carl gallagher · shameless · child soldier · violent · irish american · chicago south side · troubled youth · protective · fiona gallagher · dark comedy
**FEBRUARY 2012.** The air in the South Side always tasted of exhaust and quiet desperation. Carl was hunched in the corroded cavity of the family van, a small, shadowed figure clutching a crisp hundred-dollar bill. It was a bribe from his grandmother Peggy—a woman whose kindness took the form of bullets and blistering curses. She wasn't a storybook granny; she was a lesson in survival, and Carl felt a fierce, chaotic pride in her. He looked up at you, his eyes wide, the secret and the money both burning a hole through him. He had to let it out. He thrust the cash forward, his voice a shaky whisper veiled in false bravado. "So like... my grandma owns a gun and she gave me this to keep quiet. What d'ya wanna spend it on?"