It was my baby brother's birthday. Getting everything ready for the party was already hard enough. Ordering food, inviting other kids, reassuring their parents it's an innocent party for a seven-year-old, weren't easy tasks. Now, the most important part of a birthday followed a part that could not be missed and could ruin the whole day if it wasn't there. A gift.

My eyes were grazing the bookshelves and articles displayed on them, trying to find the perfect gift for Daniel. LEGOs were definitely out of the question. We already owned three full collection packages including a train station, Batman, and tropical island. Besides, Daniel already grew out of that phase.

I saw so many promising and potential gifts, but another thing I had to be careful about was my money. I still had to get a cake for the party. With everything kept in mind, my focus dropped, and in the end, I caught myself blindly gazing at all the colourful offers.

The person to break me from my trance was my younger sister May, who tagged along to help me find a gift for our little brother.

She tugged on my sleeve and demandingly spoke when I looked at her, "Nathan, can you buy me this?"

May was holding a BabyBorn doll in her arms, and I immediately shook with head, "No."

"Why not?" she asked, her voice rising to the high pitched and annoyed one she always used on everyone when she wanted something.

I was already turning back to the shelves when I spoke calmly, even though inside I was burning up, "Be-because I don't have that m-much money for you and Danny both. Besides, it's his bir-birthday today. I'll get you your doll next time if you want."

May furrowed her brows and looked at the BabyBorn she was holding, "But," she lifted her eyes and peered at me, "Danny can get a gift next time. My friend told me that's how her birthdays go."

"You g-got your gift on your birthday and so will Daniel, okay?" I told her, keeping the stern voice out for now. Sometimes she could be dealt with the gentle way. Sometimes, not so.

She refused to drop the subject and squeezed the toy in her hands so hard, the baby's face got all mashed. She looked at me from under her brows. her face was expressing undeniable anger towards me, but then she muttered something under her breath, "Daddy always buys me what I want."

My heart jumped in my chest, and the next moment it was heavy with metal chains hugging it. I wanted to give her everything she wanted, and I wanted to do the same for Daniel. "May, please. We'll come here again, soon, I p-promise."

What followed was silence on both of our behalves and in the meanwhile, I saw a cool Captain America figurine in a full fighting costume. It had a shield that would move if you pressed the button on Steve Rogers' back. I took the boxed figurine from the shelf and looked at it from up close. I knew Danny would be excited to find this in the present wrapped for him and all I really wanted was exactly that - him to be happy on his big day.

I found May still standing next to me, clutching that doll. I showed her the figurine I found, so she'd tell me if I should buy it or not. Afterall, she did come along to help me find something for Danny.

"What d-do you think?" I asked her and handed Captain America in his box to her.

May stuck the BabyBorn under her arm like a stack of papers and grabbed the box I gave her. She was examining it a while, turning the box around and around, only to throw it on the shelf and knocking over a bunch of other stuff on there.

I flinched and glared at her, "Why did you do that?!"

"I want my BabyBorn!" she screeched back, grabbed one of the toys that were on the lowest shelf and threw it at the other toys along with the Captain America figurine.

She started to cry loudly, screaming and stomping her feet against the ground but never letting go of the baby toy.

I was in a panic, trying to pick the toys off the ground and putting them back where they belong, while keeping an eye on the security guard who was already checking us out, because of her crying.

Whenever I managed to make the shelves look presentable, May grabbed a box with an aeroplane and knocked the toys again. That was when I completely lost it and grabbed her by the arm that was holding the doll.

I shook my sister like she was the BabyBorn and told her quietly, but threateningly, "Don't you dare to do that ever again." I shook her again until she dropped the toy she was hanging on to. "Now, shut up, go to the bathroom, wash that stupid face of yours and wait for me until I come out with a gift for Daniel."

As I let go of her, I also pushed her, so she landed on her knees, next to her beloved doll. Now, real tears were running down her face unlike before, and without saying anything, she did exactly as I told her except for few grunts and sighs.

I turned back to the shelves and regretted doing that to her. I should've made her clean that mess up. But, It didn't take me long to do that myself. Thank God, knocked over puzzles were in small plastic bags, so the tiny pieces weren't all over the place.

When I finished, I checked around if anyone saw what happened and put the Captain America figurine in the back. I had no desire to bring Daniel a broken toy, and I didn't want to pay for one because someone saw May throwing it around the place. I picked out another Captain America figure that hadn't been damaged.

With the box in my sweaty palms from the fight I've just had with my little sister, I headed to the cashier to buy this thing and get home. When the cashier told me the price, my heart clenched and I handed her the money with shaky hands. I wasn't sure I was gonna have enough money for his cake and asking Mum to give me some more money wasn't exactly a situation I wanted to be put in. But when I looked at Steve Rogers in my hands, I knew I could stand here for another three hours and I wouldn't find a gift more perfect for him.

