I need to talk to you; Ian had texted her, and that was the reason why she was walking towards the Gallagher house that morning.
Desna was quick to cross those few meters, knowing that if she had thought about it longer, she would probably have stayed home. But she managed to arrive at the house and opened the kitchen door.
"Hey, Des," Fiona greeted her with a smile.
"Hi, Fi," she said, "Is Ian upstairs."
"Sure," she nodded, pointing to the stairs, "Help yourself."
"Thanks," Desna said before frowning, "Why is it so cold in here?"
"My thought exactly," she heard Fiona say as she ran up the stairs. Desna was about to turn to go towards Ian's room when she almost bumped into Lip.
"Hey," she said, avoiding looking at him.
"Hey," he muttered. Desna could feel his posture tense, not sure what to say to her, "A-are you here for-"
"Ian," she said, looking at him for the first time, coursing herself when her eyes lingered on his lips a bit longer than she had to. She really missed him, talking to him and feeling him against her body. She was so stupid.
"He, um… he is in our room," he stuttered, pointing behind his back.
"Thanks," Desna said, lowering her head and moving around him.
"Better for you to be dying," She muttered as she closed the door, catching Ian's attention.
"Mandy Milkovich tried to have sex with me," Ian said with a panicked voice.
"What?" She asked, her eyes wide, "Where? When?!"
"Yesterday," he said nervously pacing the room, "She waited for me after my shift, she came here."
"She is quite straight forward. I'll give her that," she thought out loud.
"Yeah!" He exclaimed sarcastically, "She took a condom out at me."
"W-what did you do?" She asked, her eyes wide.
"I pushed her away!" he exclaimed, sitting on his bed, "And I may or may not have made her cry."
"Was she really upseat?" Desna asked carefully.
"She ran away," he said, looking up at her, "Even Fiona saw her."
So Mandy Milkovich was upseat with Ian. An upset Milkovich running around the Southside was no good. They truly were almost criminals, and most of them really were.
"Is it going to be bad?" Ian asked her with big eyes, waiting for her answer, surely hoping to have some kind of encouragement. But she really didn't know. She knew for a fact how Milkovichs could be scary, Iggy was starting to concern her, for what she knew Mikey's father had been more inside prison than outside, and Mikey himself was now stealing Kash's shop regularly, and not only that surely.
"It's very bad, right?" Ian asked nervously, his legs bouncing up and down. So Desna went to sit next to him.
"Being rejected, that happens, right?" Desna asked, trying to find some good side to the situation.
Ian nodded his head qith quick movements, "Right!"
"I mean, you cry and ask yourself why, but you get over it, right?" Desna asked again, and Ian nodded once more.
"Right!"
"What is the worst thing she could do?" Desna asked, and the answer to that question arrived to her that afternoon when one message from Ian arrived on her phone.
Mandy told Mickey I assaulted her, and now he wants to kill me; Desna's eyes widened as she read those words. She immediately asked Ian what had happened, and he told her that Mickey Milkovich entered the shop, ready to beat him up. He got away only because he managed to lock himself in the back, and Kash covered for him, telling Mikey that there was another exit from there.
That was not good at all. God, how could she make up a story like that? She knew perfectly well what would have happened, and Mikey would not have stopped until he got to Ian.
She spent the following hours constantly checking on Ian through texts to know if he was alive. She even had problems studying now that she knew that Ian could have possibly ended up in the hospital.
As Desna was pacing in her living room, she noticed a limp figure on the street. Her eyes widened as she realized that she knew that jacket.
"Oh, shit..." she muttered before running to the door, "Lip!" she found herself running to him. As he heard her voice, he lowered his head, tyring to not show his face at her.
"Keep ignoring me, Des; I'm fine," he said, but she was quick to move part of him so that she could put herself in front of him, not letting him move forward.
"Jeez, Lip," she gasped, taking a step so that she was now close to him. With her hand, she delicately moved the hood from his face so that she could take a better look. His left side was covered in cuts and bruises. He got a slash over his eyebrow and one over his nose, and his top lip was cut open. She even noticed his left arm slightly bent, like he could not move it freely.
"Oh my God," she said, her fingers touching his cheek, making him flinch, "I'm so sorry," she gasped, but he shook his head.
"It's alright," he muttered, looking up to meet her eyes. She was studying his face closely. She really hoped his nose wasn't broken or some other bones in his body.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Mikey Milkovich," he answered, and Desna took a breath before moving to stay next to him.
"I'll take you home," she said, touching his back with her hand.
"You don't have to," he told her, but she shook her head stubbornly.
"I'm not leaving you," she answered back. He looked at her, his eyes softened as he observed her face.
