☆

"I HAVE AN INTERVIEW at that book store I was telling you about," Silvia said as Amara moved around the kitchen, glancing over her shoulder with a brow raised. "Don't give me that look! I like reading."

"Nerd," Amara muttered, smirking once her sister chucked a ball of paper at her head. "Have you seen Margot?"

"Nah," Silvia shook her head, wiping her mouth and finished chewing at the disgusted look she'd given her. "She's been acting weird since the day Ian and Carl came racing in here. She's barely been home. And neither have you, now that I think about it."

Amara smiled in attempt to make the lie more believable. Silvia was always able to tell when she was full of shit, and she added a shrug while she spoke, too. "Just been busy."

"Doing what?"

"Y'know. Work stuff."

"I should rephrase that. I mean doing who?"

She nearly dropped the fork in her hand and looked up. Silvia was staring expectedly at her. "Fine. This guy from Patsy's."

Silvia titled her head. "Lip's cool with that?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't he be?" Amara went back to busying herself so she wouldn't slip up.

"Um, maybe because he's literally crazy about you? I mean I thought that shit was only in movies but every time he looks at you it's like he's seeing you for the first time."

Amara's throat felt dry. "Oh," was all she managed to get out. "I've got to get to work. Fiona is having me work a double, she'll be here to pick me up in a sec. Apparently Celia has like explosive diarrhea."

Silvia scrunched her nose and gestured to the bowl of cereal in front of her. "That was literally the last thing I needed to hear right now."

Amara ruffled her hair as she left. "Sorry not sorry."

She tossed her bag over her shoulder and started out the door, making her way out into the parking lot. Her eyes scanned the area, but she had yet to see Fiona. Maybe she was just running late. She pulled out her phone to text her, but immediately Amara's head snapped back up at the sound of a voice.

"I've been meaning to catch you."

Her scowl deepened. "The fuck are you doing here, Joe?"

He stood up from the hood of his car. "You've gotten taller."

"You've gotten balder."

He ran a hand over his head. "It appears you're right."

She crossed her arms. Now Margot's strange behavior suddenly made sense. "What do you want?"

"Ever since you and my bitch of a mother threw me out of my own home, it came to my realization that maybe I am the problem. It wasn't until after her funeral that I came to this conclusion."

"You're about a decade too late on realizing that," she shot back. "Skip the script you've written this time and get to the point of why you're actually here."

"I want to fix our relationship," he stepped forward, but she shook her head and he stopped. "I get why you're hesitant towards me, it's my own fault, but I'm clean one year, and I've been working on myself. I'm in anger management. I've got it all under control. No more outburst. No more... No more hitting you."

"Do you want a congratulations for being a decent human being?"

"Look just..." He trailed off hopelessly. Amara could see Fiona's car pull up from the corner of her eye. "Give me a second chance? Let's catch up over dinner. I made a reservation at Olive Garden for six o'clock. Will you be there?"

"Oh," she put a hand to her heart. "I wish I could but I don't want to."

Joe's mouth pulled into a sneer before he straightened it into a thin line. There was a bit of glee that formed in the pit of her stomach. Of course she knew he could never change—but seeing him react like that right after he'd told her he was better made her heart soar. Because he would always be a shitty person. And whatever small part of her hoped that he was telling the truth immediately disappeared, and she was glad for it.

"I didn't raise you to be so-"

"You're right," she interrupted, stepping closer to him. "You didn't. You didn't at all, actually. Now if you'd excuse me I have plans with my real family, with people who have never laid a hand on me, who have been there to pick up the pieces that you left broken in your wake, because they love me. It's a concept you probably never heard of. Get out of my way."

When she hopped into the passenger seat of Fi's car, she took notice of Liam asleep in the back as she shut the door. Fiona peered around her head with wide eyes. "Is that-"

"Don't want to talk about it," she said shortly.

☆

"The hell happened to your face?" Amara questioned, stepping aside to let Lip inside of the apartment as she closed the door behind him. He just shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "You're aware it's like one am right? What's going on?"

"Brad relapsed," he breathed out. "He got really drunk and drove off after punching me. I tried-" He inhaled sharply. "I tried to stop him, I did I really did- but fuck he just- he- I've been looking for him for hours. God you should've seen him I don't know what- I didn't know where else to go and-"

"Lip," she approached him and gently pulled his hands away from his face. He fell silent and stared at her. "Come on."

After guiding him to the bathroom and cleaning the bruises along his jaw and eye, she crouched down before him as he regained his composure. She continued to quietly play with his fingers, struggling to figure out what to say until he pulled her upright into his lap.

He placed a lingering kiss against her lips before leaning his forehead against hers. "Thanks."

She peeled her eyes open to look at him. "For what?"

"Keeping me grounded. As usual."

She failed to hold back a smile. "I didn't even do anything."

"Didn't have to."

Amara thumbed his cheek and briefly kissed his nose to stand up, dragging him along with her. "I know you want to find him, but searching around at night where muggers and God knows who else could jump you isn't the smartest move. And I know you care about him but I also care about you, and I think the safest thing is to sleep tonight and look for him in the morning."

Lip looked hesitant, but he eventually nodded. "Okay. You're probably right. Maybe he uh... He could've gotten home, right? He could be safe."

"Yeah," she didn't know if she believed it, though she didn't voice those thoughts out loud. Instead, she tugged him down the hall into her room. The bed was still too small for two people, but it was way less awkward now than it had been last time.

They were used to each other, fit together like missing puzzle pieces. She rested her head on his chest, feeling his arm come up around her back securely. He heaved a sigh. "I'm breaking a major rule right now."

She lifted her gaze to look at him. "What?"

"Brad's rules to sobriety. Number one, don't drink. Number two, distract yourself with other hobbies. Number three, no relationships."

"I didn't know we were in a relationship."

"We're not," he said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She didn't know whether to be disappointed or not, these had been her boundaries after all. "I can have flings. You know, screw around and stuff."

She felt her eyes droop shut with sleep, but she managed a small grumble in reply. "Mhm."

"No strings attached. Guess it's too late for that. I care about you, too."

She snorted into his shirt. "Fucking hope so, asshole."

He nudged her. "I'm trying to be sentimental."

She lifted her head to glare at him. "You woke me up at one in the fucking morning with war wounds and a very pressing matter, and now you want to declare your sentiments to me?"

He grinned. "Yeah pretty much."

She rolled her eyes and let her head drop down again. "Wait until I'm at least half awake for that, maybe I can out speech you."

"So you don't want to hear me talk about how much of a sex god you are?"

Amara felt her brows raise. "That's your version of sentimental?"

"I was going to mention how good you are at the silent treatment too but I didn't think it fit the theme."

"Shut up before I chop off your dick."

"Love when you talk to me like that. Really gets me going."

"How about I push you off the bed. Will that get you going?"

"You come anywhere near touching me with those magic hands of yours and I'm already halfway there."

Her face flushed against his skin. "I hate you so much."

He planted a kiss in her hair. "Well in that case, I hate you way more."

☆