The Last of Us [Phan]

Chapter 2

It’s around midnight now and my foot is throbbing from me tripping down the steps earlier. Both Tyler and my uncle shushed me warningly as if telling me ‘I’m being too loud and the runners might hear me’ or whatever. I look up at the night sky, picking out constellations that weren’t visible before and coming up with names and stories on how they came to be in my head as we walked toward the border.

That one’s name is Phoenix. He used to be a warrior on another planet but died trying to save his best friend form the Evil Queen.

I looked to the left a few feet above the horizon and noticed a blue glowing dot in the distance and smiled. That one’s name is Saphire. She used to be the merchant down the street from Phoenix and always provided him with sunflowers whenever he was sad.

“What are you smiling at?” My thoughts were cut off by Uncle Josh throwing pebbles at me. I looked up at him and opened my mouth to say something, but was cut off by Tyler before I could say anything.

“He’s probably thinking about all the girls he made out with before the apocalypse.” Tyler joked, nudging my uncle’s shoulder. I glared at both of them, dropping my smile as they giggled quietly to themselves and continued walking up the path. I rolled my eyes at their childish behavior and walked along with them, a few feet behind now. About an hour after that, we pick a spot to sleep for the night and settle down there. Since I don’t trust the ground whatsoever, i climbed a fairly tall tree and situated myself on a sturdy branch. I sigh deeply and gaze at the stars once more before closing my eyes and letting sleep take over my body.

I open my eyes and I’m back in my room with my blankets and stuffed animals. I glance at the little alarm clock on my bedside table and gasp.

It’s mom’s birthday today!

I rip the covers off my body and dart out of my room and downstairs into the kitchen. Flipping open the cupboards, I yank out all the ingredients to make a perfect birthday breakfast. It’s still early and mom is most likely still at work. I look at the time on the stove and see 5:14am flashing next to the dials. She’ll be home around 7 so I gotta work fast.

I twist the dials to the correct temperature, letting the pan heat up and continue mixing the batter. I add some chocolate chips and rainbow sprinkles into it for special effect and pour the mix into the sizzling pan after adding butter. I let it sit there for a minute before flipping it to the other side, causing it to land quire crookedly I might add.

After I finish making my mom’s birthday breakfast, I turn off the stove and take out the whipped cream from the fridge. I may only be 10, but I sure as hell cook amazing pancakes. At least that's what my mom says even if they are a little…burned.

I wait for my mom to return from work as I sat there on the couch ar 7:06. I have the plate of pancakes stacked up high with whipped cream and Caramel syrup. I begin to lick my lips staring at the delicious food in front of me, but I can't eat it. It's for mom only.

About ten minutes pass and she still hasn't walked through the door.by now, the pancakes have grown a little cold and the whipped cream has almost melted completely. I lick off the excess cream that dropped on my hand as my stomach twisted and lurched. Gnawing on my bottom lip, I take two fingers and dip them in the whipped cream, humming as the sweetness dissolved on my tongue.

'She won't mind if I have just a little, right?’ with that thought in mind, my stomach took over and I dug into the pancakes, not feeling any regret at all. That is until I realized the entire plate was empty.

I let out a frustrated groan, pulling my knees up to my chin and tugging on my hair furiously. 'I'm a terrible son.’ I thought to myself. How could I be so selfish? This was her day and I ruined it. I didn't notice the time passing as I quietly cried myself to sleep there on the living room couch.