SHE DIES IN THE END // shameless

lacy

Every decision that Philip Gallagher made was for his sister. Every word he said, he made sure it wouldn't hurt her. Before every dollar he spent he stopped to make sure that Reagan had everything she needed. So when it came time to make a college decision he had to think hard about whether he wanted to leave her or not.

She would have Ian, but not even he could win the worst fights against Fiona. And what would happen to Reagan when she forgot to take the trash out? Or when Debbie blamed her for something she didn't do. Lip couldn't trust Fiona.

Lip didn't trust most people when it came to Reagan, but he always wanted her to have friends. She was quiet and kids made fun of her for wearing torn clothes and for not having money. So when she asked to go to Lindsay's house... he let her go.

"What do you do if you feel uncomfortable?" Lip asks... leaning down and buttoning the girl's sweater for her. "I call you, but if you don't answer then I call Leo.". Leonardo was Lip's best friend. Reagan hadn't seen him in a while because he moved to New York with his father, but he stayed with his mother during the Summer.

Lip hugs his sister and sends her through the door. She was doing it. Reagan was hanging out with Lindsay for the first time in seven months.

"Hey, Rae!" Lindsay says and hugs her. Reagan smiles at the girl who had newly bleached hair. "I like your hair. It brings out your eyes.". She didn't want to make it awkward. Did she just make it awkward?

Lindsay laughs and flashes her white teeth. "You're too nice!" she says. What happened to Lindsay? Reagan was confused.

The Gallagher girl follows her friend into her bedroom. There was a boy sitting on the bed. "Gio..., this is Reagan!" Lindsay says. Reagan's heart drops. The boy who she thought liked her was now kissing Lindsay.

Gio shoots her a smile and Reagan pastes a smile on her face. She says, "it's nice to meet you, Gio.". She unzips her bag and takes out a walkman and tape. "Lip made this for your brother. Should I go give it to him?" Reagan asks. Instead of giving a verbal answer Lindsay just nods and then presses her lips onto Gio's.

"Right... I'll be right back." Reagan says and heads down the hallway. Lindsay's older (step)brother was only a year and two months older than her and Carl. He was on the football team, too. Every girl wanted him.

She turns the corner and knocks on his door. "Come in!" he shouts over the sound of music playing. Reagan opens the door and sees him sitting on the floor, drinking a Gatorade. "Oh hey, Rae!" he says and pats a spot on the floor next to him.

"Alright, Diego," she says and hands him the tape, "I'm warning you because this might be the best mixtape you've ever heard.". Diego smiles and asks, "are you sure? because I don't think that the last one your brother made can be beat!".

Reagan nods and hands him a piece of paper with Lip's handwriting on it. He had written out every song on the mixtape, like usual. Diego reads through the list and asks, "when is he going to give up Dear Evan Hansen?" (just pretend Dear Evan Hansen was out in 2011)

"Waving Through a Window is a staple in Philip's life!" Reagan exclaims. Diego leans over and puts the tape with a collection of ten other mixtapes that the Gallagher boy had made him. He sighs and says, "enough about Dear Evan Hansen. how have you been?".

The girl hesitates to answer and turns her attention over to the open shades behind his bed. The Chicago sunlight was shining onto them. Diego says, "you can talk to me, Rae.". She rolls her eyes, but eventually says, "my life honestly boring. there's nothing going on!".

Diego could always see through Reagan's lies. This time though..., he didn't try to get the secrets out of her. He knew how it felt when his sister tried getting to him.

"I should probably go and hang out with Lindsay" Reagan says, getting up. Diego laughs and says, "would you rather hang out with her cool older brother or watch her make out with her boyfriend?" he asks. Reagan gags at the thought of that and he says, "yeah. that's what I thought!".

She sits back down and crosses her legs. Reagan rests her hands on her knees, which were covered by her old ripped jeans. They weren't the kind of jeans that you bought ripped, but the ones she'd gotten that didn't fit Debbie anymore.

"So how's football camp going?" she asks curiously. Diego tosses her a bottle of Gatorade from his mini fridge and sits back down. He says, "coach says that I'm playing quarterback again.". Reagan looks confused. She asks, "don't you have to try out for that though?".

Diego smiles and says, "me not being quarterback is like if Ian doesn't go to West Point. it's inevitable!". Reagan nods in agreement. He asks, "Aren't you joining the cheer squad or something?".

"I mean... who wouldn't want Chicago's best gymnast on their team?" Reagan says. Diego laughs and says, "that's more like it!" he always liked getting her out of her comfort zone. He used to be shy like her.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･

Reagan tried to keep her anger down, but she was like Lip in some ways. When she was angry for a while and didn't express her emotions then she would take it out on other people. And Carl just so happened to be in the room.

"How was Lindsay?" her twin brother asks curiously. She takes off her sweater and throws it back at the door. "Can you shut up?" she asks. Carl rolls his eyes and says, "I was just asking!".

Reagan turns around and swings her fist at his face. Carl grabs his red cheek and asks, "what was that for!". She kicks him in between the legs and says, "I thought you liked me!". He falls to the ground and she pounces on top of him.

Reagan pounds her fist into his face and yells, "getting with Lindsay Hill!". She hears the door open behind her, but she doesn't turn around. "I'm going to pound your face into the ground." she says, but Ian throws her over his shoulder.

Lip rushes to help Carl up. The young boy's brother helps him sit up and he begins coughing up blood. He spits out one of his back teeth into his hand and Lip asks, "what did you do, Carl?".

He wouldn't blame Reagan. She never fought him unless he started an argument with her, but she'd never made him this injured. The girl glares at Carl and Ian takes her upstairs to their room as Carl laid on the kitchen floor.

Ian sits her on his bed and grabs his first aid kit. He asks, "why did you beat up Carl?". She crosses her arms and says, "because he made me mad!". Ian shakes his head and grabs her hands. He wipes the blood off and says, "no. why did you beat him up?" he could tell she was lying.

Reagan sighs and says, "Gio has a girlfriend now. It's Lindsay Hill! She ignored me the whole time so I just hung out with Diego.". Ian knew that wasn't an excuse for her to beat up Carl, but he knew that she couldn't handle everyone in the house being mad at her.

"You broke your hand again, Reagan" he says. Ian could see the bone sticking out. He says, "Fiona's going to kill you.".