Part Eighty-Four: Without a Sister

Ian is back to his fucking cleaning again. But that's not what's fucking cramping my day; the Rub 'N Tug got shut down again, this time for good, and I won't have a way to feed my family. Then I come home and find Ian cleaning like a fucking mad man.

Fuck Ryan for having to return home. He could have stayed longer, the fucking asshole. I smack Ian's ass playfully and he gives me a smile that makes me melt. Mandy and Kenyatta are arguing. I get my gun ready. This time I'm going to fucking shoot him. Ian twitches. I put my hand out ready to stop him from snapping.

"I'm not moving to Indiana," says Mandy. What?

"It's a good job."

"Cleaning port-a-poties?"

"It's a job."

Kenyatta disappears into her room. I refuse to call it their room because I want that mother fucker out of my house. I look at Ian. He's now looking at Mandy.

"It looks clean," Mandy says.

I have to sit down away from her. If I face her she'll see I'm distressed.

"Mary Poppins here is on the war path."

"You're not going to Indiana are you?" Ian asks. My heart thuds at the sound of his voice. Fuck my feelings. I'm having enough of this girly ass shit.

"There's nothing for me here."

"I'm not letting that creep drag you off to Fucksville, USA."

Mandy goes into her bedroom to start packing after Ian tries to talk her out of moving. He looks distressed. "We have to stop her."

"Hey. You get the gun, I'll get the saw and we'll bury that piece of shit in pieces down by the river."

"No, I know how to stop her."

Fuck he looks cute today. I stand up and pull Ian into my arms. I try to give him a kiss but he isn't having it. He pushes off me and puts on his shoes.

"Where the fuck you going?" You think I'm letting you leave this fucking house after you were almost raped? No fucking way.

"I'm going to talk to Lip."

Oh.

"That motherfucker better tell my sister he loves her and keep her here or he'll be on my shit list."

"He will," Ian reassures me. I light a cigarette. I don't believe him. Lip treated Mandy like shit over that bitch Karen and forced my sister into the arms of this asshole. But Ian wants to believe Lip can help.

Kenyatta and Mandy are packing and bickering. I tap on my sister's bedroom door. She flashes me a smile. Kenyatta rolls his eyes and throws something in a box. "Don't break anything that belongs to my sister or I'll fucking murder you," I warn.

"What do you want, ass face?" Mandy asks.

"I want to talk to you, come in here for a second."

"Where's your bitch?" Kenyatta asks, "I don't hear any of his crazy bull shit."

I flip him off and take my sister by the elbow. I lead her into my bedroom to talk to her where Kenyatta can't hear. He knows better than to come to my room.

"You can't leave."

"I told Ian there is nothing for me here."

"No. I won't let you. You're the only member of this fucking family who I actually like. I love you. I've never told anyone that. Not even Ian."

Mandy hugs me. I squeeze her tight. She squeezes me even tighter. I rub her head. She pokes me in the chest. I pinch her boob and she punches me in the gut. I kiss the side of her face and she kisses me back. I don't let go though.

"Please stay. That piece of shit will kill you."

"I'll be fine. I'm a Milkovich."

"You're the best of us," I tell her. It's always been true. "Ian loved you before he loved me."

"And Ian's love is what makes me worthy?" Mandy asks.

"He's a pretty good person, so yeah. Look, just stay. You can date Ryan."

Mandy laughs like I'm joking. I'm not fucking joking. I finally release her and she won't look at me. My heart drops into my stomach. Mandy's really going to leave. When I get out of my room Svetlana is making lunch. She gives my hand a squeeze and doesn't pretend to know what's wrong. She just tries to help.

"You ok? Orange boy do something crazy again?" She asks.

"Mandy's moving to Indiana," I ignore the fact that she called Ian crazy. He's not fucking crazy.

"With that piece of shit?" Svetlana asks. Yevgeny coos from his high chair. When I look at him he smiles. I smile at the damn kid and kiss his forehead.

Ian's back. His talk with Lip was really short. I know he would have brought Lip over but he can't come in the house while Kenyatta is here. We've seen that one play out already. Ian won't kiss me. He won't even look at me, but he looks upset. I try to take his hand. He won't let me.

"Leave me alone, okay," Ian whispers.

"Okay," I whisper.

I hear him sniffle and I want nothing more than to wrap my arms around him, but that's not what Ian wants right now. He slams the door to our bedroom shut and I hear him kick some stuff. I look at my wife-in-paper-only.

"He's upset. You upset too. Here I help."

Svetlana fucking hugs me. I am squished between her baby bump and her breasts. It's not a place I want to fucking be. She releases me and kisses me on the cheek.

I convince Ian to let me in our room. He's sitting on the floor cutting paper with scissors. I don't begin to understand why. Ian does weird shit sometimes. I sit down beside him.

"Did you talk to Lip?" I ask.

"Yes."

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"She's not a piece of trash. I have to show her that. I have to let her know what trash looks like."

Ian's looking at me. There is a strange look in his eyes. I'm not sure he can actually see me. I wave my hand in front of his face. He just goes back to cutting his fucking paper. I take the scissors from him, and watch as he shreds the paper instead. What the fuck are you doing?

"Come, we talk," says Svetlana. I forgot to shut the fucking door.

I rub Ian's neck and leave him to his business. Whatever the fuck this is. Svetlana passes me the kid and a sandwich. I take a deep breath. She sits at the table with a bowl of cheese puffs.

