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

CHAPTER 12

DALLY'S POV:

I can feel the anger in my blood. I can't believe she would go behind my back and date Soda. He's not good enough for her. He'll dump her just like he dumped the rest of the girlfriends he had after Sandy. He's not over her, and he just dates other people to try and numb the pain. He's going to hurt her and I can't let that happen. He's broken too many hearts. I won't let him break Kira's. She's still slung over my shoulder. She stopped trying to fight me a while ago.

I'm much stronger than she is, she knows she can't get away from me. I get to Buck's and walk her up the stairs, still over my shoulder. No one even gives us a second glance, they're all too drunk to see straight. I take her to her room and place her down on the bed. She sits up and glares at me, her eyes cold. "What is wrong with you?" She yells at me.

"Let me explain." I tell her. She just crosses her arms. I sit down next to her, and she scoots away from me. She shoots me a look of pure hatred, and it hurts my heart a bit. Man, when did I become so soft? "You know about Sandy, right?" I ask her. She must have. She goes to school with her. She nods, not saying anything. At least she's listening to me, even if she doesn't speak.

"He's been with a bunch of girls since they broke up. He just uses them to try and get over Sandy, but he just breaks up with them after a few weeks. He's just going to break up with you and break your heart." I tell her. Her glare softens a bit. "No, he really does love me. I can tell, Dal." she says. She uncrosses her arms. "He's the nicest guy I've ever met. I feel something. He won't do that to me." She continues, her eyes looking sad.

"Look, I just don't want you getting hurt." I say. I feel guilty now, but I still know I'm right about Soda. He's a good kid, just heartbroken. "He won't hurt me. You have to trust me." She whispers. I look at her. Then it hits me. I have to let her make her own mistakes. I can't protect her from everything. "Fine. You two can go steady. But don't say I didn't warn you." I say. She smiles big, and she hugs me. I hug her back. Jeez, ever since she got here I really have gone soft. I better not let anyone else know.

"And, if you ever go farther than kissing, I will ground you forever." I tell her. I mean it. She better not do anything else or I will kill Soda. Kira just smirks at me. "How do you know we didn't already do it?" She asks. My eyes go wide. "What? No. No, just no. I'm going to kill him!" I growl. "You are way too young for that! What if you got pregnant?" Kira just laughs at me. "I was joking Dal, calm down." She laughs. I release the breath from my chest. "Thank goodness." I say. "You are way too overprotective!" She chuckles.

"I have to be! You're a girl, guys will try to take advantage of you!" I tell her. She rolls her eyes. "I can protect myself." She says. "Yeah, you're a Winston, of course you can. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to watch over ya." I say, and she smiles. "Fine, I can live with that. I'm going to go call Soda and tell him we got things figured out." She says, and she runs out of the room to go to the phone at the end of the hall. Oh boy. I am going to have to keep a close eye on her and Soda.

SODA'S POV:

I've been sitting in my room for at least an hour. Pony didn't ask what happened, he just let me be alone. I have tears in my eyes, but I hold them back. I love Kira, and Dally is going to force us apart. The door opens, and Pony comes in. "Kira's on the phone for you." He says. I jump up and run to the phone, sliding on the floor in my socks.

I run over and pick up the phone. "Kira?" I ask, out of breath. "Soda, is that you?" she asks. "Yeah, it's me. What happened? Are you okay?" I question. She laughs a bit. "Soda, I'm fine. I talked with Dally and he agreed to let us date." She says, and a smile erupts on my face. "He did?" I ask, surprised. "Yeah. He still thinks you're gonna break my heart, but I know better." Kira says. "I love you, Kira Winston." I say over the phone. I can almost see her smile on the other end of the line. "I love you too, Sodapop Curtis."