Page 15 of Shameless

She hates when I call her “Mom” and I totally did it on purpose.

“Stefan, Jules and Crew care about me and I care about them.”

Tiffany laughs, shaking her head. “They’re just using you and they’re going to move on once they get bored with you. I’ve been trying to protect you from these boys all along, but you make it so hard. I’m washing my hands of you, child. When they get bored with you, don’t come to me crying and looking for sympathy. This is my last warning to you.”

Stefan

I hate Tiffany.

I’ve never liked her, even when we were kids. Mom loved her so much because Tiffany was very good at hiding her real nature beneath a veneer of friendship and support.

Mom never saw the way she treated all of us kids when she wasn’t looking. She believed her best friend’s cold, stern parenting style was a product of Tiffany’s own childhood.

What she didn’t see is that Tiffany was a master manipulator, nice to the people she thought she could use to further her own agenda and a complete cunt to everyone else.

I’ll never forgive her for not protecting Lula from her new husband and her son, for taking their side when she went to her for help.

Most of all, I’ll never forgive her for coming between me and Lula and almost costing us everything.

I spent three years thinking Lula had betrayed me and she thought I didn’t care about her because of Tiffany’s lies.

“You think you know me, Tiff?” I spit out, not even attempting to hide the contempt I feel for her. “You obviously don’t. I love your daughter. I always have and I always will. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her. But you know that. I have to wonder if three years ago you called the cops on me and lied to me and Lula because you were jealous that no one will ever love you the way we love each other.”

I don’t know if my theory is correct, Tiffany doesn’t give me the satisfaction of confirming or denying the true motives behind her actions.

“If you didn’t take your stupidity from your mother,” Tiffany chides. “You’d be cute. If you don’t plan on dumping Lula’s ass once someone better comes along, you’re even more dumb than I thought. What man would let his woman fuck around with two other guys and take her back like nothing happened? Lula doesn’t love you, Stefan. She’s always been in love with Jules and you’ve always been her second choice. If you aren’t careful, you’ll be her third choice since she’sfallingfor Crew. Or maybe fourth, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was fucking Rikki too.”

Lula takes offense. “How dare you talk to Stefan like that? You know nothing about me and my feelings.”

Tiffany snorts. “Feelings. Youareyour father’s daughter. If I had followed my heart, I would still be living in a trailer park in Texas. Knocked up with our high school quarterback’s baby and begging for scraps when he wouldn’t even leave his rich girlfriend and take responsibility. The only decent thing I got from him was money to fix his mistake, so that I could have a real shot at a better life and go to college. I was in love with him but like I told you, men don’t love women like us. They take from us and then leave us with nothing.”

Lula looks shocked by her mother’s revelation. We knew Tiffany grew up poor but we had no idea how tough she really had it.

“I learned my lesson the hard way and thankfully I had time to work my ass off to get out of the bum-fuck-nowhere shit hole I came from.” She continues. “I grew up wearing clothes donated by the local church, Lula. I didn’t have the luxury of following my heart like you do. Hate me all you want, but if you think I feel an ounce of guilt about fighting tooth and nail to send you to the best private schools, to make sure you date men who can give you the best time of the best, then you’re even more naïve than I thought. You’ll never know how it is living in a run down trailer park where you have to be careful not to step on discarded needles when you walk out of the door to take the bus to school. Or finding that your mother took the rent you scraped together working after school to pay her dealer. You have me to thank for that. So when I give you some priceless advice, you’d be wise to take it. One day soon, I’ll be a senator’s wife. Maybe a governor’s wife if things go my way.”

Lula couldn’t be more different than her mother. She’s soft where Tiffany is hard, compassionate where her mother is selfish.

But she had to learn to defend herself growing up and the only way she knows is by lashing out.

“Good luck with that, Tiff,” she laughs. “Maybe when Stefan and Crew dump me, like you’re so sure, we’ll compare notes.”

Tiffany’s eyes narrow, her smile wiped away and replaced with suspicion. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I guess your precious stepson didn’t give you a heads up like he did with me last night when he tried to put his hands on me again. After the way you told the sheriff that you think I’m involved with the murders, you wouldn’t deserve a heads up. But you’re right, I take after Dad and I’m a hopeless romantic. I hate when love doesn’t win in the end.”

If I didn’t have a hundred and fifty pounds on Tiffany, I would probably be scared. The way she looks at Lula is downright feral.

“If you have something to say, Lula, say it. Don’t think I’m not going to hit you just because you’re eighteen.”

Oh, fuck no.

With no hesitation, both Crew and I take a step forward, flanking Lula. “Touch her, Tiff, and you’ll regret it. I have never hit a woman,” I growl. “Don’t make me change that.”

“Don’t worry, Stef,” Lula reassures me. “I’m going to tell her what she wants to know. Evan told me Howard doesn’t think you’re senator’s wife material after all. Your husband is keeping you around to win theblue collar vote, but he plans on ditching you once he’s elected.”

That’s a bombshell if I ever heard one, but if I thought the news would ruffle Tiffany’s feathers, I guess I was wrong.

Lula’s mother sneers. “Oh, is he? Don’t worry about me, darling. I know where all the skeletons in that man’s closet are. His son using date rape drugs to get laid at school is just the tip of the iceberg. And after this weekend, there’s no way Howard Johnston can ever leave me.”

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