Mickey - The View From Here PART TWO - Gallavich

The Sweetest B*tch

It was stupid. Pointless, really. Visiting my brother Joey had been Sandy’s idea.

“He has no idea you’re the one that ran him over,” she had told me. “If he sees you while he’s fucked up, he’ll lay off a bit. He thinks he’s the new Terry. Everyone knows you should be handling the business, not Joey. That’s what Terry wanted.”

“Fuck Terry and Joey. And I'm technically not the one that ran him down.”

Sandy smirked as we strolled through the front entrance of the hospital. “Yeah. I guess you don’t need the family business anymore. You’re making more money for a legal product.” She clicked her tongue. “…I’m proud of you, Mick.” She gagged at the emotion. “Okay, enough with the sappy bullshit.”

I let my lips form a small grin that stemmed from pride. Maybe I had actually made my situation better, which at one time seemed so impossible. “So, you and Deb back together?”

An invisible set of weights pressed down on her posture, and she groaned, frazzled. “Don’t ask me. I give up trying to understand that girl.” After pausing, she scoffed. “She rebuked me for not being present for Prince, then she does the same fucking thing to Franny. Only Prince is safe, he’s with his dad. Franny’s dad is dead…I just can’t believe her, you know?”

“Yeah,” I said with the tone of a smartass. “Me and Ian had to play that part. It isn’t like we minded. I love the kid.”

Sandy gave me a strange look that screamed “how cute!”

“Shut up,” I sneered at her silent evaluation, wishing I hadn’t shared so much about my emotions. That was Ian's job.

"And now she's being all sweet and sexy. It isn't fair."

"Gallaghers aren't very fair," I informed her.

When we finally reached the large room Joey shared with several other patients, I balled my fists to keep my rage at bay. Jumping me was bad enough, but this asshole had come at me when I was with Franny. With any luck, that  incident wouldn’t screw her up too much. If Sandy hadn’t been there, Franny could have been hurt or kidnapped. Joey wasn’t one that cared about morals, and little white girls, especially with red hair, fetched a fair price in the creeper realm. The thought of it had me fantasizing about how to kill Joey.

My least favorite brother lay in a hospital bed, curious as to why I would visit. He stared up at me as I loomed over his bed.

“Hit by a truck, eh?” I said to him mockingly. “Did it hurt?”

“Like a motherfucker. Doc says I ain’t gonna walk again.”

Holding his gaze, I let joy radiate from my smile. “Good. Ain't karma the sweetest bitch?”