Disclaimer: I do not own Roseanne, the series and its characters are all property owned by Carsey-Werner
Forbidden Love
Written By: SSJ God SS Juuhachi
Chapter 23: Like Father, Like Daughter
Roseanne and Jackie stood discussing plans for the wedding when the phone suddenly began to ring.
It rang a few times before Roseanne became frustrated.
"Will someone get that?"
Nancy walked over and answered it.
"Lanford Lunch Box," Nancy stood there a moment, her expression changing from curiosity to confusion. "Depends, who may I ask is calling?"
Her eyes then grew wide.
"Okay, I'll tell her. Hold on."
Nancy placed her hand over the receiver.
"Roseanne? It's for you,"
Roseanne and Jackie turned to her.
"Who is it?"
"It's Officer Robbins from the Lanford Police Department. He says he needs to speak with you. It's about Darlene."
Roseanne looked at Jackie a moment before walking over to the phone. She took it hesitantly in her hand and raised the phone to her ear.
"Hello, Gil?" She asked, "Yeah, it's Roseanne. What's going on? Why are you calling about Darlene?"
Nancy, Leon, and Jackie all stood nearby, watching her with interest.
"Uh-huh," She nodded. Her expression turned from concern to that disappointment."I see," Roseanne then said, "Yeah, I'll be right down. Thanks, Gill."
She then hung up the phone and stood there, staring at it.
There's a silence
"Roseanne?" Jackie asked, breaking it."Is everything okay? What happened?"
The look on Roseanne's face turned from disappointment to anger in a matter of seconds.
She turned to her co-workers."Oh, everything is fine. Darlene just got herself arrested for fighting with Marcy Davis at school."
"What?"
"Yeah, apparently staff members tried to stop the fight and couldn't, so the police were called and had to break them apart."
"Did they say what it was over?"
"I don't care what it was about!" Roseanne snapped at her sister, "I told her if those girls approached her, not to confront them, to not get into a fight with them, and she told me she wouldn't, that she could handle things. This is what she calls handling things?"
"Roseanne, you don't know, maybe she tried, but they ganged up on her again. I mean, it could have happened; they did it once before."
"She's right, Roseanne. Anything is possible," Nancy said.
Roseanne shook her head, "I don't have time for this. I have to go,"
As she turned to leave, Leon spoke up.
"You're not going anywhere, Roseanne."
"And why not, Leon?" She asked, barely keeping her temper in check
"We just wrapped up people coming for lunch, now we have to get ready for the dinner rush, and the three of us can't do it alone. We need you here."
"It will only take an hour. I'll be back in time for the dinner rush." She told him.
"Sorry, you can't leave."
"Then what am I supposed to do then? Let her sit in jail?"
"No, you call someone else to go get her," He responded, "Besides, with how angry you are, it might be best to let someone else handle this situation."
"And who would you suggest I call, Leon?"
"Why not Becky and Mark? You said they were both off today, didn't you? They could take care of things for you."
"Fine, have it your way. Geez, I can't even pick up my kid when I want to." She grumbled, picked up the phone, and began calling the house.
Becky was putting away groceries when the phone began to ring. She walked over and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Becky, what are you doing right now? And is Mark there?"
"Um, Mark's here. He's in the living room, watching TV. Why? What's wrong?"
Mark turned his head at the mention of his name. He sits there, listening now to his wife as she was on the phone.
"It's your sister. She got herself arrested, and I need one of you or both of you to go down to the police station to bail her out of trouble."
"Arrested? How did that happen?" Mark got up and walked over to her, standing at her side as the conversation continued
"I don't have time to explain. Just get down there and bail her out of there. It's going to be at least $100. The grocery money is on top of the fridge, go ahead and take it out of that and I'll replace it later."
"Okay."
"And tell your sister, I can't leave now, but when I get home, I am going to make her wish she had never been born!"
"Never been born, got it."
Becky then hung up the phone.
"What's going on? Your mother sounded upset."
