Okay guys, you few readers seemed to like it so here is the next chapter!
I hope you all enjoy!
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After the small interrogation last night of just how much Amethyst knew, everyone acted a little differently around her, as if she wasn't just their little sister, but something more. As if they finally knew that she was capable of a lot more. Though, it was mainly Lip and Fiona who had changed their behavior more than the others.
Lip seemed to steal glances at the little girl, speaking quietly with Fiona over a private matter; the oldest Gallagher sibling looked stressed when he did so. Amethyst, however, didn't notice them, carrying out her usual routine as if nothing had changed when the opposite was the truth.
Everything had changed.
She woke up when everyone else did, having been tired yesterday when she stayed up so late with Lip answering his questions. When she woke up, she changed into some grey, printed leggings and a black tank top, slipping on her purple jacket when she got downstairs; the house was colder than it usually got, but not as cold as it got when they switched the power off.
Her hair bounced in their natural curls, not bothering to brush them since that would only make it worse, as she skipped into the kitchen, moving around Veronica, who was working on Debbie's hair. Fiona and Steve were in the middle of the kitchen as Fiona put a sweater on over her head. Amie skipped over to get some food from the kitchen, Veronica smiling at her as she passed.
"Hey, smarty-pants," Veronica said, and Amethyst furrowed her eyebrows, stopping mid-way as she grabbed the cereal box from the counter. Fiona looked to Veronica with wide eyes, her face set into a firm expression.
"V," Fiona sounded as if she was reprimanding the woman. Veronica looked confused as she continued doing Debbie's hair, wondering what she did wrong. Amie ignored them, climbing onto the counter to grab a bowl from one of the cabinets.
It was awkwardly quiet for a moment longer as Fiona helped Amie down once she got her bowl. "I was thinking," Fiona began, bending down to the little girl's height as she brushed a strand behind her ear. "Maybe Lip could start tutoring you in some schoolwork like you've wanted?"
She sounded hesitant, as if Fiona wasn't sure it was a good idea, but Amie took to the idea immediately, her eyes widening as she smiled. "Really?" she asked, and after Fiona nodded, Amie jumped up and down, nodding as well. "Yes, yes, yes!"
Everyone started laughing at her as Fiona stood up, patting Amie's head. "Well, Lip gets out of school early today so you two can start when he gets home, alright?" she said.
Amie nodded, still smiling. She couldn't believe that Fiona was finally allowing her to learn new things with an actual tutor, and considering that it was her brother that was tutoring her, it could be a lot more comfortable than if it was a stranger. The little girl had to admit though, that at some points, having her brother as her tutor could get a little annoying.
Amethyst poured her cereal and milk into the bowl, sitting at the table to eat it leisurely, listening as Steve tried to convince Fiona of taking a trip to some kind of hotel. Veronica was complaining to the oldest Gallagher about the toilet, and Amie's face scrunched up in disgust. That was definitely not something that she wanted to hear while she was eating.
But, soon enough, long after Veronica had finished Debbie's hair and Amie had eaten both breakfast and lunch, the backdoor opened quickly. Amethyst was sitting on the couch, typing away on the computer as she learned more and more when Lip and Ian came barging in with handfuls of large meat, quickly followed by Veronica and Kevin. Amie's eyes widened as she stood up from the couch in the living room, moving to see Veronica quickly open the door to the fridge as the boys dumped the meat onto any vertical surface they could find.
"How the hell are we gonna fit all of that into there?" she asked, gesturing to the tiny refrigerator.
"What is all of that?" Amie asked wide eyed, looking curiously at the large bodies of meat. She's only very seen meat in small portions, and never connected to actual bone before.
"Meat, what's it look like?" Ian said, huffing once as he dropped another handful of the substance onto the kitchen table. Amethyst rolled her eyes, giving Ian a look in which he returned with a smirk.
"It's still connected to the body is all," Lip offered, and Amie blinked, staring at the meat even more. But, the more she looked at it, the more grossed out she was becoming. It was no surprise that out of the younger siblings, Carl was the one that would enjoy looking at dead animals.
"I think I'm going to be a vegetarian," Amie commented, her face scrunched up as she leaned against the new washing machine, seeing everyone laugh at her statement. She frowned at that; she was kind of being serious.
Veronica gave the young girl a look. "Have fun starving then," she said, and Amethyst rolled her eyes before returning to the couch, knowing that she was too little to help carry the large loads inside.
