Debbie had gone to find Samantha with Frank yesterday, so she knew exactly where Samantha lived.
Under the scorching sun, Debbie walked for a long time. Luck was on her side; Samantha hadn't gone out.
Seeing Debbie, Samantha was a bit surprised. "Debbie?"
Debbie greeted her, then didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point.
"I found Frank. Frank had an accident. I don't know which son of a bitch sawed off his right arm, but he's in the hospital right now."
"He was afraid you'd be worried, so he asked me to come over and tell you."
Samantha wasn't exactly playing with a full deck. She was starved for affection, a bit crazy, and mentally unstable. Hearing this, she was instantly shocked and touched, unable to believe Frank had suffered such a tragedy.
Immediately, without missing a beat, Samantha said she wanted to go to the hospital to visit Frank.
"Wait two minutes for me. I'll grab Chuckie, and we'll go to the hospital together."
Saying that, Samantha turned and walked back toward her RV.
Debbie watched her, suddenly feeling a pang of guilt, thinking this wasn't right. But the moment she thought about the possibility of Frank dying, she gritted her teeth and swallowed that guilt right back down.
Not long after.
The three of them headed back to the hospital under the blazing sun.
---
The Gallagher House.
Ian had hopped out halfway to go work at the grocery store. The only people back in the house were Fiona, Lip, Jimmy, and Liam.
Jimmy, as per usual, kept his mouth shut and just stayed to the side.
Lip hadn't forgotten what Jimmy did to him. He still wanted revenge and planned to get it, he was just waiting for the right time... After all, Jimmy was living with Fiona now, and Lip had to consider Fiona's feelings.
Fiona actually hadn't forgotten the issue between Jimmy and Lip either, but for the time being, other problems were more severe.
For example, the Frank problem. Or, for example, summer was about to end. How were Lip and the other kids going to survive the winter?
"Lip, let's shelf the Frank issue for a second," Fiona spoke up. "What do you plan to do next? Are you going to find a job? I'll support part of the winter expenses, but I'm afraid I can't cover too much."
Lip took a hard drag on his cigarette after listening.
"I'll go out later to see if I can find work."
"You can't go selling weed in the park anymore. Don't do anything illegal," Fiona reminded him solemnly. "That bastard Tony is very likely still watching. If you break the law and get caught because you weren't paying attention, you'll be sent right back to juvie."
Lip knew that all too well. He took several puffs of his cigarette in frustration.
If not illegal stuff, then what was he supposed to do?
The truth was, having lived in this hellhole of the South Side for so many years, the vast majority of the money Lip contributed to the Gallagher family bordered on illegal.
To put it bluntly—earning money legitimately? First, Lip didn't know how, and second, he looked down on it.
Although, this was normal. Who would want to work an honest job for peanuts when they were used to making money through shortcuts?
Wasn't Frank a prime example?
"I know," Lip nodded in distress.
Fiona knew Lip liked taking shortcuts and was genuinely worried. She thought for a moment. "How about finding a gig at a diner? or I can help you look?"
"I can handle it myself," Lip didn't want Fiona's help with this kind of thing.
The siblings communicated for a while.
Fiona didn't mention her own issues... even though she had a headache over them too.
Her bar job would pretty much end when the summer ended.
Once autumn hit, the income from working at the bar would drop significantly. More importantly, Lip and the others would have to go to school then, and during the day, there would be absolutely no one to look after Liam...
Time flew by.
Having said what needed to be said, Fiona decided to head back to rest. She left with Jimmy, taking Liam with them.
Lip was the only one left in the Gallagher house.
Lip went to the kitchen, grabbed two beers, sat on the sofa, and smoked while he drank.
After finishing the beers, he let out a long sigh, looked around the house again, and got up to leave. He planned to go out and see if there was any money-making work he could do.
regarding Jimmy, regarding Dexter, regarding Frank... in the face of survival, all these things had to be put on hold.
He had to survive first before he could take revenge.
Lip smoked fiercely, walking fast under the sunlight.
---
Inside Jimmy's newly rented house.
Jimmy hesitated for a good while before finally speaking to Fiona.
"I want to tell you something."
"Go ahead," Fiona replied casually.
"My car theft business... because of some accidents, has been forced to shut down," Jimmy said calmly. "I can't steal cars anymore, otherwise, if I'm not careful, I'll get caught. So, I've been thinking lately about what I should do."
Fiona was startled and became serious. "What kind of accident? Police related?"
"Yeah, one of my partners got busted," Jimmy lied through his teeth.
Fiona instantly frowned upon hearing this. "Did he flip on you? Are you in danger?"
Jimmy shook his head. "The police have no evidence. As long as I don't steal cars anymore, I'll be fine."
"That's good," Fiona breathed a sigh of relief. "Not stealing cars is good too, otherwise something would happen sooner or later. Go on, have you thought about what you want to do?"
Jimmy smiled faintly. "I actually have. I plan to re-enroll in school. I only had one year left. I'll go back, finish that year, and come out as a doctor."
"Doctors make good money. Then I can give us a stable, wealthy life."
"What do you think?"
Fiona was stunned. She really hadn't expected to hear this.
She was dazed for two seconds.
"Medical school? That's going to cost a fortune, right?" The first thing Fiona thought of was money.
Jimmy smiled back. "I still have some savings. Besides, worst case scenario, I'll take out a loan. Once I start working in a year, I'll pay it back slowly. No problem."
In America, doctors not only had high incomes but also high social status. This was common knowledge, not a secret.
Fiona couldn't help but imagine the scene of Jimmy becoming a doctor and herself becoming a doctor's wife. She felt it was beautiful.
"I think that's a great idea. So, which university are you going to? University of Chicago..."
Fiona took it for granted that Jimmy would enroll in Chicago.
Jimmy didn't rush to answer. He silently adjusted his tone. "That's the issue. I'll probably need to go to the University of Michigan... That's where I studied before. If I switch schools, I might have to start from scratch..."
"?????" Fiona instantly understood why Jimmy had been hemming and hawing. She immediately frowned, revealing an unhappy expression. "So, you're saying you're going to be in Michigan for a year?"
Seeing Fiona's expression, Jimmy hurriedly smiled apologetically to explain. "It's not confirmed yet. I have to wait until I call the school and ask about the specific situation."
"I said probably."
Fiona fell silent, just staring at Jimmy.
Jimmy didn't like this silent treatment. "You can come with me. We can rent a house in Michigan. My savings are enough to take good care of you."
"We go to Michigan, and we wouldn't have to deal with Frank anymore. It's perfect, don't you think?"
Fiona still didn't say a word.