An Alphabet of One Shots

S Is For 'Scream'

Harper could feel it bubbling away inside. All the emotions of the last four days were mixing together in her body, begging to be released, but the 16-year-old continued to push it all down. The pressure was unbearable and every fibre of her being ached, but she could not let it go. She had to be strong. For Riley.

At 4 years old, and with a 12-year age gap, it would be easy to assume that the tiniest DeLuca-Bishop was a nuisance for her big sister, but that could not be further from the truth. The journey the DeLuca-Bishops' had endured to bring Riley into their family had been a rollercoaster, to say the least. They had been blessed with Harper being conceived on their first attempt, but the same could not be said for their youngest member. After two failed IUI's and a failed embryo transfer, Carina and Maya had been close to calling it quits. However, something inside nagged them to try once more. And so they did.

Carina's pregnancy was filled with the worst morning sickness imaginable which seemed to span the entire day, and she constantly felt nauseous and lightheaded. However, all the chaos was forgotten the second that their 6Ibs 4oz 'Mini Maya' entered the world. Whilst Harper was the little version of Carina that Maya had so desperately wanted, Riley was unmistakably Maya's clone. With a head full of delicate blonde wisps and piercing ocean-blue eyes, Riley Lucia DeLuca-Bishop had completed their family unity, and Harper doted on her.

Harper Mason DeLuca-Bishop had not only inherited her Mamma's hazel eyes, button nose, and luscious brown locks, but she had the same kind heart and gentle nature too. From the moment her baby sister had entered the world, the older girl had vowed to be her fiercest protector and biggest cheerleader. She had begged her Mamma to help with the feeds, oftentimes waking in the night to join her Moms in caring for the child, regardless of how many times they tried to get her to go back to sleep. She had practically latched on to her Mommy's leg until she was able to join her on her early morning run too. It was a time during which Riley would quietly observe the world from her pushchair and Carina would utilise the time to get some rest, and Harper did not want to waste a single second away from her baby sister. For every bath time, Harper was next to her Moms, beside the tub as she helped to gently bathe the youngster. The girl had even gone as far as to request that she be able to attend all of the baby's vaccination appointments so she could hold her tiny hand through it all.

Riley was Harper's biggest blessing. And it was for all those reasons that Harper found herself holding on to her emotions the way she was. She had always protected Riley and that could not change now. Especially not now.

—

As Carina sat at the breakfast table with her two daughters, she could clearly see the turmoil behind her favourite pair of chocolate orbs. She noticed that Harper's smile did not quite reach her eyes as she listened to Riley recite her plans to play 'Doctors and Nurses' at daycare, and she heard how the girl's laugh did not sound at the same decibel as she watched the youngster try to cut her own French toast. Carina could see that her baby was hurting and it pained her in the most indescribable way.

When Riley left the table to go and pack her bag for daycare, something she demanded she needed as Harper took a bag to school, Carina took the chance to try and get through to her eldest.

"I'm fine, Mamma." A delicate voice filled the silence before Carina could even open her mouth. "I know what you're going to say, but I'm fine. I have to be."

The older Italian fought to hold back the tears as she pushed her chair from the table and opened her arms to her eldest baby. She was met with an all-too-familiar raised left eyebrow which she was quick to reciprocate before she felt the welcome pressure of the slender teen on her lap.

Carina circled her arms tightly around the girl and peppered small kisses to her temple. "You don't have to be fine, Bambina." The woman's voice was barely above a whisper as she inhaled the familiar scent of her wife's shampoo from her daughter's hair. "It's okay to let it out. You don't have to be strong all the time."