"Darlene's been arrested and sitting in jail right now. She wants us to go down there and bail her out."
"What? Darlene is in jail? How did that happen?"
"She wouldn't tell me. Mom just said it's going to be $100 bucks, so grab the grocery money, and let's get out of here."
Mark quickly grabbed the grocery money, and the two rushed out the door.
A few minutes later, they walked through the doors of the police station. They walked over to the front desk, where an officer was signing something.
"Excuse me,"
"Can I help you?"
"Yes, my name is Becky Healy, and this is my husband, Mark. My mother called us said that you arrested my sister."
"Your sister's name?"
"Darlene Conner,"
"Let me, take look here," He began looking through the paperwork. "Ah, here she is. Yeah, we brought her in about an hour with a girl named Marcy Davis,"
"Marcy Davis?" Becky questioned
"I take it you know her?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Well, the two of them engaged in a serious fight at school. We were called after staff members couldn't pry them apart. Both were brought in here, processed, and detained in separate holding cells."
"What? No, that can't be right. There must be some mistake, Darlene doesn't get into fights. Ever. Are you sure you have the right person?"
"Darlene Conner, 16, lives at 714 Delaware Street in Lanford, Illinois. Parents are Dan and Roseanne Conner."
"That kind of narrows it down, Beck."
"I also see here your father, Dan Conner, has quite a history of assault charges, the most recent one was from last year where he beat a man in his own apartment. However, the charges were dropped," The officer explained, "I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?"
Becky glares at the officer and opens her mouth to say something when Mark stops her.
"Look, we are here to bail out Darlene. We were told it was $100 well, here it is." Mark hands pull out the white envelope and hand it to the officer.
The officer pulled out the money and counted it, making sure it was all there.
Mark and Becky stepped away from the desk and over to the waiting area.
"I can't believe Darlene did this. I mean it's bad enough getting into a fight. But getting arrested?"
"I know what you mean. I can't imagine someone triggering her that much that she would hit someone. Makes me wonder what set her off."
As Mark spoke, a man, in his early 20's walked in the door. He had messy brown hair, wore a leather jacket, a band t-shirt, ripped jeans, and black boots. The young man walked over to the front desk.
"I have to go the bathroom, I'll be right back."
"Okay,"
Becky walked off in search of the bathroom
"Excuse me, I got a call about Marcy Davis."
Mark turned his head at the mention of Marcy's name.
"Let me guess, your her brother right?" The officer asked
"Yes." The man responded
"Thought so. Bail is a $100."
He reached in his pocket and pulled out his wallet and handed it to the officer.
After the officer counted the money, he replied, "An officer will bring your sister out shortly."
The man nodded his head and turned around and grinned when his eyes fell on Mark.
"Well if it ain't Marky boy. Almost Didn't recognize you without your punk hair."
Mark cringed, "Oh god," He grumbled under his breath. "Hey, Tim or do you still prefer Timmy?"
"Tim, remember it's Tim. What are you in for?"
"Not in for anything. I am here to bail out my sister-in-law." Mark replied, "I'm surprised to see you're still walking the streets free."
"Darlene is your sister-in-law? So it's true what people said."
"What's that?"
"That you did marry blondie."
"Yeah, I did and we're happily married." Mark told him, "And here she comes now."
Tim turned to her and as she approached the two men he asked, "What's the matter, baby? You couldn't get yourself a real man, so you settled for this guy?"
"I beg your pardon? Who are you?"
"Becky, this is Tim Davis. Marcy's brother," Mark said as he wrapped his arm around his wife.
"Oh, well that explains the lack of manners."
"She's got a mouth on her. You need to keep your woman on a leash."
Mark glared at him, "Instead of worrying about Becky, you need to keep an eye on that mouthy sister of yours."
"My sister is mouthy?" Tim asked, "That a bit hypocritical don't you think, Mark? After all, Darlene has quite a mouth on her as well."
