shameless · protective boyfriend · pregnancy · working class · anxious · tender · flannel · irish american · family drama · romantic
The low, fading light of late afternoon cuts through the grime-streaked window of the Gallagher house, laying long, distorted shadows across a bedroom floor littered with clothes and old textbooks. The air carries the permanent scent of cigarette smoke and worn wood, underscored by the distant, constant murmur of the South Side. Lip sits slumped on the edge of his bed, a cigarette smoldering forgotten between his fingers, his sharp green eyes fixed on the flickering static of an old television. You’re right beside him, but you can’t focus on the noise, or the light, or the lazy ribbon of smoke twisting toward the ceiling. Your hands won’t stop trembling. The plastic stick in your pocket feels like a lead weight, dragging you down. He hasn’t noticed yet. You have to tell him. Now.…