Author's Note: Hey guys! This is my first story after a very long hiatus. I don't plan on this story being very long, probably only a couple chapters unless people really like it. It takes place when Addison and Derek were engaged in Med school, and Amelia was in high school. It's basically a sweet story about how Addison finds out that Amelia is self harming, and she wants to help her. Please do not read this if it is going to trigger you. If you need help, feel free to send me a PM, and I can help you find hotlines or resources in your area. I'm not sure whether to put this in the private practice or grey's section, but as always, I don't own either. Please leave reviews and give me suggestions on what should happen next! :)
Hurricane Amelia, that's was one of her nicknames. Addison loved her finance's little sister. While Addison and Derek were finishing up Med school, Amelia was in high school. She was seven years younger than Derek, and the youngest of all the Shepherd siblings. The Shepherd siblings were perfect. They got good grades, had flawless teeth, and were polite and responsible. Except for Amelia. Amelia was smart, but school wasn't always a priority for her. She mouthed off a lot, and she struggled with drugs and alcohol. Derek had told Addison that when his father was shot, Amelia was there. Since she had been so young, the event really traumatized her.
Amelia did not get along with her Mother, or her other sisters in the family. Addison had always wanted a little sister, and when she met Amelia, something clicked inside of her. The two women were very different, but they seemed to compliment each other. Derek loved Amelia, he would do anything for her. But he had always described her as "rude" and "difficult", and the family referred to her as a "hurricane". Addison could see how sometimes Amelia could be hard to handle, but she didn't see Amelia the way everyone else did. While her family may think Amelia was rude and selfish, Addison saw a girl who was insecure and lost. That's when Addison decided to take Amelia under her wing. This thrilled Derek and the rest of his family.
"I think it will be good for Amy to have a positive influence in her life like you. She'll have a good role model to look up to." Derek told her when Addison mentioned that she had a special interest in Amy. This made Addison smile, she had always wanted a little sister.
Addison took Amy shopping, and to the movies. She tutored her in school, and encouraged her to look at college applications. Amy was appreciative, and she adored Addie. Though Amelia still struggled with many things, with Addie's support, she was able to bring her grades up, which in return boosted her confidence. When Amelia got her report card, and saw how most of her D's had turned into C's and B's, she threw her arms around Addie.
"Addie! Look! Look how well I did, I can't believe it!" She said with a giant grin on her face. "I never thought I'd get a C in English!"
"I'm so proud of you, you worked so hard!" Addie said, wrapping an arm around the petite brunette. As the two were celebrating, Kathleen, one of Derek's other sisters, walked in.
"You got a C in English? Big deal. Everyone else in the family got straight A's when they were in high school." Kathleen said dismissively as she opened the fridge.
"Shut up Kathleen! You're such an ass. I worked really hard!" Amelia yelled at her. Kathleen rolled her eyes.
"Hey Kath, she worked really hard and she's excited. Could you maybe lay off?" Addison said gently to Kathleen. Kathleen scoffed, and walked out. Amelia looked defeated.
"It's okay, Amy. Don't listen to her. Everyone has different strengths-" Addison tried to say, but Amelia threw her report card in the trash, and stormed off. Derek walked in as Addison fished it out.
"I just saw the hurricane storming down the hall. What happened this time?" Derek said teasingly. But when he saw the seriousness on Addison's face, he stopped.
"Amy worked really hard on her grades this semester. They aren't perfect, but she was really excited. Kathleen walked in and told her that they weren't good enough. That's why she got really upset and stormed off."
"Kathleen doesn't think before she speaks. But that still wasn't very cool of her to say." Derek said, then he bit his lip. "I can't believe Amelia just stormed off, tough. Usually, she'd just tell Kathy to shut up and then ignore her. Amelia has been acting strange recently, though. She's been much more short tempered, and quieter. Has she said anything to you?" Derek asked as he slipped his arm around his red haired fiance.
"No… She hasn't said anything. But I noticed that she's been acting weird too. She doesn't call as much as she used to, and when I took her out to lunch this week, she barely spoke. Comet to think of it, this was the first time I had seen her excited in weeks." Addison said. She ran her fingers through her hair, maybe there was something Amelia wasn't telling them.
