You know those mornings where you wake up in the dim gray light, really early, and you're listening to the person beside you breathing. Their breath is long and even and it almost pulls you back to sleep. You're laying there and you are awake but no noise is reaching your ears. You crack your eyes and take in the low light peeking through the blinds and making the curtains shimmer, the light resting on the stuff in the room. You're safe in the amniotic fluid of grey light, and you don't remember your problems. Nothing can touch you here. It's bliss.
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Did anyone ever tell you that your lips are a sin?
Or that your eyes are the oceans drawing them in?
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I woke up with a knee in my back, Fiona always did like spreading out. I was tired and sticky from last nights sweating at the club so all I wanted was a shower. I got up slowly so I wouldn't wake Fi and tiptoed out of the room as quietly as I could. Fiona deserved as much sleep as she could get. No one else was up yet so it was still pretty early, and being a Sunday I probably had another half hour before anyone else was up. I loved being surrounded by the Gallagher's but sometimes a little peace and quiet was welcome too.
I made my way down the hall grabbing a clean towel outside of the bathroom. As I was about to open the door Lip sidestepped out of his shared room.
"Hey, Lyd. I thought you left last night?"
"Oh, no.. Fi made me stay. Didn't want my mom to see me stumbling off my ass," I said with a little laugh. "I was just gonna shower, you need the bathroom?" I asked.
"Uh, yeah. I'll be right out."
"Okay," I said with a smile. I would never tell anyone but, Lip always fascinated me. He cared about his family so much and helped whenever he could. All on top of making straight A's... for multiple people. He wasn't bad to look at either... Okay, he was hot. But I had known the Gallagher's for a long time, and if he had any interest in me he never showed it.
Soon after going in he ducked back out and nodded to me a little.
"It's all yours." He said with a smile.
I smiled at him and gave my thanks before heading in and locking the door behind me. Carl had a habit of 'accidentally' walking in while I was in the shower or changing clothes.
I tried to shower as quickly as possible not wanting to use all of their hot water. It was always so refreshing to shower after a night of dancing like a fool but reality always killed the mood. The dancing took my mind off of my mother but the next day shower slowly drenched me in reality. She wasn't doing well. Years of drinking when she was younger, and probably doing drugs that she wouldn't admit to, had killed her liver, which had been weak since she was born. She tried to hide her sickness, and was successful for a long time, but she hid it for so long that surgery was out of the question for her now. Even if they found her a viable liver. All we could do now was help stem the pain.
Stepping out of the shower I tried to wring most of the water out of my long black hair, which was almost always futile. It had been long enough now that I figured Fiona would be up and willing to let me borrow some clothes for the day. I wrapped the oversized towel under my arms and stepped out into the hall. It was still quiet but I could hear Lip and Fiona talking quietly in the kitchen.
Knowing she wouldn't really mind I went back in Fiona's room and grabbed my bra, one of Fi's tank tops and a pair of jean shorts. When I was dressed I walked out and down to the kitchen where I could smell something near rancid. Frank. He was stumbling around the table at trying to go through his two eldest into the living room. Presumably to pass out on the couch.
"Jeez, Frank. Didn't anyone ever tell you a nice dip in the river could do wonders for that piss you call body odor?" I said, wrinkling my nose as I passed.
"And a good morning to you sweet Lydia. You know I never thought of that." He said in a sickly sweet tone. Frank, always a one for sarcasm. "I figured my ungrateful brats would at least allow their loving father a bath in the house he owns."
"You don't live here Frank," I said.
Slurring he yelled, "Well neither do you!"
"Frank, don't make me get the bat." Lips face was set in a red glare. "She's welcome here, you aren't."
"Yeah Frank, just get out," chimed Fiona.
"Well fine! I'll just go find someone who actually cares about me!"
"Good luck with that. You've either pissed off or pissed on everyone you know. And you smell rancid Frank." I said as I walked to the fridge. I had my own shelf of groceries on the door that I had bought the other day. Fi didn't mind as long as I didn't let anything expire. I of course told her to use anything there if she wanted it, I use their water and electricity after all. Chipping in was no problem to me.
After pulling the door open and reaching in the door was harshly slammed on my hand and wrist.
"OW, Jesus fuck Frank!" I yelled. Suddenly an even angrier Lip grabbed Frank by the nape of his worn jean jacket and hurled him towards the door as Fiona ran and got the Killing Bat. She yanked the back door open when she got back in the kitchen and held the bat up incase Frank tried to come back into the house after Lip threw him on the floor of their back porch. I was sitting on the floor next to the fridge when the door finally slammed in Franks face and got locked. My wrist most definitely wasn't broken but it hurt like hell and was either sprained or bruised to high heaven. Lip walked over to me and gently grabbed my arm. He still looked extremely pissed.
