Tana couldn't wipe the angry look off her face when her parents strolled in late in the afternoon the next day. Her mother grabbed her up in a strangling hug, crying and sniffling while she did.

"Oh, Tana, baby! We missed you so much! We've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Where have you been, girl?" her father asked when Joy finally allowed Tana to breathe.

"LA," she replied simply.

"What the hell were you doing there?"

"Having the time of my life," Tana grinned. Her father was angry. He was so angry, he hadn't bothered with the hysterics.

"We are going straight home," Joy nodded. "You can have a bath at home and— oh, honey! Your hair! What happened to your beautiful long hair?" Joy looked like she was about to start crying again. LA didn't faze her, but the short hair was just too much.

"I cut it," said Tana happily. "Don't you like it?" Joy grimaced.

"I suppose I'll have to get used to it," she sighed. Her tears were already dry. Tana rolled her eyes.

"Where's this Dallas Winston at?" said David. "I'd like to give him a piece of my mind."

"Forget it, Dad," Tana said. "They've already shipped him off to Tulsa. If you want to yell at him, it's too late."

David sighed and nodded. He must have noticed Douglas' watchful gaze because he turned to his daughter. "I guess what's important now is making sure we get you home safe."

Tana rolled her eyes and looked to Sheriff Douglas, who was watching the parents very closely.

"Mr. and Mrs. Thompson," he addressed. "Would you mind if I had a word with you both for a moment?" David and Joy nodded.

"Tana, you're welcome to take Sunny on a walk." Tana nodded.

Once her parents' heads were turned, she mouthed, thank you to Douglas. He sent her a small smile before she stepped out the door with Sunny. The duo made their way outside and they walked around the building a few times.

This was the first time since the beginning of summer that she felt alone.

Tana sat down on the curb and Sunny took a seat next to her. "What are we gonna do now, buddy?"

Sunny leaned his head into her shoulder, something he did to sort of comfort his human. Sunny was a very smart dog; he always seemed to know when Tana was sad or angry. He'd definitely taken notice in the absence of her good mood now that the man with the blonde hair was gone. Sunny has trusted him because his human had trusted him and he didn't understand, but something had happened to make him leave and now she was upset.

Sunny gave her a gentle kiss on her cheek.

"You're a good boy," Tana cooed, smiling at her dog. "You're a very good boy." Sunny thumped his tail, happy to see that a little of her sorrow had lifted. He didn't understand it. Humans are complex creatures.

***

The car ride with her mother mostly consisted of Joy going on and on about how things were going to change once they got home. She was going to become a stay-at-home mom and be there for Tana more while David ran the business. She knew all this had to do with whatever Sheriff Douglas had talked to her parents about. She was just glad she wasn't riding in her own car with her father. He'd be yelling about all kinds of things and not making a lick of sense.

If Tana didn't know any better, she might have thought her mother was being genuine about being there for her daughter more. But she knew things weren't going to change, not with her parents at least. They would always be narcissistic and obsessed with work. Tana had grown up needing her parents so bad and now that her mother was offering to give up everything just to spend a little time with her, she didn't want them. If it took her going across the country for them to realize they should be more watchful of their own child, Tana didn't want them. They'd have to go out of their way to make sure Tana had the basic necessities. 

The young girl thought about how free she'd been with Dallas, Nathan, and Elise. Staying up late, listening to Tony play music; cooking dinner with Elise and waking up to Nathan fixing breakfast; walking on the beach with Sunny; sleeping on the floor with the one person she was sure she was in love with... she wouldn't have ever traded that for anything.

If it was up to her she would have stayed, but, if it would fix things with Dallas, she would go back to school and graduate. And maybe, just maybe, she would go on to art school and she could have all those drawings of Sunny and Dallas hanging up in a museum one day.

And she would always hold onto that sliver of hope that she and Dallas would return to LA and see Elise and Nathan again. And they could have a real wedding where Tony would play music.

"Mom?" Tana said, completely interrupting her mother. She hadn't been listening to a thing Joy was saying, anyway. She kept fiddling with Dallas' ring.

