Good morning, sister.

I woke up today and got this message from my sister:

kim, i need to ask you a huge favor... im in aiken, south carolina trying to get up to baltimore for rehab. and i already have the bus ticket from charleston to baltimore, but i have to get from aiken to charleston and the only way i can do that from where i am right now is to sell my body for money. is there any way i could borrow just a small amount of money just to get me home and fed? im trying to turn my life around but no one will help me and give me any more chances. ive burned every bridge. please please help me kim. im begging as your little sister with no one else to turn to. i love you.

I don't really know what to do about it (surprise, surprise).


I wrote this, but haven't sent it.

Abbie,
You do not love me, at least you don't show that you love me. You have contacted me twice in 3 years, both times to ask for money. From what I understand, you have been given a bunch of chances, in fact, you were welcome to stay in rehab just a little while ago and you left voluntarily. My Dad gave you a basically free apartment, where you did thousands of dollars of damage and then forced him to clean it up on Christmas. Your mother has driven to see you to help you, and you didn't let her. Therefore, you have hurt people that I love a lot.

I don't really know what to tell you. Do I want you to sell your body? No. Do I understand how you've gotten to a place where you can't get a job at a pizza parlor instead? No.

Yes, I could send you money. But what do I think will happen? You will take it. You will not write me back or thank me. If you do thank me, it will sound really false. You might make it up to Baltimore, you might just score some drugs. If you do make it up and get into this rehab where eventually they could completely take care of you and put you in a halfway house, but instead you will quit the rehab before it's over. Then no one will hear from you for a while, or you will hurt someone new.

Knowing this, what's a sister to do?