Some People Stay

Bridget got out of the shower, wrapping a towel around herself. After she got ready, she was going to go visit Amelia, hoping that she could convince her to go to a psychiatrist, though she knew this was going to be an uphill battle. When Amelia had her mind set on something or against something, it was extremely difficult to get her to change her mind, and Bridget had never been successful at it.

She thought back to when Amelia had been dating David. David had proposed two months after they had begun dating, and Amelia had immediately said yes, and they began preparing for their wedding for the following month. Bridget had thought that they were moving way too fast, and she had tried to reason with Amelia, telling her that she was only twenty-two, and did she really want to get married that young?

Amelia had stuck to her guns, and wouldn’t listen to a word that Bridget said, even though Bridget continued to try to talk her out of getting married so fast. She had suggested that they wait a little while longer for the wedding, have a longer engagement. But, Amelia didn’t like that idea either.

Obviously, Amelia had been right that time and she and David married just three months after they had begun dating. But, Amelia hadn’t always been right in her stubborn ways.

When Bridget was seventeen and Amelia was sixteen, they had both been invited to a party. Bridget wasn’t going, but Amelia wanted to, knowing that it was going to be the party of the year. Bridget tried to convince her to not go, knowing that something bad was going to happen and that there was a good chance that the party was going to get busted by the cops.

Bridget had tried to talk sense into Amelia, but she insisted on going. When she knew she wasn’t going to convince her otherwise, she at least tried to tell Amelia that she needed to stay away from the drugs and alcohol that were going to be there. She had nearly begged Amelia to stay clean, having a bad feeling about tonight. But, Amelia was sixteen and was going to do whatever she wanted.

Just as Bridget had thought, the cops busted the party. They caught Amelia with not only alcohol but also high on marijuana and she had ecstasy in her possession, though it was later discovered that she hadn’t actually taken any of that.

When Bridget found out about all of that, the only thing she said to her sister was “I told you so.” Amelia obviously didn’t take kindly to that, and the two didn’t talk to each other for nearly a month. Obviously, they couldn’t keep that up, and they eventually made up, becoming best friends once again.

As Bridget thought back on all of these moments in their lives, she couldn’t help but realize just how much the two of them had been through. She knew Amelia was feeling alone right now, but she had to know that Bridget was always there for her no matter what.

Bridget quickly got dressed and blow dried her hair, walking down the stairs to find Jonathan sitting on the couch. “You want me to go with you? Or do you want to go on your own?” Jonathan asked her. “I don’t care either way, whatever you want.”

“I think I’m going to go on my own,” Bridget told him. “You’ve gotten yelled at enough for one day,” she said with a chuckle. “But, thank you for the offer. I’ll let you know how it goes.”

“I’ll be here waiting. Just give me a call if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Jon,” she smiled at him before grabbing her keys and walking out the door. She loved that she lived so close to Amelia that they never needed a car to get to each other’s house, that they could always just walk there.

Fifteen minutes later, Bridget was walking up to the house that Amelia used to share with David. She didn’t bother knocking on the door, instead using her key to let herself in. She wasn’t surprised to find Amelia sitting on the couch, where she had stayed the past week. “Hey Amelia,” she said to her sister. “How are you doing?”

“Why did you send Jon over here?” Amelia asked, ignoring Bridget’s question.

“I just thought he might be able to help. Obviously he didn’t,” Bridget responded. “I’m sorry,” she said genuinely.

“Bridge, I don’t want Jon. I don’t want anyone. I want to be with David,” she told her. “I don’t want to be here anymore.”

“I’m worried about you, Amelia,” Bridget told her. “You keep saying you don’t want to be here, and I’m worried about you. I know you miss David like hell, and I understand that. But, Amy, you need to go talk to someone, go talk to a professional. Maybe they can help you.”

“They’re not going to help me! What would help me is bringing David back. And, they can’t do that!” Amelia exclaimed, and Bridget was seeing a bit of the emotion that she had been showing Jonathan earlier.

“Please, Amelia, please go see one for me. Maybe they can help you cope with all of this.”

“Bridget, are you not listening to me? I don’t want to see a psychiatrist! I’ve told you this from the beginning! So please stop asking me!”

Bridget was about to let it go again like she had every other time before she remembered her conversation with Jonathan from earlier. She knew that Amelia needed to go see somebody, and she was determined to make that happen this time. “Amelia, I’m not going to stop. Do you see yourself right now? You’re a complete mess. And, that’s completely understandable with David just dying. But, you need to look out for yourself, too!”

“I just want to die,” Amelia said lowly.

“See, Amelia!” Bridget exclaimed. “When you say things like that, it scares me to death! I’m scared of losing you!”

“You’re not going to lose me,” Amelia told her.

“How do I know? That’s not the first time you’ve told me you want to die!”

“I’m not going to actually kill myself. I just wish I would die. I want to be with David.”

“Amelia, you are scaring me,” Bridget repeated. “Please, go to therapy for me. Because I am legitimately scared. I’m always worried about you. All the time. I’m so worried that you’re going to do something drastic and I’m going to lose my best friend. I cannot lose you, Amelia.”

“I’m not going to do anything,” Amelia tried assuring her.

“Please, Amelia.”

“Will it make you happy if I go see a shrink?” Amelia asked, annoyance in her voice.

“Yes, Amelia, yes it would. And, if you don’t want to go for yourself, then go for me!”

“Fine.”

“Really?” Bridget asked.

“If it’ll get you to shut up about, then yes, I’ll go. But, don’t expect it to help me. It’s not going to bring David back.”

“Thank you,” Bridget said, wrapping Amelia up in a tight hug. “I love you so much, Amelia. So much, you don’t even know.”

“I love you, too, Bridge,” Amelia said quietly, returning the hug, only to have Bridget squeeze tighter, wanting her little sister to know that she will always be there for her. The two of them stayed like that for a while longer before Bridget finally pulled away.

“I’ll look into psychiatrists and I’ll find the best one, and I’ll make you an appointment, okay?” Bridget asked her.

“Whatever you want, Bridget. I’m doing this for you.”

“You need to do it for yourself, too, Amelia. But, I’ll take what I can get,” she smiled at her sister. She stayed with her the rest of the afternoon and night until she watched Amelia go to sleep on the couch, and then she finally went home for the night.

When she walked into her house, she saw Jonathan sitting at the desk on his laptop. “What are you still doing up?” she asked him.

“I was waiting up for you,” he told her, and Bridget couldn’t help but smile at him. “I wanted to know how everything went with Amelia.”

“She agreed to go to therapy. She says it’s only so I’ll shut up about it and that she doesn’t want to go, but maybe if I can just get her in there, she’ll change her mind and she’ll go for herself.”

“It’s the first step in the process, getting her there,” Jonathan told her.

“I just need to find the best psychiatrist around here now,” Bridget told him.

“Already got it covered,” Jonathan told her, and Bridget cocked her head to one side, wondering what he was talking about. “I’ve been doing some research since you left. One of the best psychiatrists for this kind of depression in the nation is here in Nashville. Dr. Carly Sullivan. Here’s her education background,” he said, turning the computer around to let Bridget look at the screen.

“You didn’t need to do all this, Jon,” Bridget told him. “But thank you.”

“You know, you’ve been thanking me an awful lot lately,” Jonathan said with a chuckle.

“Because you deserve all of them,” Bridget smiled at him, picking the laptop up so she could read all about Dr. Carly Sullivan, the person she hoped who could help Amelia.