Amelia Bridges is a nineteen year old girl living in Moonstone Province, and is haunted by her mental illnesses that threaten to take over her life. The problem is that Moonstone is a place that believes mental illnesses are nothing but a fallacy, l...
"Happy birthday, sweetheart!" my Father chanted excitedly as I entered the room, my school bag slung over my shoulder loosely.
"Thanks, Dad," I said shortly, watching as he hurried over to me and took me in his arms, holding me close.
"I can't believe you're nineteen," he gushed. "I'm just so happy you're here with us. When your Mother and I were in that waiting room at the hospital, we thought there was a chance we wouldn't get to see you grow any older."
My Dad spoke so casually, his tone was almost stale. It blew my mind that he thought my birthday was the right time to talk about my suicide attempt in passing. His words proved to me that he did not take it seriously, and all he and my Mother thought of was themselves.
They thought they would never get to see me grow older. They thought they were going to lose their daughter. They would be so devastated to lose me, though they were the ones who failed me along with the rules set in place in Moonstone that night. They would never get to watch me get married, or become grandparents had I passed away.
Well, the last one was still very true and real. They would never be grandparents, as of then. My older sister Zoey did not want children. She and her husband Kevin decided early on in their engagement that kids were not in the picture for them. Zoey was a career focused woman, and was studying to become a nurse practitioner at a university far more prestigious than the one I attended. I was their last hope, and I failed them. It was always about them, and never me. They liked to talk about the aftermath, and turn a blind eye to the root of the problem. The real problem.
"Yeah," I replied softly, shuffling to the kitchen to grab myself a chocolate chip muffin pack from the box. "Where's Mom?"
"Oh, she had to go into work early. Don't worry, we'll both be at your party tonight at Blake's. Is anyone else coming?"
I shifted awkwardly, remembering what took place at JP's house just days prior. "Um, another one of my friends."
"Oh?" my Father looked surprised, and I was a little offended by this though I could not blame him. Years passed by without the mention of any new friends.
"Yeah, Blake and I are both friends with him."
"Him?"
Dammit.
"Uh-huh," I answered, turning away from him and heading towards the front door, my escape route. "I should go, I'm gonna be late for my first class."
"Honey," my father said, stopping me dead in my tracks. "I don't want you to do anything that could possibly get you into anymore trouble than you already are in."
Peering over my shoulder, I parted my lips to speak. "I don't think it could get worse than this."
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