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[That was a killer move.]
Dexter saw the text message and smiled faintly. He typed back: [Are you at the Gallagher house?]
[Yeah,] Karen replied instantly.
[This thing is probably gonna drag on for a while. Ask Carl if he wants to crash at my place tonight,] Dexter thought for a moment and replied.
[Okay,] Karen agreed without hesitation.
Dexter didn't reply again.
Karen put away her phone, walked over to Carl, and said openly, "Carl, Dexter texted me. He wants to know if you want to stay at his place tonight."
Hearing this...
Instantly.
Lip, who was already stressed out of his mind, furrowed his brow into a tight knot. He looked at Karen with distinct anger in his eyes.
"Awesome!" Carl was pumped. He jumped up immediately and sprinted upstairs.
"Carl!" Lip barked, trying to stop him. "You can't go sleep at someone else's house!"
Carl acted like he was deaf. He ran into his room, grabbed a change of clothes, and bolted out the back door from the second-floor exit, leaving the Gallagher house behind.
Lip heard the footsteps and knew Carl was gone. His face darkened significantly. He took several hard drags of his cigarette, then turned to Karen. He thought about holding back, but in the end, he couldn't. "You're in contact with Dexter?"
Karen had anticipated this reaction. She gave a faint smile. "I like the food at his restaurant, so we exchanged numbers. I asked him to let me know when he has new menu items."
The explanation was solid.
Even though Lip was annoyed, he couldn't really say anything about it. He gritted his teeth, fell silent, and went back to smoking.
Debbie was on the verge of tears. She was terrified the cops were coming to take her away, and she desperately wanted to run off to someone else's house to hide, just like Carl.
Unfortunately, she had no friends. There was nowhere for her to go.
Carl ran fast. In no time, he was knocking on the back door of Dexter's place.
Hearing the knock, Dexter got up, opened the door, and welcomed Carl inside. "Your house is pretty lively tonight."
Carl grinned, showing his teeth. "Debbie is an idiot. She only does stupid shit!"
That was pretty accurate.
Dexter smiled and didn't comment further. He quickly led Carl to the guest room on the first floor. "You can stay here. There's fruit in the kitchen. If you're hungry, help yourself. Don't be shy."
Carl wasn't the shy type anyway. He grinned happily. "Cool. Thanks."
"No problem. I'm gonna go back to watching the show," Dexter said. He went back to the front porch, sat down, and told Bianca that Carl was crashing there for the night.
Bianca didn't mind at all. In fact, she supported it. "A kid like Carl really shouldn't have to go through something like that. It messes you up deep down."
How much does a family environment affect a child?
It's an age-old question without a definitive answer.
But one thing is certain: it absolutely has an impact.
Debbie was a perfect example...
Or rather, that entire Gallagher clan were perfect examples!
Frank and Monica had thoroughly destroyed Fiona and the rest of them.
Was Fiona born unable to keep her legs closed?
For years—and for years to come—Lip's biggest obsession, his desperate need to be not Frank, didn't come from nowhere.
Debbie growing up way too fast, desperate for a boyfriend... was that really a mystery?
"The sins of the original family," Dexter thought, feeling a bit philosophical. He casually asked, "Your family is pretty harmonious, right?"
"Yeah," Bianca paused slightly, answering with a hint of panic.
Just yesterday, her parents had mentioned wanting to meet Dexter again. She had flatly refused and hadn't planned on telling Dexter about it at all.
The problem was...
She could only delay it for so long. It was bound to happen eventually...
Thinking about it gave Bianca a headache.
"What's wrong?" Bianca was a terrible liar—she was actually quite pure in that way. Dexter spotted her strange reaction instantly.
"Nothing's wrong," Bianca quickly denied. She scooped a spoonful of watermelon and shoved it toward Dexter, trying to shut him up.
Dexter got the hint. He smiled and didn't press further.
Inside the house, Carl saw this through the window and grinned mischievously. "Nice!"
With a chuckle, Carl had an idea. He ran into the kitchen, saw the rest of the watermelon, grabbed a knife, and—chop.