She flopped onto the couch, bringing the laptop closer to her on her lap as she grabbed her notebook, scribbling down a few more answers to the questions on the screen. She heard footsteps closer than the chatter that was in the kitchen and turned her head to see Lip approaching her, leaning over the back of the couch to look at the laptop.
"Hey," he greeted, closing the laptop, to which Amie exclaimed a protest to. He only smiled gently at her, something that made a confused expression come across the little girl's face. "I was thinking that you might wanna help with the meat outside?" he asked.
She scrunched her face up in distaste. "Pass," she replied, reaching out to open the laptop again when Lip took it off of her lap. "Hey-"
"I'll let you hold the chainsaw," Lip tried to bribe her as she got to her knees on the couch, facing him now. She frowned at him.
"No thanks. Ask Carl," she said, reaching for the device while Lip took a step back, creating a bigger distance between them. She huffed in exasperation, looking at Lip with wide eyes. "What the heck, dude?"
He smiled at her choice of words but shrugged. "I just figured you'd wanna take a break from schoolwork," he told her, and she furrowed her eyebrows.
"To hack into meat instead?" she asked, giggling slightly as she tilted her head. "No offense, big brother, but I'm not a boy. Even if I am a Gallagher, I'm not a fan of violence."
His eyebrows shot up at this, and she wondered why. He looked amused by her statement, but kept a hold of the laptop for a moment longer than necessary. As he was handing it back, he pulled it away from her grasp, making her look to him in annoyance. "A movie, tonight, with everyone in the family, minus Fiona. Say yes, and I'll give this back to you."
She tilted her head, confusion written across her features. "Why do you care so much all of a sudden?" she asked, and a slightly hurt expression crossed over her brother's face. She amended her statement. "I mean, I've been doing schoolwork in my free time for a while and you haven't said anything until now. Why?"
He had an unreadable expression on his face as he walked around the couch, setting the laptop on the coffee table before sitting down next to her. She turned around and flopped onto her butt on the couch, looking up at her brother curiously. He gave her a small smile. "Well...I just think that you need to spend more time being a kid and less time being...well, gifted."
"Gifted?" Amethyst giggled, shaking her head. "I'm not gifted."
He tilted his head at her, his eyebrows furrowed together. "Why do you think that?" he asked, his interest in her answer clear in his voice.
She shrugged. "Because there's nothing special about it," she said matter-of-factly, reminding her brother that she completely believed that what she could do was normal in every little kid. "I just like learning, that's all."
Lip smiled at her, bringing her in to a side hug, something that she was slightly confused about. She hugged him back tightly any way, listening to his voice as it vibrated through his chest. "Just...try to let loose once in a while," he told her, pulling away. "Be a kid while you still can, alright?"
She was still confused by the whole line of questioning, but she nodded her head. "Course, Lip," she told him, and he ruffled her curly hair once more before getting up and going outside, cutting up more of the meat.
She frowned after him, but after a moment, she shrugged it off, not thinking much of the conversation. She opened the laptop once more, grabbed onto her notebook, and started writing some more words down.
Though, the more that she tried to get back into the swing of things, the more her mind continued to wander back to the conversation. Why was Lip so concerned that she wouldn't be a kid anymore just because he found out about all of the stuff she knew? Why would learning new things take away from her being only 6 years old? Why did Lip think that she was gifted? Wasn't what she could do normal?
Amethyst bit her lip, looking up from the laptop to see the empty kitchen, the backdoor slightly open so that she could hear everyone working outside. They were laughing, sounding like they were having fun as the noise of a chainsaw echoed throughout the alley. She could hear Ian and Lip yelling something at Carl, as well as Debbie laughing loudly. Amethyst sighed, tilting her head at the door, wondering if she wanted to join them.
But then she looked back at the laptop, and decided to continue with her studying. She couldn't help outside anyway even if she wanted to. Plus, there was the movie night thing later today that she would look forward to, so she didn't need a break now.
She forgot about any worries the minute that she switched from the Chinese history to the beginnings of learning Italian. She was immersed on the site, sounding out words silently with her grey eyes stuck to the screen. She continued like that for about an hour before she saw Fiona running around the house, looking a little stressed. Amethyst tilted her head curiously, setting the laptop aside as she looked up at her big sister.
"You looked stressed," she said simply, seeing Fiona whirl herself back to Amie, looking exactly how the little girl described.
