Serendipity; Places to lose and find yourself.

One

Midwinter in the south side was hell for most, we were lucky to have heat. Most bundled up in blankets and dealt with the bitter cold.

As I walked down the side walk, hoodie pulled close around my chest, I could hear the chaos of the city, cars squealing, kids playing; people fighting.

The infamous Fiona Gallagher was lugging Frank out on to the side walk; with a swift kick to the side she turned and walked inside.
She was admirable, I couldn't stand to do a thing like that to my father. Regardless of the piece of shit he really was.
I was currently walking to Kash and grab for a hot coffee and a pack of smokes.
A hot cup of coffee was one of the biggest rewards I could ever ask for after a day of dealing with my father as he spewed drunken insults and called me names.

Kash and grab was my safe place, a young red head boy named Ian let me sit in there for as long as I wanted, we talked to no end about our crazy life.

I had been friends with him for the longest time, meeting him in eighth
grade when my dad was the worst of the worst.

The bell above the door jingled as I pushed it open, "Hi Ian." I looked up to see a familiar warm smile, but was greeted with the aggravated face of Kash's wife Linda.

"Nikki."She greets me curtly and continues reading the magazine in front of her.

I can hear boxes shuffling around in the back isle so I wander back there in hopes to find Ian.

Kash is standing there loading canned on to the shelves.
"Hi Nikki" his face is glum, as he slowly puts cans into their places one at a time.
"Where's Ian?" I perched on the ice cream cooler behind him, twirling my zippo back and forth between my fingers.

"Sick, his dad beat the shit out of him again so he's laid up."

And for the first time since I had met him, I knew I would have to go to the Gallagher house to find my reprieve.

"Okay, can you sell me a pack? I don't have my I.D on me." Kash knew well enough that I wasn't 18 but would sell to me with out issue. Linda on the other hand would hassle the hell out of me for even asking; let alone not being age.

"Sure" with a box on his hip he walked to the cash register, "Linda get down a pack of malabrol one hundreds." I passed over the cash and tapped my nails quietly on the counter.

Linda eyed me warily as she pulled a pack out of the container and passed them across the counter.
"I.D next time Wessliy"

I nodded and walked out the door.

The wind had picked up since I had been inside, now my hair whipped back and forth across my face as I walked down the slick sidewalk, counting the pieces of trash as I went on my way.

Mandy Milchovick was sitting on the front porch steps as I opened the gate, cigarette pressed tightly between her fingers as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Where's Ian?" I sat down beside her lighting her cigarette as she held it to her mouth.

"Inside, Frank pissed on the couch again." She wiped the streaky makeup off her cheeks and looked up at the sky. Puffy white clouds floated slowly across; and for a moment I was reminded what it was like to be a little kid.
The door flying open and body flying out of the house snapped my from my thoughts.

Frank stood up from the side walk and spit towards the house, "Fuck all of you!" He shouted " I made all of you. This is my house!" He tossed a cigarette at the open door where Fiona stood.
"Preach to the choir frank. None of us are listening."  She squished between us on the steps and pulled out a cigarette, "Got a light?" Her warm smile made me feel better about watching a man get tossed like a rag doll.

Fiona Gallagher was not the woman to fuck with, south side girls knew how to handle themselves. Little were they given credit for though.

"Ian and lip are inside if ya girls are looking for 'em." She stood up and walked down the steps, headed next door to V and Kenvin's

"Meet you inside?" I stood up, looking down at Mandy.
She nodded and took another long drag from her cigarette.

Debbie and and Liam sat on the couch staring at the t.v aimlessly. Looking bored out of their minds, "Where's Ian?" I shuffled my feet uncomfortably as Debbie looked me up and down.

"Who are you?" Debbie cocked an eyebrow at me; her eyes unforgivingly judging me.

"Uh, a friend from work?" I smiled half heartedly with the immense feeling I was about to get the third degree from a 12 year old.

"He's upstairs." She turned back to the T.V no longer acknowledging my existence as I turned to stomp up the messy stairs.

"Ian?" I peeked through each of the open doors until I saw him sitting in a room at the end of the hall with a joint smashed in his fingers.
"Hey there you are." I plopped down on the bed beside him, removing the joint from his hand and dragging on it.

"Hey." He was looking down at the floor so I couldn't see his face.

Kash had mentioned something about Ian and frank getting in a fist fight earlier today; Ian must have been hiding his face from me.

"You're covered in blood." I dropped the joint in an empty can beside the bed and walked to the bathroom.
I wet a wash rag with some warm water and grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol.

"Chin up Gallagher, this ain't the first time you've been scuffed." I kneeled down in front of him forcing him to look at me, "Let me clean you up and we can go convince Kevin to get us a bottle."

Ian cracked a small smile; he knew the exact scuff I was talking about.

"Nikki!" My father rushed out of the house in a fit of rage, he had seen Ian sitting on the steps with me and it had sent him to blood boiling anger; he was drunk again.

"You dirty cock eating whore!" He snatched the back of my hair and tossed me back towards the front porch.
My ribs slammed in to the steps filling my stomach with a sick pain.

"What the fuck is your problem??" Ian grabbed a hold of him, wrapping my dad in a head lock.

"My little girl doesn't get to hang out with trash!" He was referring to Frank.

"She shouldn't be here with you then." He slammed his fists into my dads ribs over and over again as I wheezed in pain.

My dad had managed to get free and started swinging. Knocking a few good hits into Ian's nose, leaving it disgustingly bloodied.

"Stop! Ian." I cradled my side as I walked towards them, " I need to go to the hospital." Ian glanced up at me for a moment before hitting my father with all of his force. Leaving him a crumpled heap on the ground.

"All cleaned up" I smiled at him and tossed the bloody rag in to the can by the door, "now lets go harass Kev and V."