AN: I know this chapter is a little long, sorry about that. Still trying to find the rhythm of the story and all. Also thanks to all the readers and reviewers I've already gotten! You guys are amazing!
Elsa's alarm went off at seven the next morning, but she hit snooze and turned over, being careful not to wake Anna, who was now tucked under her arm. She was too tired and frazzled to even think about attending class today. She sighed and threw her arm over her eyes, trying to block the sunlight out.
The events of the night hit her in a blurry rush – one minute she was an overburdened college student, the next she was the temporary caretaker for her younger sister whom she barely knew.
She really hoped that her mother would keep good on her promise to get Anna in two weeks. But she knew how this family worked all too well. She'd probably end up watching her little sister longer than she bargained for. Not that she minded, of course. At least she knew that the girl would be safe. But she wasn't an expert on child watching. She'd spent most of her childhood and adolescence in isolation; she could barely communicate with adults, let alone children.
But more to the point, she barely knew this child. She was her sister, but other than blood, she felt no connection to the young girl. And now she was in charge of her care and maintenance.
The thought alone made Elsa shiver.
She spent the next couple of hours tossing and turning, unable to get back to sleep on the hard floor. Anna, on the other hand, had barely moved through the night. Elsa looked down to see the young girl lightly snoring, her hair tangled from sleep, and a line of drool trickling down her chin.
'She must be a heavy sleeper,' Elsa thought, 'That, or she hasn't slept well in a while.'
By the time her alarm sounded for the third time, Elsa sat up, giving up on getting any more rest. Just as well, she reasoned, she had a lot of things to do today anyways. She threw the blanket off of her legs and stood up, stretching her arms over her head and yawning. Anna stirred slightly, curling into a little ball. Elsa smiled, picking her off of the floor and lying her back on the couch, tucking the pillows and blankets around her soundly.
She then took a cleansing breath, trying to figure out where she should start. Her stomach growled, and it hit her that she hadn't eaten since the previous afternoon. She looked back over to where her sister was sleeping.
'God knows the last time she's eaten, either,' she thought, if her memory of her parent's care served her correctly.
Still dressed in the clothes she'd worn last night, Elsa threw on a pair of flip flops and dug her wallet out of her purse. She'd only had about forty dollars left from her last paycheck, but figured it'd be enough to get them both some food, and something for the young girl to wear.
She walked back over to the couch, weighing on whether or not she should wake the girl and bring her to the store, or to let her sleep. After a few minutes, she decided to let Anna stay home. There was no sense in waking her up this early. And besides, it was a relatively safe neighborhood, and the store was only down the street. She'd be fine. Hopefully.
Elsa threw on a sweater and made her way out the door, double checking to make sure the locks were secure. It was chilly, but the sun had risen not too long ago, so at least the air wasn't frostbitten as it usually would be later that afternoon.
She stopped outside of a small establishment with "Oaken's Outlet" painted onto a sign in big red letters. This store was cheap, and very run down, but had everything from food to clothes to toys, all at extremely reasonable rates. She walked up to a giant wooden door, the bell over the entrance screeching in her ears.
"Hoo, hoo! Morning Elsa!" the man behind the counter greeted her.
"Morning Oaken," she said, not even stopping to wave or make small talk. She knew what she needed, and was on a mission to get it and avoid a three hour conversation on the weather with Oaken and his wife, Sylvie. He was a sweet man though, and Elsa appreciated his charity (she hated that word, but it was true) in helping her out whenever she was low on money.
She felt his eyes on her from his post at the counter as she walked up and down the aisles, grabbing milk, bread, peanut butter, and anything else she could think of that would feed them for a couple of days. She walked up to the counter with her arms full, pouring everything onto the space in front of her.
"Mighty hungry you are, ya?" Elsa couldn't help but grin at his accent. He and his wife were both natives of Norway who had been living in the States for a little over five years. They got a hang on the language quickly, but their accents could not be concealed at all.
"You could say that," Elsa said, looking over her shoulder. "Um, where do you have clothes? Like, children's clothes. For, say, a five year old?"
He stared at her, a little perplexed at her request.
"It's for my sister," she offered as an explanation, "The one I told you about? She's staying with me for a couple of weeks and my mother didn't really…bring anything for her."
