★彡ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʟᴇᴛ ᴍᴇ ᴅᴏᴡɴ | ᴘᴀᴜʟ ᴍᴄᴄᴀʀᴛɴᴇʏ彡★ ✅

★彡[ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 1]彡★

★彡[1964]彡★

Abby groaned. She was tired and she was hungry, and she could have really done with a day in bed - had it been anybody else, she would have told them to take a day off... but she couldn't. She had things that she had to take care of - she had someone that she had to take care of.

Abby got out of bed and went into the bathroom, brushing her teeth and her hair before she went to put the kettle on. When she'd set it boiling, she went back down the hallway to her room and got dressed, wishing that she had the time - and the money - for a shower. As much as she would have liked one, they added far too much to the energy bill.

When Abby was dressed, she went into the room across from her own. Her little sister was still asleep in her bed, so Abby went over to the window and drew the curtains apart before she bent down and kissed the little girl's head.

"Good morning, Mol," she said with a small smile. Mollie yawned and turned over, her eyelids flickering open.

"Hi, Abs." Mollie yawned again, "breakfast ready?"

Abby snorted, "hardly." Abby knew that they didn't have a lot in the way of breakfast - but Mollie would need to eat something before Abby took her to school. "Come on you, you need to get up or you'll be late."

"I don't wanna go in today -"

"Nice try, missy, but you know you have to. You've just had the weekend!"

It was a Monday morning.

Abby pulled her sister's covers back and tried to ignore the grumbling which she got in reply.

"Mol, don't make this any harder than it has to be. Get up, please."

Abby turned and left the room, going into the kitchen to start on breakfast.

As predicted, there wasn't a lot in the cupboards; half a loaf of staling bread, a pot of jam and a carton of powdered custard - and the fridge was hardly any better. In the fridge there was a little bit of butter, half a pint of milk and some cheap meat which Abby had managed to rescue from the rubbish pile at work.

She prayed that when they ate it they wouldn't get sick.

Mollie came in wearing her school uniform and blue cardigan. Abby gestured to a chair at the table as she made the toast. "Sit there and I'll do you hair for you in a mo."

Mollie nodded and waited for her sister to put her tea and toast down in front of her. As she ate, Abby plaited her hair neatly into two braids. It didn't look professional, and it definitely wasn't as good as the hairstyles which their mum had once done for them, but it was something.

Abby was walking a thin line with Mollie, she knew. She was only just twenty, and Mollie was nine - their mum had been dead for just under two years, and Abby had barely been allowed custody of Mollie after she had passed away.

But she had promised that she would work and care for her sister, and that the then seven-year-old Mollie would be very happy. Abby hadn't achieved much in her life, but she liked to think that she had at least achieved that.

Abby looked at the clock. How did time fly? "Right, finish your toast and put your shoes on. I'm going to do the washing up and then we'll have to go, okay?"

Mollie nodded, humming in reply as she kicked her legs happily under the table.

After five minutes, Mollie spoke, "Abs?" Her older sister hummed, not turning her head away from the dirty dishes. "The clock's not moved since I sat down."

Alarmed, Abby turned around - scrubbing brush still in hand - and looked at the clock. It read 8:30am...

"Shit..." Abby cursed as she put the brush back into the sink. "Mollie, we're both going to be late as it is, we have to go now." The two of them rushed about for the next two minutes, finishing their morning routines off. Abby was ready first, as always, and waited impatiently by the door. "Mollie!" She exclaimed, "we have to go!"

Mollie was in her room looking for her spelling book, but she knew that she couldn't take anymore time.

"Coming!" she closed her bedroom door and went to join Abby.

Despite their rush, Abby let her sister dance down the road on the way to the primary school. Abby didn't want Mollie to be anymore stressed than she already was. She made a mental note to grab some batteries for their clock while she was out today so that they wouldn't be late tomorrow.

Mollie chattered excitedly, telling Abby about what they were doing in art class - which was her favourite subject.

Abby feigned excitement and happiness for her little sister, wishing that she had been able to get Mollie the paints which she kept asking for - oh well, Abby thought with a sigh, at least she gets to paint at school.

Abby was always doing everything she could for Mollie, and she still felt like it wasn't enough. She was twenty, for God's sake! She should be at home in bed, or doing an ultra glamorous job that paid amazingly well... and instead she was stuck being a mum to her little sister and working in a diner with a horrible boss.

Not that she didn't love Mollie, but Abby wished that things had turned out differently.

They both did, though neither had ever confided it in the other.

They had reached the large, black wrought iron gates. "Right, gimme a kiss then, Mol." Abby looked at her little sister, who looked more than excited to be going into school. Mollie liked school - she just liked her bed more. Once she was out of bed, she was fine.

Mollie gave Abby a quick peck on her cheek, going onto her tiptoes to do so, and then she exclaimed, "bye, Abby!" And she was gone for the day.

Abby turned and began to walk to work.