Fiona smiled slightly, nodding her head as she came to sit next to Amethyst on the couch. "Yea," she agreed, nodding her head. "I just got back from scolding Frank, so I guess you could say I'm kinda stressed."
Amethyst furrowed her eyebrows. "What'd Dad do now?" she asked, and her sister looked over at her with an annoyed expression.
"What didn't he do?" she asked, shaking her head. "He used all of our names, minus yours and Liam's, to use on credit cards. He basically put all of us in debt."
Amie frowned, looking confused. "What's debt?" she asked, surprised that she had no idea what debt was. Fiona looked over at her again, seeming to realize that Amethyst was still only six years old, even if she was smarter than her years.
"Don't you worry about it," Fiona replied, patting Amethyst's head softly as she got up.
"Maybe you should go with Steve to that hotel thingy," the little girl suddenly said, causing Fiona to turn around in surprise. "I mean, you should deserve a night off, right?" She looked at Fiona innocently, a look of worry settled over the younger girl's features. She hated when Fiona worked too hard, considering it wasn't even technically her job to do so. That belonged to their parents, but considering who their parents were, Fiona was forced to be the adult, and that wasn't fair.
Fiona was silent for a long moment, possibly surprised that Amie could notice such a thing in her older sister. "You really think so?" Fiona asked, still a little uncertain about leaving her siblings alone.
Amethyst smiled widely, nodding her head excitedly. "Yea!" she responded, getting up off the couch to grab Fiona's hand. "We'll be alright here."
Fiona looked down at her little sister, smiling fondly as she picked the little girl up into her arms. "How'd you get so smart?" she asked a little playfully, even if she really meant the question. Amethyst giggled, only shrugging her shoulders in response. Fiona shrugged her shoulders as well, walking into the kitchen and placing Amethyst back on the ground as she went outside, telling everyone that she'd be going with Steve to the hotel. Amie smiled in success.
She watched as everyone outside started coming inside, bringing in the cut pieces of meat and stuffing most of it into the fridge. Outside was already starting to get dark, the winter season obvious with such short days and freezing weather. Lip instructed Amethyst to start setting the table for dinner and she nodded her head, grabbing the silverware and walking over to the table, hearing the front door close as Fiona left for her night of peace.
Lip cooked a lot of the meat, creating a large dinner as the smell of chicken wafted through the house. Amethyst had to admit that though the meat was kinda gross when it was raw, it smelled heavenly once cooked. Her mouth was practically watering as she set the plates on the dinner mats, grabbing napkins for everyone as well, knowing that Carl would most likely go nuts with the barbecue sauce.
Soon enough, everyone was sitting around the table, minus Fiona as well as Ian, who had left to find Mickey Milkovich for some reason concerning the Kash N Grab. Amie wasn't really paying attention as she started eating her chicken, cut into little pieces thanks to Lip. She moaned at the taste, seeing Lip and Carl smile at her as Debbie went to grab the ketchup, sitting down and licking her lips at her plate.
But, just as the dinner was starting, Frank walked in, bundled up in a beanie and a jacket. Lip glanced at their father absentmindedly before returning to his dinner. "What happened to you?" he asked simply, and Amie tilted her head, staring at her father to see how he'd respond. He always seemed to tell crazy stories.
"Uh, a huge guy jumped me," Frank answered, and Amethyst's eyebrows shot up, surprised already. "Two-eighty, Two-ninety, steroids...Who knows?"
Lip nodded along, not looking as if he believed their father, and Amie couldn't really blame him. Most of the times, Frank was lying, or at least over exaggerating the situation to gain sympathy from somebody. "Good for him," Lip said, wiping his mouth and handing a napkin to Amethyst, winking at her. She widened her eyes but took the napkin, rubbing away the mess on her face.
"I need your help," Frank said as Amethyst licked her lips, looking down at the napkin.
"I got maybe two bucks," Debbie answered immediately, looking over at Frank with a frown.
"No, no, no. Show of hands," Frank amended, and Amethyst looked up as he glanced around the the table. "How many of you, at one point or another, wanted to see me dead?"
Amethyst blinked at the question, but Lip, nor Carl, hesitated to raise their hands, Debbie following slowly afterwards. That left the young girl as everyone turned to look at her. She sighed, shrugging her shoulders before raising her hand as well. She couldn't exactly deny it, given the fact that all of the Gallaghers seemed to be born with a temper that sometimes got out of hand.
