you// c.g.

6

The next day Alexia and I learned that Ian was released, and of course since he was released in the custody of Monica, he was gonna be doing as good as shit off his meds.

But he returned, thankfully, and we were all really glad to see him. I think I hugged him the longest, but it was like he wasn't even there. He was there, but something was missing. Something was gone in him. He changed, drastically, and I had finally just saw it. And I hated it. Ian and I were close, and I hated knowing that he had changed into a person I didn't know because of this disease.

But of course, I supported his decision. He didn't want to feel broken, and that was exactly how we were making him feel. Forcing him to take pills that made him feel sad, and dead inside. We tried telling him it would take a while to get used to, but he denied it. He didn't want to hear it.

A few weeks passed by and Debbie told me she was pregnant. I was shocked that she even thought to tell me, but she begged and pleaded with me that I wouldn't tell Fiona. That she wasn't ready. So of course everyday I encouraged her to to spill.

During the while, Alexia was all over Mickey about him and Ian's situation. Usually he would push everyone away, even his own siblings, but he's always had a soft spot for us Lodge girls. She'd been sleeping there mostly, trying to get Gallavich back together, she really was trying. Mickey was a mess without Ian. Sometimes I thought he was even going crazy. This was all until he got arrested for attempt of murder and sentenced to 15 fucking years. God damn Sammi.

Alexia and I had to deal with a lot of fights with our dad. He had lost his job for drinking while working and even falling asleep too, always being hungover. He had spent whatever money he had left on beer and cigs, which wasted everything we had to pay the bills for the house. This lead to eventually the bank taking the house. Alexia and I weren't upset about it, we packed everything up and moved officially in with the Gallagher's. Dad was homeless on the streets and sometimes he would show up next door at our old house, banging on the door, being so out of it he thought he still lived there and we had just locked him out. I felt some kind of sympathy for him, or maybe it was just pity. Maybe I just felt bad, the alcohol had completely ruined his life. Our lives.

Mom never came back again, marking her disappearing streak a few months again. We hadn't heard or seen her, which we took as a blessing, hoping she'd never show up in our lives again.

A lot of time passed by and I barely ever got to visit Carl. I think the gang visited a couple of times, but after my first visit, they made a lot of restrictions. Apparently, Alexia pulling strings like that got Carl's parole officer in trouble. So he had to get a new one and I could only visit if Fiona went since I wasn't family.

But she had work and her life to get on with and taking care of the kids, and since she only could bring one other person, we had to take turns. So I only got to visit him one or maybe two more times his whole sentence. Which really bummed me out and had me missing him.

So, that leads us to where we are today. My birthday. Lex and Fi had finally let me stay home from school after weeks of begging them. It took a lot of wasted energy to get them to finally agree. They had even taken the day off to enjoy the day with me, so I wouldn't be lonely.

I was excited to say the least. It was my fifteenth birthday and I had convinced Fi into throwing a famous Gallagher house party, which she had banned for awhile because they could get way to out of hand. This meant beer, weed, something destructive happening, and a lot of good drunk memories with all of my favorite people.

To start out my day, I actually woke up at a good time; 9am. Which was extremely early for me. So I got a shower, got dressed and let my hair air dry while I came down for breakfast.