Mark opened his mouth to say something when an officer walked entered the room with Marcy. Another officer followed close behind with Darlene, both in handcuffs.
"Oh my god," Mark said, as he and Becky were shocked to see how beaten, bruised, and bloody both girls were. Emphasizing just how bad the fight between them was earlier.
"Mark, Becky!" Darlene explained, "Thank god, your here."
"Tim, I knew that was you I heard out here,"
"Yeah, it's me," He sighed, "Like always, Mom and Dad expect me to bail you out of trouble whenever you screw up,"
The two officers undid the handcuffs on the girls, and they walked over to their family members.
"Darlene, are you all right?" Becky asked, a worried look on her face
"Yeah, I'm fine,"
Marcy then turned to Becky, "Well, well, look who it is." She grinned, "Hey, Becky. It's been a long time."
"Marcy," Becky replied; stiffly.
"So who are you, her husband?" asked Marcy, turning to Mark
"That's right,"
"What a shame that you had to end up with her." She sneered at him,
"Marcy..." Tim said, warning her
Mark glared at the girl, "And why is that?"
"You don't know? Well, Becky here has a reputation for never being with the same guy for very long," Becky shifted uncomfortably, "She gets bored with them and decides she wants someone else. But I guess that's what you get when you are with Conner trash,"
Darlene lunged forward, surprising both Tim and Marcy. Mark quickly grabbed her and held her back.
"Darlene, don't! She's not worth it."
"That's what she said before, and here we are," Marcy said snidely.
"Come on, let's go," Mark said, trying to get Darlene to leave with him and Becky as she resisted.
As they neared the door, Marcy spoke again.
"Oh, and Darlene, one more thing," Darlene turned and glared at her, "If you think this has stopped me, think again. Next chance I get, I am going after your pretty girlfriend again, and this time she is going to get worse than before."
Darlene lunged forward again, breaking free from Mark's grip.
"Darlene!" Becky cried out
The police made a move to stop her. But before they could do anything, Mark caught hold of her again. This time, he has a tighter; hold on to her.
"MARCY!" She screamed at her
"Stop, Darlene! Calm down!" Mark told her
"You better listen to him, Darlene. You don't want to get arrested again, do you?"
"Marcy, that's enough! Leave her alone!" Tim hollered at his sister
"YOU BITCH! IF YOU LAY ONE HAND ON HER, I SWEAR I'LL-!"
"You'll what?" She taunted, "You will come after me again? I think we know how that would turn out."
"THAT'S IT, LET ME AT HER!"
"Mark, get her out of here right now!
"GET OFF ME, MARK, RIGHT NOW! DAMN IT! I SAID LET GO OF ME!" She screamed at him as he fought to get her out the door.
After they were gone, Becky turned to Tim and Marcy. She walked over to them and said, looking directly at Marcy.
"You may think you won, Marcy, but mark my words, you will pay for this." She then turns to Tim, "Also, Tim, Mark is a better man than you and knows how to respect women."
The Davis siblings glare at Becky as she walks away.
"Bring it on, Blondie! We're not afraid of you."
"If you ever get tired of Mark, I will be here!" Tim called as Becky disappears out the door.
Mark, sighed as he stepped back from the car.
Glancing over as he heard footsteps.
Becky softly muttered something under her breath.
"Did they give you any parting words?" Mark asked, glaring at Tim as the Davis siblings drove by them.
"Got called Blondie, that they aren't afraid, and Tim is scum."
"Sounds like business as usual to me," Mark said
"Yeah, well, I guess we better get going,"
"I'd wait if I were you."
"Why's that?"
Mark gestured to the backseat of the car. Becky turned and looked to find her sister screaming at the top of her lungs.
"Oh my god,"
"She has been like that since I put her in the car," Mark said, "I even had to lock the doors so she wouldn't try to get out."
"What do we do then?"
"There is nothing we can do. We have to wait until Darlene calms down,"
"How long will that take?"
Mark shrugged
"I don't know,"
"You think we should call Mom? Let her know what's going on."
