Dallas felt emptiness as he rolled over on the blanket pallet they'd made on the floor. He grumbled something incoherent as he opened his eyes, hoping he'd just rolled too far away from her while he slept. The only person who greeted him as he opened his eyes, however, was Nathan, who was standing shirtless in the kitchen, frying bacon.

"Hey, man," Nathan said as he heard Dallas trying to get up.

"Hey," Dallas replied, that same old frown on his face. "Where...?"

"The girls went down to the beach. I told El I'd make breakfast and I promised Tana you'd get up before noon."

"What time is it?"

Nathan looked down at his wristwatch. "Uhhhh almost ten."

"You didn't wake me?"

"Nah. I figured you'd get up sooner or later."

"I, uh... thanks," the cowboy said awkwardly. Dallas stumbled around until Nathan pointed him in the direction of the bathroom.

Dally stood at the sink and splashed cold water onto his face. He's barely slept all night. All he could think about was how he was supposed to get Tana back to Tulsa. She had to go back. There was no way around it. If she didn't graduate high school, she couldn't do anything.

He knew that all too well, having dropped out before he even got to experience it himself. He knew it sucked for her, but living her life having not finished school and having no real ambition to starting a real life as an adult would suck even more. Tana deserved the best. Maybe Dallas Winston couldn't provide that for her, but he'd damn well make sure to find someone who could.

Dally thought about his old man and Tana's parents. Dallas knew they weren't all that different really. If Tana's parents cared about where she was, it was only because having her around benefitted them.

After a long ten minutes of just standing at the sink, he finally left the bathroom. There wasn't much he could do to convince the girl to go back, but maybe he could take her back without telling her. Perhaps she'd figure it out before they got there, but by then it would be too late for her to put up a fight.

Nathan was finishing up breakfast when Dallas sat back down on the couch. The first thing he noticed was Tana's sketchbook laying on the table. He didn't hesitate to pick it up. His eyes gazed over drawings he'd already seen before he made it to new ones. There were lots more of Sunny, but there were lots more of him, too. She'd added one of Nathan and Elise. This one made his heart drop.

This had been the first time Tana had met people that didn't care about her social status and considered them friends. More importantly, she considered them important enough to her that she included them in with the hundreds of sketches of Dallas and her dog.

"She only draws pictures of things that are important to her," Dallas said.

"Huh?" Nate asked. He'd been humming some country tune.

"There isn't one drawing in here of any of her friends back home. But she's included a picture of you and Elise."

Nathan walked over with two plates in hand. He set them down on the coffee table and leaned over to look at the drawing of him and his wife.

"That's... amazing."

"She's got a natural talent."

"Well, yeah, but I meant how she seems to know people before she really knows them." Dallas gave Nate a look. "How long have y'all known each other? Truly?"

"Not long. A month maybe."

"I could tell. I could tell you didn't know each other. But I could tell she knew you. You've got hard edges and she saw past that. She's the first girl to, isn't she?"

Dallas nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

"Us greasers have it rough, you know. But sometimes, the right person comes along and it doesn't matter what happens to us."

Dally was stunned. "You're a greaser?"

"Was. Used to live in Raleigh. El was a social. She was stuck. I was stuck. Some stupid thing happened and we ended up together. And we've been together ever since. Dropped out of high school, got new names, got married. And we've been here ever since."

Dallas felt nauseous. He couldn't believe it. It sounded too coincidental to be real, but, as he thought about it, El and Nate weren't that much older than Dallas and Tana.

"Are you... happy here?" he managed to choke out.

"Yes," Nate nodded. "I've never been happier. I think if we'd have stayed in Raleigh much longer, we might not have made it out. When you grow tired of someplace, you've got to set yourself free. One way or another. Maybe you run away, maybe you face it head-on.

"For whatever reason, Tana's had it so bad that we've been the best she's had. Especially you. Now we may be in that book of hers, but you're in it more. Maybe you guys will leave and we'll never see each other again, but for some reason, we impacted her so much that we are now an important part of her life."

Dallas swallowed hard. He hadn't felt this emotional since the night Johnny had died. The night the old Dallas died with him. Sure, Dallas was no dramatically changed man. But his heart sure wasn't as cold. And maybe it was a little warm now, too.

Nathan flipped the page. There was a little drawing of Tony. And next to it was a drawing of Jamie. All these people that they'd met at the party last night filled the pages. Tana didn't know more than their first names, and yet they'd made their way into her book with no effort at all.

The book was entirely filled now. How had she drawn all these pictures in one night? He remembered the first night she'd drawn Dallas. She had stayed up all night to finish it. She'd spat these out like a newspaper press. And they were still gallery worthy drawings.

Tana was incredible.

The last drawing in the book came with a photograph, most likely taken on Tana's camera. The drawing was of herself. The only self-portrait in the whole book. The photograph was of her and him getting married, Jamie standing between them and Nathan and Elise off to the sides, serving as the best man and the maid of honor, respectively.

Dallas didn't know what to say.

Meanwhile, Tana, Elise, and Sunny were making their way up the drive.

"It was nice to have someone walk down the beach with," El said, a wide grin on her face. It seemed no matter how much physical activity the girl did, she never seemed to tire out. Maybe Tana was the same when she actually slept.

