Thirteen Years Old

The three girls walked slowly down the street. Eventually they found themselves in a secluded park where they sat on a bench. Now Claire could cry as much as she wanted without fear of others seeing her. 

“You weren’t there! You didn’t hear the way they talked about… people like us.” Claire sobbed. Darci held her in a tight side hug, while Mary sat on her other side. “My mom can’t talk about it publicly because it would hurt her campaign, but she talks to my dad about it all the time. I have to just sit there listening and pretend it doesn’t hurt when she calls gays predatory or bisexuals sluts and homewreckers.” 

Mary balled her hands into fists, her anger sparking in her eyes. Darci gave Claire a tighter squeeze. 

“I’m so sorry Claire, I hate that you have to hear them say garbage like that.” Darci whispered softly. 

“Garbage? It’s utter bullshit!” Mary snapped. 

Darci glared over Claire’s head at Mary, but Claire gave a soft giggle. 

“It is bullshit.” Claire said, a little wetly. She took a deep sniff and pulled herself up a little straighter. “And the worst part is it means I might never be able to come out to them on my terms. And if they find out on their own… they could-”

“They wouldn’t.” Mary declared. “It would ruin your mom’s campaign plans.”

There was a slight moment of hesitation. They had spent enough time online to know what exactly a homophobic parent could do to their child. Mary left unsaid that, while Mrs. Nuñez might not want to risk her campaign, but they all knew the Wangs had no such inhibitions. Darci suddenly sat up smacking her hand onto her thigh. 

“Ok, what if we come up with a plan!” She said. Claire looked at her, wiping tears from her eyes and Mary leaned around Claire to do the same. “If our parents ever find out about us, we can just go to one of the other houses!”

“What do you mean?”

“If my dad finds out I’m bi and threatens to do something about it, I go over to yours or Mary’s house. We pretend it’s a sleep over. I mean we’ve already spent weeks at each other’s houses. We pack a bag, and spend as long over as we need to. I know my dad has said that you are both more than welcome to spend as long as you want at our house.”

“Yeah my parents said the same. And we wouldn’t even tell them why you are staying over, all they would need to know is that you are!”

“Ok, it’s decided. Emergency plan, if our parents ever find out we aren’t straight, we move in together!”

“Deal!”

Fifteen, before the Eternal Night

“Dad?” Darci asked softly. The two of them were driving home after a late night game, her mascot outfit tucked into the back seat. 

“Yeah, baby girl?” Darci’s dad, Mr. Scott tapped the beat to the song on the radio on his steering wheel. 

“Can we have a … kind of serious conversation?” Her stomach felt like it was all twisted into knots, but she didn’t want to put off having this talk any more. She didn’t want to hide how she felt any more. She held her back pack close to her chest, trying to keep her breathing steady. The pack had a week’s worth of clothes, and the other necessities for an extended stay. Her books were already at Claire’s house. Both Claire and Mary were standing by, just in case she needed to stay with them after the talk. 

Her dad turned the radio off, his sign that he was giving her his full attention. 

“What’s on you mind?” His voice was calm and quiet, and helped ease a little of the tension in Darci’s shoulders. She desperately wanted to back out, to not have this conversation, but she also didn’t want to have to be a secret any more. 

“Dad. I’m…” This was her last chance. She could lie, make up something, she didn’t have to come out, she could- “I’m bisexual.”

She gasped the words out then squeezed her bag to her chest even tighter. Her hand flew of its own accord to the door handle, though she knew it would be a terrible idea to bail from the moving car. 

Her dad drummed his fingers against the steering wheel again for just a moment. 

“Thanks for telling me Darci.” Her heart fluttered at his response. “I understand this is a big decision to come out to me, and I love and support you no matter what.”

The words sounded stilted. Like he was remembering a script. Maybe he had expected her to come out at some point? But at least the scripted promise of love and support was better than him saying he had always guessed, or that she was evil or a sinner for who she liked. 

“Does this mean you are going to break up with that Domzalski boy?”

“What? No I-”

“Girls would never hurt you like that boy could.”

“That’s not really-”

“Are you going to start dating Mary or Clarie?”

