Mine // Carl Gallagher

Chapter 26

A/N: So glad that you guys are loving the book!! Thanks for reading! 😁❤️

It was around 6 o'clock the next morning and she was awakened by the sun beaming through the windows and Carl's stern voice. She lazily opened one eye and saw him sitting on the edge of the bed, leant over, and talking to someone on the phone. He looked frustrated and pissed, which both confused and worried her. "What are you talking about? You've got to be shitting me. AGAIN? How the hell could you let this happen? I've done nothing but employ you and provide you with money you need, and you have the nerve to fuck up again? That's it. I'm done. No, actually, you're done! You're over. Go find work with someone who likes shitheads like you." He hung up immediately after he finished speaking, not allowing the person on the other line to even explain, then tossed his phone onto the carpet.

           Sophia yawned to let him know that she was awake. Carl turned around to face her and spoke softly and carefully, "Oh. Good morning, babe. What are you doing awake? It's early, you should be sleeping in." She was taken aback with how different he sounded when he was talking to her compared to when he was talking to one of his "workers". Sophia shrugged as she propped her head up with one hand and spoke in a low morning voice, "Well, I would've slept in but you were just a little loud." He began to speak, then stopped, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. Here, lets go back to bed baby girl." Sophia couldn't resist when he spoke to her like that, but she couldn't let this go, "Wait, what was that all about?" "Don't worry about it, it's just business."

           Honestly, she was a bit frustrated that Carl would rarely open up to her or be truthful about his "work". She understood that he was probably trying to protect her, but she was concerned about what he was getting himself into. But, she managed to convince herself that he could take care of himself and to just let it go. She slightly nodded, "Alright, if you say so." Carl gave her a small fake smile, he had guilt written all over his face.

             Carl went over to the window and closed the curtains so that the sun wasn't burning their eyes, then crawled back into bed next to Sophia. He laid on his back and she rested her head on his chest, the both of them staying silent while staring up at the spinning ceiling fan. She began to drift off to sleep again quickly, until she felt Carl slowly try to get out of bed without waking her. Where was he going off to? Sophia assumed he was just going to the bathroom or to the kitchen, so she closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

          At around 9 AM, Sophia woke back up again and decided to finally get up for the day. But, Carl still wasn't back. She got out of the large messed up bed and walked out into the hallway. Sophia knocked on the upstairs bathroom to see if he was in there, but there was no answer. She went downstairs and saw Ian asleep on the couch, Debbie eating cereal at the table, and Lip checking emails on his laptop. Sophia sat at the table next to Debbie and Lip and said, "Where's Fiona?"

Lip responded, "At work probably."

"Well, where's Carl?"

"At work probably."

"What does that mean? Do you know where he specifically went?"

"It means he's probably taking care of his usual drug business. And no, I don't have a clue of where the hell he is."

"Are you sure?"

"YES I am sure!! Why do you have to ask so many damn questions?"

"Sorry, sorry... I'm just worried. At around 6 this morning I woke up and he was on the phone with one of his workers... I assume. He sounded really mad, I think he fired someone. Then, he left at around 8 AM and never came back. I didn't ask where he was going cause I just assumed he was getting up to use the bathroom or something, so I went back to sleep. Now he's still not here, it's been over an hour and I haven't heard from him at all. What if something bad happens??"

       Lip sighed out of annoyance and threw his head back, "Sophia, I'm sorry but you're going to have to get used to that. Carl is always having sketchy phone calls and leaving to go places without telling anyone where the fuck he's going. We eventually stopped questioning him because trust me, he always comes back. Carl can take care of himself." What Lip said ended up comforting and relieving Sophia, knowing that this was a usual thing and he always ended up coming back home safely. She nodded and stood up to get some yogurt from the fridge.

        Sophia went outside and sat on the front porch steps, then decided to text Carl. She didn't want to be a clingy or nosey girlfriend, I mean the last thing she wanted was to make him mad, but she just wanted to make sure he was okay.

                              9:16 AM                     76%
S: hey baby, i actually just woke up. where'd you go? is everything okay?

           It was now 9:45 and he still hadn't responded. Even though she trusted he was okay and would eventually come home, she still wanted to just hear his voice. It was freezing cold and the steps were still wet from melted snow and ice crystals. She decided to give him a call, just in case. The phone rang for a while until he finally picked up.

He spoke in a slightly hectic and somewhat nervous, deep tone, "H-hello?"

"Carl, are you alright? Where'd you go? You've been gone for hours."

"Oh I'm just taking care of some business, don't worry about it babe. I'll be home soon."

Sophia then heard a painful scream in the distant background, as if they were dying. She definitely recognized the voice, but couldn't put her finger on it.

"Carl what was that? What's going on? I heard yelling. Please come back now I've been so worried."

"God just let me take care of this Sophia! I can't talk right now I have to go. Please just don't come looking for me. I swear I'll be home by tonight."

And he hung up.

      What the fuck was that? Sophia was now totally ignoring what Lip had said earlier about Carl being able to take care of himself and always coming home. She was now filled with anxiety, yet anger. She was angry that he refused to be honest with her and to fill her in on his life. Sophia trusted him when he told her that she knew everything about him already, but now she wasn't so sure.

      She sighed and held her head in her hands. After a while of just thinking about what to do, she decided that she needed to stay in the safety of the Gallagher home. She went back inside the house, keeping what she just heard on the phone to herself. Sophia went inside and  sat back down at the kitchen table. Everyone was still in their exact spots that they were in before. Ian asleep on the couch, Debbie still eating at the table, and Lip was working on his laptop. She sat at the table and just sat there in silence. Lip looked up at her from his computer screen, then squinted her eyes at her and gave her a funny look. Sophia asked, "What?"

Lip responded with confusion, "Nothing... Just- where'd you get that necklace from? I've never seen you wear that before and it looks brand new."

Debbie then looked up from her cereal bowl and looked at the diamond necklace on Sophia's chest, "Ooooh! If you're a princess, then who's your prince? Hmmm?"

Sophia rolled her eyes, yet was nervous since nobody knew she and Carl were officially  "together". She scoffed and lied to them, "It's not a big deal guys. I've had this forever, I just rarely wear it. My dad gave it to me a really long time ago... he always called me his princess. Chill." Debbie gave Sophia a look since she could tell that she she was lying, but said nothing and continued to eat. Lip sighed and continued typing on his laptop, "Whatever you say..."

Suddenly, the front door opened and Carl walked in, then slammed the door shut. He walked past everyone and stormed right upstairs to his bedroom, saying absolutely nothing to anyone.

A/N: Oooooh cliff hanger 😉 What do you think is going on?