Chapter 1: Foreign Feelings
I've been out of prison for three months and was working for a construction company, but I haven't been able to get Ian out of my fucking head. He had been deployed for six months and we have been keeping in touch through letters and sappy shit like that up until a month ago. I knew there would be times where he wouldn't be able to write, but it drives me crazy when I don't hear from him. I start thinking about all the shit that can happen to him and I always end up at the worst case scenarios. I'm completely foreign to these feelings. I'm Mickey Milkovich, resident bad ass; these feelings for the red haired solider named Ian Gallagher were scaring the shit out of me. For a long time I thought he was just a fuck buddy, nothing but a warm body, but Fire Crotch was so much more than that, it just took not getting to see the freckled red head for months on end to realize it. Damn it, I hate feelings. Love just fucks good things up.
Its summertime and I've been working on the roof of one of the houses the company was building. Lip, Ian's older brother, was working with me. On a fucking hot as balls day Lip stops working in the middle of nailing down a shingle when he gets a phone call. I ignore him until I hear panic in Lip's voice…Ian.
"Fi, slow down." Says Lip "What? Do they know anything?...Shit…Fuck, no, Fi, Kev and I will go. I know how you get Fiona. You get the house ready." Lip hangs up the phone and looks at me "Mickey, can you cover? Unless you can't after I tell you what happened."
"What happened?" I ask, feeling like I already know the answer.
"I know you were fucking my brother before your last lock up." Lip says with intent, like he's trying to figure out how I feel.
Those words and the look on Lips face make my heart sink into my stomach "What happened?" I ask again, fearing the worse, fearing that…I can't even think it.
"Ian's unit hit a roadside bomb," says Lip and my stomach seems to jump into my throat "he's alive, but he has some pretty extensive injuries, Fiona doesn't know specifics. He gets stateside tomorrow, Kevin and I are going to go pick him up in a couple of days." I can barely speak and feel like I'm going to be sick. I stop working and put my head in my hands. "Fuck."
Lip moves over to me. "Kevin and I could probably use some help," Hey says, carefully placing a hand on my shoulder "Carl's too young and Frank will probably be too drunk off his ass to care or be useful. Why don't you come?" I don't answer, I just go back to work muttering that I'll cover for him to Lip and try to hide the tears that are threatening to spill over.
"We're leaving at 9:30 Thursday morning if you want to come." Said Lip as he climbs down the ladder.