“What!?!”

“I always thought you had a crush on them and I think either one would be way better-”

“DAD!!” Darci shouted, hiding her face against her backpack. “Regardless of any crushes I may or may not have on my two best friends in the entire world, I am not dumping Toby to be with them.”

“Oh. Ok.” His voice clearly showed his disappointment, but he smiled at her after a moment “I love you Darci. And I guess, as long as you are happy I’m happy.”

Darci could feel that there was a But… coming after that sentence so she quickly turned the radio up all the way and started loudly singing along. Her dad laughed and turned the radio back to a more decent volume, but didn’t bring up anything else. 

She subtly pulled out her phone and sent a text to the group chat with Claire and Mary. 

[I told my dad I’m bi.]

The replies from Mary then Claire were almost instantaneous. 

[Are you ok?]

[Do we need to come pick you up?]

Darci smiled, small tears pricking at the corner of her eyes. Her friends were immediately ready to make sure she was ok. She texted back quickly to keep them from worrying. 

[I’m fine. My dad is ok with me being Bi, I think he may have known for a while. No need for our emergency plan]

They both showed how thankful they were in the next several text messages, but the Scotts were pulling into their drive way so Darci pocketed her phone. She dragged her backpack into the house while her dad pulled the mascot costume out. He watched her lug her bag into the house. 

“I may have to have a word with your teachers, baby girl. They are sending you home with way too much homework.”

“Ha, actually.” She set the bag down inside the door and opened the zipper. It almost exploded with clothes that she had stuffed in there in case she had to spend the next couple of weeks at Claire’s or Mary’s. 

The smile on her face faded as her dad just stared at the bag. For one minute. Two. Darci was suddenly terrified, she had never seen a look like this on her dad’s face, as he processed why she had her bag packed. Darci was a moment away from hastily rezipping the bag and running when her dad dropped the costume to the side and fell to his knees in front of her. 

“Darci, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.” There were tears in his eyes, and Darci stiffened as he pulled her into a tight hug. “Whatever I did that made you think you would have to run away, that I wouldn’t love you no matter what, I’m so sorry. You should never have been afraid to come to me. I should never have made you afraid like that. I love you, Darci.”

He held her tight, tears rolling down his face and Darci started crying as well. 

“I love you too dad.”

Fifteen again, After the Eternal Night

The sudden summer storm had blown in out of nowhere. It brought with it pouring rain, wind that made the power flicker every hour or so and of course thunder and lightning. Darci hummed softly to herself from her spot in the kitchen of her house where she was working on finishing the dishes. She caught a glimpse of the Bi pride flag her dad had purchased and hung in the dining room and smiled. 

After their difficult conversation, and the significantly more difficult conversation that had followed about Darci’s fears her dad had gone over the top with showing his support. He had ordered the pride flag the next day (same day delivery) and since then had purchased almost every pride shirt he could find. He had one that said, “Proud dad of a Bisexual daughter,” that was his favorite. He wore it everywhere. 

Darci nodded her head to her music as she thought about her dad when a knock at the door brought her head around. Who on earth could be knocking on their door at this hour, in the middle of a storm? She started to head to the door, but stopped when she saw her dad already there. He was being his usual over protective self, always just a little paranoid. 

He opened the door after a second timid knock. The journey his face went on, annoyance, suspicion, relaxation, ending on shocked, dragged Darci to the door. There standing on their front porch, soaked to the absolute bone was Mary. 

Darci immediately pushed past her dad to drag Mary into the house. Her friend was shivering, her hair plastered to her head, and she was only wearing a light T shirt. Darci pushed her down onto the couch while Mr. Scott grabbed some towels to help her dry off. 

“Mary what happened?” Darci asked as she gently toweled Mary’s hair dry. 

“Can I stay here tonight?” Mary asked instead. Darci glanced at her dad, it wasn’t even a question. Neither of them would send her back into the storm by herself. 

“Of course Mary, you are always welcome here.”

Mr. Scott stepped forward kneeling down so he could look Mary in the face. “Do your parents know you are here?” Mary shook her head. “Do they know you were out in the storm alone?” She nodded. “Can you tell me what happened?”

