Until the end (Ian Gallagher x OC)

Chapter 18

"Oh! This is, uh...'' Candice trailed, turning Steve to see us.

"Debbie. Debbie Gallagher. Nice to meet you... Jimmy." She stared darkly into his soul.

"Megan Milkovich" I added, watching him carefully, trying to read him.

"Jimmy is my youngest. Top of his class at Michigan in med school. He is going to be a cardio-thoracic surgeon like his big brother and his daddy. And he has been taking such good care of me since his father went into the hospital." She explained as Jimmy sat across from us, the two of us staring at him as we listened to the lies with interest. "A fender bender; broke his kneecap. And you know, doctors make the worst patients. Oh, would you like to stay for dinner, sweetheart?" The woman asked, but Debbie and I had already got up and left.

"Come on Debs" I ran outside with her, escaping into the snowy landscape to process what we had learned.

"You know, not sure I can prove it, but... I think it's colder on the North Side. Let me take you home girls." Jimmy-Steve tried to talk to us as he jogged over, both of us giving him the cold shoulder.

"I'm not supposed to take rides from strangers. And it's clear that you are a stranger." Debbie sassed back coldly, Jimmy-Steve taking a seat beside her.

"Oh, man. Are you gonna tell Fiona?"

"Exactly what am I supposed to tell her? That your name isn't Steve? That you have a family in Chicago she's never met? Or that your mom kisses you on the lips? Which is really gross, by the way." Debbie said, listing off everything she had taken from the meeting.

"Life gets really complicated when you're an adult. I mean, you can't possibly understand these things right now." Jimmy-Steve said and I scoffed at his excuse.

"I understand that you lied to my sister. Why?"

"Because I was raised by a pack of wolves. Just like you were. Only my wolves went to Harvard. You know they have Red Wolves at Lincoln Park Zoo. Maybe we could go check them out sometime."

"Trying to distract me by asking me out on a date?" Debbie stood, walking away with me and Jimmy-Steve following her.

"I do not want to be a doctor. I do not want to be like the rest of my family. What I want is Fiona. I love her!" Jimmy-Steve tried once again.

"Love is fleeting, Jimmy. What are your intentions? You're distracting her, and I need her in the game for at least a few more years. I can't have you breaking her heart, or running off with her. So if you're not serious about sticking around, back off now." Debbie ordered sternly, showing him that she was in charge with the power she held over him.

"I bought her a house. Is that serious enough?" He asked softly.

"You what?" I asked in shock, spinning around to face him with wide eyes.

"Come on. I'll show you." He held out a hand to her, but she refused, stuffing her hands in her pockets but following him to his car with me.

"What are we doing back here?" I crossed my arms, getting out of the car in front of the Gallagher house. Debbie had started walking towards her house when Jimmy-Steve caught her hood and pointed her towards the house next door, between the Gallaghers and Kevin and Veronica.

"Really?" Debbie asked with sudden excitement at the idea.

"Yeah."

"Yes! Yes!" She cheered happily, going inside with him. "This was Mr. Harris's house. They said he died of lung cancer, but we're all pretty sure it was full-blown AIDS." Debbie explained to him as Jimmy-Steve opened the door for us, letting us in first before he closed the door behind him. "Oh. My. God. Has Fiona seen it?" Debbie looked around in amazement. I looked around carefully, still not trusting Jimmy-Steve completely.