Frank pointed to Amethyst like he had just won the lottery. "Yeah," he cheered, coming closer to the table. "Here's your chance."
Amethyst listened wide eyed as her father explained to them what he would need to fake his death, which in itself was kind of surprising to Amethyst. Among the many crazy things she imagined that her family would get up to, pretending that her father was dead was not one of them at all. But besides her initial shock and uncertainty, Amethyst found herself accompanying Debbie to the laundry mat the next morning, wrapping a few pounds of meat to try and bribe the lady who worked there.
"Hi, Mrs. Bergdoll," Debbie greeted extra nicely, smiling widely as the older woman turned to them. "Got some bones for your pit bulls."
The woman didn't even look away from the covered piece of clothing she was holding when she replied. "I told you, no more comforters until Carl kicks the head lice," she said, placing the shirt back on a rack and moving to her desk.
Debbie moved forward, Amethyst standing behind wearing a grey beanie that Lip demanded she wear. The older of the two girls placed the bones on a nearby table, still looking at the old lady. "We need a man's suit," she spoke instead of responding to the earlier statement. "Something dark."
The woman looked to them before pointing to something. "The box," she said, and they turned to see a cardboard box with a plethora of forgotten clothes. "They were never picked up."
Debbie looked to the box and grabbed Amethyst's hand, leading the younger girl to the clothes. The two of them looked through it but couldn't find anything to remotely match what they needed for Frank's fake death. Amethyst huffed in frustration, leaning back on her haunches as she looked to her older sister with confusion.
"Now what?" Amethyst asked, tilting her head. Debbie bit her lip in concentration, looking around the store before something seemed to catch her eye from behind Amethyst. The little girl turned as Debbie stood up, swiping a nice suit from a nearby rack. Amethyst smiled and followed Debbie to Mrs. Bergdoll again.
"Any chance we can borrow this?" Debbie asked, gesturing to the suit. When the older lady turned to them and began to frown, Debbie spoke again. "We'll return it tomorrow, promise."
"Who for?" she asked seriously.
"Our dad," Amie answered this time, smiling innocently up at the woman.
"Frank?" she asked, turning back to her papers. "I'd have to burn it."
Debbie hesitated for just a moment before speaking again. "Four-pound roast and ten pounds of prime chuck?" she asked, knowing that they could spare a little more meat given the amount that they had gotten.
The woman looked back at them, and the two Gallagher girls smiled in triumph.
"Oh, alright," she said, and Amie smiled even wider. "But it has to be back tomorrow."
Debbie nodded her head. "Of course," she agreed, walking to the door. "Thanks Mrs. Bergdoll!"
Amie followed Debbie back to their house to see a hearse in the front of the house. They both immediately assumed that Lip and Steve had been successful in finding the car and stealing it to give the allusion of Frank's untimely demise. The two girls looked at each other before running up to the house, quickly opening it to see everyone congregating in the living room, Frank in the middle of the group.
When the door closed behind the girls, Lip and Ian turned to them, the older of the two grabbing the suit from Debbie's outstretched hand. "Jesus, how'd you get one this nice?" Lip asked while Amie sat on the couch, taking her beanie off of her head.
"Bribing," Amie answered, and Ian chuckled at her blunt response while Lip through the suit at Frank, ordering him to change quickly. Ian picked Amie up off of the couch, a movement that she looked at him in confusion. He gestured to both her and Debbie before pointing up the stairs. "Let's find something black for you both to wear. Come on."
They followed their brother up the stairs and into their shared room. Debbie found a black shirt that went well with a red, plaid skirt, adding a lace cloth to cover her hair for added affect. Amethyst had to look longer but Ian luckily found an old dress of Fiona's in the attic that she could use. It was long sleeved and ended just below her knees, something perfect for a funeral in winter.
When the girls got downstairs again, everyone was bustling around the house, quickly moving things around to make it look like a funeral.
"Yo Carl, grab those," Lip said, pointing to the flowers as the front door opened. Nobody seemed to notice the sound as people continued to move around the living room. "Yeah, right there."
"Let's go, let's go," Veronica said, knowing that they were all short on time. Amethyst turned around when the front door closed, seeing Steve and Fiona there, holding onto Liam while they looked around in confusion and slight horror. The young girl couldn't blame them; they had literally walked in on a funeral.
