Changing the Player

Chapter 31- Epilogue 4

(**Trigger warning**)
Five years later
Emory 15

The past few years have been a major adjustment for us all. Emory hasn't been the same happy girl this past year. She refuses to talk to Colton and when she's not in school she stays in her room. Blake and I have tried getting her to talk to us but she refuses and says she's just tired.

I've seen her behavior before, in myself. I've went through the same thing she is. Depression. Blake and I have been talking about taking her to a specialist to make sure. I finally got her an appointment for tomorrow.

I walk to her room and knock on her door. "Em, can I come in?" I ask her. I hear her mumble a 'sure', before I walk in. She's laying on her bed reading.

"What's up?" She asks me. She's grew up into a beautiful girl. She's a mixture of Blake and I. Luckily she got a little more of Blake's height than mine. She's at 5'4 with a few inches over me.

"I wanted to talk to you about the appointment tomorrow." I started and she nodded. We have already discussed that she needed to go and get tested. "Do you want us to be there when they ask you all of the questions or will you feel more comfortable talking about it to just them?"

"I want you to be with me. I feel better talking to you about it then to a complete stranger." She says. Blake and I have kept up with our parenting ways and have established a good relationship between us and Emory. We wanted Em to feel comfortable talking to us whenever she felt like it and for the most part she has.

"Okay. Then I'll be there. Your dad wants to be there as well but he has to go into work." I tell her.

"I know and that's okay." She said. "I have to finish reading this for a test next week." She tells me.

"Okay. I'll leave you alone. Tell me when your ready for dinner." I say and she nods before I leave her room. I go back to the living room and relax on the couch. My phone starts ringing and I see that it's Colton. Since we have left he has made it a habit to call at least once a week if not more. Usually it's everyday. He's FaceTimed a lot with Blake and I as well.

"Hey Colt." I say into the phone.

"Hey Liv. Is Em there?" He asks me. He asks me this every time and it's always the same answer. I feel bad for Colt but Emory just won't talk to him.

"I'm sorry bud. She's in her room studying." I tell him.

"It's fine. Is Blake there?" He asks.

"He should be here soon. How was your game yesterday?" I ask him. He's a sophomore in highschool and plays on the varsity football team.

"I threw four touchdowns and ran two in. We won 26-12." He says.

"Great job Colt! I wish I could have seen it." I tell him.

"I wish you could have too. Any plans on coming back soon?" He asks me.

"I don't know Colt." I sigh. "We want to but things haven't been the best down here. Hopefully we can soon though. Maybe next year." I tell him.

"Okay. We all miss you guys but I have dinner with the team in a bit so I gotta go. Tell Blake I said hey." He says before we hang up. A few minutes later the door opens and Blake walks in.

"Hey love." He says and kisses my cheek before sitting beside me.

"Hey. Colton called. He said to tell you hi and that he misses you. He won the game yesterday with throwing four touchdowns and running two." I tell him as he wraps his arms around my waist.

"I miss the boy." Blake said.

"I do too. Maybe we can go visit this summer." I suggest and he nods.

"It's up to Em." He states and I nod at that. The first year a hurricane hit so we had to stay here. The second year we all got sick and couldn't go. Then the past few years Emory has refused to go.

"I wish we just would have stayed in Tennessee. Maybe Emory would be fine and her and Colton would still be best friends." I say. I've always wondered what would have happened if we stayed there.

"I've thought about it too but Emory has that one girl from her gymnastics class right? They are friends." Blake says. We signed Emory up for gymnastics and she's amazing. She can do so many different stunts. She went to cheerleading camp as well and was taught everything to do about cheer. We've been trying to get her to try out for the cheerleading team but she doesn't want too.

"I guess your right." I sigh against Blake. We sit there for a little bit before I start dinner. After we eat we watch a few shows and get ready for bed. We were all feeling stressed about Emorys tests.

—

The next morning we woke up early and left to go to the doctors. Emory was called back almost immediately and I went with her. I stood by her side as she leaned on me. The doctor came in and started asking questions.

"Have you felt down lately?"

"Yes."

"Have you been more tired?"

"Yes."

"Has your appetite changed? If so how?"

"I haven't felt motivated to eat." Emory responded to every question the doctor asked. I wasn't for sure what all tests they were doing but I know for sure they were testing for depression.

"Okay last question. Have you felt like you wanted to end your life or have you tried cutting or anything like that?" I held my breath as I waited for Emory to answer. She squeezed my hand and I squeezed back.

"I haven't tried anything. I've had a few thoughts about what would happen if I did die but I've never attempted." She spoke and the doctor nodded as she wrote on the paper.

"I will be back in a few minutes." The doctor said and she exited the room. I looked to Emory, who had tears in her eyes.

"Don't cry baby. Everything will be okay. Your dad and I are so proud of you." I said and became teary eyed myself.

"Thank you momma." She said and wrapped her arms around me. I pulled my little girl into my arms and held her there until the doctor came back in.

"So the tests we did confirmed two things. One is that you are suffering from depression. The other is that you are also suffering from anxiety. The two together is rough on any child but especially a teen girl. Around your age, girls start getting hormones which add into the mix. We can prescribe you medicine to help both the depression and anxiety. You can also set up appointments with a counselor to talk about things if you'd like."

That was the worst news ever. My little girl had what I went through but doubled. "It will be okay Em. Let's go get Chick-fil-A and then we can go sit on the beach and relax." I told her. She nodded and we walked out of the hospital together.

We stopped by Chick-fil-A before going to the beach and sitting there to eat. The beach has became a regular spot for us. We can just sit out here and sunbathe for hours and that's exactly what we did today. We sat there and watched the waves crash on the beach.

There's the fourth epilogue. Only one more to go:(

There will be a small trigger warning on the next epilogue as well. Skip it if you need too.

Edited April 28, 2021