A moment later.
Carl walked out holding half a watermelon and stood behind Dexter and Bianca. "I'm here to watch the show too."
Dexter heard him.
Haha.
Carl the God.
Watching his own family drama like it was prime-time TV.
Hilarious.
---
The commotion at the Gallagher front door was still going strong.
At this moment.
Frank drove Kevin's pickup truck to the curb with Peggy in the passenger seat.
Neither of them was in a rush to get out. They both turned to look at the group of men and women screaming their heads off.
After listening for a bit, they figured out what was happening.
Frank laughed, praising them. "The Gallaghers really are something else."
Peggy rubbed her forehead. She couldn't understand this bastard Frank and was too tired to argue with him. "Help me out of the car."
With Peggy, Frank was a total coward. He wiped the smile off his face and obeyed immediately.
Once out of the truck.
Peggy slowly shuffled toward the house. She glanced over at the trio of spectators next door—Dexter, Bianca, and Carl.
Peggy found it amusing. She gave a faint smile, said nothing, and continued her slow march.
Frank didn't follow her.
For one, seeing Frank, many of the screaming parents immediately shifted targets and started cursing at him, even though he had nothing to do with it.
For another—and this was the main reason—Frank had zero desire to go inside and spend even one second with that damn woman Peggy. He just wanted to go back to the Alibi and get wasted.
And that's exactly what he did. He turned around, hopped back in the truck, felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders, and practically stomped his foot through the floorboard hitting the gas.
In moments.
Frank and the pickup truck sped away into the distance.
Peggy shuffled for a while longer, successfully making it into the Gallagher house. She plopped down on the living room sofa, let out a long breath, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag.
"It's lively out there. What's the situation?" Peggy exhaled smoke and asked Lip.
Lip was nursing a serious headache, worried this whole thing was spiraling out of control. He looked at Peggy, thought for a second, explained the situation, and then asked, "Grandma, do you have any advice on this?"
Even though she hadn't been back long, Peggy had already figured out that Lip was an arrogant little shit.
No adult likes a know-it-all kid!
Peggy was no exception. She didn't like Lip—in fact, she kind of hated him. She sneered. "You're so smart, can't you fix it?"
Lip immediately realized Peggy was being sarcastic. His eyebrows shot up, and he glared at her, annoyed. He stopped talking, pulled out his phone, and called Fiona again.
"I'm about five minutes away," Fiona sounded frantic. "Grab some cash and wait for me in the backyard."
Five minutes flew by.
The taxi stopped outside the Gallagher backyard.
Lip, cigarette in mouth and clutching a wad of cash from the Squirrel Fund, had been waiting for a while.
After paying the fare.
Fiona could already hear the curses from the front yard. She took a deep breath, her face grim. Her head was buzzing, and she had absolutely no plan. "What do I do?"
Lip kept his face tight and took another deep drag of his cigarette. "The good news is, nobody has called the cops yet. The parents of the two boys in the cage want a refund and an apology. The other parents just want their money back."
"Here's my plan: You take Debbie out there right now. Lie. Say locking the boys in the cage was just a game, not real abuse. Then apologize like your life depends on it. Even if you have to get on your knees, you kneel. Promise them a refund—offer a little extra as compensation if you have to."
"You're still on parole. If they call the cops, you're likely going back to prison."
Fiona was terrified of prison. She couldn't bear the thought of going back. She nodded in panic. "Okay... but we don't have the money right now..."
"Promise them a time. Just promise whatever you have to. No matter what, you must get them to forgive you!!" Lip said firmly.
"Okay," Fiona's lips trembled as she agreed.
They didn't say more and ran quickly back to the house.
Inside.
Fiona and Lip quickly convinced Debbie.
Then.
Creeeak.
The Gallagher front door opened.
Fiona, holding Debbie's hand, walked out of the house to face the angry mob of parents.
Seeing Fiona in her waitress uniform and Debbie looking like she was about to cry...
Dexter didn't hesitate. He pulled out his phone and started recording.
Bianca and Carl, focused on their watermelon, were eagerly anticipating the upcoming performance.
