Lost:
Chapter 7:
Present Day:
Dr. Abney is working on her computer trying to find the right treatment for Eponine. She is completely stumped when it comes to this girl. She knows all there is to know on depression, but something about Eponine seems odd. The look in her eyes, the way she was dressed and her voice seemed strange to her. Dr. Abney has no idea what's going on inside this girl's mind and she's afraid she never will.
Her phone starts loudly ringing and it makes her jump. She doesn't recognize the number, but answers anyway.
"Hello," she answers quietly.
"Dr. Abney?" A man's voice rings through.
"Yes? Who's calling?"
"This is Mr. Thenardier. You saw my daughter, Eponine today?" he says, sounding panicked.
"Yes, sir. What can I do for you?" She asks, grabbing her clipboard with Eponine's notes on it.
"Well, my daughter has locked herself in her room. She won't open the door and won't talk to us. Not that she really has before. Can you please tell me what happened today?" he asks. She looks down at her notes. CONFIDENTIALITY, it reads.
"I'm sorry, sir, but I can't do that. I promised Eponine that I would keep everything between her and I. She did tell me a lot today, but if I want to get her to trust me, I have to keep this confidential." She says, looking at the piece of paper in front of her.
"Wait, she talked to you?" he says, confused.
"Yes. Does she not talk at home?" she asks, getting her pen out.
"Not a lot. She'll maybe tell us what she wants for dinner, if she's going to eat. She stays up in her room all day. She never sees her friends anymore. She doesn't even talk to her sister, who she used to be best friends with." He says. He clearly sounds upset. Dr. Abney is frantically writing down what he says so she can better understand Eponine.
"What's your other daughter's name?" she asks.
"Azelma. She's 15 years old." He answered.
"And you said Eponine and Azelma were close?" she asked, writing every last bit of what he says onto her clipboard. Any of this could help her crack down whatever is going on in Eponine's head.
"They were almost inseparable. That's if she wasn't with the boys," he says. Dr. Abney could hear the smile in his voice.
"From the café, right?" she answers, trying to give him some inkling that Eponine really did open up to her.
"Ah, of course she told you about her boys. Well, she doesn't think of them as her friends now."
"Mr. Thenardier, can I ask you something?" she asks, putting her pen down.
"Yes, ma'am," he answers.
"How long has Eponine been dealing with this?"
"For about two years," he answers.
"So, why is this the first time you've done something about it?" she asks. Thenardier stays silent, obviously having no answer to that. She now understands some of what Eponine is going through. She doesn't think anybody is there for her.
"Mr. Thenardier, if you want my advice-"
"I do, I really do. I'm lost at this point," he cuts her off. She sighs.
"Leave Eponine alone for the rest of the night. She's going to come around. With therapy and the love and support of her family, she'll go back to normal. I have some things I have to take care of. Please, respect her space. That's all she wants right now. I'm seeing her again tomorrow and I will try my hardest to get more out of her." She promises. She hears him sigh.
"Thank you so much, doctor. You don't know how much we all appreciate this." He answers.
"Have a good night," she smiles and hangs up the phone.
She shuts her computer down and grabs her keys.
She locks the door behind her and puts up her closed sign on the outside of her building door. It's about time that she goes to find this ABC Café.
