Gold Dust Woman- Lip Gallagher

beginnings

6:45 am.

I turned off my obnoxious alarm and sluggishly approached the shower. My step-siblings wouldn't wake up for another fifteen-thirty minutes, but I liked having the extra time for the first shower.

I finished washing my shoulders when someone banged on the bathroom door.

"Get the fuck out of there, bitch! I need to wash my hair!"

That's Diana. My step-sister, who was three months older than me. She shared a birthday with my best friend, Ian Gallagher. Diana was an insufferable bitch, and with insufferable bitches, you can't say anything to sway their minds, and over time, you learn to ignore them. 

Three minutes later, I turned off the water and wrapped my towel around my body, opening the door slowly to see Diana standing outside with her hands on her hips.

"You can go now," I said condescendingly before walking to my room. I couldn't describe how happy I was not to have to share a room with her anymore. My dad changed his office into a bedroom because he started working at his company's office all the time. He'd be up before all of us and return home two hours after school ended.

After throwing on a gray sweater, light blue jeans, and a bit of eyeliner, I went downstairs. Jenna, my stepmom, was at the table, filling out a permission slip for my stepbrother, Blake. He was nine years old, so the same age as Carl, Ian's little brother. 

"Morning, Mayo."

Mayo is my nickname. My full name is Maelyn, but no one calls me that except my dad when he's pissed at me. 

"Morning, Jenna," I said, grabbing a mug from the cabinet and looking at the kitchen table, "I see you made breakfast."

"Of course!" she said, "Dig in."

I smiled and sat down, taking a bite of fried egg and wheat toast. Jenna was a sweet woman, and she made my dad happy.

 My mother died from liver failure when I was five. She was a heavy drinker, and they didn't identify the symptoms until it was too late. My dad tried to find her a liver transplant, but she was in so much pain and out of it from the painkillers that she just let go. As I got older, I began to look more and more like her, something I know for a fact my dad resented me for. But it wasn't my fault. I didn't ask to look like my dead mom. 

When I was nine, my dad brought home Jenna, and I met Blake and Diana a week later. They married when I was twelve, following the rest of the family moving in. I never had issues with Jenna. She was my favorite person in the family, in fact. Blake was annoying and reckless, but he was a good kid. As for my dad and Diana, I didn't want to talk to them more than I had to.

It made me sad that my dad and I didn't have a good relationship, but I always told myself things could be way worse. I could be like the Gallaghers and have Frank for a dad or like my friend, Mandy, and have a dad like Terry Milkovich. He made Frank look like a saint. 

At 7:15, I put on my Converse and winter coat, hopped on my bike, and headed to the Gallaghers.

I met the whole family through Ian, who was not only in my year and classes but also worked at the convenience store in the same strip where I worked at the pharmacy. Fiona, the oldest, was practically the mom to the rest of the Gallaghers and the sister I never had. Lip was a year older than Ian and me and one of the smartest people I knew. He also had pretty eyes. I wished I had blue eyes like him, but instead, I had hazel eyes. Debbie was the younger sister who was always such a sweetheart and the only one who still had faith in their negligent father. Carl was a basket case, and I've had to yell at him a few times to not pee in my yard. I wish I was joking. And the bad behavior rubbed off on Blake. Then there was baby Liam.

Liam was for sure not Frank's baby. I mean, not to be blunt, but he's black. 

I locked my bike to the post and walked in the door. Everyone was at the breakfast table, and Fiona was looking at the calendar.

"Shit! Electric," she said, putting a box for money on the table before turning her head, "Oh, hi, Mayo!"

"Hey, Mayo," everyone said.

"Electric," Lip said.

"Electric," Ian said.

"Electric," Debbie said.

"Electric," Carl said, not putting any money in.

"No!" Fiona said, "You've got a happy meal on the front of that shirt."

"Field trip. Need dad's signature," Ian said, handing it to Debbie. 

"Arms up!" Fiona said as she put Carl's shirt back on inside out.

"Wow, Debs. That's getting really good," I said, admiring Debbie's skill in forging Frank's signature.

"Who's got the phone?" Fiona said.

"I got it!" Lip said.

"Any minutes left?"

"Uh, fourteen," he said, throwing it at Fi.

"Hey, I need something for show and tell," Debbie said.

"How much are we short?" Fi asked.

"18.30."

"I'm tutoring after school. Should be able to kick in like ten more," Lip said.

"Don't worry," I said, pulling out a twenty, "I've got it."

"Mayo, no," Fiona said as she tried to shut the washing machine door which was pretty much broken. You needed to push a chair against it a few times for it to close. 

"I want to," I said, "Besides, it's the money I earned. I decide what I'm going to do with it, and I'm here almost every day anyway."

Fiona groaned, "Fine."

My family was above the poverty line, but we didn't have the money to live somewhere like Glencoe. College wasn't even in the picture for me because of how expensive it'd be. I had been working for a year and made pretty good money at the pharmacy. 

"Hey, did Carl put in any?" Ian said.

"You're almost nine. You're gonna have to start pulling your weight!" Debbie said.

"Yeah, and get a real job. Not just dipping into the collection plate at St. Tim's," Lip said. 

"I'm filling in for Candy today, so I'll be home a little later," Fi informed them. At the time, she worked at a pretzel parlor.

"Extra kraut on mine," Lip said.

"Cheese on mine," Ian said.

"Mayo?"

"Uh, mustard, please," I said.

"Someone has to take Liam."

"I've got a calculus test," Lip said.

"I'm working after school," Ian and I said unanimously. 

The three of us got to school, and Lip waited for me while I locked my bike. 

"So, who are you tutoring after school?" I asked.

He gritted his teeth, "I don't know if you want to know."

I chuckled, "Well, now you have to tell me."

"Karen Jackson."

My face dropped. Karen Jackson was my best friend in middle school and then she fucked my boyfriend in eighth grade because I refused to have sex with him. She was such a fucking whore, and I despised her more than anyone. 

"Why the hell are you-

"I know you hate her," he said, "I know. It's just to help with her physics midterm. That's it."

"Yeah, sure," I scoffed, "Science turns her on, you know. But then again, what doesn't?"

We laughed and walked into school.

"Hey, can you get me some dental floss from the pharmacy?" Lip said.

"Yeah, sure thing," I said, "I'll come over after dinner?"

"Sounds good," he said, "See you later, Mayonnaise."

"A bientôt, Lip!"