"What the hell?" Fiona asked, but nobody seemed to react to her presence, knowing that they had to finish quickly before the two goons showed up. Ian grabbed Amie, moving her to the couch.
"We gotta do something with this," he said a little sarcastically, lifting up the girl's messy curls. Amethyst giggled as Ian pulled her dark hair up into a messy bun that somehow looked a little presentable. Behind her, Amethyst could hear Fiona.
"Debbie, what's going on?" she asked, confusion obvious in her voice.
The girl didn't hesitate in telling the truth. "Some killers are after Dad," she said simply. "So we have to fake his death. Lip borrowed a casket, Carl found some flowers, Dad's getting changed, I steamed your black dress, but you'll have to hurry, because they'll be here any minute."
Amethyst turned around, much to the annoyance of Ian who was still tying the hair tie around her thick locks. "Ian just got here too, but he only seems to be worried about me," she stated, wanting to be apart of the conversation. She could practically feel Ian roll his eyes in slight annoyance as he used her hair to turn her back around.
"Let me finish, alright?" he asked and she sighed, nodding her head just slightly.
"Debs," Veronica clapped her hands. "Come here."
Once Ian had finally finished doing her hair, Amethyst got up and went to help with the others as Fiona hurried back downstairs, now in the dress that Debbie had steamed. Frank was down here as well, with Carl brushing some makeup on his face and Debbie standing there holding a bunch of ice bags.
"Stuff this ice down his shirt," Fiona said, and Debbie immediately complied, much to Frank's distaste.
"Stop, enough," he whined, trying to wriggle away from Debbie as Amethyst giggled at his actions, standing next to Lip.
"Your body needs to be cold," Fiona explained to him.
"More morphine," Frank only replied in annoyance.
"It's horse tranquilizer," Veronica corrected him, and Amethyst furrowed her eyebrows.
"What's a tranquilizer?" she asked Lip, but it was Carl who answered her.
"Shit that knocks you out," he said as Ian smacked his head, frowning at the use of language in front of Fiona.
"Now get in the coffin before you pass out, Frank," Lip said, leaning against the wall and looking annoyed at all of this. He was the one that did not want to be a part of this fake funeral whatsoever.
The man looked to Veronica, pinching his index finger and thumb together. "Just a little taste?" he asked.
"I don't even know why we do this for you," Lip stated, shaking his head. Amethyst looked up at him, grabbing his hand as a form of comfort.
Of course, Frank immediately got defensive at Lip's comment. "You think it's easy being a parent?" he asked, standing up and pushing Carl and Debbie away in the process. "Letting Fiona be the good cop?" Fiona scoffed at that, knowing that he was simply spouting nonsense. "The important thing is you kids. Carl," he turned to the boy, bending down and cupping his cheeks. "I remember when the nurse in the hospital handed you to me."
"Carl was born in the back of a van," Lip interrupted, getting angry now as he released Amethyst's hand. "You weren't there."
Frank stood up, his temper getting the best of him as well. "I slapped his little ass myself," he said, but before he could say another word, Lip lunged at their father and punched him across the face. Fiona gasped loudly as both Debbie and Amie screamed in surprise and slight fear. Veronica grabbed onto Debbie gently while Ian swooped Amethyst into his arms, settling her on his hip.
Frank was knocked out and Steve helped Lip lift the drunk up. "Get him in the coffin," Lip said, and Steve nodded, the two of them dumping him in the box. Amethyst was still staring wide eyed at the scene as everyone helped them.
"Watch your head," Veronica told Lip as he stood straight again, everyone looking down at the father that didn't know anything about his kids. Ian rubbed Amie's back comfortingly as she breathed slowly, calming her racing heart.
"Okay," Fiona breathed.
"Looks dead," Veronica commented. "Shallow breathing, clammy. Hey Carl, more ice."
"Got it," Carl replied, placing an ice bag on Frank's forehead. Everyone was silent until they heard the engine of a car outside. The sound made everyone jump into action as Fiona put on some sad music and Debbie and Carl circled around Frank, pretending to cry. Amethyst leaned on Ian's shoulder, looking as if she were holding back tears.
The door opened and Lip, Veronica, and Steve turned to look at the visitor, seeing the two goons from yesterday entering the Gallagher household once again. The leader grabbed the parchment at the front of the door, looking skeptical about the whole thing while the one behind him at least tried to look sympathetic for their "loss."
