Ringo Wheeler had enough problems - she was named after a member of a band she doesn't even like, she can't find her favourite record in any store along the East Coast and she pissed her parents off enough to be shipped to Indiana.
Now, she has a ne...
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Karen Wheeler didn't speak a single word to her daughter or niece the entire drive home, which was never a good sign. The two teenagers knew that Karen had a lot more to say than 'get in the car', she was simply waiting to get home before she'd unleash fury on the both of them.
The second she pulled into the driveway and harshly yanked on the handbrake, Ringo and Nancy scuttled quickly out of the car, tripping over each other to get inside and to the safety of their room.
Karen, however, couldn't wait any longer until they were out of their neighbours hearing distance.
"I cannot believe you two!" She exploded, startling the girls enough to jump. Ringo's eyes were widened, standing behind Nancy as her cousin opened the door to the house.
Nancy had forced her way forward, but suddenly Ringo was too afraid to run away from Karen - thoughts of being kicked out or her parents being called springing to mind. So as Nancy marched forward through the house stubbornly with Karen hot on her tail, she stood to the side, ready to take her punishment as a woman.
"You both lied to the police!" Karen bellowed the second she slammed the door shut.
"I didn't lie," Nancy's voice cracked, further angering her mother. Ringo didn't dare speak a word, just following in the back quietly.
"How naive do you think I am?! You and Steve were just talking?" She reared around to face her niece, pointing an accusatory finger at her then. "You passed out because you were 'tired'? I knew it from the second you came home afterwards, I could smell the alcohol a mile away!"
"I'm sorry, Mrs Wheeler-" Ringo pleaded, heart hammering in her chest. Nancy finally stopped her mad dash through the house to face her mother.
"Fine! We slept together and Ringo got drunk! Is that what you want to know? Because it doesn't even matter!"
"It does matter!"
"No! It is all bullshit!" Nancy yelled back, her voice just as loud as her mother's. Ringo wondered where she got the balls to shout at her parents like that. "It has nothing to do with Barb and she's missing and something terrible happened to her, I know it! And no one is listening to me!"
Finally breaking down into tears, Nancy made a move again towards the stairs, filled with worry and guilt for her missing friend. Her breakdown softened her mother's approach, who tried to catch her arm and assure her that she was listening to her.
"I am listening to you, Nancy!" She pleaded, trying to keep her downstairs.
"No you're not!" Nancy spit back, breaking free from her grip and dashing upstairs.
