southside trash [shameless]

• Chapter 25 • Sugar •

"I'm going to the store today," Fiona yells, coming up the stairs.

"Toilet paper, I'm starting to chafe from the streamers," Debbie huffs, running out of the bathroom.

"Toothpaste," I tell her, sitting on the edge of the sink, brushing my teeth with baking soda.

"Why are Steve's clothes down here?" Debbie shouts from downstairs.

"Well, somebody couldn't wait to get upstairs last night," I smirk at Fiona, making her look down at her shopping list in embarrassment.

"We out of diapers?" She asks Lip, while he walks into the bathroom carrying Liam, with a towel wrapped around him in the place of a diaper. I spit out the baking soda and wash out my mouth, drying off my hands after.

"Yeah, but I put a plug up his butt, didn't I, buddy?" He says to Liam in a baby voice, who starts to fuss a bit, "oh, it's okay."

"That towel's gonna leak," Fiona points out, while Carl walks into the bathroom as well to brush his teeth.

"Yeah, I'm on it," he tells her, sitting down on the closed toilet seat, starting to sort it out, "ugh, so my SAT gig's a bust but, uh, I could scrape up some money another way if you need help."

"It's cool, I got thirty-five bucks," Fiona tells him, clearing something up in the hallway, "plus I'm picking up that temp check later. Emma, you taken your antibiotics?"

"Yes, mom," I roll my eyes.

Carl puts his toothbrush down and starts playing with a taser, making a 'pzz pzz' sound.

"Is that a taser?" Fi exclaims, "where'd you get that?"

"Oh, I let him borrow it," Lip shrugs, tapping Carl on the arm and gesturing to Liam's diaper situation, "hey, help me out, okay?"

"Carl finally got invited some place by normal kids," Ian pokes his head out the edge of the shower curtain, "Robbie Rubello's having a paintball party. Towel?"

I toss him towel as I walk out of the bathroom and into Debbie's room, finding the single sock at the back of my underwear drawer, knowing exactly where this conversation is going.

"Yeah, but he's not going so I gave him the taser to play with," Lip finishes for Ian, "don't worry, it doesn't work."

"Who's Candace?" Debs yells up the stairs.

"Uh, no idea," Fiona responds, turning back to Carl, "you aren't going, Carl?"

"No, it costs twenty-seven dollars," he answers.

Fiona looks at him sadly before pulling out the money she had for the store and holding it up for him, "here."

"Awesome!" He exclaims running over to her and taking it.

I walk back over to the bathroom with thirty bucks from my own 'squirrel fund'.

"Thanks," Lip says to Fiona, carrying Liam out of the bathroom.