Happily Ever After

9: Night Terrors

They were finally a family of four (five including the cat), and nothing could take that away from them.

The next few weeks were blissfully uneventful for the family of four, allowing the girls to get used to their new norm.

School kept them busy, as did their friends, but as always, they treasured their family time. They played board games, cooked grand meals, talked about their days over hot chocolates, coffee and tea, did movie nights, went on walks and adventures...

Life was bliss, knowing that they would always be together. Always be a family, never to be torn apart.

One particular day, Sarah and Maya were on the way to leave the station after a long shift and go home to the Italian and their bambina, when a familiar elderly woman made her way into the station, and her eyes shifted to the teen, who stood there in surprise.

"Sarah Griffin?" she asked curiously, and the redhead nodded. "Miss Kerr," Sarah greeted with a friendly smile. The woman embraced the teen, and embraced Maya next, quickly explaining to Maya who she was. "You must be her foster mom. I'm Dorothy Kerr, I lived next door to the Griffins for nearly ten years," the woman explained.

"This is Maya, and she's my mom now. I was adopted almost over a year ago, I'm no longer a Griffin, I'm a Bishop-DeLuca," Sarah stated with a smile.

Miss Kerr had been a big part of her life as a kid. While her parents were fighting, she and Gracie would run to their neighbour's house, the elderly woman always welcoming them in with open arms. She watched them after school, and would always provide warm cookies and hot chocolates to them.

She was like a surrogate grandmother, acting as a safety net when the girls had none.

"I'm glad I found you. I heard about your parents, dear, and I am so sorry," Miss Kerr emphazied sorrowfully, and Sarah nodded solemnly. "Thank you,"

"And your poor sister. Little Gracie, gone too soon. Such a tragedy. You know in all of my years, I have never seen such a child who had such a love for life... she was so full of potential. You just knew she was going to do great things when she grew up..."

Maya could see Sarah's green eyes begin to glaze over, her hands beginning to shake. Her freckled face paled.

Whether this woman realized it or not, her words were beginning to cause the teen to panic. The grief that Sarah had worked so hard to fight through came clawing back up, like a monster that wasn't yet defeated.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, but we have to get going," Maya insisted gently, sliding her hand onto Sarah's back as a method of comfort.

"Just before you go, I found this underneath my filing cabinet upstairs. I figured you'd want to have it, dear. Take care of yourself now," Miss Kerr smiled, and left.

Sarah looked down at the paper in her hands. It was a crayon drawing that Gracie had made ages ago, two stick figures holding hands. One in blue with yellow hair that was for her, and one with red hair, which was obviously Sarah. At that, her eyes began to fill with tears.

But the words at the bottom of the paper caused her heart to shatter; When I grow up, I want to be just like my big sissy, Sarah. I love her.

"No," Sarah choked, the panic and grief bursting out of her.

———

As soon as they arrived home, Sarah made a beeline for her bedroom, running in and slamming the door shut. They could hear her sobs even through the closed door, and it broke their hearts.