Sisters In Distress

Support System

"What's going on? Why can't we go upstairs?" Michelle asked her sister's boyfriend curiously.

Steve gave her a small smile. "It's nothing to worry about Michelle. Your Uncle and Aunt need to have a private conversation with Stephanie and DJ. That's all."

Michelle looked over at Nicki and Alex as they drove two toy cars, one blue and one yellow, into each other. "I'm not a baby, Steve. I'm old enough to know when something is wrong." She frowned, looking down at her hands. She opened and closed them a few times before asking "Is Stephanie hurting herself?"

Steve stopped writing in his notebook and gave Michelle a sympathetic look. "Stephanie is gonna be alright. She has all these people who love her and support her and that's all someone needs when they are struggling." He noticed that Michelle was still frowning so he ripped out a sheet of paper and passed it over to her. "How about if we make Stephanie a nice card? You can write something nice and then the twins can draw something." Steve suggested making Michelle smile.

"Okay." She picked up the pen and starting writing on the paper.

Steve looked up the side stairs wondering how it was going and hoping everything was okay.

###

DJ entered the Stephanie's room with her Uncle and Aunt. She took a seat on the edge of Michelle's bed and stayed quiet.

"Okay Steph, what's going on?" Uncle Jesse asked after closing the door behind him and his wife.

Stephanie gulped and stared down at her bed. She started twisting her fingers nervously.

DJ cleared her throat making Stephanie look up at her. "It's okay, Steph. We know. We just want to talk about it with you."

Stephanie looked up and saw the faces of her family full of sorrow. "I'm sorry." She gripped the blanket in her hands. "I don't know why. I just did it and once I started I couldn't stop." She wiped at her eyes. "It was an accident, at first, then it became this crutch I needed just to get through the day. I tried to stop. Even Gia wants me to, but it's not that easy." She admitted looking away from them. "I know you're disappointed in me.. I'm weak and worthless."

DJ started crying. Becky was trying to comfort her while also holding herself together. But Jesse was already up and walking over to Stephanie's side of the room.

"Steph, you're not weak. You're not worthless. You're my niece. I love you and you matter more than anything else, even more than my hair products and my lucky comb." He chuckled making her glance up at him and smile.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Jesse."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm glad you're talking about it now instead of hiding it from us. Keep talking to us, Steph. Let us care about you. Let us help you stop." Jesse leaned down to hug his niece. "We won't tell Danny about this until you're ready, but you have to come get one of us if you ever feel like hurting yourself."

Stephanie nodded and slowly lifted her arms to hug her uncle back. "Okay. I can do that."

Jesse pulled away and gave her a small smile. "How about some ice cream? I'll go get you ice cream."

Stephanie chuckled. "Okay."

Jesse turned to the door and wiped at his eyes then he left the room. Becky saw him and knew he was on the verge of tears himself so she excused herself and followed him to the kitchen.

Stephanie and DJ were the only ones left in the room.