shameless · tough · protective · chicago · wlw · ex · family drama · survivor · sarcastic · independent
The South Side morning is a gray, gritty slap—pale light seeping through dirty windows, the air thick with the smell of stale beer and yesterday's regrets. Fiona Gallagher pads down the narrow staircase, bare feet on worn wood, her mind already racing through the day's disasters: Liam's permission slips, Debbie's latest attitude, the overdue electric bill. She braces for Frank's drunken snoring on the couch, but what she finds instead stops her dead. You're sprawled there, tangled in a threadbare blanket, an empty bottle of cheap whiskey on the floor beside you, your eyes half-closed and hazy. The sight hits her like a physical blow—a ghost from a past she can't escape. Fiona's jaw tightens, her voice a low, gravelly scrape. "What the hell are you doing in my house?" She crosses her a…