"No answer?" Ian said.
"No," I said, hanging up the phone, "I stopped by her house today. Iggy said she wasn't there but wouldn't tell me where she was. I'm telling you, she's gone incognito."
Mandy was pregnant, and Terry was convinced it was Ian's, although it wasn't. But it would be a thousand times worse if Terry knew Mickey and Ian were hooking up, and more so, that his son was gay.
If I'm gonna be honest with you, I had no idea who the father was. She got with so many different guys it was hard to keep track of. That and she only used protection if the guy brought it with him.
After Ian called her one more time, we walked into Kash N Grab, only to find the store a mess, and the window smashed.
"Jesus Christ," I said.
We spent the next half hour cleaning the place, and I looked around "We're gonna need to call someone about the window."
"Mayo, that's the last thing I'm worried about right now," Ian said, "And honestly, I envy the window."
I raised my eyebrows because honestly, I'd envy the window too. As we were stacking, Lip came in.
"Fuck, hey, those skinheads again?"
"Mandy's dad. Heard the news," Ian said.
"You and Mickey?"
"Mandy," I said, "Pregnant. I doubt he would be so lenient if he found that out."
"Well, congratulations. Didn't know you switched teams," Lip said, "Or was it just a late night, stuck it in the wrong Milkovich?"
"He told Linda he's gonna put my feet in that meat slicer, work his way up."
"Linda call the cops?"
"You think she wants this place firebombed?" Ian said.
"We don't know whose it is," I said, "She won't call me or Ian back."
"Check school?"
I shook my head, "She usually goes into hiding somewhere until her dad cools off. The last time he was mixing speedballs and vodka, she was with us for a week. We tried her aunt's, but she wouldn't let us in."
Actually, when Ian and I went to her aunt's and asked if she was there, she pulled her piece out and threatened to blow our brains out if we didn't leave.
____________________________________________________________________________
I was gonna drive Debbie and Carl home, but Monica beat me to it. So, I just waved and drove home.
"Is their mom gonna stay with them now?" Blake said.
"Would not count on it," I said, "Your dad's coming this weekend, right?"
"Yea, he's gonna take me and Diana out somewhere," he said.
"Oh, that's nice."
Diana and Blake's dad was a douche, and he and Jenna were not on good terms at all because he cheated on her. But he loved his kids. That's much I could say about him. They were probably gonna spend Thanksgiving with their dad too.
___________________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, this whole thing with Terry was getting worse. It was to the point where I refused to leave Ian's side because I didn't feel safe leaving him alone.
It was getting dark out, but Ian and I had to take care of the store, so we sat behind the register. The door opened, and Ian pulled out the gun Kash had. Speaking of Kash, I was so glad that creep was gone.
"Easy! Fuck!" Lip said, "Is that Linda's?"
"It already shot one Milkovich," Ian said.
"Look, I think I got a way we can get rid of Mandy's dad," Lip said.
"Oh really? Enlighten me," I said.
"Don't even have to fire a bullet," Lip said before looking at Ian, "He's on parole right?"
"Kidnapping and grand theft auto," Ian said.
"What do you think the cops would do if they found one of those in his house?"
"Linda will know if we took it," Ian said.
"Grammy's 9 mm."
"He could get like five-six years," I said.
"Yeah, or life," Lip said, "The serial numbers aren't scratched off. The gun's bound to have racked up a body count. All we have to do is plant it."
"I got nothing to lose," Ian said, "I bombed the trig midterm."
I sighed and rubbed Ian's back.
"How bad?"
"I tried to enlist."
"What?!" Lip and I said.
"Yea, Monica took me," Ian said, of course, she did, "Figured Mandy's dad couldn't kill me in Kabul."
"Yea, well, there's plenty of other people who could," I said.
"They all turned me down," Ian said, "The Army, the Navy, Marines, Air Force."
"Still got the coast guard," Lip said.
"It's my fucking funeral," Ian said.
"Look, how about you sleep at my place tonight?" I said, "You both can if you want to."
"But your dad-
"I don't care," I said, "I'll explain it to him later. Ian just has to lay low until tomorrow morning."
"Alright," Lip said, "Don't forget the gun."