Mary glanced away for a moment, then her eyes found Darci’s. 

“My dad found out I’m dating Shannon. I need to activate our emergency plan.” Her voice was completely flat, drained of any energy. Darci grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close, ignoring how her own clothes grew wet from the contact. She glanced at her dad and balked, she had never seen him look this angry before. 

“Of course you can stay here. As long as you need.” Darci said, giving her a squeeze. “Why didn’t you call us? We would have come to pick you up!”

Mary held up her phone, which Darci recognized as her backup phone. Her parents must have taken her main phone, however this one the screen was shattered and the rest of the phone was almost broken in half. Like it had been run over, or more likely thrown at a brick wall. 

Mr. Scott shifted drawing Darci’s gaze. She blanched at the look on his face. She hadn’t seen him look this angry since right after he found her mother died. 

“Mary. Did they hit you?” He asked, his voice straining to be calm. 

“Dad!” Darci did know where he could be going with this. 

“Darci, I am an officer of the law, and I can not just ignore this. Mary did they hurt you when they found out?”

Mary squeezed her eyes shut at the memory, shaking her head back and forth. 

“They- they didn’t hit me. They saw Shannon’s texts on my phone. Demanded to see this one, then they threw it when I wouldn’t unlock it for them. I grabbed it off the floor and ran.”

Darci hugged her friend even tighter as slow tears fell from both of their eyes. 

“I’ve never been so scared.” Mary whispered. 

Darci watched her dad glare daggers for a moment, before he rearranged his face, to a more neutral expression. 

“Of course you are more than welcome to stay here for as long as you need. How about tonight you and Darc have a girl’s night?” Mary nodded. “And tomorrow I can drive over to your house and pick up anything you need. Would you want to go with me?” She vehemently shook her head. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to make you see your parents if you don’t want to.”

Mr. Scott called Dr Lake over to make sure that Mary was unharmed. When she gave Mary the clean bill of health, other than exhaustion Mary went upstairs to change into some clothes Darci loaned to her. She also told Mr. Scott, her eyes like ice, that when he went to retrieve Mary’s belongings Mr. Strickler would be accompanying him to make sure everything was retrieved. 

That night Darci helped Mary relax as much as she was able to. The first thing she did after Dr. Lake left was call Shannon to come over for a sleep over. Shannon was devastated to find out her girlfriend had been kicked out but together her and Darci helped to make it a fun night. And Shannon was the one who helped Mary fall back asleep each time she woke up from nightmares. 

The next day Mr. Scott drove over to the Wang household, Darci went with him and Mr. Strickler because she knew Mary best and knew what things were the most important to her. They were able to recover some but not all of Mary’s stuff. Mostly because a large portion of her belongings were scattered across the yard and had sat out in the rain all night. 

Her make up was ruined, but her clothes were fine, though soggy from last night’s storm. Mary’s laptop was in the same condition as her back up phone, which Mr. Strickler was quick to inform her parents that it had actually been on loan from the school and they would be receiving the bill for its replacement. 

Once they had picked up as much stuff off the lawn as they could, and after Darci had snuck in Mary’s window to pick up some of the stuff that hadn’t been thrown outside. Mr. Scott told her to go wait in the car. She watched as first her dad then Mr. Strickler made what must have been a series of very colorful threats considering how pale the Wangs became with each word. 

Eventually, father, daughter and changeling former teacher/principal piled back into the cars to return to their respective homes. Darci didn’t know what to do with herself while she drove so did the only thing she could think of, text Toby. Then immediately text Claire because if Toby knew it was only a matter of time before Claire did to. 

[Hey TP. Mary’s going to be staying at my house for a while. When you come over, don’t make a big deal of it.]

[Got it. NP. Is everything ok?]

[I’ll tell you when I see you. Come over this afternoon?]

[<3 Sure thing!]

I feel like Detective Scott is while a little over protective, genuinely a good dad and wants the best for Darci. And I think it would have broken his heart to find out that Darci was so afraid of coming out that she had packed her things and was ready to run away. And that feeling would have added to his fury when he finds out what Mary went through.