"I wouldn't. Not yet anyway," Mark answered, glancing at Darlene, "Back in the station, who do you think Marcy was talking about when she was referring to Darlene's girlfriend?"
"Molly,"
"How do you know?"
"Because the night Molly and I went shopping to get her dress for the Valentine's Day Dance, she told me what had been going on at school. That Marcy and her friends had been bullying her,"
"You mean...you knew the whole time? Why didn't you say anything?"
"She made me promise I wouldn't tell anyone. Plus, I couldn't risk the possibility of Darlene overhearing anything,"
"So, just how bad did it get?"
"Molly told me it started when they set a paint bomb to go off when he opened her locker," Becky said, "When it happened, they all got a good laugh out of it, and she thought that would end there. It didn't. They pushed her, knocked her down, made fun of her every chance they got. At first, Molly did not do anything. But after a few days of this, she finally stood up to them, and Marcy hit her," Becky explained, "When she showed me the bruise, I told her to go to a teacher, a counselor, anyone just so this would stop. But she said she couldn't do that. She said if she told anyone, they would know, and she would get it worse."
Mark shook his head, "That's horrible,"
"Yeah, they threatened her to keep her quiet."
"Poor girl, she didn't deserve that."
"I know," Becky responded, "Maybe after this fight, Lanford High will finally do something about the bullying in their school."
"We can only hope. Let's hope we don't run into Tim or Marcy again."
"I hope not. Hearing the word baby come out of his mouth is creepy." Becky shuddered in disgust.
"Don't worry if he tries anything; I'll take care of him."
"Thanks, honey," She smiled, "So what are we going to do about her?" The blonde asked, looking over at her still screaming sister.
"Sit and wait till she gets tired of screaming," Mark moved to sit on the curb of the sidewalk, "We can talk about other things while we're at it,"
"What kind of things?" Becky rose an eyebrow as she then sat down next to Mark, leaning her head against his shoulder.
"Mmm, apartment, hunting," Mark mumbled softly against Becky's temple.
"You've been looking?" She asked, "For how long?"
"A little while. I have been looking through the papers for any ones I think would be good and have a few in mind that we can look at."
"Really?"
"Yeah," Mark replied, "I'll show them to you when we get some time, see if you like them."
"I trust your judgment," She smiled at him, "I am sure whatever you pick out will be great,"
"Good to know,"
"I can't wait till we have an apartment again,"
"I agree. I look forward to that as well. I mean, it's cool your parents let us stay with them while we got back on our feet, but I miss having our privacy."
"I do too. I mean, it's great to be with Mom and Dad again, but Mom always butts into our problems, giving me advice on how to deal with our issues. I know she means well, but it gets annoying..." Becky said, raising her head to look at him.
"I know what you mean. It is frustrating that your mother inserts herself into our relationship issue. But as you said, she means well."
Mark and Becky put leaned their foreheads against each other when she noticed something. "Do you hear that?"
"What is it? I don't hear anything." Mark replied, confused
"That's exactly my point," She said, "It's quiet. Do you think she finally stopped?"
Both turned their head to the car and saw Darlene was close to the window looking at them.
"Looks like she's calmed down. We can go now."
Darlene blinked, watching as Becky and Mark looked back at her as they rose to their feet and approached the car. She sighed and flopped onto the backseat.
The couple got into the vehicle. Mark got into the drivers' side while Becky sat on the passenger side.
"Why were you guys sitting outside?"
"For our safety." Becky begins as Mark starts the ignition. "You were pretty angry back there. We decided it was best to give you time to calm down before we got in the car with you. Not that you would have hurt of us, of course,"
"Why would you think I would hurt you?"
"When people lose control and get angry as you did, they sometimes hurt the ones they care most about, whether it's intended or not," Mark explained as Darlene looked out the window buildings and street signs blurring past as they made their way home.