"Yes, baby doll?" Tana's heart fell at the sound of the nickname. Doll belonged to Dallas.

"Mom... I want to go to art school," Tana said.

Joy snorted like she couldn't believe it. "Art school? For what?"

"Foooor art," Tana said.

"When have you ever drawn?"

Tana became so angry she almost couldn't contain herself.

"Mother," Tana said. Her mother seemed surprised by the harshness in her voice. "Do you seriously not know me? I've been drawing since I was old enough to hold a pencil."

"Honey, where is art school going to take you in life? You can go to school and become a lawyer. You can run the family business—"

"It's not the family business. It never was. It's your business. I don't want anything to do with it once I graduate. I want to go to art school in Chicago. I want to be my own person. I don't want to live in your and dad's shadows anymore. I don't want people to be friends with me just because of my name or my financial status. I want people to know me."

"We do know you, honey," Joy said gently.

Tana shook her head. "No, you don't. You don't get to question my artistic interest and then go on to tell me that you know me. I bet you and dad didn't even realize I was gone."

Joy gulped. She'd been caught.

"Who told you I was missing?" Tana asked, air-quoting the word 'missing'.

Joy took a deep breath. "June," was all she said before the whole car was silent again.

Of course it was June. Because of all the people on the rich side of Tulsa that knew Tana, June was the one that actually cared about her. And, for the first time, she realized she had missed June. She realized how much June actually meant to her.

She owed June an apology.

T U L S A

Tulsa seemed smaller, like a little toy town. There were kids out riding bikes. She could see some greasers walking down the street, one of them she recognized as Ponyboy Curtis. He had a Pepsi in his hand and seemed like he was on his own planet. He looked like he couldn't hurt a fly. She thought about how she would pull over and talk to him if she was driving. But she wasn't.

Joy finally pulled into the driveway. It was midday, lunchtime. Tana wasn't hungry. She couldn't bring herself to eat. Without a word to her mother, Tana led Sunny inside the house and upstairs to her bedroom.

It was the same as how she'd left it. She wondered if anyone had bothered to look through her things.

Sunny took his usual spot on Tana's bed, making sure to kick the blankets up to make himself comfortable.

Tana laid down next to him and fell asleep. She dreamed of LA, of Dallas, Nathan and Elise, Sunny running down the coast, she even dreamed of all those nights she and Dally spent sleeping in her car or in a motel... all those things that happened over the summer that made her feel happy.

She wanted to be back in that hotel in Texas drinking beer and eating pizza; it was the first night she'd drawn Dallas. It was the first night she figured out that Dallas wasn't the bad guy he tried to paint himself up to be.

When Tana woke up, the room was dark. She could smell something cooking downstairs. She still wasn't hungry.

Groaning, she stumbled out of bed and toward the light switch. Her room lit up and she noticed her bag on the floor next to the door. Her dad must have brought it in. For the next half hour, she put her things away. Once she was done, she shoved her bag back in the closet where she kept it.

She couldn't help but feel like she was missing something, but she was too tired to really care. A knock on the door caught her off-guard. Tana opened to door to reveal June standing there, red hair and a light expression like always.

"Hey," she said.

For the first time in a long time, Tana threw her arms around June.

"I missed you," she said.

"I missed you, too," June replied. Her expression fell and she shoved Tana away. "Don't ever leave like that again. I was worried sick! You're an idiot, Tana. You really are."

"I'm sorry," Tana said, and she meant it. "I was just so sick of this place."

June nodded, wiping a few tears away. "I know. But I was worried. I'm sorry I told your parents, but I really was worried. You'd been weird that whole day and... I thought maybe you'd hurt yourself or--"

By now, June was actually sobbing. Tana brought the girl back into a tight embrace.

"I'm so sorry. I'm not mad about you telling my parents. I realized if you hadn't, they probably would have never realized I was even gone."

"The other girls... they didn't think anything was wrong."

"They don't know me like you do," Tana said.

June rubbed at her eyes, completely ruining her mascara. The girl didn't seem to care. 

"I'm just glad you're home."

Tana nodded. "I have a lot to tell you."