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Jess staggered through the door, her steps faltering over the slight dip in the hallway floor. She tiptoed as quietly as possible, despite the tripping over god knows what cluttering her path. With her back turned, she came to an abrupt halt, closing her eyes briefly as a wave of realization washed over her, she wasn't alone, internally kicking herself for not coming in through her bedroom window.
As she turned around slowly to face the entire gang, all up at three in the morning. "Hey guys" she muttered, forcing a sweet smile that was only met with blank stares. "Okay, well I'll be off to bed now. So goodnight." She declared with a tight smile, turning to make her way up the stairs and cringing at the uncomfortable silence that lingered.
"Jess get your ass back here right now." Darry ordered, firmly. She paused in her tracks, fully aware that she had no choice but to comply. Even in her state she knew that there was no point in ignoring him.
She gave her brother her usual manipulative look in hopes for some sympathy. She knew that if anyone would go easy on her, it would be him. "Soda." She whined, her slurred speech not doing much to help her appear sober. He only responded with a sarcastic smile before dropping his expression into a frown. Jess quickly realised that charm wasn't going to get her out of it this time and shot a glare in his direction, dropping the manipulative facade that she did too well.
She turned her head to look at Darry with a cold, impatient expression. "Jesus Christ. What do you want? I'm tired," she huffed, her head pounding and a sickening urge to vomit creeping up on her.
"Jess man, what's goin' on?" Dal spoke up. The emotion she picked up in his voice shook her, she was fairly sure that he despised her. Struggling to stand, she leaned against the wall and kicked off her heels.
"No. You don't get to talk to me like you care." She whispered, bitterly.
"You shouldn't be going out in a dress that short, Jess. You'll get jumped," Two-Bit mumbled.
"I don't have a father, Two-Bit, and I don't fucking need one," she snapped without a second of hesitation.
"That was uncalled for." Darry spat and she looked up at him, her heart sinking as she met his gaze. "Jessica, do you understand how worried all of us have been?" His use of her full name added a layer of heaviness to the already tense atmosphere.
"No one calls me Jessica. Only Mom." She snapped, her outburst hung heavily in the room, she cast a glance back at Soda, realising only then that his face was smeared with dried blood, a massive bruise covering his left cheek.
"Soda, what happened?" she whispered, genuine worry etched across her face. She knew exactly what had happened, and a heavy sense of dread settled in the pit of her stomach. Though she hadn't physically harmed her brother, she knew it all came down to her.
"You fucked a Soc, Jess, that's what happened," Johnny mumbled, shoving past her and walking out the door. She had slept with Bob, the Soc who had beat Johnny, scarring him forever.
