Dark Days
Dear Frankie,
I’m very worried about my sister Tammy. She just turned 16 and is not very grown up.
Recently she started dating Brad. He’s a senior and the captain of the football team. Brad is charming and a perfect gentleman when he is around my parents. My parents think Brad is great and sing his praises to their friends.
Little do they know how Brad treats Tammy when they are home alone. Last week was the fourth time I found them naked, drinking my dad’s scotch and smoking pot.
The worst part is how Brad talks to Tammy when she doesn’t do what he wants her to do. Once, he got so mad at her that he punched her.
I don’t understand why Tammy doesn’t see what a bad actor Brad is and show him the door?
Spunky
Dear Spunky (Cute name)
You have good reason to worry. Your sister and Brad are participating in very high-risk behaviors.
Tammy is young and lacks the maturity to understand that she is in an unhealthy relationship. What I find particularly troublesome is how easily your parents have taken Brad at face value. I’m also appalled by their lack of supervision.
What parent in their right mind allows their 16-year-old daughter to be home alone, for what appears to be long periods, with a new and older boyfriend?
Long before Tammy started dating, your parents should have been talking with her about dating and healthy relationships.
This situation, I fear, is on a crash course. Let’s hope your parents start to wise up before it escalates into a crisis. In the meantime, your only course of action is to bark and growl and have a temper tantrum whenever Brad and your sister start an argument. This will distract them and may help to diffuse the tension between them. At the very least, it will let them know how much their behavior is upsetting you.
Best, Frankie
© 2022 Geneva Woodruff
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