My eyes flickered up to Christina as she shuffled through her cards secretively. I watched carefully and intently as she switched them around. Her sunglasses were slowly falling down her nose, revealing her pale green eyes. When Chrissy finally met my eyes, she pushed her sunglasses back up and folded her cards into one pile, placing them down on the table beside my bed. She sat up from her slouched position and smirked. "I have a proposition," she said with confidence. I quirked a brow, waiting for her to continue. "If I win, I get your pudding.. but if you win, you get my pudding."

I chuckled and shook my head. "The pudding here tastes awful," I replied with an eye roll.

"Oh, come on! It's not that bad," Chrissy reasoned. I gave her a look that said otherwise and she gave in with a huff. "Okay, you're right. It's pretty shit."

"Why don't we up the stakes?" I asked mischievously. I loved all types of bets and gambling, but I only played if I knew I could win, which I always found a way.

Chrissy raised her eyebrows as her smile grew. "I like where your heads at. What're you proposing?"

"The cafeteria sells ice cream on Saturday's," I said. "Whoever loses has to pay for the next two weeks."

Chrissy grinned and nodded her head excitedly. "Alright! You're on. I've been dying for strawberry all week," she exclaimed.

I cringed as I replied, "Strawberry is the worst flavor. When I win, I'm gettin' mint chocolate chip."

Chrissy laughed and picked up her cards again. "We'll see about that," she said. I watched as she sprawled out her cards on the table. "I got twenty," she stated.

I sighed and faked a frown until I also placed my cards on the table, revealing my victory. "Twenty-one." Chrissy's eyes went wide as she stood up and leaned over the table to get a better look at my cards. She shook her head in disbelief. "I'll have two scoops," I said cockily.

"Damn it," she muttered. Chrissy stood up fully and pushed her chair away, beginning to make her way out of the room and to the cafeteria in defeat. When she was out of sight, I smirked smugly and pulled cards out of my sleeve that I had hidden there while shuffling the deck. It was an old trick I had learned from Todd. It's how he always beat John in any card game.

I reshuffled the cards and placed them in a stack, wrapping a rubber band around it neatly. As I pushed my bedside table away I heard a soft knock from the door of the hospital room. At first, I thought it was Dallas, but when I glanced over, Sodapop and Evie stood in the doorframe with sad looks on their faces. Though I wasn't expecting them to be here, I still sent them a small smile that they tried to return but couldn't. Now, I knew something was wrong. I'd never seen Soda so upset before, and Evie was always so strong when something bad happened. The pair slowly walked over to me. Evie pulled up the chair beside me that Chrissy was just sitting on, while Sodapop stood next to her.

"Hey, Diana," Evie started. "How are you feeling?" She asked.

I shrugged. "I'm alright." Evie nodded shortly and glanced towards Sodapop, who was staring at the ground.

"Pony told me that Sandy was here a few days ago," he said with sadness in his voice. I sighed. I knew where this was going to go. Ever since Sandy left and tasked me with telling her best friend and her ex-boyfriend about her departure, I had been trying to figure out a way to break the news to them. I had never had to do something like this before. As much as I missed Sandy and was grateful for her friendship, I was angry at her for leaving like this. Leaving me with this problem to tell my friends about. How could she just.. runaway from here? She had friends that loved and cared about her. She had a life in Tulsa that she enjoyed. I guess I'm kind of a hypocrite for talking about her and what happened considering I also ran away from my own home, but I keep trying to convince myself that what I did was something necessary and different. I just hoped that Sandy is able to start over and find new friends in Florida like I did in Tulsa.

"She was here," I said.

Sodapop looked up and met my eyes. He had a hopeful look on his face, and I hated that I was about to break his heart. "Did she say anything? Evie and I haven't seen her for days," Sodapop said.

I glanced between the two. "Sandy left.."

Evie had a confused look on her face. "What?" She asked. It was clear that Evie had no idea about her cheating and pregnancy. I couldn't believe that Sandy didn't tell her, let alone myself. They were the closer of the two, so it would've made sense if Evie had some type of insight.

"After you guys left the other day, Sandy came back and told me that she was leaving Tulsa," I explained.

Sodapop's eyes were glassy, but he was trying to hold back the tears in his eyes. I think he already knew this information, but needed someone else to confirm that it was true.

"Where did she go?" Evie asked. She couldn't understand why her best friend left without any word or mention of it to her. Maybe this is how Erica felt when Todd had to tell her that I left. We weren't best friends, but we both knew that we were all each other got.

"She went to Florida," I replied. "To live with her grandparents for awhile." Evie nodded. Although she still didn't fully understand what had happened to the blonde, she was somewhat content with the answer she got.

"Is she coming back?" Evie asked. I just shrugged, not knowing the answer. Who knew if she'd ever come back.

"I should go after her," Sodapop said, his glassy eyes held a look of determination now.

"I don't think that's a good idea," I said softly.

Sodapop ignored me though. "If I can find her, I can make things right," he said, becoming more hopeful. I could tell that he was hurting. He refused to believe that this was the end of him and Sandy. I could almost feel his pain as a single tear slowly rolled down his cheek. Sodapop looked up at me and said, "I can help her."

I shook my head, no. "I don't think so, Soda." Another tear fell off his face. I frowned and felt my own eyes becoming glassy, but I blinked the tears away. I had to be strong for him. I couldn't cry. I hate crying.

"She's gone.. isn't she?" Soda said. His voice cracked slightly and his face was full of defeat.

I bit the inside of my cheek. I could taste blood. "Yeah.. she is." Evie held her head lowly as she fiddled with her fingers, unsure of what to do with herself.

I held my arms out for him and he slowly leaned in for a hug. His chin was placed in the crook of my shoulder and I could hear him sniffling, trying his best to keep the tears back. "Do you think she'll be okay?" He asked, still holding onto me.

I closed my eyes. In all honesty, I wasn't sure if Sandy was okay, but I knew I had to make sure that Sodapop was. "I think she'll be fine," I said. My voice had never felt so small. Sodapop nodded his head and pulled away from our embrace. "You'll be okay too."

Soda tried his best to smile. "Thanks Diana," he said, his voice was shaky.

Evie reached out and grabbed my hand, squeezing it softly as she frowned. The two of them remained silent before they said their goodbyes and left. I sat in my room alone with my thoughts. I felt so overwhelmed with everything that was going on in my life. I felt like I was drowning in a sea of all sorts of emotions, and I needed someone to pull me out before I became too suffocated by the stress and guilt of it all.

"Diana?"

I looked up to see Dallas walking over to me. He sat on the side of my bed with a concerned look on his face. He didn't say anything else. Instead, he pulled me in for a hug, wrapping his arms around me carefully. Dally's head wrested on top of my own as he rubbed comforting circles into my back. "You're okay," he said, and that was all I needed to hear.