They walked farther into the living room, sounding sarcastic when the leader spoke. "Sorry for your loss," he said.
"It was a shock," Fiona said, sniffling as she looked away from Frank in the casket. Amethyst nodded her head, agreeing with her sister.
"I'm sure," he replied, nodding his head. "Accident, was it?"
"Suicide," Lip answered him, causing Fiona, Debbie, Carl, and Amethyst to all let out fake sobs, continuing to cry. Amethyst turned her face into Ian's neck, as if trying to hide from the truth.
The guy nodded to himself before rushing to the casket, grabbing onto Frank's suit and lifting him up. Debbie screamed in shock, jumping away from the man and Frank's "body."
"I know you're faking it," he growled. "Come on, open your eyes, you lying, squirrelly sack of shit." On the last word, the man backhanded Frank, causing another scream to escape Debbie as well as Amie, staring at the man in shock.
The second man pulled the leader back. "Jesus, Rob," he tried to reason.
Rob didn't listen. "You're alive, I know it!" he screamed now. "Come on!"
"What't the matter with you?" the second one yelled, pulling Rob back again. "Look at him, he's dead." He pushed the leader away from the casket, everyone staring at him in horror, Ian holding on to Amethyst tightly. The man turned back to everyone apologetically. "Sorry, he's been under a lot of stress," he tried to explain.
Debbie began closing the casket, looking to the man with fear, as if he would jump toward him again. "Gonna check with the boss," Rob spoke, pointing at everyone. "Nobody move."
The man behind Rob, Amethyst still didn't know his name, pulled out a phone, dialing a number quickly. Unbeknownst to either of the mobsters, Fiona tilted her head into the kitchen while looking at Carl, and he moved quickly, exiting the house easily while Debbie coughed to cover the noise.
"Yeah, there's nothing here worth taking," the man spoke into the phone, his accent as prominent as ever. "Unless you want the little girls. One's 11, 12, while the other's maybe 5, 6?" he paused as Amie looked, wide eyed, toward Fiona, her heart beating quickly when she realized he was talking about her and Debbie. "No, the older one's cute, but not really a looker. The younger one might grow up nicely though," he said, and Ian tightened his grip on Amethyst even more while Lip took a small step to the right, blocking the man's view of the girl.
Another pause made Amethyst's heart beat harder before the man spoke again. "How about Frank?" he asked. "Any toes, fingers, you know, for proof?"
Everyone looked to the men as if they were crazy, while Amethyst's pulse slowed down slightly, not as scared now that she wasn't being talked about as if she were a thing and not a person.
"Okay," the man finally said, hanging up the phone while he turned to everyone else. "Keeps his extremities."
"And you'll be going?" Lip asked hopefully.
"Soon as he's in the ground," the man answered.
"W-What? No! Why?" Debbie argued, knowing that Frank was still inside while Amethyst turned to look at Ian with wide eyes.
"Boss's orders," he answered simply. "Stay with the scumbag till he's buried."
Before anybody could say anything against that, there was a loud crash outside of the house, followed by a car alarm. Everyone whirled their heads toward the noise, but the goons looked at each other. "Damn it, that's me," Rob spoke before running out the front door, his sidekick following after him.
The Gallaghers all shifted, wondering what to do now as Ian spoke up, setting Amie down on her own feet. "They're gonna bury him?" he asked.
"If we keep our mouths shut," Lip replied.
"Shit," Ian cursed.
"We need to put something in the coffin," Fiona told Lip as Steve opened the casket to look down at Frank.
Lip nodded his head. "All right," he said, turning to follow Fiona out of the backdoor. Amethyst followed, looking out of the kitchen to see her oldest sister open the trash can, showing pounds of rotting meat that they didn't need.
"We need more time," Fiona stated while everyone groaned at the stench. She looked up at Veronica, raising her eyebrows. "Can you stall them?"
Veronica simply smirked while pulling her zipper down, showing more of her cleavage than was necessary. Amethyst giggled before moving outside to try to help as best she can, scrunching up her nose at the smell of the meat.
She followed everyone inside, dumping all that she could carry in the now empty casket while everyone held their breaths. Amethyst gagged when Fiona finally nodded her head. "Okay," she said and they closed the coffin, finally able to breathe. "Ready?" she asked everyone. "Lift."