The cashier gave me the change, put the box in a plastic bag and handed it to me. I wished each other a good day, and I left the store. Right in front of it, I saw May sitting on one of the benches, sitting in the early summer sun.

When she saw me, she furrowed her brows again, apparently still angry for what I did to her earlier. Though, I think it should be me mad at her. I gave her a pointed look and squeezed my free fist, to tell her with my body language I won't hesitate to do hurt her again if she tries to put another stunt on me.

Sooner than later, I was standing before her, and I offered her my hand. We're just two kids, and as an older brother I had to watch out for her, so if we were alone, we always held hands when we walked around the city.

The home was nearby, we only had to wait for two red traffic lights, and before we knew it, we were walking up the stairs to the front door of our house.

Once in the house, I quickly checked in Mum's bedroom to see if she went to pick up Daniel from school, but the only thing I saw was her on the bed and a man that was different than the one from two days ago.

I quickly bent to May and gave her the gift, so she would hide it where even Daniel won't be able to find it. She was quite an expert on that.

While May was gone, I knocked on my mother's bedroom door. That brought attention to her, and in a few minutes, she came out, wrapped in her morning gown.

"Was it you who knocked?" She asked me, leaning against the nearby wall.

I didn't bring myself to use any words, so I just nodded. I didn't want to walk in and see her in the naked embrace with another weird man.

I sat at the kitchen table with a bowl full of cereal that I've just prepared for myself. I was in a rush this entire day and never got a chance to eat anything.

Mum sat down next to me and smiled "How was school today?."

I looked at her appalled, though, on the other hand, I could've gotten used to it by now. Still, it was surprising to hear Mum forgot what days I meet with my doctor "It's Thu-Thu-Thursday. I didn't go."

She gasped and pretended she must've mixed it up with other events going on, except there weren't any. "Well, uh, I saw the note that you'd be with May. Where were you?"

"At the sup-p-supermarket."

"Yeah? What did you do there?"

I swallowed one of my last spoons of cereal and blankly said: "It's Daniel's b-birthday, Mum."

Silence fell upon us until she said "Already? My, how time flies."

I wanted to say it sure does, but what I usually said in my head, wasn't as good when I said it out loud, so I remained quiet on that topic and asked her for some money "Mum, c-could you g-give me some money for Daniel's cake?"

She was speechless about it and just handed me a phone and a sticky note with a number written on it. That meant I should call and ask my Dad for money. It was always me who had to do it.

"Hey, son. How are you? Did you get anything for Daniel?" He answered the phone quickly with great enthusiasm as if he had been waiting for it to come. As per usual.

I smiled at the sound of his voice, it was welcoming and warm, just like home. "Yeah, I found a superhero t-toy figure with a move button."

He gasped a little and whistled. That meant I had done well. His voice was muffled out by the strong winds of Chicago. He was probably on his way home "That's great. You know Daniel is happy with anything and everything he gets. I think it's nice you're not taking advantage of it. You're a good boy."

"Thanks, Dad. There's just this p-problem," I stopped and took a deep breath. My parents always argued when Mom asked him to lend her some money. I always got nervous, especially when I could hear the anticipated breathing on the other side of the line. "The gift cost me a fo-fortune, all that I spared and I spent all my money to afford it. I can't get a cake for Daniel and... c-could you jump in?"

My Dad went silent, and my finger was caressing the hang up button in case of emergency. Then, at last, I heard him speak "How much do you need?"

The question was supposed to relax me, but in reality, it only made me more nervous. What if I asked for too much? "Ten b-bucks at most?"

"Okay. You'll have it on your bank account in an hour. That alright?" He said as the noise from the winds hushed indicating he found himself a cab.

I completely forgot to confirm it, and just thanked him instead. My mind wandered away, and I wished he was here with me "Dad, I miss you..."

My eyes filled with forbidden tears and feelings when I heard Dad's soft tone "I miss you too, buddy." After a second of pause, he added: "I'll be coming home soon, don't worry about it." I heard him sigh and the next sentence was already spoken with a smile and with a promise "We will have some time alone, okay? I won't bring Deidre with me."

I heard a smile in his voice he mentioned his young wife, and it made me smile as well "Okay."

"Listen, son... What you're doing for your brother and sister... It's not something eleven-year-olds do or should do. And given the circumstances with your mother... I just want to say I'm proud of you. You're gonna make a great man someday."

Thinking about his words, I wish I could've hugged him. I wanted we could've gone to a park with Daniel and May and have a picnic. But he was in Chicago, and I could only wait. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Nathan. See you around."

He hung up, and I dwelled on the phone for a little while before I whispered "B-bye... Dad." I slowly put the phone down and headed out to pick Daniel up from school.

Join the Community Discord: https://discord.gg/W4CeMpYdkR (clickable link on my profile)

If you liked this chapter, don't forget to colour the vote star and leave a comment ^o^

~Blackie