You can say a lot with silence, it is the speech no one gives but everyone hears. It can deafen you if you aren't careful, but lull others. You can say anything with silence, almost better than you can with words. That's why I don't listen to half of what people say. I listen to what they don't.
—————pb—————
Do you even realize what you are missing?
Don't you understand that you aren't even listening?
—————pb—————
The ride home was silent, our train car mostly empty. Liam was dosing, off and on, on my shoulder as I held him tight. He was my rock to sanity right now and I was thankful to have him. If I had gone alone I would have ended up riding the train until there was no where else to go. Staring into space.
But he was my tether, reminding me that I had to take care of him. He needed me. He couldn't find his way without me right now, much less make it.
Soon we reached our stop and I grabbed his bag off the floor. We made our way out and onto the sidewalk and I started slowly walking back home. At least it was the only place that ever felt like home. All I could do was stare at my feet hitting the sidewalk.
We finally made it to the Gallagher gate and as I turned to go up the front walk I stopped short. Lip was here.
"Hey." He said dangling the cigarette in his hand, he stood up.
"Hey... what are you doing here?"
"Waiting for you, I was going to go in but it's locked."
"I didn't want Frank to get in," I said a little distracted. "Why are you here? Why aren't you in school?"
He scoffed at me a little and shook his head.
"I know all that shit Lyd. You're more important than that."
"Lip—"
"Hey— You are. I'll go and take the test, I'll pass and it'll be fine. One absence isn't gonna rot my brain... Come on, let's go in."
So we did. We sat on the couch with Liam between us watching television as I told him everything that had happened.
"Holy fuck."
"That's what Ian said," I said with a small laugh. I looked down at my hands twisting a ring on my finger back and forth.
"What are you gonna do?" He asked.
"The only logical thing to do is get a DNA test. Who knows, I mean she's probably just crazy."
"Or she just doesn't give a fuck what she says."
"That too," I said looking back at my hands.
"Me and Ian will go with you. Hell maybe we should get tested. Who knows, we may not even be Franks," he laughed.
"Yeah, that sounds good," I said with a smile. Suddenly my phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Lydia! Hey, are you okay?? My ass of a manager didn't tell me what happened until a few minutes ago? What happened? Is your mom ok? Are you—"
"Fi! Slow down, I'm fine... she's fine, she just— she—"
"What did she do?" She suddenly sounded angry.
"She told me some things... just don't worry, okay? I'll tell you when you get home."
"You better."
"During our talk."
"Ok, I have to go back in my breaks almost over. Be safe."
"You too," I said before hanging up.
"You didn't tell her I was here?" Lip asked as he handed me a beer.
"Nah, she would just worry. You gonna head back?"
"Nope. I'm gonna hang with you and Liam today," he said sipping his. He leaned back and threw his arm over the back of the couch and around my shoulders.
"What about tutoring Karen?" I asked glancing at my hands.
"That's not till later tonight. She can wait."
I smirked a bit at my hands and nodded.
"Okay."
—————later—————
The kids got home a few hours later and Fiona barged in the door not long after them.
"Okay. Lydia, you're living with us."
A quiet Steve walked in behind her, his hands in his pockets.
I was shocked, I mean I expected something along the lines of 'you can move in with us if you want.' And she sounded pissed.
"Uhm, ok..." I glanced around at the kids to see if they were just as confused as I was. Ian looked a little uncomfortable.
"She isn't going to fuck with your head like that either, you hear me? She isn't fucking with one of my kids. I have half a mind to go down there and slap the shit out of her."
"What are you talking about?"
"Your 'Mother,' she—"
"I haven't even told you what happened!"
"You didn't have to! Ian did."
I looked over at him. His face was burning and he wouldn't meet my eyes.
"Ian!"
"I'm sorry! She called me!" He said in his defense.
"Fiona!"
"I had to know! You're staying here and that's final," she said. Her eyes were wide and she had a hand on her hip while the other pointed harshly at the floor as if she was trying to make a point.
"She's been ranting about it the whole way here," Steve said.
I laughed in disbelief. Throwing my hands up a bit I kinda couldn't quit smiling. She called me one of her kids.
"Okay."
"Lydia you can't just—. Wait, what?"
"Okay. I'll move in. But I call Franks room." I said pointing in her face.
"No arguments?"
"None... why so shocked?" I asked dropping my hand.
"...I have no idea." She said with a small smile and a quirk of her confused eyebrows.
"Yay!!! Lydia is moving in!" Debbie started yelling.
"She already lives here, idiot," Carl said Debbie reached over to smack his head.
"I don't know what to do about mamas house though. It's just sitting there."
"Well who gets it in the will?"
"Fiona," Ian said with a look that told her she was being insensitive.
"What? That old bat has it coming. She's a bitch."
I laughed at them. "Actually... I think I own the house."
"You own the house?!"
"Yeah, I mean... when my dad died—" there was a collective tensing in the older people in the room, I sighed. Steve looked at them confused.
"When my dad died I remember my mom being pissed about it. He had taken her name off the deed without telling her. He could because it was his family's house, but he left it to me in his will." I said thoughtful. He had also left at least half of his life insurance to me.
"Why would he leave you the house and not your mom?" Steve asked. Fiona, Lip, and Ian all shared a look.
"Well I... I'm not sure."
Now that I thought about it, it made me wonder if he did it to be an asshole. Forcing the house, that held so much torment for me, down my throat.
"Well that's kinda perfect," Lip said.
"Sell it!" Fiona said.
Suddenly my shoulders felt a little lighter. I could sell it, couldn't I? And that would be a huge chunk of money in my savings, along with the rest of his life insurance money... holy shit.
