11:55, outside the Davis' house
Mark and Roger were standing out in front, staring at Randy's window. Her light flipped on and they saw her face peer through the window. Even at a distance, her smile melted Mark's heart. He watched her window open and a large duffle bag get tossed out. Then she climbed out and down the lattice and ivy that crawled up the wall. She picked up her bag, checked the scene to make sure no one else was watching, and ran over to the boys, strait into Mark's arms.
"I can't believe we're finally getting out of here," she whispered. Mark nodded and put a hand on the back of her head, pulling her closer.
"Guys!" Roger hissed, "You guys can get cozy later. Let's get out of here first." The two nodded and followed Roger down the street. Inside the Cohen's house, Mrs. Cohen was knitting something that may have been a sweater or a scarf. It was hard to tell. Mr. Cohen was sitting in the reclining chair Maureen often occupied when the kids took over the house, reading a book. Randy breathed a sigh. This was the normal suburban family scene she had always imagined. She just hoped they would accept her.
"Mom?" Mark asked, "Remember you said Roger and Randy could stay here anytime?"
"Yeah," Mrs. Cohen looked up, concerned, "I thought you were staying over there tonight, though."
"I was, but we need to tell you something."
After a good hour and a half of explaining what the Davis kids considered "normal family life," Mr. and Mrs. Cohen looked even more concerned. "Well, we can't let this go on," Mr. Cohen said decidedly, "Roger, your father needs to be stopped. I'm calling the police in the morning. For tonight though, Roger can stay in Mark's room with him, and Randy can stay in Cindy's old room. Go up and get some sleep."
Up in the hallway, Randy threw herself into Mark's arms, her eyes full of tears. "W-w-we owe y-y-y-you guys so m-m-much," she stammered.
"Randy, give it a rest," Roger murmured, "Quit with the melodramatics."
"Sh-shut up Roger," she snapped, "I'm just so grateful that we got out of there."
"We're not completely out of the woods yet," he reminded her, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Give it a little while. I want to be sure we won't go back there."
"Way to be pessimistic, Rog," Mark shook his head.
"Not pessimistic," Roger corrected him, "Just realistic."
"Well, let's get some sleep. We can talk tomorrow."
"Alright, good night boys," Randy smiled, kissing Mark goodnight and giving Roger a quick hug before disappearing into Cindy's old room. Roger and Mark exchanged a concerned look before shrugging and going into Mark's room.
By the time Monday rolled around, Mr. Davis was in prison on suspicion of child abuse, Mrs. Davis was ordered into rehab for an alcohol problem, and Roger and Randy were entrusted to the care of Mr. and Mrs. Cohen. The three teens walked onto the school lawn and to the oak tree that was just beginning to grow leaves. Maureen, April, Angel, and Collins were already there. Judging by the sympathetic expressions on their faces, they knew what had happened over the weekend.
When they were close, April ran forward and embraced Roger while the other three crowded around Randy, conveying their sympathy.
"I can't believe you never told us," Maureen cooed, "I mean, we've know each other forever, and this is huge."
"Sorry Mo," Randy said, unemotional, "It was just sort of private. I'm just glad it's over."
"Well, we're all here for you guys," Angel said consolingly.
"Thanks Angelo," Randy smiled, "It means so much to hear you say that. A lot of people are going to think we're weird now that this is out there."
"People need to mind their own business," Collins shook his head, "What should they care about what's going on in your family?"
"They shouldn't, but they do."
"Well, people may not know yet," Angelo said hopefully, "I mean, the only reason I know is because Collins told me."
"I found out from Joanne," Collins shrugged.
"What about me?" Joanne, who had just been dropped off by her parents, asked from behind everyone.
"We were just talking about Roger and Randy's situation," Collins explained, "And how we found out."
"Well, I found out from Mo."
"April told me over the phone."
"And I told April," Roger finished, "So everyone's accounted for."
"No one told Benny?" Mark laughed.