"I'm sorry about that," Darlene apologized, "I didn't mean to lose control like that. But she just kept pushing my buttons, and I just snapped,"
"We know, Darlene. It's all right; you couldn't help it."
Darlene looked at the floor of the car.
"I let her get to me. I shouldn't have done that," The teen responded, looking frustrated.
"Well, it's over now," Becky reassured her, "Just try to relax, and we'll be home soon,"
Darlene slumped back into the seat, "She didn't have a right to say those things to you guys. She doesn't know you two like do,"
Mark steadily drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, "Don't worry about it; besides, it's not like it's the first time we heard something like that."
Darlene sat up as she thought of something their mom had told her. "So Mom was right then, you did have it rough even though you were technically popular, Becky,"
Becky furrowed her eyebrows, "When did she say that?"
"Last week, when Mom came downstairs to offer me dinner..."
"Oh, yeah, I remember that now,"
"She tried to get me to open up to her about what had happened at school. When I wouldn't tell her anything, she began to tell me everyone goes through bullying, even you." Darlene explained,
"She's right. Though most people considered me popular, to others, I would always be a geek. The goody-too-shoes that got good grades and kissed up to teachers."
"Darlene sighed, "Sorry you had to go through that Beck, I never realized how hard school was for you. I always assumed because you were popular that things came easy; for you. I was wrong for thinking that, sorry."
"It's all right, Darlene," Becky said, "It's natural you would think that because in the truth, things were in some ways easier for me than they were for you. In the beginning, kids made fun of me, but eventually, they stopped once they got to know me. You never had that opportunity..."
"No, I wasn't," Darlene replied, "But that's what happens when you're different. No one wants to be friends with you. No wants to know you; one wants to be around you, no one wants to talk to you." There is a brief pause before she continues, "I learned to live with that harsh truth a long time ago."
Silence fell over the car as Becky and Mark looked at each other, unsure of what to say. "Well, all the same, Darlene, you shouldn't have to go through that. What Marcy and her friends did to you, it wasn't right." Becky said, trying to offer some comforting words
"No, it wasn't. But it wasn't right what Marcy and her friends did to Molly either. What they did to her, it was my fault. If she hadn't associated with me, they would have never gone after her. They wouldn't have even given her a second glance. But because they saw her with me, she became a target. And the worst part of it all is they waited till I was gone to do it. If that had hadn't have happened, if I had been there at the time, I could have..."
"Darlene, you can't beat yourself up over this. None of this is your fault."
"She's right," Mark said, glancing at Darlene, "That's how it goes sometimes. Some people will stick to bothering you; others will start to look for openings, any way to get under your skin. And those openings sometimes involve people you are close to or know,"
"That happened to you?"
Mark sighed, "Even though I had the reputation as the punk kid who moved here from Michigan a few years back, some people at school, who I never really got along; with would go after David, beating him up often."
"Really?"
"Yeah, they were too cowardly to come at me directly, so instead, they went after David, knowing I wouldn't be around to protect him."
"That must have been hard," Darlene said, remorseful,
"It was, it was also hard to explain to Barbara why David came home that day with bruises on him, but after I found out what was going, on I confronted them quickly put a stop to it. After that, I let them know what would happen next time if they ever came near or did anything to David again, and they backed off."
"That's good you stopped it, Marcy however, isn't going to stop going after Molly."
"I wouldn't worry about it too much, Darlene. I don't think she is going to do anything to Molly. I think she just said that to get under your skin."
"How can you be sure?"
"Because I know how bullies are, and they pray on emotions," Becky told her, "Marcy knew once you found out about the bullying and saw Molly's bruise, you would get mad and confront her."
"Yeah," Darlene replied, before catching what she said, "Wait for a second, how did you know about Molly's bruise?"
"Well, I uh..."
Mark looked at Becky, "Becks, just tell her."
"Tell me what?"
Becky closed her eyes a moment and sighed, "I knew about the bruise because...Molly showed it to me."
"What? When?"
"Friday," Becky answered, "She also told me about the bullying too."
