Lip didn't freak out. Fiona was relieved. She gave a faint smile, then said decisively, "After we get home today, we're changing all the locks. From now on, Frank has nothing to do with us. He's not allowed to step foot in our house ever again!"
Lip nodded, agreeing with her.
Debbie frowned instantly. She looked like she wanted to say something, wanted to defend Frank, but in the end, she said nothing and helplessly shut her mouth.
Carl spoke up then, impatient from lying in bed. "When can we leave? This place is boring."
"Just wait a little longer. Hang in there. Once the tests are done, we'll go," Fiona said gently.
Carl was resigned. "I'm fine. The doctor even said I'm good."
"The doctor wasn't completely sure," Fiona said. "Stop whining. Cooperate, be good, and I'll buy you fried chicken tonight."
Hearing about dinner, Carl's eyes lit up. "I don't want fried chicken. I want to go to Dexter's restaurant for dinner tonight."
Fiona was instantly put in a tough spot.
The truth was, Fiona didn't even have money for fried chicken tonight; she had to figure something else out... Going to Dexter's restaurant? That kind of money? Even more impossible.
"Carl, maybe in a while, okay? I haven't started working yet, I have no income..." Fiona cajoled him gently.
Carl looked at Fiona and didn't insist. "Whatever."
Fiona breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't dare say more. Then she remembered Tony. "Tony, thanks again for this time. Helping me find a job, driving us to the hospital... You still have to work, right? You should head back."
Tony, who had been silently playing the role of a tool for a long time, smiled immediately. "It's fine. I texted my colleague earlier. No problem. I'll wait for Carl to finish his tests, pay the medical bill, and then drive you guys back."
Tony's simp levels, having fucked Fiona three times in a row and experienced that thrill, had skyrocketed to an unparalleled degree.
"Tony, let's talk over here," Fiona said, pulling Tony to a corner. "I can't let you pay the medical bill. We can't pay you back. You should go. We'll leave using our own method when the time comes."
"..." Tony knew exactly what Fiona's "method" was. He was speechless for a few seconds. "Fiona, you don't have to pay me back..."
Fiona cut him off righteously before he could finish. "We don't owe people money, Tony. Just go."
Since she put it that way, even though he really wanted to keep simping, Tony had no choice. He nodded. "Okay, I'll go then. Call me if you need anything."
"Okay."
Tony left.
Fiona returned to Carl's side.
Lip turned his head to watch Tony's retreating back, then looked at Fiona, unsure. "Fiona, are you and Tony...?"
Fiona gave Lip a complicated look and didn't answer.
Lip got his answer. He knew Fiona had fucked Tony. He didn't say anything more.
Debbie, sitting nearby, let her gaze drift between Fiona and Lip. Something new was forming in her little head.
So...
In the original show, when Debbie later spiraled so quickly into tragedy and became a manipulative bitch...
Was it really all Debbie's fault?
How much influence did the Gallagher environment, Fiona, and Lip have on her?
It's an interesting question.
---
The Alibi Room.
Veronica first tried talking sense into Kevin nicely, telling him to remember to deposit money into the bank immediately from now on...
Then, facing Kevin's hemming and hawing and reluctant attitude, Veronica lost it. She exploded, "What the hell is inside that head of yours?"
"You just got robbed of over ten grand, and you still want to hide cash all over the place?"
"..."
Kevin was dumbfounded by Veronica's shouting. He caved instantly, agreeing obediently. "Don't be mad, don't be mad. I'll put the money in the bank. I promise."
Veronica knew Kevin too well to trust him easily. She said solemnly, "If this happens again, I will kill you!"
Kevin didn't dare talk back.
"I'm leaving. I have to go to work." Veronica was genuinely heartbroken.
That was so much money. In a hellhole like the South Side, ten grand was enough to kill for.
Veronica stomped back to the restaurant.
Inside the restaurant.
Dexter had basically finished carving the watermelon in front of him.
The watermelon, no longer looking anything like its original form, now clearly resembled a mini version of Bianca.
Vivian and Mickey had been staring in awe for a long time, completely amazed.
Now, there was one more amazed person.
Veronica saw it at a glance and froze on the spot. "Damn!! Boss, that is insane."
Saying that, she stepped forward, wanting to get a closer look.
Dexter immediately smiled and stopped her. "Don't get too close. This thing is fragile. One wrong move and it collapses."
Hearing this, Veronica stopped instantly. She smiled. "Boss, Bianca is coming for dinner tonight, right?"
Dexter grinned. "Yep."
Just then, Vivian gestured quietly, directing Veronica's attention to the display fridge.
Veronica noticed and looked.
Inside, there was a massive fruit platter shaped like blooming flowers, but the center was empty.
Instantly.
Veronica understood what would go in that empty spot.
A second later.
"Jesus!" As a woman, Veronica was genuinely a little jealous. "Boss, you're going to make other women die of envy!"
"Hehe, how could that be? I'm not that kind of person," Dexter denied with a laugh. "I mostly did this because I thought it was fun."
Saying that, Dexter stood up, took the massive fruit platter out of the fridge, and placed the watermelon mini-Bianca in the center.
"Spent so much time on it. Not bad," Dexter let out a long breath and said.
He wasn't lying.
Fun was the biggest reason. Second... well, of course, was to sleep with Bianca.
He was a man, and Bianca was beautiful, fitting his aesthetic perfectly.
Nothing wrong with that.
"Boss, you're too humble. This is just 'not bad'?" Vivian asked with a laugh.
Mickey had already taken out his phone, click, click, click, snapping photos.
Veronica reacted a beat slower. While pulling out her phone to take pictures, she asked Dexter expectantly, "Boss, can we have a fruit platter like this at my wedding with Kev?"
Dexter: "..."
Seems like I've unlocked a new money-making skill.
Feels kind of accomplishing.
Thinking this, Dexter looked at Veronica, smiled without speaking, then pulled out his phone, took a picture, and tweeted it.
[Result of over two hours of work. Allow me to show off.]
The number of followers on Dex Restaurant's Twitter account was staggering.
So, naturally.
Within moments.
The fans exploded.
"Holy shit!!"
"That's fruit?"
"Perfectly good fruit, why make it look like something I can't afford..."
"Jesus!"
"Boss, enough already! We know you have a girlfriend, okay?! Do you have to show off like this?"
"Boss, do you mind having another girlfriend?"
"Mind having two more?"
"..."
Immediately following.
Bianca's Twitter blew up too.
"Envious!"
"Super envious!"
"Ahhh, sister, you are so lucky."
"..."
In the hospital, Bianca was confused for a good while before she finally saw the photo of the mini version of herself surrounded by flowers. "?????"
Little by little, the smile on her face and the joy in her heart couldn't be hidden.
Perhaps.
Tonight would be a different kind of night.
---