The Richardsons

Video #62

"What can you do to help somebody that needs it the most? What can I do to help my sister? By the day, she is getting worse and worse, and now, she doesn't even spend time with us anymore, it's either she's out of the house or in her room, and I don't know what I can do about it."

Things have gotten so bad to the point that Alexa won't even do anything with her family anymore, and she makes me walk to school now.

Her head is always down, but I can tell that she is holding back a whole lot of tears. Now, she dresses like a conservative trying to be fashionable with 20 layers and lying that it's cold outside.

That's when one day, mom and dad pulled me away from Alexa and we went out for dinner, Alexa was out of town actually for a friend's birthday, so she wouldn't get jealous of us.

While we were eating dinner, the mood was tense. Mom and Dad were clearly visibly upset.

"What happened to our Alexa? The diva one that can be annoying at times, but the one that loves us? What happened to her?" My dad asked and his voice was full of worry.

It's something that I know but something that is so unclear right now. I don't think that what I'm thinking could be the right answer.

"Randy, I'm not sure, and it breaks my heart. Our precious Alexa is not the girl that she used to be, it seems like she is distracting herself by trying everything to avoid her problems."

"What could be the problem? Grades? Kat? Us? Her car broke down and she didn't tell us because she was scared?"

"This is not right, I wish she would tell us these kinds of things."

"She's a teenager, she doesn't want to tell her parents anything at all. Heck, I was once a teenager and I was scared of my mother because there were times when she used me."

"But, you're not using her in any way, shape or form."

"Alexa can be unpredictable. I knows raising teenagers can be a pain in the you know what, I'm not gonna say the word because Kat is here. But, if this is a joke, than she could be on Broadway with this acting."

"She might say that." I finally said.

That's when Mom and Dad looked at me.

"Kat, is there something that you know that we don't?" My dad asked.

"I think I have an idea, but I'm not too certain. I might've done a little bit of snooping around Alexa's room not too long ago."

That's when my emotions sunk.

"Kat, what's wrong?"

"Please don't confront Alexa immediately about these things, she will kill me if she finds out that i told you two."

That's when my parents got extra concerned.

I took a deep breath.

"Alexa is falling back into her old habits. When she would starve herself and isolate herself and when people try to comfort her, she gets defensive and tries to bribe or scare others into forgetting what happened."

Mom was speechless and then her eyes started to water.

"So that is why our Alexa is not the Alexa that she normally is."

"But, Kat, what do you think the reason is?" Dad asked.

"Her boyfriend, Chance Virginia or whatever his last name is. I never liked the guy and I think that he is cheating on Alexa, and Alexa is trying everything to save their relationship. Everything, even relapsing back to her old habits. But then again, I don't know for sure. But please, don't confront Alexa yet. She's not ready yet."

"When do we confront her? When she's about to die? Kat, something like this is not something to take lightly." Dad told me.

"I know, dad. But, if Alexa finds out and we confront her off the bat, who knows what she will do to us?"

"What are you saying, Kat?" Mom asked.

"As much I love Alexa, whenever she is angry, she vents all of her anger on me. She threw me out of her car, tried to drown me in a pillow, locked me in a room, hit me, and more. And most of these happened when I was little, so I thought that she was playing too rough with me."