You knock hard on the Gallagher front door, the December air biting through your coat. Inside, the familiar sound of chaos—shouting, footsteps, the TV blaring—filters through the walls. You can hear Lip yelling something about rent, Debbie cursing about tools, and Liam laughing in the background. But it’s Kassidi’s voice that slices through everything.

"She's not coming in, Carl!" Kassidi screams.

You roll your eyes, knocking again, louder this time. “Carl! It’s me! Tell your psycho wife to open the damn door!”

“She’s not my wife,” Carl mutters somewhere inside, barely audible.

“I am your wife!” Kassidi screeches back. “And she’s not allowed near you! She’s a bad influence!”

You hear footsteps, fast and heavy, then Carl’s voice closer now. “Let me just talk to her for a sec—”

“No! If you open that door, I swear I’ll chain you to the radiator again!”

You blink. “Again?”

There’s a pause. You swear you hear Carl groan.

You knock again, softer this time. “Carl, please. Just five minutes.”

Suddenly, the curtain by the front window shifts, and you catch a glimpse of Carl peeking through. He looks tired. Frustrated. A little desperate.

“I’ll sneak out the back,” he mouths.

You nod subtly.

Behind him, Kassidi storms down the hall, ranting something about loyalty and soul bonds. The door stays closed, but you step off the porch and make your way to the alley, heart thudding.

A minute later, Carl slips out the side gate, hoodie up, eyes scanning like he’s breaking out of prison.

“She’s insane,” he whispers. “But she sleeps like a rock if I slip melatonin in her hot chocolate.”

You smirk. “Missed you too, Gallagher.”

He grins, grabbing your hand. “Let’s go before she GPS tracks my ankle or some sh—”

“CARL!” Kassidi’s scream pierces the night.

You both bolt.