"Who cares?" Maureen replied, "It's none of his business anyway."
"I think he'll figure out eventually."
"Let him figure it out by himself then," Randy shrugged, "I don't want to tell him."
"Agreed," Roger nodded, "Why does he have to be a part of this."
"Okay," Mark shook his head, kissing Randy's forehead, "Whatever you want."
"Thanks."
The school bell rang, and the group parted ways, each heading for their homerooms. Mark, Randy, and Joanne walked together, Roger and April went in the other direction, Collins and Angelo walked with Mark, Randy, and Joanne a ways before breaking off to got to their own homeroom, and Maureen was left on her own.
In the honors mixed homeroom, it was obvious that people knew about what happened to the Davis family over the weekend, and it was getting harder and harder for Randy to ignore the pointed stares and whispered gossip. Mark and Joanne watched her anxiously as she clenched and unclenched her teeth and knuckles. "They don't know the whole story," Mark reminded her, "Who knows how the story's been twisted."
"I know," she sighed, aggravated, "The thing is: I'm sure someone said that this was my or Roger's fault. I just want to know what people are saying."
"No one's going to tell any of us," Joanne rolled her eyes, "Everyone knows how close we all are."
"She's right," Mark shrugged. He put a consoling arm around her shoulder. "Not that it makes it any better."
In the music room, Roger was standing with his fist about half an inch away from a junior named Craig's nose. April and one of Craig's friends were trying to pull the two apart.
"Roger," April whined, tugging at his arm, "It's not worth it. He's not worth it."
Roger wasn't paying attention to her. "What did you say about my sister?" he yelled at Craig.
"I said she's a whore," Craig sneered, "Sleeping with her own father."
There was a crash as Roger's fist collided with Craig's nose and Craig was knocked to the ground. Roger shook his aching hand.
"For the record, Randy's still a virgin. And as sick as my dad is, he only beat me and held a knife to her once. He wasn't a pedophile."
Just then, the teacher burst through the door and saw Craig on the ground. To spare the boring details, Roger ended up with a week's detention.
After school, Mark, Randy, Angelo, and April sat under the oak tree discussing their days. Randy's face was tear stained after people stuck notes to her locker that read "slut", "whore", and several other nasty names. Mark was speechless at how much the story had been changed, having finally coaxed it out of cheerleader and family friend, Nannette Himmelfarb. It didn't make any sense, but of course, he might have just thought that because he witnessed it and had one of few actual accounts of what happened.
"I just can't believe how much people have blown this up," April said, shaking her head sadly, "I mean, on a normal day Randy might get noticed for her looks, or Roger for his voice, but most days, both of you go around school and get noticed by no one besides us. Now because you have some devastating family issue, you're front page news worthy material?"
"People need someone to pick on," Mark shrugged, "Makes them feel better about their own lives."
"And no one understands what's actually going on," Randy continued, "It was more than just the one night. Roger was constantly taking this. Saturday night just sent him over the edge, I guess."
"You know why it did, don't you Randy?" Mark asked. Randy just stared at him, confused. "It sent him over the edge because your dad put you in danger. You know as well as I do that you're his only biological relative that he considers family. He didn't want to lose you."
"Is that what Roger's nightmare was about?" Angelo asked, "Something about losing Randy?" Mark nodded. "Never did I think I'd see the day when Roger would show that much compassion for another person."
"He's not self-centered," Mark defended his friend, "Far from it. But he's not the type to show compassion for everyone. He has a hard shell."
Another tear fell from Randy's eyes, and she buried her head in Mark's shoulder. April and Angelo grimaced, shaking their heads sympathetically at the poor girl. Only Mark's expression was hard to read. On one hand, he wanted to be strong to help his best friend and his girlfriend get through this. On the other, he wanted to cry as hard as Randy because it hurt him to see them go through this.
Was this the way Roger felt everyday? Caught between not wanting to seem emotionless and the fear of getting burned?