southside trash [shameless]

• Chapter 29 • Raoul •

The walk to the Jackson household had to have been the most solemn walk the Southside has ever seen. We grabbed our coats, put Liam in his stroller and set off down the street. Veronica sent Ethel and her son, yeah, apparently she also has a son, back to their place, and joined us for support. I felt empty, not really knowing how to deal with the news. Not to mention that my twin wasn't here with me, which just felt wrong.

Lip opens up the door and we walk into the house. Sheila is the only one to see us at first, and I can hear the all too familiar sound of my parents arguing.

"All right. Well, Bob," Sheila speaks up, making me furrow my eyebrows at the unfamiliar name, "perhaps we're just in the way here, and we should make our exit and leave Monica for her apologies." Sheila loosely gesture over to us, but still seems to be the only one who's noticed our presence.

"Apologises?" Monica scoffs, "for walking out on this piece of shit?"

"No," Sheila shakes her head, as we come fully into the living room, closing the door behind us, "for walking out on them."

The room goes silent as Monica looks over to us, gaping at us. "Oh, my god," her voice cracks.

"It's alright, I'm not one of your's," Veronica pokes her head around the door frame, "just came to rubberneck."

Monica claps a hand over her mouth, staring at us in awe.

We eventually all sit down on Sheila's plastic covered couches, in the most awkward and deafening silence I've ever experienced. Sheila brings over two beers and hands one to Lip and one to me, both of us giving her a silent thank you.

Liam's babbling as he plays with some random piece of card he's found, is the only sound in the room. It makes me jealous of his ignorance to what's going on. The silence is eventually broken when Monica finally says something.

"You're all so big," she comments with a guilty smile, "I missed you so much."

"Well, why didn't you take us with you?" Debbie asks. She and Carl are sat on the same couch as Monica, with a noticeable gap between the children and their mother. Debbie his hugging her knees to her chest and Carl is fiddling with his fingers.

Fiona looks up, mostly likely a bit hurt by the question after all the work she has done to look after us kids. But I think she's more shocked that it's something that passed through the younger girl's mind. None of us ever really talk about Monica, not even the little ones.

"Because..." Monica thinks for a second, "I knew you'd be fine with Fiona."

Fiona looks up and stifles a scoff. I clench my fists, glaring at the woman who calls herself our mother. Lip grabs my fist to try and calm me down but it doesn't do much.

I stand up and storm out of the house, sitting down on the steps out front. A few seconds later, the door opens and Lip joins me.

"You alright?" He asks, sitting down and pulling a cigarette and lighter out of his pocket.