The Gallagher House.
The fact was, during her time in juvenile detention, Debbie had naturally talked a lot with the psychologist about her father, Frank Gallagher.
After all, from a certain perspective, Frank Gallagher was the primary source of all the Gallagher family's suffering, with Monica being the secondary source.
It's like the saying goes: a dragon begets a dragon, a phoenix begets a phoenix, and a mole's son can dig holes.
Fiona, Lip, Ian, and Debbie all carried shadows of Frank and Monica to some extent.
Carl was a special case, and Liam was too young to understand anything, so he hadn't been affected yet.
Frank and Monica were like sources of poison. The longer one had contact with them, even if one didn't want to, the deeper the poisoning would become.
Fiona, Lip, and Ian were prime examples.
And once this poison deepened, whether it was the poisoned person's values or the way they viewed the world... every aspect would become distorted.
Deep down, Debbie actually understood that throwing this Frank, who was truly no different from trash, out of the Gallagher house to fend for himself was the correct choice.
Unfortunately, Debbie couldn't do it.
He was her father after all... Monica had disappeared, and no matter how bad Frank was, he was at least around most of the time...
Therefore, facing Fiona's persuasion, Debbie's attitude was unusually firm. She resolutely refused to throw Frank out.
After persuading for a while, Fiona looked helplessly at Lip, who was sitting silently aside just smoking. Having run out of ideas, she wiped her face and spoke to Debbie again.
"Debbie, do you understand what I'm saying?"
"If you keep Frank here and DCFS sends someone over, you will all be taken away..."
Debbie argued on the basis of reason. "Even without Frank here as a father, if DCFS comes, we'll be taken away too!"
Fiona shook her head. "Not necessarily. We can handle it. We've handled it many times!"
"No!" Debbie shouted.
At this moment.
Fiona was actually getting irritable too. Subconsciously, she thought of her beautiful life with Jimmy in that newly rented house!
New furniture, air conditioning, a comfortable bed, none of this Gallagher family drama...
Fiona wanted to continue having that beautiful life.
"Fine!" Fiona didn't want to persuade anymore; she had enough. "You want to keep Frank? Then he is your responsibility! You are responsible for cleaning him up. If DCFS comes, you..."
Fiona quit. She said a whole bunch solemnly in one breath, then emphasized, "I won't help deal with Frank's problems! I've done enough!"
"Fine!" Debbie replied loudly in a huff.
Hearing this.
Lip, who had just finished a cigarette and was about to light another, turned to look at Fiona. His mouth moved several times before he found his voice. "Is that it?"
"What else can I do?" Fiona asked back irritably.
Lip took a fierce breath, not knowing what to do.
Just then.
A few fleas jumped off Frank, who was emitting a foul stench.
Fiona and the others all saw it.
"Jesus!" Fiona retreated two steps in disgust and exclaimed, "Lucky I don't live here anymore. Debbie, good luck to you."
Throwing a sarcastic remark at Debbie, without waiting for Debbie to respond, Fiona beckoned to Jimmy. "Jimmy, let's go."
Jimmy, who had very wisely kept completely silent and not participated in the Gallagher family mess, heard this and decisively turned around with a smile to leave.
Shortly after.
Fiona and the other two left the Gallagher house.
Lip watched the three disappear, raised his hand to rub his forehead, and felt a splitting headache.
In the Gallagher living room, there was silence for a moment.
A long while later.
Debbie moved. She reached out to grab Frank's arm, stubbornly trying to get Frank to the second-floor bathroom by herself to clean him up.
Lip smoked his cigarette and saw through Debbie's intention at a glance.
Then, after repeated struggles, Lip sighed silently, said nothing, and got up to help.
---
Time flew.
Evening arrived.
Ian and Carl both got off work early. Each bought some party supplies and returned to the Gallagher house.
Lip and Debbie were still in the second-floor bathroom cleaning Frank.
Frank was simply too dirty. Lip and Debbie had been busy all afternoon, washing Frank several times. This was the fourth time...
An afternoon of torment and all that water wasn't wasted.
By now, the water in the bathtub was finally clean.
"Debbie?" Ian and Carl arrived home together. Not seeing anyone on the first floor, Ian shouted.
