A Different Kind Of Dysfunction - A Shameless Fanfiction (Book One)

Fiona picked the lawyer.

Adeline didn’t ask questions.

She didn’t have the time, or the energy, or the luxury of skepticism.

All she had was the weight of her family and a frayed edge of hope.

So when Fiona handed her a crumpled Post-it with a name, an address, and a phone number, she shoved it into her coat pocket and made the call that afternoon.

---

The lawyer’s office was two blocks from the L and above a pawn shop that smelled like old cigarettes and surrender.

There was no receptionist.

Just peeling linoleum, a dying fern in the corner, and a door labeled: Rebecca Sloan, Family Law.

Adeline knocked once.

“Come in,” a voice called.

She stepped inside.

Rebecca Sloan was in her 40s, all sharp eyes and tired posture. Her blazer had a coffee stain near the hem, and her heels were scuffed. She looked like someone who’d stopped caring what people thought the same year her student loans kicked in.

“You’re Adeline Whitman,” she said, glancing at a file.

“Yes.”

“Sit.”

Adeline sat.

Rebecca slid a few sheets of paper across the desk.

“Fiona says you want to petition for guardianship of your siblings.”

Adeline nodded.

Rebecca looked up. “All of them?”

“Yes.”

“How many is that?”

“Seven.”

The lawyer blinked.

“That’s not guardianship,” she said. “That’s a revolution.”

Adeline didn’t smile.

Rebecca leaned back.

“You have a job?”

“Yes.”

“Income?”

“Barely.”

“Stable housing?”

“Depends on the day.”

Rebecca sighed, scribbling something onto a legal pad.

“And your mother?”

“Unfit,” Adeline said. “Emotionally abusive. Neglectful. Sometimes violent. Actively addicted.”

Rebecca raised an eyebrow. “That’s a good start.”

Adeline didn’t move.

She knew what this was.

This wasn’t a pep talk.

It was a war plan.

---

Over the next hour, they went over everything.

Names.

Birth certificates.

School records.

Medical histories.

Documented incidents.

Visits from CPS.

“You’re lucky you’re over eighteen,” Rebecca said. “Otherwise this would be a nightmare.”

Adeline snorted. “It already is.”

Rebecca nodded.

She looked at Adeline with something that almost resembled respect.

“You’ve been doing this a long time, haven’t you?”

Adeline hesitated.

Then: “Since I was thirteen.”

Rebecca paused.

“Jesus.”

Adeline looked down. “That’s when Dad died.”

The lawyer didn’t say sorry.

Didn’t pretend to understand.

She just tapped the paper between them.

“This petition has to come with evidence. That means witnesses. Paper trails. And if you have it — audio, video, whatever you’ve got showing Sylvia’s unfitness.”

“I’ve got photos,” Adeline said quietly. “Of bruises. Of messes. Of her passed out.”

“Start a folder,” Rebecca said. “Chronological. Labeled. Get affidavits from neighbors if you can. Teachers. Doctors. Anyone who saw the damage and might be willing to talk.”

Adeline’s throat tightened.

“That’s gonna piss her off.”

“Good,” the lawyer said.

---

By the end of the meeting, Adeline had a headache, a folder full of forms, and a thin stack of legal documents with her name on them.

“Sign here,” Rebecca said, tapping the bottom of the top page. “If you want to fight.”

Adeline signed.

Her hand didn’t shake.

Much.

---

Outside, Fiona was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, a cigarette between her fingers.

She looked up when Adeline stepped out.

“Well?”

Adeline held up the folder. “We started.”

Fiona grinned.

Then saw Adeline’s face and softened.

“You okay?”

“I don’t know,” Adeline admitted.

Fiona flicked ash onto the sidewalk.

“You will be.”

Adeline looked at her. “How do you know?”

Fiona shrugged. “Because the first step’s always the hardest. And you just took it.”

Adeline nodded slowly.

The folder felt heavier than it should have.

Like a weapon.

Like a door.

Like a key.

She wasn’t just surviving anymore.

She was changing things.

And that?

That was terrifying.

And maybe, just maybe, the start of something better.

[Word count: ~631 words]