"Who else knows about?"
"Besides us? Mom, Dad, DJ..."
"Great, so I am last to know about it." Darlene, looking away from her sister.
"Darlene, it's not like that..."
"So what happened? Did she tell you then make you promise that you wouldn't say anything to?"
Becky nodded
"It wasn't just you; she didn't want anyone to know about it."
"So wait, if she showed you Friday, that means when she and Charlotte came over to the house Saturday..."
"She had the bruise then," Becky finished for her.
"Why didn't I see it before then?"
"She wore heavy make-up that night so as not to raise questions at the Valentine's Day Dance."
"Well, that explains why her friends didn't know anything when I asked them what happened to her face," Darlene responded; it all making sense now.
"How long has this been going on?"
"Since the night she and her family came over to the house," The blonde answered,
"You mean the night; that I..."
"Crushed Molly emotionally? Yes." Becky finished for her. "They came over to the house because Marcy, who had been bullying, you had started going after her too..."
"That's how Mom and Dad learned about what was going on with me..."
"Your Mom already knew about it. Dad didn't." Mark spoke up, "The rest of us didn't know about it though,"
"Mom knew I about the bullying? How did that happen?"
"Well, Mom wanted to know what was going on, and you were telling us anything, so she asked me to go to Molly, and she told us what was going on."
Darlene looked at her, confused.
"I don't understand. Why did you go to Molly for information? She wasn't there. She doesn't know what happened."
"She may not have been there when it happened, but she and Charlotte found you lying on the bathroom floor." Becky told her, "Molly even stayed with you until the nurse came and took you away,"
"...She did?" She asked
Becky nodded, "When I asked her who did she think hurt you, Molly didn't have any proof, but she told me she knew it was Marcy who did it," She said, "Of course, this is based, on all the times she had seen her and her friends harassing you. Do you understand now, Darlene? Molly never came to us with information; we went to her."
"And I got angry at her for it..." Darlene said, putting her face in her hands
"Do you feel like an ass; yet?" Becky asked her
the dark-haired girl dropped her hands and shot sister a look, one that Mark noticed
"I think you made your point, Becky." He interrupted before this turned into an argument between the sisters.
The car soon came to a stop outside Lanford Middle School. Darlene looked at the building, confused.
"What are we doing here?" She asked
"We have to pick up DJ from school,"
"Are the buses broke down? Why do you have to get him?"
"Because I told Mom, I would, that's why." She said firmly to her, "Now wait here. I'll be back in a moment."
Mark and Darlene watched as she got out of the car and disappeared inside. She walked into the cafeteria where the After School Program was.
Becky scanned the room of kids, looking for DJ. She soon found him, sitting by himself playing his Game Boy.
"DJ!" She called out to him
He whipped his head towards her and smiled.
"Becky!" He exclaimed as he raced over, wrapping his arms around her waist
"Hey buddy, you ready to go?"
"You bet I am," DJ answered, "I was bored out of my mind here,"
She chuckled at his words.
"Come on then, let's go," Becky said as they two began to head towards the door.
Darlene stared out the window while Mark watched for Becky and DJ to come out of the building.
He soon saw them, "Here they come."
Darlene turned her head and saw her brother walking towards the backseat. DJ opened the door and was immediately startled by her face.
"Geez, what happened to you?" DJ asked as he sat beside her, staring at her
Darlene sighed, "I don't want to talk about it."
"Why not? Who did that to you?"
"None of your business," She said, avoiding eye contact.
"Was it that girl again that beat you up before? What was her name? Marcy something..."
"Hey, DJ, have you ever wondered what riding on the bumper of the car would be like?"
"No," He shook his head.
"Well, your about to find out if you don't leave me alone,"
The two siblings began arguing, and Becky turns to her husband and smiles,
She places her hand on his arm, "Think of it as practice,"
"Practice?" Mark questioned
"You know, for when we have kids,"
"Oh no, our kids will be nothing like them. Between my charms, and your brains and beauty, our babies will not only be smart; but beautiful as well. These two are just insane,"
"Hey!" Darlene and DJ exclaimed, hearing this
"The truth hurts, live with it."