Amethyst lifted what she could, but given how short she was, it was almost impossible for her to help as everyone groaned at the weight. "Fuck," Lip cursed as Amethyst stood there, biting her lip as she tried to reach it, but was unable to. So, she simply walked behind them, trying not to laugh at the situation that her family somehow found themselves in.
"Carl's not lifting his share!" Debbie complained as they walked down the stairs.
"Yes, I am!" Carl yelled back. "You're not."
"Shut up, you two!" Fiona reprimanded them as Rob jumped toward them.
"Here, let me help," he said, grabbing the front of the coffin and settling it over his shoulder. "Jesus, stuff's starting to get ripe."
Amethyst watched as the empty coffin was loaded into the hearse, heading on it's way to a fake funeral.
She turned to Lip in the car, furrowing her eyebrows. "Why is our family so strange?" she asked, and he laughed, draping his arm over her shoulders and pulling her close.
"Because we're Gallaghers," he said, as if that was answer enough, and in a way, it was.
•
Now at the Alibi room, Amethyst looked around curiously. It wasn't the first time she's been in the bar, and certainly not the last given the amount of times Fiona's found their father there, but everyone was so much more quieter than usual, which she supposed help with the fake wake that was going on. Fiona held Carl and Amethyst close while Lip stood at the door, explaining to strangers that there was a private wake being held at the bar tonight. Kev poured a drink for Veronica as well as one for himself before moving from behind the bar. Amethyst watched curiously as he clinked his rings against the glass, calling the attention of everyone in the room.
"Could I have your attention, please?" he asked politely. Even the goons turned around to see what the man had to say. "Uh," he sighed. "Frank Gallagher. Loving husband, devoted father," at those words, Fiona looked over Carl and Amethyst's heads to share a secret smile with Steve and Lip, trying not to laugh. "Truly respected and cherished member of this community. He was a good friend, and a good neighbor, and he will be sorely missed. I just hope that in the afterlife..." He trailed off, pretending to cry as Amethyst held in a giggle, looking up at her sister to see her pushing her finger against her lips. "They treat him as kindly as he treated us. To Frank."
Everyone raised their glasses as well, repeating his words. "To Frank," they said, and almost immediately the two men that had been following the Gallaghers around today stood up from the bar.
"Long trip back to Milwaukee," Rob explained to Fiona while the other man came behind him, patting his shoulder.
"You okay to drive?" he asked.
In response, Rob threw his car keys to him, making a "call me," motion to Veronica as the woman smiled. Everybody watched in silence as the two left the bar, Lip closing the door behind them and locking the lock that was there, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth as he turned to everyone.
And, of course, Frank walked out from behind a wall, raising his arms out. "Gonna take more than that to put the lights out on Frank Gallagher," he shouted, and Amethyst screamed aloud in victory along with her siblings, banging her palms against the bar. "Next round's on me! Yeah!"
Amethyst laughed happily, watching as basically all of her siblings began to get drunk, but none more than her father, who started singing on stage.
"People ask me, they say Frank," he said, and Amethyst laughed, leaning into Ian, who was sporting another bruise on his face after vising the Kash 'N Grab. "Why do you drink?"
"To get drunk!" everyone shouted back, and Amethyst watched with a large grin on her face, not knowing the words but not having a problem with that.
"And why do you roll smoke?"
"To get high!" the crowd called again, and Amethyst smiled at her family, seeing Lip coming over to the table she was sitting at, beer in his hand.
"Hey, I'm sorry we couldn't work on some stuff today," he apologized, and she knew he was talking about not tutoring her.
The girl shrugged, shaking her head as Ian watched the exchange. "It's okay, this was funner," she replied. Lip smiled, opening his mouth but she beat him to it. "And yes, I know funner isn't a real word, but it should be."
Lip's smile grew as he looked to Ian, who rolled his eyes, draping an arm around the girl's shoulders and bringing her in to his body. "Stop being so smart," Ian told her, and Amethyst screamed out in surprise as he started noogying her.
"Stop!" she screamed, but she was laughing as she pulled away, her black curls now everywhere thanks to her older brother.
Ian laughed, and Lip shook his head, bringing his glass to his mouth once again.
Amie looked around happily, and at that moment, she wouldn't rather be anywhere else.
At a fake wake, singing songs, and laughing with her family.
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Alright guys, there's the second chapter! I really hope you enjoyed and tell me what you think, please? I'd love to hear some of your thoughts!
Thanks for reading!