you// c.g.

2

"Hey, Janie." Fiona called as I made my way through the courthouse.

"Yeah?" I smiled turning around, finding her squeezing through the sea of people.

"You're not gonna stop hangin with us just because Carl's off in Juvie, right?" She jokes and I laughed.

"Is that even a question, Fi?" I asked and she smiled.

"I just want you to know we all love you the same and you can still come over whenever you want."

"I know, Fi. You'd all just die if I wasn't around, I am the life of the party after all." I giggled.

"Yeah, definitely." A few more seconds went by before she asked the question I had been asking myself all day, "Have you talked to Alexia?"

"Nope. She hasn't returned any of my calls." I sighed, looking down at my phone. "But I'm off home right now to check it out, be at your's for dinner?"

"Yeah! As long as Lex is with you." She smirked and I nodded, continuing out of the courthouse.

——

"Hey Lex?" I called, closing the front door. "How come you weren't at the courthouse to...day." I slowed down as I entered the living room seeing the person I hated so much.

"Mom?"

——

"No seriously, what the hell are you doing here?" I asked, throwing my phone on the charger.

"I'm here to see you and Alexia." She said, her voice soft.

"Don't even, Mom. I know exactly what you're doing here." I said, turning around. "You're here for -what, the day? two?- to try and manipulate the both of us into giving you money."

"It's only a little bit this time-"

"It's always a little bit mom, always." Alexia interrupted, throwing her bag in the room across mine. "Sorry I couldn't make it to the courthouse, got pulled in for a triple again and my phone died."

I nodded in response.

"What do we do with her?" I said through gritted teeth as she sat down on my bed.

"Mom, you have to leave. Dad'll probably be home soon and we all know how he feels about you." Alexia informed her. Mom's eyes filled with shock and fear, but she quickly recovered and stood with her arms crossed.

"I- I can take him." She said not so convincingly.

"You said that every time he beat the shit out of you, so if you don't fucking leave I'll get dad to get you out of here." Something snapped in Alexia as she stood and passed by her. She grabbed a bag in her room, shoving some clothes into it.

"You would just let him do that to me? A-and you're gonna kick me out with nothing? I'm your mother-"

"Don't even start with that whole 'I'm Your Mother' bullshit. You're not my mom as long I'm concerned." She spat the words like poison in our mother's face before turning to me. "You have clothes at the house?"

I nodded.

"Wh- What house?" Mom asked 'concerned'.

"The Gallagher's, our next door neighbors? Right but you wouldn't know that because you've never stuck around long enough." I stood up, grabbing my phone and following behind Lex in pursuit.

"Jane?" She asked desperately, her last try for more money.

"I'm sorry Mom, I'm not five anymore and give a shit what happens to you. You've left us millions of times and.. that just shows how much you give a shit about what happens to us." I told her, she sighed. "Now leave. We all know what will happen when dad gets home."

——-

"Your mom came home?" Fiona asked Lex as I sat at the dinner table with Liam. Lex nodded. "What's that make it? The first time in five months?"

"Six." Lex corrected, "At least it's taking her longer to waste her money now."

I rolled my eyes as I returned to playing cars with Liam.

"Where's Sammi?" Lex asked using a weird voice as she said her name.

"Looking at apartment listings, apparently." She sighed.

"Finally," Alexia groaned, "I hated her."

"Ugh, when is Debbie coming home?" I groaned, turning on the bench to look back at them, "You guys are so boring."

"She's over her boyfriend's house having dinner." Fiona laughed, "Already missing your little boyfriend?" She asked, causing Lex to start shaking her head frantically.

"Yeah, and who's that?" I pushed. Fiona smiled widely as she answered.

"Carl."

As soon as she mentioned him Alexia dropped her head knowing I was gonna freak out.

"Why the fuck does everyone think I like Carl? Or that we should be together or some shit?" I groaned, making them both laugh. "Whatever, just continue making dinner, I'm starving."

Only a few minutes went by before dinner was finished. Ian and Mickey joined the four of us and soon enough Debbie walked through the door with her new boyfriend.

"Hey Debs!" I said with glee. She slightly waved and led her boyfriend upstairs. A heavy sigh escaped my mouth as I plopped back down on the bench.

After everyone finally finished, I took Liam upstairs seeming that dinner was really late tonight. I changed him and laid him down in his bed, skipping a bath since the water was off. Putting Liam to bed was the only calm and quiet thing going on in the house, ever.

I shut off the little lamp next to his bed and planted a light kiss onto his forehead. I turned around and began digging through Carl's drawer, looking for my clothes. Sadly enough, all of my clothes, but my sweatpants and socks, were nowhere to be found.

"Shit." I cursed under my breath. I slid on my sweatpants and socks before digging around again for a shirt.

Slipping on a gray t-shirt of his, I closed the door and walked down the stairs. Fiona and Lex were in the kitchen, gossiping probably, while throwing back a couple of beers. Debbie and her boyfriend were still upstairs and Ian and Mickey had headed out somewhere.

I slouched down on the couch, turning on the tv. Tom & Jerry, Carl and I's favorite cartoon since we were little, turned on. I smiled, remembering when we would sit on the floor, too close to the tv and watch it in the mornings. Frank would be passed out on the couch, hungover from his fun friday night out. Fi and Lex would be giggling about something in the kitchen while making breakfast, and the rest of the crew would be doing their own things.

That's how most Saturday mornings went, and as we got older it's how most boring Friday nights in at the house sneaking a beer went, or recently since he'd been dealing how most late nights getting high went. I knew then that I was in for one hell of a year missing him.