Porcelain

Chapter 14

Estelle whipped her head from Johnny, to Ponyboy, to the door Dally just ran out of.

She clenched her jaw. She knew first hand the crazy and irrational things people did when they lost people they loved. She hesitated just a moment to make sure that Ponyboy was as okay as he could be, before sprinting out the door after Dally.

She got out of the hospital doors just in time to see him pulling out in Buck's car, tires squealing.

She sighed. Nothing good was going to come out of this. She sprinted after him, taking shortcuts through properties where he turned corners. This lead her to a nearby grocery store, where Dally burst in, gun in hand.

She choked back a sob. She knew exactly what he was going to do. She was about to lose him too. Not him. Not now. This was it. Either she did every last thing in her power to stop him, or she died trying along with him.

By the time he was out, his arms full of random items and his hands full with a gun, she figured the cops were already after him.

He stopped briefly at a phone booth.

"I ain't got much time, I just robbed a store and the fuzz're after me. I'll be at the lot in a moment," he barked out before slamming the phone back down in the receiver.

The lot. One of the places that started this whole story was going to end it all, too.

Estelle hoped that Babydoll's reputation would hold up this once, that she was going to be able to run fast enough to get there before Dally. The gang was going to be there shortly too, she had to be fast.

She skidded to a stop as she arrived, and a few seconds later the gang was there as well, then Dally with the cops hard on his tail.

He jerked the gun from his waistband, and Estelle sprinted like nothing else mattered, because nothing else did.

Time slowed down. As his arms raised the gun, in that same moment her body collided with his, tackling him to the ground. The sound of guns rang out into the night as bullets zipped past them, one so close that she felt it whizz past her faster than anything, burning her cheek.

In the milliseconds he was distracted and stunned, she kicked the gun out of his hand and towards the police, to do with whatever they wanted.

Time seemed to take forever as he stared at her, angry betrayal in his eyes.

"You of all people should get it! You stupid fucking bitch! You can't even let me have this?" He screamed, kicking at her.

She smiled, tears falling from her eyes. She shook her head no. "I'm sorry. But I can't, not yet. Maybe it's selfish of me. But no. I can't," she whispered, before her hand connected with his head, effectively knocking him out.

The cops now had their guns trained on her. The gang stood off to the side, silent.

She slowly stood up, hands raised in the air. "It's okay. I'm not gonna try anything. But, but one of our best friends, the one in the paper, he just died. Dally didn't rob that store, didn't pull out the gun to hurt anyone but him. He came here to die," she said, voice wavering. "Take the gun. Do whatever you want with it. It ain't loaded. I promise. But this one time. Let. Us. Go." She said firmly.

The night was silent. No one moved. But slowly, the cops lowered their guns, and although there was still clear tension in the air, everyone took a breath of relief.

"He's still gotta pay for the damage he's done," one of the cops said gruffly.

"Does it have to be with jail time? Because it don't look like he took too much. I probably can pay for that in cash."

"Then you'd better pay up pretty quick, or your little friend is heading back off to jail, this ain't our first rodeo."

"Yeah, well, you also just tried to kill him. My face is still bleeding. So if we could make this quick and keep this small, that would be great," she snapped, still using the lower, huskier voice of Babydoll.

"Whatever, just pass it here, kid."

Hands visible, she slowly reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a black wallet, from which she pulled a $10 bill and offered it to the cop.

"And where'd you get this?" He asked suspiciously.

She scowled. Now she had to bullshit an answer and sell it. "Darry Curtis, sir. He lent me the money, with the promise that I'd usd it for food since otherwise I won't be able to afford to eat and I didn't think I was gonna be able to stop by for meals. I just hadn't gotten to use it yet, $10 is a lot of money, I don't wanna use it badly."

The cop seemed to believe it well enough. He looked just as tired as they did. "Thank you," she whispered as they turned to leave.

The gang finally rushed forward, lead by Darry himself. The adrenaline was wearing off though, and Estelle started to shake. Darry was intimidating when he wanted to be.