Tana had been up all night long, determined to add everyone from the party into her book. She didn't know a single one of them personally, but that party had changed her life in a lot of ways. In life, it's okay to slow dance to fast folk music and put all your trust into random strangers. All those people had stories and now they were part of hers.

She knew she could have lived life never knowing them, but she didn't want to know what that was like. Elise and Nathan were especially important to her. It was like they understood.

Elise didn't talk a lot about her past and Tana didn't push her. She had the feeling that they were more alike than they both knew. Somehow the world wanted them to meet. Maybe they would leave and they'd never see each other again. For now, Tana was just happy knowing that there were people like Nathan and Elise that really existed. Maybe the world wasn't all bad. Maybe it was rough in some parts, but others it was all okay.

Tana felt okay. Tana even felt at peace. Not once this whole time at the young couple's suburban home had she thought of Tulsa or her friends or even her parents. Except for the chat she and Dallas had had about her going back. Tana had no intentions on returning to Oklahoma. Who cared if she didn't graduate or go to art school? If she was happy here, why go all the way back to a place where she was just going to be miserable?

No way. Tana was staying right here where she was happy. She and Dallas could get jobs somewhere and save up for their own house. Sunny could have a big yard. Tana would have her own room for art. Dallas could have a place where he could be alone if he needed to be. They'd be happy together.

Of course, all of these things seem much simpler when you're young and naive.

The girls entered the house and were welcomed with the smell of breakfast. Nathan and Dallas were already eating, the boys sitting on opposite ends of the sofa. Sunny laid down on the floor. The blankets had since been cleaned up and there was room to maneuver around the living room now.

"Hey!" El greeted. Nathan sent her a smile, his mouth full of eggs.

Tana took a seat between the guys, making sure to leave room for Elise.

"Breakfast is done. There are eggs and bacon and I made some toast. Squeezed some juice, too."

"I'll get you a plate, Tana," El said.

"Oh, you don't have to."

"Nonsense. I'm getting something to eat anyway."

Tana sent her a smile before turning to Dallas.

"Good morning."

"Mornin'," he replied gruffly.

"Coffee?" Elise called.

"Please," Tana replied.

"How was your walk?" the cowboy asked, eyeing Sunny, who was now fast asleep on the floor.

"It was nice. The weather is perfect for swimming, I think."

"Mm," Dallas said. Tana wanted to question why he was being so weird. Of course, Dally was never the talkative type unless he was riding bulls— which Tana didn't know— but she did know that this was weird behavior, even for him.

Elise brought food over to Tana and the two girls ate. Elise and Nathan chatted happily and Tana tuned in, unaware of what was going through Dallas' head.

***
Rain poured down. Dallas leaned against the railing on the back porch, looking out across the yard.

"This is such weird weather," he could hear Elise say from inside. "It hardly ever rains here."

"It's nice," Tana said, humming thoughtfully. "Sunny doesn't really care for it, but I've always liked the rain."

"Why's that?"

"Just the sounds. The smell. It's refreshing. Kinda washes away everything so we can start over."

"Hmm," said Elise. "You should write poetry."

Tana smiled sheepishly. Her gaze wandered outside to where Dallas was standing, back facing them. He'd been quiet all day. Tana didn't know how to approach him when he was like this. She figured maybe just let him think for a while and he'll come to her? She had no idea what was going on in his head, but she figured, whatever it was, was really bothering him.

It was early when Nathan and Elise retired to bed. Dallas had finally come inside so the two could set up their blanket pallet again. Tana laid down on top of the blankets. The rain had stopped, leaving the air sticky and humid.

"Are you okay?" Tana asked. Dallas just shrugged. He was laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling. "Please talk to me."

Dallas rolled onto his side, finally looking at Tana. Her eyebrows were scrunched together and her usually bright blue eyes seemed to be a dark grey. Something was bothering her.

"Are you okay?" Dallas asked.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you're not."

"I've just been thinking a lot today."

"What about?"

"You."

"Why?"

"Because... because I want you to go back to Tulsa."

"Why?"

"You need to finish high school so you can go to art school. You can build a great, successful life for yourself."

"What about you?"

Dallas shook his head. "I'll always be with you."

"So you're not going to go back with me?"

Dallas sighed. "I don't think so."

"Why can't we just stay here? We can grow old together. We can be like Nathan and Elise."

"We're not them. I know they're happy here, but there's something different for us."

"Do you regret marrying me? Do you regret all of this?"

"No," Dally said quickly. "I don't regret any of it."

"Then why are you acting like we can't last? Like we can't do what the whole world doesn't want us to do?"

Dallas breathed in. "Because I love you. I want you to have a good life. I know you hate it in Tulsa, but if you just push through... Nine months. Nine more months of school and then you can get out and you can go and do and be whatever you want to."

"I've already gotten out."

Dallas shook his head. "No. Not like this. You can go on and put paintings in museums. You can become an art teacher at a college. You can do whatever you want to do. After you finish high school. You have to finish school."

A small tear slipped silently down Tana's cheek. Silence filled the room.

Dally was almost asleep when Tana said, "fine. I'll go back."