GAME OVER ━━ Lip Gallagher

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

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Game Over
chapter fourteen

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SHE HUGGED HER JACKET CLOSER TO HER, FIGHTING OFF THE COLD WINDS. She was walking alone, trying her best to think of any story that could explain Frank's sudden death. Of course it wouldn't matter. There weren't many people who actually cared for Frank. His kids barely gave a shit about him. But Phoebe felt bad. She wanted to make people care. She wanted people to feel awful for how they treated him, even if it was in retaliation to how he had treated them first. Phoebe passed the post office and found a group of adults huddled outside. "Hi," she greeted them nervously. A few eyes turned to spot her, but she was mostly ignored. "Sad about Frank, huh? I can't believe he kicked the bucket so soon."

"What are you talking about, kid?" a man asked, turning toward Phoebe with a frown. Her eyes widened for a moment as she took a step back. Normally she was a fantastic liar. It never seemed to phase her when people asked questions, but the Gallagher family was on the line. Frank could actually die, and then his debt would fall onto Fiona, and Lip, and Ian. That thought scared the shit out of her. "You didn't hear? Some crazies were after Frank and he OD'd last night," she explained. "He mixed shit like whiskey, ecstasy, codeine, Benadryl tablets, allergy medicine. The whole nine yards, man. It smelled awful when we found him."

It looked as if they were buying it. They looked to one another, whispering under their breaths. It could come as a shock to find out someone had died, but it really set in guilt if said dead person had killed themselves. It was an evil thing to think, Phoebe knew, but what else was she to do? "Damn," a woman sighed. A solemn silence fell between the group and the teenager. Phoebe stood there a moment longer before clapping her hands together awkwardly. "Okay. I'm going to go. Look after your friends, am I right?" A nervous laugh escaped her painfully forced smile and she waved a farewell to the group of adults. As quick as she could, she escaped the weird atmosphere without looking too suspicious.

"Hey!" She jumped at the exclamation. She whirled around, almost expecting her lie to have been found out. But as she turned and found the source of the sound, her eyes widened upon seeing the handsome male with short blond hair. She halted her movements in surprise as he jogged up to her, his bulky jacket swishing with every movement from his arms. "It's you," he breathed out as he came to a stop in front of her. She could see his tattoos more clearly in the daylight. He had a small, thin cross beneath his left eye in a black shade with a purple outline. There was Japanese lettering along his sideburn that had been shaved. And right behind that ear was a rose with thorny petals.

His neck was covered in ink, but it was less noticeable due to the scarf around his throat. Only slivers peeked over the red fabric. "It's you," she finally responded, blinking up at the tall boy. His hands were shoved into his pockets as he bounced on the balls of his feet. His lips stretched into a beautiful smile, exposing his perfect row of teeth. She was taken aback by how stunning this boy was. From his broad, strong build to his equally as strong features. He was a masculine beauty. "I didn't think I'd see you again if I'm being honest," he admitted, running a tattooed hand over his head. "I almost gave up, but here you are."

"Was I that memorable?" she inquired teasingly. He sure was. She couldn't lie and say that she didn't think of him. There were moments where she'd be staring off into space and her mind would travel back to those moments where his body heat became hers. She could remember the way his chest felt against her, or the way his arms held her so tight. "Yeah," he breathed out, "you were." Finally, their eyes truly met. His were a hazel color, with green around his pupil. One eye appeared lighter than the other strange enough, but it was beautiful. He was beautiful.