"Did he break your hand? If it's broken I'm gonna bash in his face." He huffed.
"No, it's not broken. It'll be fine, I think it's just—"
"I'm gonna call V to come take a look at it." Fiona said, cutting me off, as she walked into the living room.
"Really Fi you don't have to do that I'm sure it's fine." Actually as I looked at it it was getting kinda dark kinda quick. Lip looked at me and quirked his eyebrows. I could hear Fi on the phone.
"What?"
"It's purple." He deadpanned.
"It was just the fridge door! How bad could it really be?" As I said that the front door opened and I could hear V. When I looked she was carrying gauze, tape, and what looked like an old wrist brace.
"Alright Lyd, hand over the hand." She walked right past me and Lip sitting by the fridge and went to the table. Lip helped me up and we walked over and sat in front of her.
"Jesus, how heavy is that door?" She asked.
"It's not as bad as it looks." I insisted.
"Oh honey, that's at least a sprain. And that bruising isn't going away any time soon. It's already swelling, why don't you have any ice on this?" As she said that Lip stood to go get a rag of ice.
"It just happened V."
"Well, you were already at the fridge. Can you move it?"
I tried moving it gingerly, I could easily move my wrist back and forth but when it came to flexing my fingers... yikes. I sucked in a breath between my teeth.
"Uh huh, that's what I thought. Keep that ice on it for a minute." Lip handed me the ice in a damp rag.
"Thanks." He nodded and sat down at the table with a beer. He still looked pretty angry.
"Hey, turn that frown upside down Gallagher. I'll be fine." Suddenly Ian and Debbie came bouncing down the stairs.
"What do you mean you'll be fine? What happened?" Ian looked concerned.
"Fucking Frank slammed Lyd's arm in the fridge." Lips frown deepened for a minute.
"Why would daddy do that?"
"Because he's an asshole Debs," Fiona said as she walked by with a beer for herself and I.
"I'm sure he didn't mean to!"
"Whatever you say Debs," I said waving my purple swollen hand at her and taking a sip of my beer.
"Holy shit, that looks bad," Ian said as he grabbed my wrist to get a better look.
"He better be glad he didn't break it," Lip said with a dark look.
"Alright Mr. Protective move over I gotta wrap it." V grabbed my hand from Ian and started wrapping the gauze around the base of my palm.
"Keep those fingers as straight as you can and together for me." I grunted a bit as she started wrapping the fingers. After she wrapped it she put the brace on my hand.
"Where did you get a full hand brace?"
"Last nursing job I had, you could lift anything off one of those nursing carts and no one would ever know. The nurses are more worried about taking their patients meds than they are about distributing them. Old lady fell out of a bed and broke her hand, I snagged the spare brace." She said with a proud enthusiasm.
"Very resourceful." By now all the Gallagher's were gathered round the table eating, Carl was less interested because he came down after it was being wrapped.
"Fi I hope you don't mind I snagged a tank and some shorts."
"No don't worry about it, I'll probably borrow something of yours another time any way. All right kids ante up." She started passing around a box that the kids started tossing money in. I grabbed forty out of the slit in the fabric of my bra and tossed it in.
"Why are you putting money in the box?" Carl asked.
"I use your water don't I? And keep food in your fridge."
"Okay so with that we're only ten short for the electricity bill, thanks Lyd. Anybody?"
Debs threw in ten from her box upstairs and said "I won this in a bet with Holly Herkimer. She bet that Poly Anderson's babies wouldn't be born in April because she was having twins and they took longer to cook."
"Holly Herkimer is an idiot," I said with a roll of my eyes.
"You got that right," she said with a smile.
"Alright Girlie, you keep that hand elevated and take some ibuprofen and come see me in a week. You don't have to keep wrapping it but wear the brace a lot ok? Even when you're sleeping." V knew I would try and sleep without it if she didn't tell me I had too.
"Alright, Alright Ms. Bossy. If anything I should probably head out. I gotta go check on Mama." Ian and Lip both looked up.
"You need some company? We haven't seen your mom in a minute."
"Sure, she'd probably love to see you two. Just let me run up and grab my bag." I said trying not to make eye contact with Fionas worried gaze.
When I get back downstairs both the boys are ready and waiting by the door.
"You ready?" Lip asks.
"Yeah let's head out! We'll see you later guys, bye Fi!!"
"Bye! You guys be careful!!"
"We will," we all say in unison.
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Drop4Lunar