Debbie heard and shouted back, "Ian, I'm in the second-floor bathroom. Come up and help!"
Hearing this.
Ian thought something happened to Debbie. Without delay, he immediately sprinted upstairs. Carl followed closely behind. Shortly after, the two rushed into the bathroom and saw Debbie and Lip.
His gaze landing on Frank, Ian frowned subconsciously.
Carl, however, exclaimed in surprise, "Jesus, what are you guys doing? Is Frank dead?"
"No," Debbie shook her head. "He should just be unconscious. Come on, help move him to the bedroom."
Carl rarely had too many thoughts. Regarding Frank, he actually couldn't say he liked or disliked him. Hearing Debbie say so, he didn't hesitate and stepped forward to help.
Ian didn't move. He asked Lip, "Lip, what is going on?"
Lip gave a helpless, bitter smile. "He was using heroin. Tony found him somewhere and sent him back..."
Lip briefly explained the situation. "Help out. He's dead weight."
Ian really didn't want to touch Frank, but looking at Debbie, after a slight hesitation, he still helped.
Frank really wasn't light.
The four Gallaghers struggled for a while, lifting and dragging, before finally getting Frank into his own room and throwing him onto the bed.
"This piece of trash is really something. Not waking up for so long," Ian said unhappily.
In reality.
Frank had long been awake; he was feigning unconsciousness.
The reason was simple.
With not many days left to live, Frank needed people like Lip. He couldn't bear being thrown out and wanted to live in this house.
Of course, at this moment, Frank was still acting, and acting very convincingly.
Hearing Ian's words, Lip wiped his hands casually, took out a cigarette, and lit one. "Let's go downstairs. We still have a party to throw."
As the words left his mouth, Lip took the lead and walked out. Ian didn't hesitate and followed crisply, too lazy to give Frank even a single glance.
Carl didn't move. He was still looking at Frank...
But in this behavior, there wasn't much father-son affection... Carl did so purely because Frank looked pitiful like this...
The current Carl could already feel sympathy for pitiful people... or rather, he possessed the thing called sympathy.
After watching for two seconds, Carl also left.
Debbie didn't leave. She sat by the bed, looking at Frank sadly and blankly.
Outside the room.
Lip glanced at Debbie. Honestly, he had nothing to say, so he sighed softly and waved for Ian and Carl to go downstairs.
First floor living room.
Lip found a rag and simply wiped the sofa where Frank had lain before. Then, he collapsed onto it, truly exhausted physically and mentally.
But even so, he still couldn't rest. There were still things to do.
"Now we're in trouble," taking two puffs of his cigarette, Lip spoke to Ian and Carl. "Tony very likely has already called DCFS and reported our situation."
"We must be prepared."
The Gallagher family had dealt with DCFS more than once or twice. Ian knew the process very well and nodded.
Carl couldn't help in this aspect and didn't interrupt.
Ian and Lip discussed for a while.
There was no perfect solution for this matter. They could only deal with whatever came their way.
Therefore, having discussed the gist of it, seeing it was about time, Lip sighed again and planned to get up to prepare for the party.
Lip had no interest in the party; he was doing it purely for Debbie.
Just then.
Debbie came downstairs with a face full of sadness. Hearing Lip talking about getting the party ready, she shook her head. "I'm not in the mood for a party. Don't do it."
"Let's talk about Frank, okay? He's really going to die..."
Death was still a concept way beyond the syllabus for the current Debbie.
Debbie couldn't accept it.
Lip looked at Debbie. To be honest, he really had the urge to scold her. He gritted his teeth and held back, speaking as peacefully as possible. "Talk about what? We don't have any way."
"He drank, did drugs, and ruined his liver. Unless he gets a liver transplant, he will definitely die."
"What do you think we can do?"
Debbie couldn't bear for Frank to die. "We can find a way to get him a liver... maybe we can donate to him."
Hearing these words.
With perfect tacit understanding, Lip and Ian both felt like they had heard a massive joke.
Donate a liver to a scumbag like Frank?
Heh.
Absolutely impossible!
Lip couldn't hold back this time and laughed. "Debbie, you like him, I don't want to say more. But asking me to donate a liver to him? Don't even think about it."