"Holy shit."
"Holy shit is right, that house could go for a hundred grand easy, maybe more!" Lip said.
Suddenly I saw a future. Maybe not an extravagant one but one where I didn't have to worry about feeding myself in a few years. I could really help here too.
"I gotta go pack," I said with a huge smile. "Lip, Ian? Would you help?"
"Shit yeah. You wanna go now?" Ian asked.
"No time like the present," I said smiling. "Fi, you need a new mattress?"
"Hell yeah!"
"What about you guys? We have extra in the guest rooms!" The two guest rooms in the house each had two twin beds pushed together on one frame to make one bed. That was enough for everyone.
"I do! Mine is all lumpy," Debbie said. Carl didn't say anything but I saw his eyes light up.
"Jackpot." I said.
"Wait, how are we supposed to move all this stuff?" Lip asked.
"I have an idea," I said with a small smile. "Steve, would you stay with Liam?"
"Uh, sure yeah."
Suddenly Lip, Ian, Fiona, and I were all standing in front of the Ball-Fisher door. Reaching up I knocked three times, behind the door I heard cursing and stumbling. Suddenly the door was wide open and there stood Kev in boxers and some type of robe.
"How did I know?" He asked.
"You're clairvoyant?" I said in a guessing tone, with a small smile. He gave me an unimpressed face.
"What do you want Gallagher?" He said looking at me. I couldn't help but smile.
"I want your truck."
"Excuse me?!" He said disbelieving.
"There's a reward in it for you."
"Huh... and that is?"
"A new couch."
"You robbing someone?"
"Nope."
"Knocking over a furniture store?"
"Nope."
"Raiding an abandoned building?"
"No," I said laughing. He smiled at me, I think he always had a soft spot for me.
"Well what are you doing?"
"Selling my parents house."
He looked stunned. "Shit."
"Yeah," I said. "I already promised all the mattresses, but the couch and coffee table are yours if you let us use your truck."
"Hey V! You want a new couch?" Suddenly there was a squeal from inside the house and V magically appeared.
"You're buying me a couch? Where did you get the money?" She asked him.
"Not him, me." I said. "I'm cleaning my house out to sell it. And if Kev let's me borrow the truck... you get a couch. It's practically new. There's also a coffee table..." I said enticingly.
"Kevin if you don't give this girl your keys I will cut off your balls."
Suddenly there was a pair of keys thrust in my face.
"Thank you so much!"
And that was how we ended up carting every single mattress from my house to my home that night.
Lip called and rescheduled with Karen, which he said was probably best for both of them. Apparently her dad caught her sucking off Jake Carter under the table while he was tutoring her and threw a fit. He moved out and took all his clown figurines. When Lip told us this he seemed a little disgusted.
"Okay Fi, you can have the mattress from my room and I'll use the mattress from my moms room. All the guest rooms haven't really been used so those mattresses are new, everyone else gets one."
Each kid grabbed a mattress from upstairs as Fi and I grabbed hers from her room, the springs were creaking with every step we took. Steve had grabbed the one from my new room. Soon all of the old mattresses were piled out in the yard and the new ones were in their places.
"What are you gonna do with all those bed frames?" Fiona asked dusting her hands off on her pants. We were walking back from giving Kev his keys back and promising to bring the couch over the weekend when we borrowed the truck again. It was getting pretty dark but no one seemed to mind.
"If you want one you're more than welcome to it, I'm gonna be using one from one of the guest rooms. I'm probably gonna sell the rest. Maybe I'll give one to Kev and V if they want it."
"Yes. I want your moms," she said quickly. I laughed at how eager she was.
"Then it's yours," I said smiling. "You know what I was thinking while we were there though? We could use some new TVs."
The kids all cheered and I couldn't help but smile. They had given me a family, and love, when I didn't think I had anyone. A few mattresses and TV's and whatever else they needed from me was nothing compared to that.
Suddenly we heard, "what are you doing to my house?" He was standing my the pile of old mattresses on the curb. We had left them there because we knew they would probably be gone by tomorrow afternoon. The homeless would never pass up a free mattress.
"We're remodeling Frank. All new mattresses."
"You got me a mattress for my room?"
"You don't live here Frank. That's my room." I said with raised eyebrows.
"You can't just win my family's affection with new mattresses! They don't accept charity from anyone! Especially not the likes of yo—" he was cut off my a fist to the face. Lip.
Ian was right behind him. He grabbed Frank by the shoulders and spun him but the momentum threw them both to the ground. I was yelling, Fiona was yelling, and Debbie was nearly screaming. Suddenly Steve hauled Frank up and punched him square in the face.
Fiona got pissed, Ian was bleeding, Frank was bleeding, and Fiona yelled at Steve to leave. Lip and I supported Ian up the steps, as he held his bleeding nose the whole way. Fiona was shouting at Frank more and soon enough he left, with his tail between his legs, to get shitfaced at the Alibi.
Overall it was a pretty eventful day.
—————next day—————
"Franks missing." Fiona told Tony. We had spent most of the day scouring the city for him. It was the last Friday and he never missed that.
Come to find out Steve had a master plan after last night. Canada. If he thought he was getting back in everyone's good graces with a new washing mashing and shipping Frank to Canada just before the last Friday he had a whole other thing coming.
At least I had gotten to search the town with Lip.
—————pb—————
Hi! I am trying to follow the basic bones of the story but I figured that I would definitely mix it up a bit.
Again I hope you are all enjoying it! Leave me a like and a comment if you want!!
Thank you!