"Becky, are you going to let him say that about us?"
"He makes a compelling argument," Becky remarked.
"I'm not insane. DJ is the weird one,"
"You put me in the laundry hamper one time," DJ argued.
"You dismembered Barbie dolls and hid their body parts in shoe boxes!"
They continue bickering as Mark sighs.
"Before we even have kids, I'm going to have Grey hair, thanks to them." Mark
" …Same..." Becky then added
Darlene cringes, " God, you guys really are like an old married couple."
"Yeah, and you two are our annoying children," Mark said
Darlene and DJ become speechless at his words. Neither has a response, so instead, they both look away, staring out the window, while Becky and Mark smile as they enjoy the silence for the rest of the car ride home.
They soon arrived at the Conner household, and the four got out of the car.
"Mark, why don't you take DJ inside; I need to talk to Darlene."
They soon arrived home and the three got out of the car
"Mark, can you go inside I need to talk to Darlene about something..."
"All right, let's go, DJ,"
"Wait, what do you need to talk to Darlene about?"
"Go, DJ," Becky said to the boy
"Yeah, come on, Deej, let's get a snack we can have some of your Mom's Milky Way pudding she has in the fridge."
"Really? You mean it?"
Mark nodded
"But we can't tell your Mom, okay?"
"I won't, I promise! Let's go!"
DJ ran to the door.
"Hold up, buddy; you can't get in without a key,"
Becky chuckled at the scene.
"Hurry up, Mark!" DJ said impatiently as the man approached him with the keys
He unlocked the door, and the boy ran inside, leaving Mark standing there. He turned the sisters and smiled, giving a thumbs-up before he too disappeared inside, closing the door behind him.
"Once they were gone, Darlene turned to Becky, "All right, Becky, what do you want to talk to me about?" She asked, "Are you going to tell me something else to make me feel guilty?"
Becky shook her head, "No, nothing like that." She said, "Look, all that stuff I told you in the car about Molly...if she brings it up. Any of it just-"
"Pretend that I don't know anything?"
"Yeah," Becky confirmed
"Don't worry about it," Darlene told her, "Molly won't find out about the stuff you told me." She said, somewhat annoyed "Now, can we go inside? It's 4:30, and I'd like to get a shower before Mom gets home."
"Sure,"
Darlene and Becky made their way to the front door; Mark sat on the couch watching TV while DJ sat at the kitchen table with a spoon, eating their mother's Milky Way Pudding, chocolate smeared on his face.
"DJ, that's enough!" Becky shouted, "Mark, would you do something?"
Mark looked at her briefly before getting up and walking toward the kitchen, "All right, pal, you have had enough. Give it here,"
"No, I'm not done!"
"I said, hand it over," Mark said, trying to get the bowl from him to no avail. "Becky, I need your help here!"
"Go on upstairs, and I'll bring you up a towel and fresh clothes in a minute," Darlene watches a moment as Becky goes to help Mark before walking up the stairs. She soon enters the bathroom and turns on the faucet, allowing the water to run and warm up.
Darlene begins to remove the multiple earrings from her ears, placing them carefully on the sink. Afterward, she hears a knock come on the door. "Darlene, it's me. Can I come in?" Becky asked through the door
"Yeah, come on in." Becky opened the door. In her hands, she had a change of clothes, a washcloth, and a towel. "I brought you up to your towel and clothes. I'll leave these here with you." She set the towel and washcloth on the toilet seat; while she placed the clothes on the back of the toilet.
"Thanks,"
"Your welcome," Becky then walked out of the room, giving Darlene her privacy. T
The dark-haired girl, now alone, turns on the showerhead and starts taking off all of her clothes. She grabbed her washcloth and afterward stepped into the shower, washing the dirt and blood off of her body.