Fucked Up Gallagher (Book Two)

Chapter Twelve

Ian and Lip are downstairs. Ian goes to use the bathroom and I turn to Lip. "He's in an episode and won't take the calm down meds." Lip nods and I walk back upstairs before Ian can see me. I hear them talking and I can tell Ian took his meds based on how Lips' voice becomes relaxed. Carl comes home and tells the boys about how he's clean but Dom isn't. Carl was cheated on, just like Ian was. wow, relationships are fucked around here. Debbie and Fiona come barging in and I hear them yelling. That was a great five minutes of alone time. I run down the stairs to see what's up. "Good moms sick around, and going to jail would drastically affect your ability to do that." Jail, Why would Debbs go to jail! They joke about stripping and Fiona leaves pissed at all of us. Lip follows her to wash dishes at the dinner leaving Ian, Debbie, Franny, and Me. Carl leaves to follow Dom.

"DEBBIE! Can you get me a drink?" I yell to her. She glares at me. "You have feet."
"you're next to the fridge." She groans and grabs a beer and hands it to me. "Gracias." I take small sips of it. "That stripper joke has given me ideas," I say to Ian and Debbie. "What if I get a job stripping. Ian did it, Fiona probably has, Vee and Kev definitely have." Ian shrugs. "I mean, It's not a good job. It makes money." I agree with him. "It DOES make money and involves some hotties. I mean there has to be a few hot people who come in." I pause. "No telling Fiona though." Debbie walks over and hands me, Franny. "You really want to strip?"
"well I don't have to be completely naked, and I'll have some fun, I'll be at a bar so drinks and Ill probably meet a few people who sell drugs." 
"Where would you work?"
"There's an all-womans club downtown. I feel that's safer than stripping for men. Think of it as a fun summer job." I hear Ian laugh at me. "It's not summer." I shush him. "A fun fall job."

"I'm going to check it out tomorrow, someone calls me down at dinner." I go upstairs and fall asleep. Ian wakes me up and hands me a plate of food. "Thanks for coming to get me today." 
"Yeah, Well now we are even." he laughs. "Is this going to become a thing?" He asks. "God I hope not. Both of us off our rockers in the same week." We both laugh and H sits next to me in the bed.  I eat the plate of food he made. "I'll be back, just got to put this plate away." He lays down in the bed and puts his feet up. 

When I come back he's asleep. "Goodnight Ian," I whisper as I grab him a blanket. I walk to his room and see Lip is there sleeping. Debbie is asleep in her room, Fiona is asleep in hers and I don't dare go into Carl and Liam's room. I've walked in on too much in that room. I grab a blanket and head down to the couch. I don't fall asleep right away, instead, I lay awake thinking of maybe someday having a big house for a small family of my own. 

The next morning Fiona wakes us up and calls a "Family meeting." Fuck, who's introuble now. I look around, Ian clearly needs new meds, Debbs got caught shoplifting, Carl left last night, and Lip got kicked from college. Whos her target? Ian comes down and asks why he wasn't woken up. "I didn't want to wake you," Fiona tells him. He gives me the ' bitch please' look. Lip asks Ian how he slept and again I get the look. 

"Alright, SO it used to be the squirrel fund." Fiona starts. "Everybody contributed what they could," She says while pouring me and Ian a coffee. "but id carry the bulk of it because I was the only grown-up." she looks at us all and continues. "But times passed, and things have changed. Most of us are grown-ups now. Or at least pretending to be." She looks at Debbie who is giving her an 'if looks could kill glare'. "So I ran the numbers and I came up with a system that seems fair." She hands us all a paper with a price on it and tells us that's how much our dues are each month. 

"If we want to stay here?" Ian questions. "if you want us all to stay together. To stay a family. otherwise ill rent out your rooms, or sell the house, and everyone can fend for themselves."
"why is mine higher than carls?" Debbie asks. This causes a whole argument. I look at my slip. $200.  "I don't even live here enough for this shit." I point out. "Also..." she starts up again. "I want you to put me at the bottom of your emergency contact list. Put Lip first, And then Ian, And then Kev, and Vee, and then me." She looks around at all of us. "I'm not on here?" I ask.
"You're not a legal adult." She keeps talking. "Because I have a plan for my life, And I can't do it if I'm getting calls every five minutes about one of you." I watch Ian's face fall, I feel like saying something but I don't. MY emergency contact was changed to Enzo, Mickey, and Ian after the car accident.  

"You see what franks doing down the block?" We all turn to Vee. Everyone gets up and starts walking to see what's up. I stay inside and finish breakfast. "What's today going to bring?" I ask myself out loud.