Some People Stay

Jonathan was shocked when Amelia had asked him to go with her to her psychiatrist with her. He had thought that she would have wanted to go on her own, if she ended up going at all. But, when he had called her to tell her that he had gotten her in with Dr. Sullivan, she had asked him if he wouldn’t mind going with her, and of course he had immediately said yes.

Keeping this from Bridget was proving to be easier for Jonathan than he had thought. But, that was only because she was still giving him the silent treatment. Jonathan wanted nothing more than to go to her and tell her everything, but he knew he couldn’t betray Amelia like that. So, he let Bridget give him the silent treatment and hoped that one day she would forgive him for all of this and see that he was only doing this to help Amelia out.

Jonathan walked to Amelia’s house on the bright summer day, looking up at the sky that was blue without a cloud in sight. It was the perfect day outside, but Jonathan knew today wasn’t going to be a good day for Amelia. He knew she was going to have a hard time going to the psychiatrist once again. The last time she had gone, she had left feeling that she was crazy, and she hadn’t gone back until today.

He walked up to Amelia’s front door, ringing the doorbell, and she opened it a few moments later, and just by the first glance at her, Jonathan could already tell she was dreading this. “Hey,” he said with a small smile. “You ready for this?”

“No,” she shook her head. “I really don’t want to go. What is she going to do? Up my meds to make me think that I’m happier than I am?” she questioned.

“Amelia,” Jonathan began, but she cut him off.

“I know what you’re going to say, I need to go. And, I am going. I just don’t know she’s going to help me. She thought she was going to help me last time, and obviously it didn’t work,” she said as they walked to her car. It was times like these that Jonathan wished he had either driven down to Nashville or gotten a rental car while he was here. He wished he could just drive Amelia, but he didn’t have a car. So, he got into the passenger’s seat, listening to her continue to talk about how she didn’t think going to the psychiatrist was going to help.

“Amelia, in all fairness,” he cut in. “You only went to see her one time. You never went back. It’s not all going to get fixed in one session. You need to keep going back on a regular basis. You need to talk about this, and you need to find the right medication that’s going to help you through this. It’s not all going to be worked out in one time,” he explained.

She nodded her head. “I know,” she said quietly. They rode in silence for most of the rest of the ride until they reached Dr. Sullivan’s office.

Jonathan got out of the car only to find that Amelia was still sitting inside. He walked around to her side of the car, opening up her door and leaning down to look in at her. “You coming?” he asked with a smile on his face. She continued to look straight ahead, not paying him any attention. Jonathan reached in and grabbed her arm lightly. “Come on, Amelia, you have to go in,” he said gently.

She finally allowed him to help her out of the car, and she locked the doors before walking inside with him. She checked in with the receptionist before taking a seat. Jonathan looked over at her, seeing her tapping her feet on the floor, and he could tell just how nervous she was as she began wringing her hands. “It’s gonna be fine,” he whispered to her, but he knew she didn’t believe him.

Dr. Sullivan came out to get Amelia, and Jonathan shot her an encouraging smile as he watched her walk into the room with Dr. Sullivan shutting the door behind them. Jonathan stayed out in the living room, wondering how everything was going in the other room. He wondered if Amelia was opening up and if she was getting the help that she needed.

He was out there for about forty minutes when the door opened and Carly came out, asking Jonathan to come inside with her and Amelia. He did as asked, though he was confused, wondering why they wanted him to come in with them. “Have a seat,” Carly told him, motioning towards a chair that was next to Amelia’s. He looked over at Amelia, but she refused to look at him. “Well, Jonathan, I’m sure you’re wondering why we asked you to come in here,” Carly said.

Jonathan nodded his head. “Yeah, I am. What’s going on?” he asked.

“Well, Amelia and I have been talking about her latest suicide attempt,” Carly began, and Jonathan focused on the word “latest”, wondering how many suicide attempts Amelia had had. “And, we have discussed her not being alone for the next several weeks until we know that she can handle being on her own.”

“Okay,” Jonathan said slowly, still not knowing what any of this had to do with him.

Amelia finally spoke up, clarifying everything for Jonathan. “Dr. Sullivan thinks it would be best if I moved in with someone so I wasn’t alone, and the only person is Bridget. But, she obviously doesn’t know everything that’s been going on. So, I was hoping you could help me explain everything to her.”

“Of course,” Jonathan said, happy that this was all going to come out into the open, and he wasn’t going to need to keep things from Bridget any longer.

“If it would be easier, I told Amelia that we could get Bridget to come in here and we could discuss everything with her. But, if you want to be with her when she tells her sister everything, then maybe it wouldn’t be necessary to do it in here. I just think someone needs to be there to support Amelia,” Dr. Sullivan explained.

“I’ll help you, Amelia,” Jonathan assured her, looking over at her. He could tell that all of this was killing her. He knew she didn’t want to move in with Bridget, let alone tell her everything that she had been keeping from her. But, this was what was best for Amelia, and this would keep her safe.

“Thanks,” she said before looking across the desk at Carly. “So, is that everything?” she asked.

Carly nodded her head. “Yes, for this week. I want you to make an appointment for Monday, though. And, as always, if you need to see me before then, feel free to call,” she added with a smile.

Amelia stood up, not saying anything as she walked out of the room. Jonathan thanked Dr. Sullivan before following Amelia, who was making an appointment for Monday, just like Dr. Sullivan had asked her to do. Jonathan was happy she was going to follow through with this this time.

Jonathan got into the car with Amelia as she began to drive home. “How do you feel about moving in with Bridge?” he finally asked her, the silence in the car getting to him.

“It’s not my favorite idea in the world,” she told him. “You know I didn’t want her to know about any of this.”

“I know,” Jonathan said, looking out the window. “But, I think this is for the best. She needs to know everything. She loves you, Amelia, and she just wants to be there for you and help you.”

“Yeah,” Amelia said. “I just know she’s going to be furious that she’s been kept out of the loop.”

“Or maybe she’ll be happy that you’re getting help and she’ll overlook the fact that she hasn’t known everything,” Jonathan said hopefully. But, when he looked over at Amelia, he knew they were on the same page when it came to what Bridget’s reaction would be to finally being clued in on everything. “Or she’s going to be pissed,” Jonathan muttered, knowing that was more likely to be the truth.