gang runs over to us. "Nice job!" Pony congratulates me. Soda is still smiling at me, and I smile back. He's really cute with his hair a mess and a big smile on his face. Oh no. I think I have a crush on Sodapop Curtis.