old friends

the perfect big sister aka 'its ok to cry dipshit'

it feels good to finally be back home, especially now that her car and peaches were home. she couldn't wait for peaches and patches to meet. she's sure they'd be friends. and for clay and peaches to meet, but she already knew they'd love each other.

her room was the exact same as it had been when she'd left.

the walls were painted a gentle purple color. just above her headboard, her name was pinned to the wall, spelled out by cardboard letters that she and her friends had painted for her birthday in third grade.

resting above both of those was a shelf covered in the trophies and medals she had earned as a child. karate trophies for the two years she did that, swimming awards, cheer stuff, and a ton of soccer awards.

photos of her and her friends scattered the room. some from when she was younger, some from high school. her graduation photos were resting beside her computer on her desk. even though it wasn't that long ago, so much had changed. everybody looked so different.

"whatcha doing?" carla asks, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind her.

it's 11, and clay is streaming with his friends. riley is on call with them, but she's mostly just laughing along at their jokes, inputting when she thinks of something funny.

she mutes herself, taking her headphones off and hitting escape.

"minecraft," she smiles, "with clay and them. what's up?"

carla takes a seat at the edge of her daughters bed and pats the spot next to her.

"i gotta talk to you about something."

riley feels her heart rate pick up, and she's suddenly terrified of whatever it is her mom is about to tell her.

slowly, she stands, walking over to the bed and sitting next to her mom.

"yeah?" she asks, wringing her hands nervously in her lap.

her mom laughs, placing her own aged, wrinkled hand on top of her daughters.

"it's good news, i promise."

"promise?" riley's voice is small, reminding her mother of when she was just a child, getting a shot at the doctors, or telling her a secret that she most definitely kept.

"bittersweet news, lina."

riley smiles at the nickname, looking over at her mom for reassurance. she always was a mamas girl.

"your aunt is here," riley nods, not understanding the importance of it, "the transplant is happening, lina!"

it takes every ounce of strength in riley's body to not pull her mom into a bone crushing hug. instead, she drops her head and starts sobbing. they're happy tears, riley knows, but also scared tears. nervous tears. anxious tears.

bone marrow transplants are hard work, and recovering from them is no joke. especially with this stupid virus going on.

and what if it didn't go right? what if, for whatever reason, carlas body didn't like her sisters bone marrow? what then?

riley already knew the inevitable was coming in a few years, she learned that last year when carla was diagnosed, but this... this was a whole new level of scary.

"i'll have to be in hospital for a while," carla says softly, her daughter pulled protectively into her lap as she cried, "but it's happening! lina, it's happening!"

riley nods, wiping her tears. she sits up and pulls her mom into a hug. tears burn at carlas eyes, but she tries to hold them back for her daughter.