She saw a worried look flash through his eyes, as it usually did whenever Elsa was in a serious bind. But any apprehensions he had, he covered with a smile as he stood up. "Let's see what we can do for you, ya?"
About twenty minutes later, Elsa left the store with arms full of plastic bags stuffed with food, clothes, shoes, socks, underwear, and even a few toys that Oaken threw in for the child. And he gave it all to her for about ten bucks.
"God bless that man," Elsa muttered as she mounted the pavement to her apartment, "Though I'm certain his kindness will get him run out of business eventually."
She struggled to get the key in the lock, and once she heard it click, she shoved the door open, nearly falling over the disproportional weight of her bags.
"Where did you go?"
Elsa looked up to see Anna standing in the middle of the living room, vaguely wiping her eyes.
"I, uh, went to get a few things for us," Elsa said as she shut the door, unloading the bags onto the table across from the couch.
"Oh, okay."
Elsa looked at her sister, who's hair was sticking out in every which direction. Elsa didn't know what else to say, so the two stood in silence for a while.
"Do you want to get dressed or do you want to eat?" Elsa asked, her voice shaking in her uncertainty.
Anna shifted from one foot to the other, biting the inside of her lip. "Can I take a bath first?"
Elsa nodded, and hustled into the bags to find the tear free shampoo Oaken had given her.
Unsure of whether or not she should carry the girl or not, Elsa just gestured towards the hallway, "It's this way."
Anna walked ahead of her, and Elsa grabbed a towel and washcloth from the stack of clothes she'd neglected to wash, assuming it would be clean enough for now.
Anna reached up and opened the door, taking two steps into the room. Elsa was right behind her, leaning over her small frame to plug the tub and run the water.
"Do you, uh, need my help or…?" Elsa trailed off, her ineptness shining right through her voice.
The girl shook her head, "No, I can do it myself."
Elsa nodded, turning off the water when the bath had risen. "Okay, well, I'll be right outside if you need anything." She set the bottle and towel on the toilet seat and turned back around, deciding to leave the door cracked in case Anna needed her.
When she got back to the living room, she collapsed against the couch, already disgustingly overwhelmed at the responsibility this entailed. And she'd only been at it for a few hours. She had no idea how she would do this for another couple of weeks.
While Anna took her bath, (and sung while she did so, Elsa noted, which was cute), Elsa picked out a dress and sandals for the girl to wear and made a brunch out of peanut butter sandwiches, apples, and chocolate pudding. (She'd hoped the girl would like chocolate, since she didn't know for sure).
Anna appeared from the bathroom about twenty minutes after, the giant towel wrapped around her tiny chest.
As soon as Elsa saw her, she gathered her up and carried her to the couch.
"I, uh, got some clothes for you. And there's food in the kitchen if you're hungry."
The girl nodded in response, making no move to put on her dress or get her food.
"Anytime you want it," Elsa said, not sure of herself at all anymore. "Do you want me to help you get dressed?"
Anna stood up, taking the dress by the hem, "You don't know what you're doing, do you?"
Elsa's eyes widened, shocked that her nervosa was that obvious.
The young girl slid the dress over her head and stepped into her shoes, "It's okay. Mama and Papa don't always know what to do. I think you're doing good. Gooder than them."
Elsa couldn't help but smile, "Thanks Anna. I'm trying."
After a moment, Anna asked "Can you brush my hair?"
Elsa nodded, fiddling around in the bag until she found the brush and hair ties Oaken had given her. As Elsa sat down, Anna crawled onto the couch so that her front was turned away. Elsa immediately began working through the knots in Anna's hair, which were so hard she figured it'd been a while since anyone brushed it. After securing it into two pigtails, Anna jumped up and ran for the kitchen to get the food. She emerged a minute later with chocolate pudding all over her face.
"I hope s'okay," she said, her mouth still full, "I'll eat the other stuff, but I wanted the chocolate first."
"You like chocolate?" Elsa asked, already amused by the girl's character.
Anna nodded vigorously, "Uh-huh! It's my favorite food ever."
"Good to know," Elsa said, following Anna back into the kitchen. As she grabbed their sandwiches and drinks, Elsa leaned down and handed Anna her cup of pudding. The look on the girl's face warmed her heart in a way she didn't think was possible.
"Thank you Elsa," she said, a brown grin plastered on her face.
"No problem Anna," she replied, following the child back into the living room, a smile of her own coming on.