Dollar Runaways

Chapter 26: Breakdowns

GLORIA WAS DEEPLY worried about Ashley and Megan. Ashley seemed to have been coping so well... but she had a feeling the young girl had finally hit the wall. 'It was bound to happen sometime...' she thought to herself.

"Hey boss, how are the girls doing?" Collin asked.

She sighed, "As well as can be expected, Ashley had a meltdown a little bit ago, Amber's up there with her. I got them an appointment with a friend of mine who's a psychiatrist to see if she can help out some."

"That's rough... I mean Amber is old enough at least she can take care of herself and is through college, but Ashley's practically a baby still."

Gloria smiled, "Don't let Ashley hear you say that."

He smiled back at her, "So what are they going to do?"

"Well... Their parents were at least practical and smart. They wrote in the will that as soon as Amber turned eighteen, she would be Ashley's legal guardian if anything should happen to them. One of the things they did this past week was go before a judge to make that official..."

"And now...?" He asked.

"And now it's just like a certain little boy I knew," she said with a smile, "I'm going to let them stay as long as they need to. Their parent's estate and insurance left more than enough money for them to live for a while... Amber could probably afford to basically be a stay-at-home mom the next ten years if she needed to, but I think this might be the best place for them to heal."

Collin nodded, "There's no place like it." He paused and added, "Uncle Kenneth would have been proud of you."

She smiled and gave him a hug, "He would have been proud of you too."

He smiled, "So what's the plan for today...?" He asked and they set off to get some work done.

I WOKE UP for the second time today and felt really groggy. "You awake now sweetie?" I heard Mom ask me. I opened my eyes more and felt her sit down on the bed next to me and brush my hair back.

"I guess so..." I replied. "What's wrong with me...?" I felt tears begin to trickle down my face a little, but not like they had before.

"Nothing is wrong with you Princess, it's just that I think everything caught up to you all at once." She kissed my forehead. "I would like you to talk to Doctor Reynolds about it though."

"I thought Doctor Reynolds was for my being a girl...?"

Mom smiled at me, "She's a pretty smart doctor, she'll be able to help you with the other too. Do you feel up to getting dressed, getting some breakfast, and then getting going?"

I nodded, but asked, "Can you just pick something out for me, I don't really feel up to picking anything."

"Of course," she told me.

I saw her stop and think for a few moments before picking out a pair of bright blue nylon capris I had yet to wear and the American Girl shirts we'd bought in Miami. She found a pair of panties and socks and handed them all to me. When I was dressed, she had me go to the sink in the bathroom and wash my face off. I couldn't believe how red and puffy my eyes were... And my hair was an absolute wreck.

"Here, let's take care of your hair," she told me.

It was painful and tough going for a while through parts of it. Luckily it hadn't completely dried inside the towel yet. "What time is it?" I asked as she pulled on a section with the brush.

"Almost eleven," she said calmly.

"Am I going to be okay?" I asked, quite terrified.

Mom stopped brushing, hugged me, "You are definitely going to be alright! With the amount of stress you've been under, I'm surprised this hasn't happened before now. It's okay," she squeezed me again and got back to work.