Fire and Rain, Season 2, Episode 5 (Rising Storm) by R.K. Lilley

parents’ room, punctuated by a loud boom, like someone had punched the wall.
    In spite of herself, Dakota flinched.
    “You lost your temper with Mom,” Mallory gritted out, “and now he’s going to, but his temper leaves a mark .”
    Dakota rolled her eyes again. “I don’t have to listen to this. I’m leaving.” She gave her sister her back and started walking away.
    “Sure, take off now before you hear something that might puncture that little bubble of denial you live in. At least he tried to hide what he was doing before, so I get how you could convince yourself it wasn’t happening. But now that we’ve all seen how much better Mom does without him here, he can’t even control himself with us around! What are you going to tell yourself now that he’s out in the open with it?” Mallory spat at her retreating back.
    Dakota spun around. “You’re so full of it.”
    Another loud noise shook the house, this one sounding like something crashed to the ground, followed by the tiniest, muffled whimper.
    That set her sister off again. She pointed a shaking finger in the direction of their parents’ room. “I’m full of it? I’m full of it? You’re so determined to justify everything Hector does that you’ve created an entire fake world in your head where whatever noise we just heard, and however bruised or banged up our mom ends up being as a result of it, you’re somehow always going to figure that it’s her fault? That she’s that clumsy, but for months, with him gone, she never fell once ?”
    “Shut up,” Dakota snapped, fed up. “Just shut up. You’d both do anything to make Dad look bad. You love the attention. Well, I’ve had it. I’m leaving.”
    “You’re just like him,” Mallory snarled. “You’re a bully, and you only care about yourself.”
    Dakota’s only response was to slam the door behind her as she left.
     

CHAPTER SEVEN
    Marcus watched as his sister strode toward him, eyes flashing in anger.
    “What’s your problem?” she asked him by way of a greeting, the words coming out on a snarl.
    “You,” he replied, feeling his own temper rise. “You’re my problem. You and our worthless, abusive father. I’m surprised you could stop kissing his ass long enough to leave on your own. Did he need you to run an errand for him? Or are you actually doing something productive?”
    “You know what I’m not doing?” she shot back. “Getting a job. You know why? Mom sabotaged it for me.”
    “Sabotaged?” he asked, eyes narrowing. That only sounded like one person, and it wasn’t their mother. “Mom isn’t the one that sabotages. And are you talking about the job at Pink?”
    “The lack of a job at Pink, yes, and she sure does. She’s got this whole town so brainwashed against Daddy that our name is a black mark against me. It’s sickening.”
    “Mother is not the one that’s done that to our name. It’s Hector…and you. If you didn’t get the job, that’s on you, not Mom.”
    “Oh, please. You all just want attention, and not only is it pathetic, it’s gotten old. Just let it go already.”
    “We want attention? After all of the things you’ve done, you have the nerve to accuse someone else of that? You’re thinking of yourself there. And why aren’t you with dear old Daddy this morning?” He studied her. “You’re somehow behind him coming back, aren’t you?” He’d suspected it the minute he’d realized how happy she was to see Hector and how unsurprised.
    She didn’t deny it, damn her.
    “So where is he now?” he asked, glancing around suspiciously.
    “At home,” she answered, and this time she smirked. “He’s not going anywhere. I just stepped out because Mom and Dad are fighting. It’s about time they had it out. Mom has a lot to answer for. I hope he gives it to her good.”
    Marcus felt ill suddenly. “Do you even know what that means? Dad’s version of giving it to her good ends with an excuse about her falling down the stairs. How