GAME OVER ━━ Lip Gallagher

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

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Game Over
chapter forty one

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                    "OKAY, SO WHAT? Shouldn't you be happy that she's even remotely trying?" The phone was pressed between her shoulder and ear as she added in the macaroni noodles to the boiling water. "That wasn't the deal, Pheebs." She paused a moment to roll her eyes to the heavens and take a deep inhale. "It's basically the same thing," she argued, placing the lid back into its place and tossing the empty box into the trash bin. "Then why can't I just take the GED?" He knew the answer to that question. Everyone knew the answer to that question. There was one person the SouthSide expected to get out, and that person was Phillip Ronan Gallagher. "Why are you so hellbent on dropping out? You'd be stuck working minimum wage for the rest of your life, wasting your money away on weed, ass cream, and Karen's tummy tuck." He snorted through the line, the sound coming off choppy through their shit service.

          "Karen's trying to sell off the baby still. I'm not too sure I can convince her to keep it," he replied, his tone sadder than before. It was becoming more and more obvious how disheartened he was becoming. The further along Karen became, the more antsy he became. It was clear that he was in it for the long run. If Karen decided to keep the baby, Lip would be in its life until he died. He'd show that baby the love he wished he would have gotten growing up. There was not a single doubt in Phoebe's mind that he would be a great father. The loneliest people become the best company. The broken tend to become repairers, and all that other metaphoric shit they grew up hearing from deranged school counselors with no actual hope for saving these kids. "Get her to sign over parental rights if you actually want to keep this baby. But don't do it just because of guilt. Think about the baby and what would be best for the little guy."

          "Guy?" She could hear the smugness in Lip's voice. She scoffed, mostly to herself. "You have how many brothers? I can only assume you'd shoot some boys into somebody." His laugh rang in her ears like the sound of windchimes in a thunderstorm. She sat back in her kitchen, eyes following the cracks in the walls. A comfortable silence befell them. It was strange knowing that their lives were soon to change. Lip could be becoming a father. He'd no longer be able to sit in the living room and eat pizza while criticizing the episode of The Twilight Zone, or drink half a pack of Coors Light with her as the moon sparkled over them and bathed them in its light. She'd be someone's wife soon. She'd be promised to another for the rest of eternity, until their souls no longer resided on the ball of gas that Earth was, or until their very last breath left the shell of their once strong, healthy lungs and floated into the air only to emerge as stardust.

          "I feel like I gotta admit something to you," Lip sighed. She could hear the closing of a door behind him, the sound of fabric sliding against wood until something thumped (probably his butt against the floor). Her heart thundered in her chest and in her ears, like the drumline at halftime. It thundered like a heavy, tropical storm warning her that destruction was on its way. She needed to vacate, make up an excuse, and run away. The voice in her head pleaded with her to tell him no, tell him that whatever he had to say shouldn't be said. There was a risk with sharing things unsaid. They could bring a state of peace, like finding out that all of the bad you had endured was finally long gone. The storm had passed and clearer skies were on their way to guide you to better days. But they could also bring forth catastrophe, danger, and pain. Despite her better judgement, she found herself remaining calm, awaiting the census of his words.