Anne Gallagher

#88 is mine!

This morning, I woke up to Fiona entering our room.
"Lip?" She asks. I shook my head. "I think someone's downstairs." I shake Carl awake, and the three of us head downstairs to see what all the commotion was. We walk down the stairs and see none other than Monica, standing in front of us.
"Good morning, my angels." I stormed upstairs before I could hear another word come out of her mouth. I go into the bedroom and shake Ian awake.
"Anne, this better be fucking important enough for you to wake me."
"Monica." Is all I can say. My voice was shakier than I anticipated, both anxiety and anger building up inside of me.
"Shit, she's here?" I nod. "Alright, lets get Debbie." Ian and I wake up Debbie, and we all head back downstairs. Both Frank and Monica were making breakfast and talking with Fiona.
"I am done running around trying to please that woman." Frank says.
"Grammy died?" Debbie asked.
"Debbie!" Monica says, opening her arms for a hug. Monica comes up to Debbie. "Oh, look how big you are!"
"How long is she staying?" I spit out, just as nasty as when I talk to Jimmy-Steve.
"Only forever and a day!" Monica answers, cheerfully.
"Are my camp pants still in the dryer?" Ian asks Fiona.
"Ian!" Monica exclaims.
"Can anyone tell us what the hell she's doing here?" Ian asks.
"I asked your mother to come home."
"Oh, you live here now too?"
"I made breakfast."
"No thanks. And that's a no for Anne too. That's a trigger food."
"Your mom spent a lot of time making that breakfast. Sit down and eat it." Frank demands.
"This is bull shit." Ian says, starting to walk out the door.
"Ian." Fiona tries to stop him.
"Gonna wash his mouth out with soap."
"Don't start, Frank. No one wants either of you here." I walk back upstairs to get dressed for school.

I couldn't concentrate at school. Not at all. Which was a first for me. All I could think about was the fact that Monica was back.
"Hey, Gallagher. Where's your head at today?" Gilbert whispers to me.
"Got a lot of stuff going on at home."
"Wanna talk about it?"
"Sure, but let's wait till lunch." Gilbert nods, and goes back to his work. I look over at Carl, who also seemed out of the moment.
"Carl?" I whisper. He looks up at me. "I know we aren't really supposed to, but how about we take the long way home after school?" He smiles, and gives a little nod, agreeing. We aren't allowed to take the long way home, because of the whole getting kidnapped thing. But every now and again, Carl and I will take it, so we can have some twin time. Talk about what's going on at home.

At lunch, Carl, Gilbert, and I sit together, per usual.
"So, what's going on, guys?" Gilbert asks.
"Lip left last night. Fiona told him to either go to school or he would be kicked out. So, he left." Carl starts.
"And we walked down to the kitchen this morning to find out our grandma passed away. Oh yeah, and Frank brought our mother to the house." I finished.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry you guys. That's a lot."
"We're used to it." Carl sighs. "We just need to figure out how long it's gonna take before Monica splits again."
"If you guys need a place to hang for a while, you can always come to my place."
"We'll have to see. Given the circumstances of last time, Fiona's gonna want to keep a close eye on the two of us." Gilbert nods, and we eat the rest of our food in silence.

Once school ends, I wave goodbye to Gilbert, and start to take the long way home.
"How are you doing?" I ask Carl. He shrugs. "You can talk to me. If you can't talk to anyone else, that's fine. But Carl, don't shut me out. I don't shut you out."
"Okay. I miss Lip. He always takes Fiona's side when it comes to the battle of Monica. I don't know how we are ever going to get rid of her."
"We still have Ian. And I'm sure if we explain what's going on at home to Lip, then he'll come and help us out."
"I don't know. He seemed pretty serious about leaving. What if Monica stays this time?"
"If Monica stays, we just need to steer clear of her, Take Gilbert up on hanging out with him after school every now and again. Go to the library. I can tutor you. Make sure we pass this year. We can even take up a hobby like skate boarding or something."
"How are we going to do that for the next 8 years?"
"I'm not too sure. But we'll figure it out. We always do."
"How are you doing?"
"I'm not sure. I mean, I'm conflicted. I'm sad because of Lip leaving, grandma dying, and Monica showing up. And yet, I'm still happy. I'm doing well in school, my crush likes me back-"
"Wait, what's this about a crush? And he likes you back?"
"Gilbert. I have feelings for Gilbert. And he has feelings for me too." I blush.
"Then why aren't you two dating?"
"He said he didn't want to get together just yet. He told me that he wanted to wait, because he wanted to marry me. He truly thinks I'm the one he's supposed to be with."
"Marry?! How do you feel about that?"
"I feel like Gilbert is the one I'm going to be with." I smile, trying to hide the blush on my face. "I know we didn't meet that long ago, but there's just something about him. It just feels... Right." Before we could continue our conversation, we make it to the house. "I'm dreading going in."
"Me too, Anne. Me too." Carl holds my hand in reassurance.