Fiona spotted Dexter and Bianca in their spectator seats almost immediately, as well as Carl sitting behind them. She frowned, extremely pissed off.
But priorities were priorities. The parents had to be dealt with first. Carl could wait.
Fiona looked away, took a deep breath, held Debbie's hand tight, and slowly walked down the stairs. Facing the barrage of insults, she moved forward step by step, then opened her mouth to offer a sincere apology.
The parents were in a rage; they weren't going to be pacified that easily. They kept screaming, spit flying everywhere!
"Fiona! Do you take us for idiots?"
"Where were you when this happened?"
"Why was Debbie watching our kids?"
"Debbie, you really are a Gallagher! So young, looking so normal, but you're evil!"
"You two bitches! Why don't you just die?"
"..."
One vicious insult after another rained down on them.
It was in their nature.
Fundamentally, Fiona and Debbie didn't think what they did was that wrong—they just hated getting caught. They were furious, grinding their teeth, wanting desperately to scream back.
But neither was stupid enough to do it. They knew if they fought back, things would go nuclear.
Fiona and Debbie clenched their jaws and chose to endure.
Time passed slowly.
There was no other way.
Fiona pulled Debbie down with her. Thump. They knelt on the ground, apologizing desperately.
Seeing this.
Carl's expression shifted slightly.
Across the street at 2113 North Wallace, Veronica, who had returned not long ago, couldn't help but sigh. She felt a deep sadness.
They used to be best friends. Even though they hadn't been close for a long time, watching Fiona fall this low... Veronica couldn't help but feel a wave of pity and lament.
Inside the Gallagher house, standing painfully by the window, Peggy couldn't watch anymore. With a look of disgust, she turned and slowly shuffled upstairs. She felt these people were pathetic—carbon copies of Frank.
Dexter watched with amusement, finding it all very interesting.
---
In front of the Gallagher House.
Fiona and Debbie were on their knees apologizing...
Everyone lived in this hellhole; they'd have to deal with each other eventually. Making enemies forever wasn't smart.
So, the seven parents whose kids weren't in the cage softened up pretty quickly. They stopped cursing, threw a few more complaints, and quieted down.
The mothers of the two boys who were caged were a different story.
"Fiona, I won't say much more. My son has been crying since he got home. I don't know when he'll stop. You have to compensate me... Besides refunding the daycare money, you have to pay me another two hundred dollars. Or I call the police!"
"Same for my kid!"
Everyone here was shameless.
These two mothers knew damn well Fiona was a convict on parole and absolutely did not want the cops involved.
In that case, not extorting her would be a waste, right?
Hearing this.
Two hundred bucks a person. That was four hundred dollars total!!
That was four hundred dollars! How long could the Gallaghers live on that??
Fiona instantly realized these two bitches were shaking her down!!
But what could she do?
Going to prison over four hundred bucks wasn't worth it.
Bitch! Fiona cursed silently and viciously. Then, she nodded. "Okay. Within a week, I'll pay you."
With that, the sudden storm finally passed for the Gallagher family.
It didn't take long for the parents to get into their beat-up cars and leave one by one.
Fiona and Debbie stood up.
Watching the cars drive away...
Fxxking bitch!!! Fiona couldn't hold it in anymore and cursed violently in her head.
Done cursing.
"Debbie, stop crying. Let's go inside," Fiona looked down at Debbie and comforted her.
Debbie, face covered in tears, nodded silently and followed Fiona back toward the house.
After a few steps.
Fiona, face dark as thunder, looked at Carl behind Dexter. Her tone allowed no refusal. "Carl, go home!"
"I'm staying here tonight," Carl wasn't scared in the slightest. He shot back immediately.
"!!!!" Fiona was beyond furious. Her eyes were practically spitting fire. "No! Come back right now!"
Carl glared at Fiona, couldn't be bothered to reply, picked up his spoon, and went back to eating watermelon.
Seeing this.
Fiona almost snapped. She roared, "CARL!!"
Carl ignored her as usual, stood up, and walked back into Dexter's house. Out of sight, out of mind.