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AMARA NEVER KNOCKED, BUT as she stood on the back deck of the Gallagher's house, the urge to do so was stronger than ever. It was weird going there, now. Lip had always been the one who made her feel the most comfortable, and after years of spending the night and practically living there, she finally relaxed. But now that barrier was up again. Lip dumped her, and the one thing she'd been clinging to for some sort of safety net was no longer there.

She hesitated, still, but then finally decided against it. She could hear Lip's voice from inside, and Fiona demanding for him to go back to school. Amara decided the Gallagher's had enough on their plates with the entire eviction thing, and she turned on her heel to walk back down the stairs.

"They didn't have anything?" Silvia asked, still crouched over Margot, who was coughing up blood into a bucket.

"Uh, no."

"Don't get why we can't just call an ambulance," Gloria stated, crossing her arms. "It'll get her off our hands and out of our hair, wouldn't it?"

"She's still Via's legal guardian," Amara explained, going to grab a wet rag. "The cops will ask questions and the next thing we know, DCFS is here to take Silvia away for child neglect or something."

"But I'm here now," Gloria reminded her. "And you're an adult."

"Yeah, I know," Amara replied, wincing as Margot resumed coughing. "But the system is fucked up, so it's better if we just keep it on the down low."

"What did you have?" Silvia asked. Margot just shook her head, Amara rolled her eyes. "Mom tell us-"

"Don't call her that, she doesn't deserve the title," Amara said sharply, glaring at the woman on the floor.

Margot reached to grab her wrist to stop her from standing up. "I'm going to stop," her voice was raspy, and the fierceness in her eyes almost made Amara believe her, but she yanked her arm out of her grasp. "Amara- I will, I'll- I'll get better. You don't deserve to have to-"

She leaned over the bucket again, coughing harder, before she wheezed and laid back onto the floor. Amara inwardly sighed as Silvia got her something to drink. "Here."

"My beautiful daughter," she stroked the hair out of Silvia's eyes. "Thank you."

Amara huffed and turned on her heel to go upstairs. "For fucks sake."

☆

When Amara came home from work the next day, she was surprised to see everything from next door out on the curb. She quickly got out of the car, confusion written on her features as she looked around at all of the Gallagher's items, tossed aside like they were trash. Fiona came down the front steps with a box, noticing her almost instantly.

"Sheriffs came. Bank wants us out."

"So they just... dragged everything outside?"

Fiona sighed, and put the box she was carrying onto the sidewalk. "Pretty much. Why're you dressed like that?"

Amara glanced down at the green uniform she was wearing, it fit her loosely. "Don't like the scrubs look?"

"Didn't take you for a doctor."

"Job requirement," Amara shrugged. "Apparently it makes people think that their food is safer or cleaner or something if I'm wearing polyester." She ran a hand through her hair. "Let me get changed and I'll help you pack? You can keep some stuff at my place."

Fiona shot her a smile. "Yeah, thanks. Hey," she called once Amara had gotten a few steps away. "Margot okay? Silvia came by earlier... Said she was coughing up blood?"

Amara waved her off. "She's fine. Probably something in the drugs she was taking."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Fi, all of your belongings were just chucked outside of your house. I think you have enough problems to worry about. Besides, she's fine, now. Been sleeping all day, but at least she's not hacking up a lung. I'll be over in a sec."

"Lip's here," Fiona said, and Amara froze in her tracks. The older girl offered her a sympathetic look. "Just a fair warning."

Amara managed a small smile. "Thanks, but I'll be fine."

It was a lie. Hopefully Fiona couldn't tell.

When she came back down the stairs, Ian was dropping off a box labeled Dishes in the living room, and he smiled at her as she approached. "Hey," he greeted, opening the door for her. "Thanks for letting us leave some crap here."

"No problem," she replied, waiting for him at the bottom of the porch. "You'd do the same for me."

"And thanks for taking me home. Letting me crash."

Amara nudged him, and he nudged her back, and for a second, they were both sixteen again, walking to school with Mandy and Lip. The moment was over too quickly, but they shared another smile as they began walking. "Need a place to stay now that the Gallagher home is un-Gallaghered?"

"Nah," he shook his head as they stepped into the house. "Lip's got me covered. Fiona, Liam and Carl might, though. Not sure about their arrangements yet."

"Glad you guys aren't fighting anymore," she said, reaching to place a few things into an empty box. "It's always so weird when you guys quarrel."

"Is with you two, too," Ian responded, and she willed herself not to still. "Everyone can feel it, you know. You're both avoiding each other. Neither of you are fooling anyone."

"Think I've earned the right to do so," Amara told him, almost challengingly. "He's a dick and he dumped me so he could fuck his old ass professor. I'm allowed to be a little... Distant."

"Of course you are," Ian agreed, laying a hand on her arm. "It's just so odd, y'know, not seeing you guys together. You've always been like two peas in a pod. But we made up," he shrugged. "And you guys can, too. You're best friends."

Amara clenched her jaw and didn't look up at him. "Things change."

"Right," Ian brushed off his pants. "I've got a few more things upstairs to pack. You okay down here?"

"Yeah," she smiled tightly again. "I'll be fine."

Another lie.

"Amara!" Debbie called from the kitchen when Ian was out of sight. "Come here, I need your help. I can't reach the top shelf."

"You're asking a short person for help for a tall person job?" Amara asked, stepping into the kitchen.

Debbie shrugged and stepped back as Amara eyed the last couple of cups all the way at the top of the cabinet. "You're taller than me."

She looked around for anything that could help, before pursing her lips. "Ah, fuck it."

"Fuck what?"

Amara didn't reply, instead, she hoisted herself up onto the counter and rose higher on her knees to reach the top shelf. "Okay, these are all plastic. Gonna throw them down and you catch them, ready?"

"Ready." In no time the cabinet was cleared, and Amara jumped back onto the floor with ease, and shut the door as Debbie put the rest of the cups away. "Thanks. I'm gonna go carry this over to your place. That good?"

"Yeah," Amara nodded, "go ahead. I'm gonna find Fiona and see if she needs any help."

At the mention of Fiona, Debbie rolled her eyes and started towards the door. Amara watched her in annoyance before turning to go up the stairs, but stopped short when Lip came down them, a laundry basket filled with objects in his hands. Something fell out of it, hitting the ground, and Lip attempted to lean down and grab it. More items began to topple from the basket, and Amara couldn't help but snort.

"Stop it."

"Holy- Jesus, I didn't know you were in here."

"You're going to make more of a mess," she said, stepping over to him, and bending down to grab the items that had fallen out. "Dropped your phone, too."

Their fingers brushed as he took the device from her hands, and for a moment, both of them froze. Amara was staring at him wordlessly, heart thundering in her chest, and Lip didn't break their contact until a loud crash came from upstairs.

"Shit!" Ian yelled.

Lip looked towards the staircase. "You okay?"

"Fine!"

Lip faced her again, eyes scanning her face. "Look at us. Me making a mess and you cleaning it up. Just like old times."

"Yeah," her reply was dry, she was surprised to hear the bitterness in her own tone. "Power couple."

Neither of them laughed, but Lip put the basket down. "What's going on with us, Mar? I miss you I- I know it's weird between us now, but we're still friends, right? Why can't we go back to normal?"

Amara's answer was a short one, but it was the only thing she said all day that was the truth. "Because you broke my heart."

And that was that, she moved away from him to resume packing, and pretended that she hadn't just stunned him momentarily in the kitchen seconds before.

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