by LeniPreuß
Bea: are you ready for a spectacular day at the cinema?
Emery: sorry i have to cancel, i don’t feel that good
Bea: do you want me to come over?
Emery: idk, maybe, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to
Bea: i’ll be there in 30 minutes
Fairly, Emery’s texts worry me a little bit. So far she hasn’t cancelled on any of the things we planned to do together, and it seemed like she was enjoying them.
As fast as I can, I get into the car and make my way over to Emery’s house. Before that, I stop at the grocery store.
When I text Emery that I am there she tells me that the back door is open. Until now, she’s always opened the front door for me. I go to the back of the house slipping inside through the door she told me was open before going upstairs to her room. I knock. No answer. I slowly press down the handle and open the door a little, peeking inside. Emery is laying in her bed curled up to a ball. I step into her room and go over to her bed.
“Hey,” I greet her.
“Hi,” she whispers back, barely audible.
“How are you doing?” I question her, although it’s pretty obvious.
“Not good. Sorry, we can’t go to the cinema today, I know you were excited to watch the new Barbie film,” Emery says excusing.
“Don’t worry Em. It’s okay if you need a mental health day. Nobody only has good days. We can still go to the cinema on a different day,” I tell her and I mean it. Her health, no matter if mentally or physically comes first. “But I’ve brought some things with me,” I point at all the snacks I bought. “I thought maybe we could do a film day here? I can also leave if you’re more comfortable with that”. I leave the choice to her.
“No, I want you to stay. You make me feel less alone,” Emery acknowledges.
“Okay, so put this on,” I grab one of her hoodies, throwing it at her. For me, being comfortable is the first step to feeling better, so maybe that will work for Emery as well.
“Can I sit next to you?” I wait for her consent. I haven’t spent a bad day with Emery yet, so I don’t know what she is comfortable with. Emery nods. I get next to her under her white covers.
I pour the bags of candy onto the bed so that she can choose the ones she wants. To my surprise, she chooses the gummy bears. I would’ve imagined her to be a chocolate girl. We swap through the TV program before deciding on a Disney film.
“Could I maybe have a hug? I think that would make me feel better,” Emery asks shyly.
“Of course Em,” I say. I put an arm around her, and she cuddles into me. We watch Moana eating candy and cuddling. Near the end of the film Emery even lets out a little laugh. I am happy to see that she’s at least feeling a little bit better than she did before I came over.
© LeniPreuß 2023-08-08