HARD TIMES ━ lip gallagher²

05 | karma

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FIONA WAS DOING A load of laundry while Amara scanned through apartment listings in the newspaper, wiping her eyes sleepily, and in slight annoyance because she hadn't even found one close to their price range. "This is a lot more difficult than I thought it'd be," she mumbled, yawning. Fiona glanced up as she tossed her clothing into the washer.

"Still no luck?"

"None," she answered, pushing the newspaper away to bury her face in her hands. "At this rate you should just consider charging us rent, we're gonna be here a while."

"I might be making my siblings pay rent," Fiona said, closing the washer door and standing up. "But I'm not about to kick you while you're down."

"You know, we're really lucky to have you."

Fiona let a genuine smile form at her lips, before the sound of the washer whirling stopped abruptly, and her brows furrowed. She moved to start it again, and Amara took a bite of her cold toast.

"Shit," she swore once it stopped again, and she kicked the side of it.

"Uh-oh!" Liam said.

Ian poked his head down from the staircase. "What was that noise?"

"I think it was the sound of the washer dying."

"Fiona broke it," Liam announced, handing Amara a glass of juice. She grinned down at him in thanks.

"I've gotta get some loads in before I go to work."

"Ugh," Ian groaned, then shrugged. "Just call V. You can use her washer."

Fiona pulled a face and walked back over to the counter where Amara was sat it. She looked up curiously. "No V."

"What's wrong with V?" Ian wondered, sharing a look with Amara, who was certain she looked as lost as he did.

Fiona shrugged, grabbing something from a cabinet. "I guess we're on the outs. We got into it pretty bad about me not being there for her, and her not giving a shit about me, and we haven't spoken since."

"Don't start the washer," Carl said, coming down the steps. "I need to throw in one of my shirts."

"Can't. Washers broken."

Carl glanced around helplessly. "What am I supposed to do about my military-school interview? I can't go in there snelling like one of Frank's homeless."

"You're still going through with that?" Ian asked.

Amara hopped down from the barstool. "You got cologne?"

Carl blinked, confused. "Uh, yeah."

"Drown it in some," she offered, throwing her plate away as the back door swung open and Lip walked in.

"Who died?" He questioned, watching their grim expressions.

"Another appliance," Carl replied.

He winced. "Oh, shit. The washing machine?"

"Yeah, it's the one fucking Jimmy bought for us," Fiona scoffed, kicking it again. "I should've known it would never last."

Amara snorted, cocking her head. "I feel like that's a play on words."

☆

"Told you, I don't need you to walk me to work," Amara threw over her shoulder, rolling her eyes as Lip jogged to catch up with her and Liam.

"I know. But I'm just so nice."

"That's an odd synonym for annoying."

He sighed. "Look, you're the one who said we could start over. And we can't do that if you keep pushing me away."

Amara gave him a look. "You've never been this clingy."

He held out his hand, and she stopped walking, pulling Liam with her. "So let's start over. I'm Lip."

"Yeah," she glanced to his hand then back up to his eyes. "No shit."

Lip raised a brow, and she huffed, grabbing his hand to shake it. There was no way to ignore the sparks that flew up her arm at the contact, but she tried her best to pretend they weren't there. "This is the part where you say your name."

"This is pointless-"

"Hi, I'm Lip," he repeated.

She huffed. "Yeah I'm Amara."

Liam jumped eagerly. "I'm Liam!"

Lip crouched down to be eye level with him. "Nice to meet you Liam."

Amara watched as he stood back up, and nodded in the direction of the public pool. "Ready to go, then?"

Lip grinned. "Always with you."

She shook her head, attempting to hide her flush,
and started down the sidewalk without him. "Still don't want you to walk me!" She said over her shoulder.

☆

There was a pounding on the front door that made Amara glance up from the laptop, but Ian was the one who rose off of the couch, huffing in annoyance because he had literally just sat down. Amara snorted into her palm. "Who is it?"

"Deb Gallagher at this address?" A man's voice asked. Amara leaned her head back onto the cushions to get a better view of who was there. He was fairly short, wore glasses and a fancy tux, and was holding a clipboard. She felt suspicious immediately.

"Debs, it's for you!" Ian called up the steps, and a moment later Debbie appeared, holding Franny in her hands.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Debbie Gallagher? I'm Tony Casas from the Department of Children and Family Services. We want to inform you that we're opening an investigation to determine whether or not your daughter, Frances Gallagher, is the victim of child endangerment and neglect."

Franny fussed from Debbie's arms, and Fiona stepped around Ian, looking pissed. "What?"

Then, Tony showed them a video of Debbie fighting with what it looked like a homeless person on the streets, Franny secured in her satchel. Amara raised her brows but turned away with pursed lips, and focused her attention on finding a house instead of chuckling to herself. It was only somewhat amusing that Debbie claimed to be responsible enough to have a baby, put Fiona through literal hell, treated Silvia like shit, only for something like this to happen.

God, it was awful to think like that. Amara would surely get bit in the ass for it sometime in the future, but she couldn't help but believe that, hey, maybe it was karma.

☆

a/n

oops this is rly short i might update again later