𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝑔𝒾𝓇𝓁

c h a p t e r 14

nugatory -
of no real value; trifling; worthless

*ponyboy's pov*   
it had been about two weeks since bella has been gone. i wasn't worried. screw that, i actually was very worried.

when we first found out from dally, all of us were trying to get buck to say anything, but he never said a word. it was always, what in the world are you guys talking about? i've never even met the girl.

one night johnny and i went to her house looking through her window. her bed was all neatly made and she was nowhere to be seen in her house.

i went looking around one night and i didn't find her. when dally told us, we didn't quite believe him. but soon we started realizing she wasn't coming over and even some of them went to her house and searched the town a bit.

one evening soda and i even went to go knock on her door. when we did, no one answered. i was mad, afraid, worried, confused, all of the above.

i think we were all worried for her. we all never let a girl come into our gang, like her, but she was different than everyone else. it sounds cliché, but it's true.

she didn't want a boyfriend. she didn't want money. she didn't want anything.

she just wanted to be herself and have everyone like her the way she truly was. i liked that a lot about her, well we all did. i remember the first time seeing her at the dingo with her mother, or as we all called her the devil.

when she was paying and two-bit grabbed her attention, she spun around and showed off her movie star smile, just like the one sodapop had. she waved to all of us and she seemed so sweet.

i swear when we made eye contact, her eyes sparkled. that's when i knew she was going to be someone important to us all.

then the night she came over to dinner, wow. i did not expect some of the stories she had told us about herself when she lived back in california.

she was like us. she had a rough life growing up but pretty much had to push it all aside and fight new battles everyday. either physically or mentally.

i couldn't take it anymore. maybe she had left town to get away from everything but, it has been way too long now.

by now, it has already been three weeks, almost a month.

one morning everyone was at the our house and we were playing cards, eating cake, smoking, and having some beer. then someone knocked.

soda stood up and answered it. it was buck. soda offered him inside and he took the offer. "hey, what you need buck?" dally asked getting up from where he had been sitting.

"have any of you guys seen bella yet?" he asked. suddenly everyone stopped what they were doing and looked towards buck.

"no. we have been trying to figure out where she is." i said concerned. he looked down at his shoes.

"i know where she is." he said. everyone went dead silent. you could even hear a pin drop, that wasn't normal at the curtis'.

"well then where the hell is she?" johnny asked breaking the silence. "windrixville." buck said looking up.

"why is she there?" i asked. "she said she needed to get away for a little while. her and her mom weren't doing well and she didn't want to come here because she felt as if she was intruding. so she asked me if i knew somewhere she could go and i told her. she said the most she would be gone is two weeks. it's been almost a month, so i was thinking of taking a drive up there." he told us.

"well we're all going." i said standing up. everyone stood up and grabbed their blades and i brought mine along as well.

i saw dally putting a heater in his back pocket. god was i scared, not knowing what was going to happen to bella or to any of us.

it was a long drive. we barely said any words to each other. honestly i felt like i wanted to puke any second.

we made a turn onto a dirt road and saw a wooden sign with the name, windrixville.