Ian hurriedly echoed, "Same here. Don't even think about it!"
Carl didn't make a sound.
Noticing this, Debbie spoke to Carl almost pleadingly. "Carl, it's just me and you left. We have to save him."
Carl was a very simple person. Using his very limited intelligence, he thought for a moment. "If I donate a liver to him, will I die?"
Lip and Ian hadn't expected Carl to actually consider this. They instantly got anxious together and shouted in unison, "Carl!!"
Carl didn't understand Lip and Ian's reaction. "What?"
"You can't donate a liver to Frank. Even if it's a match, no! You will die!" Ian said anxiously.
Lip added, "Carl, stop thinking about it. You have to be an adult to do it. You are too young, you can't donate!"
Hearing this, Carl's eyes rolled, and then he shrugged at Debbie. "Can't help you."
Hearing this, Debbie bit her lip. "You guys won't save him, I'll go find Fiona!"
Just as the words entered the air.
Fiona, carrying quite a bit of food, walked into the Gallagher house from the back door with Jimmy, who was holding Liam.
"Find me for what?" Hearing the second half of Debbie's sentence, Fiona asked casually.
Hearing Fiona's voice, Debbie immediately spoke. "You can donate a liver to Frank and save him!"
Hearing this.
"Hahahaha~~" Fiona wasn't as reserved as Lip and Ian. She immediately laughed out loud. "Are you kidding? Let me go under the knife for that scumbag?"
"Keep dreaming!!!"
Debbie: "..."
The last shred of hope was shattered.
Instantly, Debbie was both angry and sad. Her body started trembling, and she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Why do you have to be so cold-blooded!!!"
"Even if he's bad, he is still our father!"
"Do you guys have no conscience?"
"I hate you!"
Debbie shouted a tirade, turned around, and stomped upstairs.
First floor.
Fiona, Lip, and Ian all looked speechless and helpless.
At this moment, a dark cloud, seemingly thicker than usual, shrouded the Gallagher house.
The atmosphere on the first floor was so dull and oppressive that people could barely breathe.
---
Second floor.
Soundproofing was virtually non-existent in the Gallagher house.
Frank lay on the bed with his eyes closed, hearing the conversation downstairs basically clearly, and hearing Fiona's laughter even more clearly.
So, quite logically, Frank cursed Fiona, Lip, and Ian viciously in his heart!
Of course, he cursed Fiona the most fiercely.
At this time.
Debbie rushed into the room crying, sat down next to Frank, and sobbed convulsively.
Frank was actually a bit moved by Debbie's performance just now. Therefore, he thought about it and decided to wake up, taking the opportunity to pull Debbie to his side.
In Frank's view, his biggest reliance in the coming days was Debbie...
Maybe Carl too. That kid is too stupid, should be able to pull him over too, Frank thought. Immediately, with exquisite acting skills, he feigned just waking up and slowly opened his eyes.
"Debbie?" Opening his eyes to see Debbie, Frank spoke, calling out weakly.
Debbie, this fool, was no match for Frank. She took the bait immediately and got excited. "Dad, you're awake!"
"Why are you crying? What happened?" Frank asked with concern. "Am I at home? Why don't I remember anything?"
Hearing this, Debbie was anxious and hurriedly explained the situation.
After listening.
Frank, who was indeed quite weak, pretended to be incredibly weak, slowly lifting his arm. "My Debbie is still the best. It's okay, it doesn't matter if Dad dies..."
In a blink of an eye.
Debbie was completely bamboozled by Frank and huddled into Frank's arms. "Dad, I won't let you die. I will definitely save you."
Frank smiled smugly. "Thank you, Debbie. With you saying that, even if I die, I'm happy."
Debbie's tears were still flowing. "You won't die..."
Just like that, the father and daughter performed a scene of father-daughter warmth.
If the psychologist from the juvenile detention center had seen this scene, she would absolutely regret ending Debbie's therapy and recommending her early release...
After all...
This was too fucking ridiculous.
How long had Debbie been back?
A dying Frank basically rendered all those therapy sessions completely futile.
Ridiculous, too fucking ridiculous!