Future Ghosts • TWD

165. Happy Birthday.

There were some empty beer bottles piling up in a paper bag beside the recycling bin. They would soon turn them in for as little as five cents per bottle, but it was better than nothing. Either way, the bottles weren't what Fraser was looking for. It wasn't the dirty dishes left on the table, either, or the half-empty pack of cigarettes on the counter. It was the wallet tucked into the pocket of David Banks' jacket.

The jacket was hung up on the back of a chair. Fraser looked back down the hall, just to make sure his father hadn't suddenly woken up and crept out of his room. Luckily, he hadn't.

Everything was silent, aside from the thumping of Fraser's heart in his chest. Adrenaline flooded his veins. It was only a few dollars. It wasn't much. Ten would be enough. Maybe David wouldn't notice. It was only ten dollars. Only ten. Only ten. Only ten.

Fraser pulled the wallet out and opened it up. The money inside was sparse, but Fraser managed to find two five-dollar bills.

He would get beat for this, if his dad found out. Maybe he should have put it back. Maybe they didn't need hotcakes. They could do without, right?

No. It was Rosie's birthday. All Rosie wanted was some hotcakes for breakfast. Hell, she didn't even know it was her birthday. Most kids would have kept themselves up all night, waiting for their birthday to come. Not Rosie. It didn't matter to her because it didn't matter to David.

Rosie needed to know that she was important and that the day she was born was important and it deserved to be celebrated. She needed to know that the day she was born was the best day of Fraser's entire life, and that, ever since, everything has been different, and in many ways, better. He wasn't so alone anymore. That was a good thing. But, on the other hand, he was also more terrified than he had ever been before because now it wasn't just him or his mom who could get hurt. It was his baby sister. His five-year-old baby sister with a sweet smile and a heart of glass. She was fragile. He was horrified at the thought of her being hurt. She was just so important.

She needed to know that she was important. And, sure, maybe these were just some three-dollar hotcakes from McDonald's. But it was what she wanted. If he didn't show her that she deserved to have such a simple thing at least on her birthday, she might just grow up believing that she didn't deserve anything. She needed to know she was important.

So Fraser shoved the ten dollars into his pocket and put the wallet back into his father's coat pocket. He turned away from the wallet, trying to forget that he had taken anything at all. If he acted guilty, his dad was sure to know that he had done something wrong, and whether or not he knew what it was, Fraser would get punished for it.

Quick and quiet footsteps pattered down the hall until Rosie was standing right across from Fraser, her hands linked together in front of her as she beamed up at him. "Can we go now?" she asked, bouncing on her toes.

"Yeah, dude. Let's get the hell outta here," Fraser said, stepping to the front door and holding it open for her.

"Let's get the hell outta here," Rosie echoed, rushing out the front door.

"You're not allowed to say that!" Fraser called after her, quickly locking the door and following behind her.

Rosie already knew the way to McDonald's. If they could afford to eat out, it was usually only enough for McDonald's, so that was where Rosie and Fraser often found themselves. Neither of them minded. Rosie liked the food and Fraser felt nostalgic every time he went inside.

When he was younger, before Rosie was born, sometimes he and his mom wouldn't stay at home with David. Sometimes his mom would say she was leaving and take Fraser with her, only for them to stay at a motel for a little while before inevitably running out of money and returning home to David. But, during that time, Fraser's mom would sometimes take him to get hotcakes in the mornings.