darlin' || the outsiders

12

dallas winston

the air was cold. it was going to rain that day; the wind was getting stronger. i had my arm around elsie tightly, and checked my watch. 4:24 am. we finally made it to buck's, where i live. i unlocked the door with the key i always keep in my zip-up pocket on my leather jacket. we stepped inside and buck was knocked out on the couch, a single shot glass on the coffee table in front of him. it smelled like weed and alcohol in the room, even i couldn't stand the smell; and i can handle a lot.

i brought elsie upstairs to my room. it wasn't anything perfect, but elsie had been here before. i had my bedroom and my own bathroom, the kitchen being down the hall.

"dallas?" elsie said quietly, sitting down on my bed. i turned around to face her, kicking my boots off and going to sit next to her.

"yes?" i replied, moving her hair out of her face.

"i'm scared." she looked at me, her eyes began selling with tears. i wrapped my hands around her head from her cheeks and pulled her in, kissing her lips.

"don't be." i whispered, our lips only inches apart. "we won't let anything happen to you.".

a small smile grew across her lips. i stood up and grabbed her a water bottle from the package in my room. buck had gotten me a 36 pack of ice mountain water bottles, probably from costco or something.

"thank you, dally." she said, reaching her hand out to take the bottle. i could hear the nerves in her voice. it was shaky and high. i was convinced if her voice got higher it would crack, like a teenage boy going through puberty.

i looked into the mirror that hung on my door, seeing elsie take a long sip from the water. she was getting more anxious every second that she sat in that room.

"dallas, i think i'm gonna throw up." she stood up and walked into my bathroom and got on her knees. i felt bad for her. i've seen johnny throw up because his anxiety was so bad before.

she sat there vomiting into the toilet bowl for a good ten minutes. to the point she was gagging; like she had thrown up everything she had in her system. i was holding her hair up behind her, like she had just drank too much.

just then, there was a knock on the door. i dropped elsie's hair, opening my bedroom door. buck didn't budge so i ran downstairs and slowly opened the door.

"yeah?" i asked, getting tired. i had the smell of whiskey on me, trying to make it seem like i was drunk.

"have you seen my daughter?" he asked, holding a polaroid photo of elsie. i shook my head, smirking.

"no, but she sure is a doll." i giggled, contemplating closing the door and ending it there.

"i know she's here, so please, if you see her can you call me?" he handed me a slip of paper. i nodded and shut the door, leaving him on my doorstep.

••••

donovan lock

i was standing in front of this gentleman's door, breathing heavily. when i found elsie, it would be all over for her. i read my watch, 6:30 am. i wiped my hand on my forehead. i was all sweaty from getting in and out of my car 100 times that night.

"elsie?" i yelled out into the street. i knew people would come out if i got their attention. i went to the back of my car and grabbed a small paper bag from my car.

••••

elsie lock

i was on the floor of dallas' bathroom, feeling like i was being stabbed in the stomach. i kept hearing yelling outside, so dallas and i got up and walked to the window. i was holding the small trash can that was full of cigarette butts next to me. we glanced out the window at my father who was standing in the middle of the street.

"i will kill every person in the house if you don't come out." he pulled his pistol out of the brown bag. dallas looked at me and frowned.

"dally?" i whimpered. "you told him?".

"no!" dallas opened the window and poked his head out. "hey man, i gotta work. shut the hell up, get out. i will call the police. your kid isn't here.".

he shut the window and i leaned my head on his shoulder. i knew i couldn't throw up anymore, but my stomach still felt like it was being torn into pieces very, very slowly.

••••

i felt like i heard screaming from outside the house for hours. it maybe had only been 20 minutes. i was still laying on dallas' shoulder when i started to break down. i felt like i was going to pass out from the pain.

i knew i was extremely close to snapping and i don't know what would finally tip me over the edge and send me into a spiraling fit.

i kept hearing my dad scream at the top of his lungs.

"dallas i have to go talk to him." i whispered. he glared at me and wrapped his arms around my small shoulders.

"no, el." he said, looking back outside. "he's obviously mentally ill. i can't put you out there with him.".

i looked at my dad who was standing outside, the black pistol in his right hand. i knew if i snuck down and opened the door at random, he'd get scared and shoot me dead right there. i frowned and shrugged my shoulders, pushing dallas' arm off me.

"let me go, dally. i promise i'll be okay." i whispered. i put my hand against his cheek and leaned in to kiss him one more time.

"elsie, please." he was still sitting on the floor when i stood up. i walked out his bedroom door and down to the front door, seeing that buck was still knocked the hell out. i had already begun shaking before my hand even hit the doorknob. i couldn't face him, but i had to. i couldn't breathe at all.

i turned the doorknob slowly and opened the door, causing the man who should be my father turn to face me. my heart raced like i had just ran a mile.

the man who should've loved me and cared for me was standing there, gun in hand-

pointing directly at me. hand on the trigger.
••••

word count: 1101