Everything Has Changed

Gone Girl

August 10th 2025
Kansas City, Missouri

Almost a month had passed since the diagnosis had been passed. Postpartum Anxiety and Depression Disorder handed down to her like some life sentence for a crime she did not have any knowledge or intention to commit. 

In his mind, she was doing better though. She had been in therapy for the past almost four weeks and he felt that slowly but surely, things were looking up for the better. She still didn't want to go out of the house though, but had been letting Travis take Luna out and was happy for some friends to slowly start coming over. The fear was no longer that people would hurt her, but that people would see her. She was determined to get stronger and better before the world would finally see her again, but the problem was that she wouldn't get better if she didn't face her fears of returning to the outside world fully. Not fully, in the way that she wanted. 

Travis luckily had the day off from practice that day, and having already filmed the new heights podcast for that week already, he had the whole day free for family time. He woke, later than usual, and there was something different in the air. A smoke that had suddenly cleared, making way for the blue sky to emerge. It had been the rising sun on the distant horizon that had woken him at first but now that it was in full view, it was piercing through his screwed shut eyelids, making falling back asleep, no matter how much he wanted it, practically impossible. But when he rolled back over, what he was stretched out for wasn't there. Taylor wasn't there. Not in their bed, or in their room. She had been there before, but now suddenly, she was gone. He blinked his eyes open a little more, noticing that the doors across from their bed that led out onto their private roof terrace were open ajar slightly. She must have gone outside, and he couldn't blame her. The weather was beautiful this time of year in Kansas and she had said that her therapist recommended fresh air. Maybe sitting out on the terrace and swimming in their pool would be the first glimpse of her regaining her life once more. Small steps were better than none at all. 

As he climbed out of bed and headed towards the bathroom, he noticed that Luna's bassinet was empty, leading him to the conclusion that she must have taken Luna outside. Maybe that was why he had managed to stay asleep so long. Usually it was the baby who woke both of them up: their most reliable alarm clock, even if it did go off at the most annoying times of the night sometimes. He decided to leave them in peace for a while, hoping into the shower before getting himself dressed for the day. 

Patty had come round a few days ago to give his beard a freshen up and fix his hair. He was undecided as to whether he should bring back the full moustache, deciding to leave it for now, knowing that he most likely would change his mind in a few weeks when the actual season hit full throttle. He chose a simple pair of pink patterned shorts that he had worn when him and Taylor had gone to the zoo in Sydney, pairing it with a white t-shirt. He knew it was probably going to get ruined but that was all part of having a baby, plus it was an old shirt and it would easily wash out. 

Making his way into the kitchen, he fed their animals, letting Jupiter out for a run around in the garden. He would take the dog out for a proper walk later but this morning, a simple run around in the garden would suffice. He had gotten a lot bigger now, no longer a small puppy but a fully grown dog, house destruction and all. But he was so good with Luna that somehow his lack of volume control when someone was at the door, his sitting on the bed when he wasn't supposed to and poor breath made it all okay. It paled in comparison. 

He got started on some pancakes for the pair of them as well as prepping some eggs and some bacon. Taylor had been eating more and more food recently since Luna was breastfeeding more. They knew that it was coming up to the point in three to four months of the baby's life and development where it would become the most difficult to breastfeed according to the books and the doctor. She had told Travis that the best thing to do would be to support her as best as he could, bringing her good food and lots to drink to stay hydrated and encourage pumping even when the baby was sleeping to ensure that her supply stayed consistent. Luna was slowly needing to exclusively breastfeed less and less. It was becoming a morning and evening task with the occassionly session throughout the day when she was extra fussy or needed some help going down for one of her naps.