SODA WAS DRESSED in a suit and was fixing his tie in the mirror. I smoothed out my red dress, and looked at my hair again in the mirror.   

Soda wrapped his arms around my waist and planted a kiss on my cheek. It was the day after Christmas, and Liam invited Soda, Sarah, Steve, and me to a Christmas party at the bar. Darry told me he wouldn't mind watching the kids, so I dropped them off with him and Ponyboy. 

"You look great, Blue." He whispered in my ear and chills ran down my spine. I chuckled, "You know, you're making it really hard for me not to kiss you on the lips."

He smirked, "In that case, I'm going to keep doing it."

I giggled and walked out of the bedroom. We walked on the porch, but before we left I bent down. "Bent!" I called and you could hear his paws running across the hardwood floor.

"Give me kisses." I cooed and Bent licked my face, making me laugh. I ruffled his fur and planted a kiss on his head. Once I closed the door, Soda, was shaking his head, laughing. "You love that dog more than me."

I scoffed, "Duh, is that even a question? Of course I love Bent more than you. He didn't leave me for a hoe like you did."

He sighed. "You're never going to let that go, huh?" 

I shook my head. "Never in a million years."

When we arrived at the bar, there were tons of people there. "Liam must have a lot of friends." I mumbled and Soda nodded in agreement. Dally and Kelly walked out of the car together and I flashed them a smile. "Kelly, I didn't expect to see you here!"

She pulled me into a hug and caught me by surprise. Kelly giving me a hug? I knitted my eyebrows in confusion and awkwardly patted her back. They went inside and I heard a familiar voice call my name. I snapped my head around and started grinning from ear to ear. "Colton!"

He twirled me around, causing me to giggle. Once he put me down I was faced with a confusing looking Soda. "Soda, this is Colton. He's my partner at the hospital. Colton, you've heard about Soda. We're dating again."

Colton looked like he saw a ghost. "You two are back together?"

We nodded and Soda put his arms around my waist protectively. Colton shook Soda's hand and then entered inside the bar. We were about to walk in when he heard Two-Bit holler, "FREE BEER!"

We started chuckling and immediately spotted Steve and Sarah at the table talking to Liam. I sat beside Sarah and Soda sat beside Steve. I had to reach over the table to give Liam a hug and he smiled at me proudly. "I'm proud of you, Skylar. You haven't been here in a week. Although, I have to say I do miss having talks with you." 

I started laughing and shook my head. "I'll try and visit you, but I'm a busy woman. You know how it is."

"Yeah, busy with Soda." Steve remarked and I slapped him in the shoulder, causing Sarah to giggle. 

Liam laughed along with them and started cleaning off a shot glass. "The usual, Skye?" I nodded and watched as he poured me a glass of whiskey, sliding it across the table until I grasped my hand around the cold glass. I tipped the glass upwards, letting the whiskey travel down my throat, bringing back terrible memories.

When I sat the glass down, I shook away my thoughts, pushing them in a chest at the back of my brain. Sarah laid her shoulder on me, "You okay? You seem a little out of it today."

I shrugged and watched as she downed a shot of tequila. "I don't know.. I'm just not in the mood to party today."

Her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her skull. "THE Skylar Winston not wanting to party? What's wrong with you?"

"Her motherly instincts are kicking in. She probably wants to be back home with the kids." Dally spoke as he came from behind me. 

"Nah, I think it's those long nights working at the hospital," Kelly added, "it can make a person so exhausted."

I rolled my eyes and felt myself getting pissed off. "Can you guys just leave me the hell alone? All I said was I'm not in the mood to drink and act like an idiot all night." 

They all looked taken aback, especially Sarah. I haven't talked like that to her in a serious way. Other times, I always joke, but I was being serious this time. "Well... then just go home." Sarah snapped. 

I shook my head while laughing sarcastically. I spotted Colton across the room and walked over to him. I sat across from him and he scrunched his eyebrows. "What's up with you?"

I shrugged. "They're being rude. Plus, Soda is too busy talking to Steve."

He nodded and raised his arms out, "Well, welcome to the nerd table. Meet my friends- oh wait, nobody is sitting here with me except you."

I busted out laughing and Colton cracked a grin. "I think I'm just about to go home. The last thing I need is a hangover at work with pissy patients." I nodded in agreement. "Trust me, I would, but I can't leave Soda here. And who knows how long he'll be here."

Colton chuckled and stood up, patting me on the back. "Sorry to leave you, but go over there and talk to Soda. I'm sure he wants to talk to you."

I shot Colton a small grin and watched as he exited the bar. I walked slowly over to Soda and sat beside him. He turned around and when he saw me, his face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Hey, baby." He spoke softly and planted a kiss on my temple. 

I smiled back and he frowned. "What's wrong?" 

I shook my head. "I just have this weird feeling. I don't know what it is."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Are your motherly instincts kicking in? Or are your doctor instincts kicking in?" 

I took a deep breath and pointed over at Dally. "My sister instincts are kicking in along with my doctor instincts." 

Dallas was over at the end of the bar with Bob. They look like they are in a heated argument, and I have a bad feeling something bad is about to happen. Soda turned back towards me, worry sketched on his face. "You don't think....."

I nodded my head yes and watched as they both walked outside of the bar. "I'm going out there." I spoke as I pulled out my switchblade. 

"No, Blue. I don't want you getting h-" 

Gun shots sounded from outside of the bar and I heard someone scream. I dashed out of the bar, and when I got outside, I started shouting. "SOMEONE CALL 911 NOW!" 

I ran in my car and grabbed out the first aid kit. I grabbed the bandage out of the kit and started wrapping it around the wound. "Skye...."

"Shhhh, everything is going to be okay, Dally, I promise. The ambulance is going to get here as soon as they can." 

//

Hope y'all had a great Fourth of July!