It was 2am. The door opened slowly but with a definite creak. She was exhausted, having been travelling for a solid ten hours but finally she had arrived, she was home and she was safe. Carefully, Sophie set her bag and case down on the kitchen floor and tiptoed upstairs.
It was late, or early, depending on how you look at it and Sophie hated to wake her Mother at this hour but she had to do this now or she would never be able to.
"Mum?" She whispered, close to tears as she tapped open the door. "Mum?" Her voice was desperate now and she practically fell onto her knees next to the bed. Donna stirred and switched on the lamp, rubbing her eyes. She bolted up in shock as she saw her daughter's tear-streaked, pleading face.
"Sophie? Sophie what's happened?" Her Mother asked, heartbroken at seeing her daughter in such a state. She jumped out of bed and was soon on the floor holding Sophie in her arms.
"I'm so sorry Mum, to be here and to wake you up when it's late." She said through sobs. "I couldn't cope any more…I…" Donna quickly interrupted with a soft hush.
"It's okay. You're here now. I've got you." Donna held Sophie in her arms for almost twenty minutes, but it felt like a lifetime. Whatever had happened, whatever had gone on with her daughter, she had to fix it. She felt her arm slowly go numb beneath her daughter's shoulders and by this time, Sophie's sobs had gradually subsided though the tears still continued to roll down her cheeks as she stared into space. "Hey." Donna said softly, helping Sophie to sit up. "How about we go downstairs and I make your favourite hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows and then we can talk?" She suggested gently. Sophie simply nodded and the two stood up and she followed her Mother out of the room and down to the kitchen, desperately searching her mind for the right words.
Ten minutes later, Mother and daughter were sat together at the kitchen table, just like they used to do when it was just the two of them.
"So what's going on?" Donna broke the silence.
Sophie shook her head. "I don't know." She admitted tearfully. "For the last few weeks I haven't felt…right."
"You're ill?" Donna asked in horror.
"No! No…I don't know." The sobs recommenced. "It's my head. It just feels all over the place. I can't think straight, I stopped being excited about travelling, I stopped feeling happy and I'm worrying about everything all the time and I don't know what to do." Donna practically felt her heart shatter on hearing Sophie's words.
"Does Sky know?" She questioned.
"No. I ran away, Mum, I ran away and I didn't tell him. What am I going to do now?"
Donna put her hands over Sophie's. "Now listen to me. When I found out I was expecting you, my Mother turned me away and told me never to bother coming home, so I didn't. I stayed in England for three months until I decided to come back here and in those three months, I fell into an awful state of Anxiety. Some days, I worried so much I just thought it best to stay in bed and try forgetting about everything. I blocked everyone out: Rosie, Tanya…well, they were the only people I had at the time. In the end, they convinced me to see a doctor and I did and it got better, so much better. I know it's going to be hard to hear this, but I think that's what you've got, Soph. Anxiety. That's why you're struggling." Sophie shook her head, not wanting to believe it. "Yes, darling and that's okay. It's okay to feel this way and it's okay to talk about it. Don't suffer in silence. You're not on your own."
After sometime, Donna and Sophie moved into the living room and Sophie sat huddled up into her Mother's arms, almost like she was a child again, as she finally drifted into a peaceful slumber. It was horrible for Donna to see her daughter in such a distressed state, even more so knowing what how alone she felt and what she was going through but right now, Donna's feelings meant nothing, Sophie was all that mattered and she was going to give her all the love and care in the world to help her get better.