Homecoming (Lesbian)

FINAL CHAPTER PART 2

Dr. Sophia Williams and I spoke for close to an hour while Faye and my parents waited outside. I told her everything. As much as I could pack in one hour. Once she was finished with me, she went out to let them know what her professional opinion was.

"Has Riley ever seen a psychologist?" she questioned.

My mom and dad looked at each other, then my mother replied. "When she was little, she wasn't very social. Too smart for her own good, they said."

"What do you mean with too smart?"

"She scored a hundred and forty something on an IQ test. She doesn't really talk about it."

"Was she bullied for it?"

"Yes, how do you know?"

"It's a fundamental issue with our society. We don't like smart people. But no, Mrs. Brenan, what I meant was... has Riley seen a psychologist for her depression?"

"What depression?" my dad said.

"I guess that's my answer. I couldn't say for sure with just one hour, but I'm ninety percent certain that Riley has, what we call High Functioning Depression."

"My daughter is not depressed!" my dad said. "She has a job, she helps around the house, she has a... lady, she's normal."

"That's where the High Functioning part comes into place. Normally people don't notice because it's someone who can still get out of bed and go about their day... but they are just never truly happy. Everything is colorless, tasteless. Life becomes a burden that they tolerate."

"She should've never enlisted," my mother said. "She was fine before she ever went away."

"I don't think it's that simple, Mrs. Brenan. You see, I believe Riley has been depressed for a long time and what happened to her in the army was just the last straw. Even when she was a teenager and she began having rage fits, I think her anger management issues were not the problem, but the symptom of the problem. Sadness. Being bullied for being 'too smart for her own good', getting into fist fights with Mr. Brenan because of her brother, being rejected by her parents for being gay, having to live under someone else's roof. You cannot begin to imagine what it does to a child when they find out that the people who were supposed to love them... don't. It breaks them. To be honest with you, after hearing what she said and how she's never been treated for depression, I'm surprised this is the first time she's tried to commit suicide."

"Dear God," Faye murmured.

"So what now? What do we do?" my dad asked.

"Well, Riley needs all the help she can get. Someone she can trust and open up with, maybe a help group. I don't feel comfortable giving her the green light, until you find her some help."

"What about you?" my dad asked. "She opened up with you."

Dr. Williams looked at my parents, then her eyes fell on Faye, as if she were the one person she was really thinking of when she spoke. "I own a lodge where we specialize in vets. We give them the attention, support and help they need 24/7. They develop routines that keep them focused, and we have a group of physicians who treat their injuries and traumas efficiently."

"Like... like getting her committed?" my mother questioned.

Dr. smiled. "More like taking a vacation. It's a lot of fresh air, mountain view, and she can leave whenever she wants and you can come visit whenever you want. And we have PS, DirecTV, internet, hundreds of books, we don't try to isolate them, we try to give them space to heal. And... there is no risk of her doing it again."