blue ; gallavich

30

MICKEY

Ian holds to door open for me, seeing that my hands are sweating so intensely that I would most likely lose grasp of the handle. I'm sweating like Niagra Falls, the anticipation building up inside me as heavy as bricks due to me being in a complete state of ignorance concerning how today's series of events will go down. All I know is that if Terry and I are in the same room, shit ain't gonna be pretty. Especially if I hear one of his bullshit lies, then I'll definitely lose my shit.

We enter the building, which is freezing fucking cold, and I notice Mandy and Lip waiting in a nook under a large staircase, abnormally distant. Walking over to them, Lip and Ian hug, and so do my sister and I. Mandy rubs my back reassuringly, knowing the right way to calm my nerves. I inhale jaggedly and squeeze my eyes shut, just to relax my currently tense body.

We walk to the waiting area, Lip and Ian parting ways to ask about court room numbers and specific rules. Mandy and I take a seat, numbers of eyes cast upon us and she groans and shouts, "the fuck are you all looking at?" People turn their heads away in embarrassment as I simply roll my eyes. She can be so critical sometimes.

"Are you okay?" She finally asks me after a moment of silence, only the occasional shuttered breath from one of our mouths.

"No." I reply after a second as she sighs. "Are you?"

"No." She seconds, looking up at me with genuine fear. It's been a while since either of us have been this anxious, and I'm not much of a nail biter but mine are chewed down to the nub. "At the rate you're going you're not gonna have any fingers. Knock it off." She demands, shoving my hand away from my mouth. I growl and stick my hands under my thighs as she gently rubs my shoulder. After a few shared sighs and whimpers, Mandy decides to state the obvious, saying "this is fuckin' bullshit."

"Ya think?" I retort in angst. "The last place I wanna be is at court and the last person I wanna see is fucking Terry." I spit venomously. Mandy simply nods and slouches into the leather chair supporting her. The dumbass is wearing the least court appropriate outfit: a leather jacket with a crop top and some ripped black jeans, all tied together with some off-brand black Timbs-wanna-be's. "You're not going back into that stupid ass emo phase, are you?" I ask as Mandy shrugs and flips her hair over her shoulder.

"I mean, I don't know."

"The hell do you mean 'you don't know'? You fuckin' depressed again or somethin'?" I hiss as she gives me a stupid fucking shrug again.

"It's hard not to be when we live in the fucking South Side, Mick. Everyone's depressed or got some fucked up illness around here." She isn't wrong, but it doesn't mean she needs to dress like edgy teen meets funeral.

"But you've got a job. And you have Lip. And an apartment, now." I say as she shakes her head and rubs the bridge of her nose. A pit forms in my stomach; a hole burned by the acid that is anxiety.

"That's the thing: I don't have Lip." She hushes as I look over at the shaggy blonde boy, then back to my goth-ass sister.

"The fuck you talkin' about? Like y'all broke up?" I growl as she nods. She opens her mouth to form words but a woman approaches us, interrupting my needed explanation. Phillip and Ian walk over to us as the lady introduces herself as Kathleen Baker, Mr.Gallagher's Attorney. She gives us the details on how to behave, the shit that all of us are professionals at by now, and explains that she's on our side and we have to tell the truth, blah blah. None of us are new to this, seeing that our lives and families are train wrecks and all.

A lady standing by Court Room 7 calls for "Ian and Phillip Gallagher. Mandy, Mikhailo, Iggy, and Colin Milkovich." Why are all my siblings coming? We follow Kathleen into the room, the four of us that showed up taking our seats behind Kathleen's desk, Ian beside her. I look at his pale face, whiter than usual, but who can blame him? Seeing Terry will most likely strike some memories for him, and not good ones.