#c;debbie

@mindlessnovamuses

Debbie had barely had any time this week to do anything. Today was the first day off she’d had in awhile and she was almost out of food. Grocery shopping was interesting because she was on a strict budget. Franny had been fussy in the cart so Debbie had taken her out for a few minutes so that her daughter could help her grab things off of the shelf and shake them around. The last thing she needed was for Franny to start screaming. Once she was ready to move aisles she would scoop her up and plop her back into the seat of the cart, but for now, she was fine. Her small hand was placed in Debbie’s as Debbie threw a package diapers into the cart. She feels the infant’s hand slip from her grip and before she knows it Franny has knocked over an entire row of crackers. “Francis!” Debbie scolds quietly at the giggling bundle of red hair. She bends down, keeping an eye on Franny as she collects the crackers off the ground. While she’s placing the boxes of crackers back on the shelf Franny wanders down the aisle where a gentleman was doing his own shopping. Her chubby hand yanks on his pants and she babbles nonsense at him, wobbly on her legs as she had only started walking recently. Debbie looks up and she panics instantly. “Franny?!” She looks one way and doesn’t see her, but relief soon floods through her body when she sees her daughter wrapped around a strangers leg at the end of the aisle. “Jesus Christ.”

Debbie knew she was late. She hadn’t gotten her period and her mind was spinning with what she had done. She hadn’t been thinking, had wanted so badly to belong to Derek’s family in the same way that Tanya had been. She had been in love with Derek’s brother, she had gotten pregnant, the family had totally brought her in and accepted her. It was a healthy family, and everyone took care of each other. Debbie wanted a healthy family, she wanted to be accepted, wanted to be a part of something functional. She loved her siblings, but maybe she could have parents. 

Sitting at the Gallagher kitchen table, the weight of what she had done was pressing down heavily on her shoulders. She couldn’t get ahold of Derek, she had taken a cheap test from the store, and her heart was hammering hard in her chest. When the door opens she is glad to be met with the sight of her older sister, of her family. 

“Fiona, can I talk to you?”