HARD TIMES ━ lip gallagher²

02 | hulk smash

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IT WAS NOT AN unusual occurrence in the Gilbert household to hear screaming or the sound of glass smashing—but it certainly had been a long time since it happened. Amara jolted upright in her bed, and a moment later her bedroom door opened to reveal Silvia, whose eyes were wide. Immediately she stood and pulled her sister behind her, peering around the wall that lead into the living room.

She just barely managed to catch sight of the front door slamming closed, and Margot standing in the middle of the room, breathing heavily as she ran a frustrated hand through her hair. Amara glanced back to Silvia, who shrugged, before they both stepped out of hiding.

"Who was that?"

"Yeah, and can you tell them not to go all Hulk smash on our door?" Silvia asked. "I swear I saw the hinges loosen a bit."

Margot turned as if just hearing them for the first time. "What?"

"I asked who was that," Amara repeated, eyeing her. She had been doing really good with doing sober. Her skin looked better, and she had gotten some of the weight she lost back. But the way she was acting right now reminded her of a time of when she wasn't. "You okay?"

"Fine," she waved them off. "Fight with my boyfriend, that's all."

"You have a boyfriend?!" Silvia blinked, bewildered. "Is he cute?"

Amara eyed her mother skeptically. There was an edge to her tone that she only had when she was lying—Amara picked up on it quite young, it was practically a survival instinct for her at that point. Margot didn't answer, she disappeared into the kitchen, leaving the siblings to stare at each other in confusion, before someone started to rapidly pound on the door. Amara moved to answer it, not registering Margot's words until after she swung open the door.

"Don't-"

Ian and Carl bolted into the apartment, and ran all the way down the hall into Amara's bedroom, and she heard the door shut. She glanced around hopelessly before footsteps approached quickly, and she hurriedly threw her purse over her shoulder to step out of the living room into the foyer of the building. A man in a bright green t-shirt drenched in sweat was jogging towards her.

"Have you seen two boys? Redhead? Blonde one- fucking bastards- decently tall?"

Amara blinked. "No."

"Well if you do-"

"I'm trying to go to the grocery store, do you mind?"

The nameless man huffed and continued on his journey. Amara waited until he was out of sight before going back inside and marching to her room. Both of the Gallagher boys were ducking behind her bed. They stood up once she entered. "Is he gone?"

"Who the fuck was that?" She demanded.

The brothers shared a look, Ian was the one who broke the silence with a sigh. "The drugs Monica gave us for inheritance were stolen. That's who they belonged to."

Amara couldn't help but laugh—she leaned against the frame and crossed her arms. "Well fan-fucking-tastic. Fiona is going to have a field day with you guys, now. Good luck," she wished over her shoulder, before going to shower. She could hear their groans of defeat through the wall.

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Amara hated grocery shopping. It was a simple task, but it still exhausted her. Every time she went she came back home tired, and slept the rest of the afternoon away. Currently, she was standing in the snack isle, reading the text list Silvia had requested due to certain cravings, and decided to pick up the cookies and a bag of chips.

Patsy's wasn't one of the higher paying jobs, but the tips were good. Maybe Fiona deserved some credit for the uniform choices, she was sure that's why the income flow was so good. Margot had been fired from her deli job after she got caught stealing some of the meats to take home, so really Amara was once more carrying the household funds again.

Just as she thought, the pool hadn't reopened that summer, and it was filled in over the month of May as they started to rebuild it. No doubt a Starbucks or something of the sort. She knew she would never get by just working one job for the entire family, but she didn't want Silvia to start working until after she finished high school. No teenager deserved to have to provide for the household in that way, not like Amara had to. Silvia needed to stay a kid for as long as possible.

Once she was done checking out, she adjusted the bags in her arms and started out the door. For a brief moment, she could've sworn she heard the cashier call after her, and Amara turned back, only to crash into someone who immediately started to swear. Amara's eyes widened. "Oh fuck- sorry I wasn't paying attention."

"Amara?" She blinked. Why did this woman seem so familiar? "It's me, Donna. I interviewed you at Target a while ago?"

"Oh," Amara breathed, running a hand through her hair. "Hey! Sorry for tackling you."

Donna smiled and waved her off. "No worries. I was lost in my own world there, too. How've you been?"

"Fine," she shrugged, she wasn't exactly planning on making small talk with Donna, she had to get home before the milk got warm.

Donna tiled her head. "You never showed up to that writing clique I told you about. The one my brother runs? I think it could be great for you."

"Right," Amara wanted to agree, writing was truly the only thing she really enjoyed doing, but it would never work out. "I just lost the card you gave me." Complete lie, she'd thrown it out in the parking lot trash can.

The other woman raised a brow, and pulled something from her pocket. "Well here it is, try not to lose it again."

"Thanks," she replied dryly.

Donna pursed her lips. "Look, just come to one meeting, okay? If you hate it, you'll never have to show your face there again. But I read your resume, you wouldn't have gone through with that internship if you didn't really want it. I think you'll like it. And like I said, my brother has helped a lot of people get where they wanted to be."

Amara stared wordlessly at the slip of paper in her hands. "I'll think about it, okay?"

"Good," Donna patted her shoulder and straightened the purse over her shoulder. "I hope to see you there."

Amara exited the store, and she passed a trash can, but she was surprised at herself when the card stayed within her grip.

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