"Okey..." he muttered before they headed towards his house. Desna kept looking at him to see if he was in much pain. She had to call V as soon as they got inside. When she turned, she noticed Fiona standing on the porch speaking with Tony, the young policeman.
"Let's use the back of the house," Lip said to her, gesturing at her where to go with a movement of his head, "I don't want them to see me."
"They will anyway," she argued.
"Can you not talk back for once?" he asked, turning to look at her.
"No, I don't think I can," she said, and her heart melted as she noticed him smiling at her.
"Hey, Lip, there's a body on the other end of this," they stopped as they heard Tony's voice. Lip was doing his best not to show his face, but what they had done to him was too evident.
"No, it's cool, Tony," as he spoke, Fiona saw his injuries immediately.
"Jesus, what the hell, Lip?" she exclaimed, but Lip didn't answer back. He just looked at Desna, moving his head so that she'd follow him into the house.
"I'll call V," Fiona said, running upstairs as Desna helped Lip to the kitchen. He sat on a chair, making a little grant, while she went to take a rag before moving to the sink to fill a cap with water. She needed to clean his skin before putting ice on his bruises. Desna double-checked the frame of an old man dressed in a ladies' woman sleeping on a chair in the living room.
"Who's that?" she asked, frowning.
Lip was holding his forehead before giving a glance in the direction she was looking, then he scoffed, "I don't even know," he said as she walked back towards him, soaking the cloth in the cold water. But when she put the rag against his forehead he hissed.
"I'm so sorry," she gasped, moving her hand away just a little bit.
He shook his head, "It's alright, don't worry."
"I'll try to be as gentle as possible," she said, getting closer, "But tell me if I hurt you," Lip nodded his head before letting her move her hand closer to his face. She proceeded to clean his skin, trying to avoid the cuts. They didn't seem to bleed anymore, but his eyes were getting darker.
"Why is Mikey after you?" she asked softly, still working on his skin.
"He's not," he answered, "He is after Ian."
"Jeasus Christ, for the Mandy thing?" she exclaimed, rubbing his skin lightly.
He hissed for a second before looking at her, "You know?"
"Ian told me that Mikey wants to beat him up," she explained, being very gentle with her touch.
"Wish he told me as well," he said with a chuckle. She moved her hand a little bit, hoping he didn't need any stitches.
"If he did this to you, I'm really concerned about Ian right now," she admitted. Now, she was truly worried about Ian's life. Those people were fucking crazy.
Lip nodded his head before tilting his head with amused eyes.
"Maybe the fact that I said that Mandy is blowing 400 dudes in 10th grade didn't help. " His nonchalance made her widen her eyes. She would have slapped him if he hadn't already been beaten up.
"God, would you ever stop with the sassy comments?!" she exclaimed, but his lips moved into a smirk.
"No, I don't think I will," he answered, leaning forward towards her.
Desna groaned, "You wouldn't even know how to shut your mouth to save your life."
"Are you worried?" he asked.
"Yes," she answered shortly, now realizing how close they were. They had both leaned forward, their heads inches apart and their knees touching. Her hand was still at the side of his face, rubbing his cheek gently.
"Thank you," he said, his eyes staring into hers, "For helping me."
"Don't mention it," she said, diverting her eyes to take another look at his cuts. Unconsciously, she smiled.
"What?" he asked her, a hint of curiosity in his voice.
"I just realized that the first time we talked, you had been fighting as well," she said, remembering him at thirteen years old, fighting on the street just in front of her house.
"You had sat next to me on the side road with a pack of ice," he remembered nodding his head. That's how they became friends. Desna didn't like to get out of the house as she had arrived in her new home, but after having helped Lip, he and Ian had started to ask her to go play with them or to walk together to school.
"You had been my first friend," she said with a small smile, thinking back at all the years that had passed. Then she noticed him staring.
"You are not my friend," his words made her smile disappear. She really could not understand him and why he seemed so eager to hurt her lately. But before she could move away, he took her wrist in his hand, keeping her close. "But you are something for me," they looked at each other before they started to lean forward.
"What does it mean?" she asked confused.
"I don't know," he whispered before his lips touched hers once again. Desna's eyes closed as she kissed him back. After all those weeks, they were kissing again. She had missed him. His right hand moved at the side of her face as he deepened the kiss. They were lost in each other as they heard the front door open, making them pull away. But the movement had been so abrupt that Lip gave out a groan.
"You okay?" Desna asked, touching his face with her hands. He nodded and squinted his eyes.
"Shit, Lip, what happened?" Veronica's voice made Desna turn to see her and Fiona walking into the kitchen. Desna looked at Lip for a brief moment before giving V space to take a look at him. When she moved, she noticed Fiona looked at her as Desna sat on another chair, but she ignored it to listen to what Veronica was doing.