An hour later, Ian and I went back to my house. My bed was big enough to fit two people, so I let him sleep with me for the night.
"I'm sorry this is happening to you, Ian," I said, "But I promise it'll be alright."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because where there's a will, there's a way," I said.
Ian chuckled, "You're such a fucking cliché."
"I know, but it's true," I said.
"So, you and Lip," he said, "How's that going?"
"We've agreed to stay friends," I said, "You know, with everything going on, and the baby, it's best that way. Besides, I'm supposed to see Matt tomorrow."
"Matt Turner? That douche on the baseball team?" he scoffed.
"Hey, he's nice!" I said, "You just don't know him."
"He plays baseball. How nice can he be?"
"Ian!"
"Look, Lip loves you, Mayo," Ian said, "He really does, but he's an idiot and won't admit it."
I shook my head, "Nah. He doesn't. But that's ok. I've accepted it."
Ian pulled me closer to him and kissed my forehead, "You know, one day you'll realize how loveable of a person you are. One day."
"Damn," I said, "What did I do to deserve you being my best friend?"
He laughed, "I don't know. Seriously, though, thank you for sticking with me through this."
"Of course," I said, "You're my best friend, and I love you."
"I love you too. And uh, don't let Matt get you pregnant, ok?"
I laughed and shoved him, and he laughed too.
____________________________________________________
The next morning, the three of us met outside the Milkovich house but hid behind a car across the street.
"He's still in there. They leave a key anywhere?" Lip said.
"Door's unlocked. Who would be crazy enough to break in?" Ian said.
"You bring Grammy's gun? Remember to wipe your prints off."
We heard the door open and saw Terry walk out. As soon as he walked the other way, it was go time. I was terrified out of my mind, but I wasn't going to pussy out. We went inside and Lip and I immediately saw the pile of guns next to the TV.
"Where should we plant it?" Ian said.
"Maybe next to all the others?" Lip said.
Ian turned around, "Jesus."
"Like bringing a joint to a crack house," I said.
Lip carefully put it down next to the rest of the guns, and then the door opened. It was Terry.
Shit.
I was freaked out, but the boys remained calm, so I tried to as well.
"What the fuck?"
That's when we made a run for it. Lip jumped out a window while I followed Ian. We tried to find a way out, but we couldn't. Terry pushed me to the ground, making me hit my head on a wall. How many times am I going to hit my head this year? Jesus.
When I got up, he cornered Ian and held him at gunpoint.
"No! Stop!"
"I'm gonna fuckin' waste your Peter Pan ass," Terry said.
"Put it down!"
I turned around, and Mandy was holding a full-on hunting rifle.
"The fuck you doing?"
"Let him go!"
"The little shit broke in!"
Lip came running in, "Wait, he's not the dad!"
"He knows!" Mandy said.
"The fuck I do!"
"I told you whose it is!!" Mandy said, "Let him go, Dad. This is between us."
That's when it hit me, and it hit Lip. To say I felt sick to my stomach was an understatement. I knew he'd hit her for years, but oh my god. I never knew about this.
Terry lowered the gun and took his hat off.
"Your dad?" Lip said before Mandy pointed the gun at him.
"Another word and I'll blow your brains all over the fucking linoleum."
___________________________________________________________________________
Ian wanted to talk to Mandy, so Lip and I went outside. The second we walked off the porch, I burst into tears.
"Why did this have to happen to her?" I said, "I mean, what the fuck?"
"Hey, hey," Lip said, hugging me, "I know. I know. It's fucked up."
"She's my best friend, and I had no idea this was happening to her," I continued sobbing, "I hate him so much."
"I know," Lip continued holding me, "We will figure this shit out. Ok?"
"I'm gonna pay for her abortion," I sniffled, "Every last cent."
So, we all agreed to do a fundraiser for Mandy at the alibi, and it was a success. Diana and Debbie baked cookies and passed out flyers, and I was able to sell some of my dad's junk that he never uses anymore. I didn't tell Diana the truth about who the father was. Ian posed as the father to help Mandy's case.
"Thanks for doing this again," Mandy said to me.
"You don't have to thank me," I said, "You know damn well I'll always have your back. No matter what."
I gave her a hug, "I love you so much."
"I love you too, Mayo," she chuckled.