Who the hell cares?!

Chapter Thirteen.

Jimmy Cassidy

We sat next to each other in the freezing cold house - me, Frankie and Danny, all clothed up in big jackets. We sat in complete silence, the only sound being each other's breathing. Danny would sigh, then it would be me, then it would be Frankie. Perhaps we all imagined something on the television, which had been blank screened for days now.

"So..." Frankie said, slowly. "I suppose we ought to entertain ourselves somehow."

"Oh yeh?" Danny responded, sarcastically. "How?"

"Oh, excuse me," Frankie muttered, and we fell into a silence again. Every so often, we would give each other an awkward glance and then we would look away again. I gave a final sigh.

"Maybe we should go out and get something to eat," I started. "I mean, I'm starving..."

"Y' have any gas in the car?" Danny grumbled.

"... no..."

"Thought not."

"We can walk."

"Y' can go fuck yourself."

I groaned in frustration, running my trembling hands through my hair. "Look, we can't just sit here in the cold and watch the minutes tick by on a clock that doesn't even have the right time!" I exploded, gesturing my hand towards the broken clock on the wall, which had a broken face and the wrong time. "We are going no where with this damn stropping!"

"Shut up, Jimmy, I was in a tranquil state of mind before y' decided to disturb me," Danny said, gloomily. I understood why Danny was gloomy. He always felt the pressure was on him. He always felt that he had to solve the problems. He had to pay the bills, had to get me a job, had to get Frankie to college...

Allie was going to college. His best friend. Frankie was just as intelligent as she was. And yet he couldn't afford to get the same expansion on his education as she. Even though he deserved to go to college, deserved a life outside the Liverpool slums. That's why I think Danny doesn't like having Allie around - it reminds him of everything he can't do for us.

"Well, look, we need to perk up and do something... good, something great, something bright!" I said, standing up. Just as I spoke those exact words, there was a long hummmmm and the lights flickered to life, startling us all. That never happened before...

"What... the hell...?" Frankie murmered, standing up slowly, looking around in amazement. Danny only seemed to sit in a stunned silence. "What just happened?" The tv blared and static appeared on the screen suddenly, causing a second jump out of us all.

"I don't understand," Danny said, eventually. "I didn't pay any bills!"

"None of us did!" I exclaimed, looking around in blind shock. "What's going on?" Then I remembered... who was the only other person, outside my brothers and I, who cared about our financial issues...? "Allie," I murmered under my breath, stalking out of the room, storming upstairs.

I pulled out my phone and dialled her number, pacing my room impatiently. It rang for a moment before she picked up, "Hello...?"

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

There was a small pause, "I guess you found out what I did, huh?" she asked, slowly. I sat down on my bed.

"What the hell do you think you're playing at, Allie? Paying my bills? Really? I thought you weren't supposed to pity me!" I exclaimed, aggresively. She gulped down the line, silent for a moment longer. "What else have you done? Well?"

"You... you may want to check Frankie's college funds."

"YOU PAID FOR FRANKIE'S COLLEGE FUNDS?!"

"I... I was only trying to help you!" she defended herself. I laughed incredulously.

"Help?! You think we're so pathetic that we need help from other people?!" I seethed at her. "You betrayed me, you betrayed your best friend-!"

"Please, Jimmy, Frankie can't know!" she begged me. I sighed a long sigh.

"I wasn't gonna tell him..."

"Can... can we talk? In person?" she asked me. I sighed, stood up and started pacing up and down again.

"Where?"

"Just... anywhere... why don't we meet up in the café down the street from my house?" she asked, nervously. I considered it for a moment and then I let out a long, deep breath.

"Okay... we'll meet up," I said, slowly. "Tomorrow. At about one pm..."

"Okay," she said, blankly.

"Fine." And then I hung up, rubbing my eyes and sighed in agitation.