"Talk," she says, "and bond with baby."

I hold the fucking kid against my chest. He coos for a while before I feel his head droop against my heart. Before long he's asleep. I rub his back gently and look at Svetlana.

"He'll fucking kill her," I begin. I shut up for a second and listen to Mandy and Kenyatta arguing in her room. Somewhere in the house one of my brothers is doing a woman. When the fuck did Colin get here?

"What are you going to do about it?" I snatch a cheese puff and she smacks my hand.

"I have no fucking clue. I doubt there is anything I can do."

"You're a fucking pussy."

I flip her off. She smiles. Ian surfaces from my bedroom. Svetlana gets quiet. We exchange a look then both look at Ian. He's carrying a wad of paper and scraps. What the fuck? I watch him closely. He walks past me as if I'm not even here and knocks on Mandy's bedroom door.

Mandy opens the door with a red mark on her face. I want to kill the motherfucker. She wants to leave with him. Svetlana is looking at me, but I don't meet her eyes. I'm still watching my fucking boyfriend.

"This is trash, Mandy. You're not trash. You're perfect," Ian says in a higher tone than his usual voice.

"Bitch, clean that up," Kenyatta tells Ian. He shoves Ian. Ian shoves back. I don't want to wake Yevgeny, the noises he's making are cute as fuck. When Ian gets shoved over some boxes I get up slowly, without disturbing my son who is still sleeping against my heart.

"Hey," I whisper. I get between them. I use my free hand to help Ian up. I push him toward Svetlana and he tries to take the baby. I wave him away. I shut Mandy's door in Ian's face for a moment. I look at my sister. "You want to live with this piece of shit?"

Mandy doesn't say a word. She wouldn't with Kenyatta in the room. He won't get loud while I'm holding the baby, at least he fucking better not. I slightly and carefully reposition Yevgeny so I am propping him up with my left arm instead of my right. He's drooling on my shirt.

"Listen, fuck head, I can't wait for you to get out of my fucking house. But if she calls me in at 3 am crying because you beat the shit out of her there isn't a place in America you could move because I will find you and I will end you. And you," I look at my sister again, "You had better spend some fucking time with Ian before you leave. Also, shut the fuck up, the baby is sleeping. You wake him you take care of him."

Ian is pacing around the house. I take a deep breath, Yevgeny coos, and I light a cigarette. I blow smoke away from the kid. Ian is stressing me out. My fucking sister leaving is stressing me out. The whole fucking world is stressing me out.

Lip comes over about an hour after Kenyatta goes out to play poker with his stupid friends. Ian and I are watching a movie on the couch when they disappear inside Mandy's room. I put my arm around him. Yevgeny is asleep in his crib near the couch.

"You know if they're going to fuck we should too," I suggest.

"Go, I watch baby," says Svetlana who comes back in as if she planned that all along.

I take Ian by the hand, but when get to our room he throws me down the bed. I let Ian dominate me. I like being manhandled. The sex is rough, gritty, and I fucking love it. I leave claw marks on Ian's back during climax.

We kiss. I nuzzle his face and hold him against me. Ian doesn't want to cuddle. He's fucking restless. He wants to fuck again. We do. The fourth time I put my foot down. I sit up.

"Okay, no. Not again. What's up with you?"

"They've stopped," Ian said.

"How the fuck can you hear that? Do you have bat hearing?"

"Mandy's crying," Ian said. And he's up and getting dressed before I can process what's going on.

"Take it easy, Batman."

I throw on boxers; I think they're Ian's. But I follow him. Lip has left and Mandy is sobbing on her bed, naked, with her blanket pulled up to her chest. Ian goes after his brother, I stay with Mandy.

"If he hurt you I'll kick his fucking ass," I tell her.

"I told him I love him."

Oh fuck. I put my arm around Mandy. She lays her head on my shoulder.

"Did he say it back?" I ask. I already know the answer.

"No."

Fuck you, Lip. You're on my fucking list.

"What now?" I ask her.

"I go to Indiana. I was right. There is nothing for me here."

"Me."

"What?"

"You could stay for me."

"Since when do you care?"

"Always. You're my fucking favorite. Do it for Ian."

"It's not like I can fuck Ian. I've tried."

I give her a look for that one. She shoves me.

"Oh get over yourself, ass breath. It was before you two started fucking."

I give Mandy a squeeze and leave. As much as I don't want her to go, I want her to do to be happy. If she thinks that this will make her happy then I have to let her do it.

Ian and I run into each other in the living room. He's on the verge of tears. It didn't go with Lip I guess. I reach for Ian. He doesn't come to me. "I want to be alone, okay."

"No. Go fucking talk to Mandy. Stay the night with her. Be with her," I suggest and Ian nods. I want to nuzzle his fucking face, but he won't allow me to. Instead I offer him a warm smile. "Let her know she does have someone who loves her and is worth staying for."

I haven't slept alone in a while. I can't seem to do it in our large fucking bed. I take my shit and sleep on the couch. The girl that Colin was fucking has finally left. He grabs a beer from the fridge. I mention Mandy leaving. He grunts, scratches his balls, and goes back to his room.

I hear two people sniffling in Mandy's room. Ian. As much as I want to go to him, he needs this. He needs to be with Mandy. He needs closure.

A/N: I wanted to point out that I am terrible at writing smut which is why I don't do it. And I thought Mandy needed closure and a better good bye involving her brother and Ian so I'm giving it to her.