She had brought all the medicines they had in the house and started to dab Lip's forehead with cotton wool soaked in hydrogen peroxide. Lip hissed as she did.
"Oh, sorry, sweetie," V said gently as the cracking noise of the wooden stairs announced Frank's presence. He looked at his son, but he didn't say anything as he sat on the stool next to the counter, sipping his beer.
"The nose is the most commonly broken nose in boys between the ages of 13 and 25," Veronica explained, observing Lip's face.
"T-that's fascinating," Lip said before pointing at the man, still asleep. But who is the old dude?"
"It's not a dude, it's you're aunt Ginger," Frank answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Lip frowned, "What, the one that owns the house?" Desna looked at Frank. What was he up to at that time?
"That's right. " It was unbelievable how Frank knew how to lay without flinching. "Hey Ginger," he said towards the man who had been woken up by his loud voice. Say hello to your nephew. " The poor thing looked so confused.
"Dad, stop," Fiona almost begged with a heavy breath.
"Why is he trying to pass off Mr. Perry as Aunt Ginger?" Lip asked, confused, as Desna double-checked the man. She had not realized he was Mr. Perry.
"Who?" Frank asked with a frown.
"The old bus driver," Desna answered, and Lip nodded.
"He sleeps behind the dumpster over at the A&P," he explained, his eyes bareafly met Desna's, who looked down smiling.
"Social Security wants to talk to Ginger," Fiona began to explain before glaring at her father, "And he is too lazy to get the real one."
"Where?" asked Desna with a frown.
"Michigan," Fiona said.
"That's retardedly brilliant," Lip commented, and Desna frowned at him.
"Really?" she asked as Frank spoke.
"Thank you!" the man exclaimed.
"Or brilliantly retarded," Fiona said, and Desna felt like agreeing. And as Frank thanked again, the girl rolled her eyes.
"Now we have to drive all night to go get her," Fiona complained, trying to provoke a reaction from her father, but it was useless. Fiona took a breath before turning to Veronica.
"Think Kev will let us borrow his car?" V frowned.
"No." Kev was getting restless every time he figured out that V or Desna had lent something of theirs to the Gallaghers. He almost lost it the morning of the day before when he learned that the Gallaghers had borrowed their toaster because Carl had broken theirs.
"I'll call and beg," Fiona decided, standing up and heading to the living room.
"We got those from Imelda over at the Holiday Inn," Debbie said, entering the kitchen with Carl and placing old hairdryers on the counter. It'll be a good way to stay warm."
"You okay?" Desna asked Lip as she saw him move his neck with a painful expression.
"I'd like to say yes," he said, looking at her with a small smile, which she returned.
"Hey, Kev, it's me," Fiona said with her phone against her cellphone.
"Does she have a chance to convince him?" Desna asked V, who glared at her. Probably not. Maybe you could ask him after sex," she suggested, making Lip chuckle.
Suddenly, Frank moved, taking the phone from Fiona's hand, "You won't need the car," he muttered, and everyone frowned at his words.
"How are we gonna get Ginger?" Fiona asked, confused.
"She is dead," Desna widened her eyes.
"What?" Fiona exclaimed.
"Who's dead?" Debbie asked, looking at them and waiting for an answer.
"Ant Ginger," Lip said, and Debbie got upset.
"Did you know her?" Desna asked Lip, who shook his head.
"Debs you've never met her," he said a bit confused.
"And now I never will!" She exclaimed, and Desna and Lip looked at each other.
"Don't give me hard time," Frank complained defensively like he always liked to be, "I've been very upset about it. I'm in mourning."
Desna shook her head, how did they all managed to pull up with Frank's shit was something really unbelieveble for her.
"When did she die?" Fiona asked with wide eyes.
Frank shrugged his shoulders, "T-twelve years ago," he stuttered, "I was trying to protect all of you from the drama, how do you think I feel?" he kept justify himself, "That woman was my heart and soul, she practically raised me."
A great fucking job, she did there.
"Dad," Fiona was speaking in the countless attempt to put some sense back in her father's head, "You've been chasing her checks. That's felony. We are leaving in her house. Was there even a will?"
"You don't need a will, if she's not technically dead," Frank said as if it was incomprehensible that Fiona was not getting it.
"Yes, she is technically dead, Dad," Fiona said getting pissed as she moved towards her father, "Dead is dead. Just because you haven't told anybody that she's dead doesn't make her not dead. Fuck!"
That was very dangerous, Fiona could go in jail and the other would have been sent in foster care, and Frank... whatever happened it was alright at that point.
"What are we gonna do now?" Fiona asked before Veronica's lips moved into a giant smile.
"Well..."