"My sisters and I think Amy is using again." Derek said quietly. "Kathleen has been treating her like crap because of it, but we don't have any evidence besides the moodiness. Maybe I should talk to her…"
"How about I talk to her first? I know she trusts you, but if there's something else going on, it might be easier for her to talk to a woman." Addison said as she playfully shoved her husband. Derek blushed and turned his face away.
"Okay, fine. Go ahead and have your girly talk." Derek said, then he kissed Addison's cheek. "Thanks for caring so much about her, Addie. You've really made a difference in her life. I'm going to run to the grocery store and pick some things up, that way you guys can have some privacy." Addison smiled, and left to go find the petite brunette.
"Amy?" Addison asked as she knocked on Amelia's door, but there was no response. Addison opened the door, and found that the lights were off, and no one was in the room. She glanced around the hallways. There was a note, Kathleen and Marge, Derek's other sisters, had left to go to the mall, but Amelia was still home. Just then, Addison heard an audible thud in the bathroom. She quickly ran down the hall to see what it was. But when she opened the door, her job dropped.
It was like someone had punched her in the stomach. All of the life and breath inside of her had escape and was replaced with shock. Sitting on the bathroom floor, looking just as equally shocked to see Addison, was Amy. There were tears streaming down her face. Her sleeves were rolled up, and Addison saw blood dripping from her left wrist.
"Oh my gosh, Amy… What happened." Addison said as she ran over. Amy tried to pull her arm away, but Addison's medical student persona had taken over, and she grasped her arm in her hands. "Did you fall? Did someone hurt you or-"
Just then, Addison saw that the cuts were parallel, as if they were made on purpose. Running Amy's forearms were more cuts and scars. Some were old, and some were in various stages of healing. Addison felt sick as she realized the hard truth.
"Amy, did you…?" Addison said, but Amy wouldn't look at her. She had turned her head away, and was sobbing. "Nevermind. It's okay. I'm gonna patch these up. Please don't run away." Addison whispered. Amy nodded, her entire body trembling. Addison got up, and quickly scavenged the cabinets for bandages. Once she found some, she cleaned the wounds. Oh gosh, these are deep… She almost needs stitches… Addison thought to herself as she wrapped gauze around the teenager's wrists. Once she was done, Addison looked down, and saw razor blade and an exacto knife lying on the floor. Both of them had bloodstains on them. Addison's heart ached, and she had to turn her face away because she didn't want to cry in front of Amelia. She took the sharp tools, and carefully tucked them away in her purse. Amelia was still shaking, and her head was rested between her knees.
"Amy… How… How long has this been going on?" Addison cautiously asked. No response. She awkwardly put her arm around the teen. "It's okay, I'm not going to judge you."
"A couple months…" Amy said weakly as she brought her face up to meet Addison. Addison bit her lip, how could I have missed this?
"Have you cut anywhere else, or is it just your left arm?" Addison was almost afraid to ask. Amy slowly rolled up her right sleeve, and just like the left, her arm was covered in cuts and scars with various stages of healing.
Addison choked back tears, and instinctively wrapped her arms around the ten, pulling her into her chest. Amy flinched, this obviously shocked her. But then she relaxed and settled into Addison's comforting embracing. When she started to quietly cry into Addison's shirt, Addie stroked her hair.
"Why are you doing this? Why would you hurt your beautiful body? What could you have possibly done to deserve this?" Addison asked the broken girl.
"I screw everything up, Addie! No one likes me, I've ruined my family. My sisters and Derek all hate me… I can't do anything right. I deserve this. I deserve to be punished. But it's also the only thing that calms me down, and I don't know why. You can't tell anyone, please." She said as she remained sobbing in Addie's embrace.
"I don't Amy, this is serious… I'm not mad at you, I've heard about this stuff, and I've seen it in the ER." She said as she continued to comfort the struggling girl. It was so hard to hold back tears, she felt sick whenever she thought of the beautiful girl hurting herself.
Suddenly, they heard the front door open downstairs. Amy's older sisters had came back along with Derek, and they were all bickering. Addison glanced at the clock, and she realized that soon she and Derek would have to go back to the hotel. As much as she didn't want to betray the teen's trust, Addison knew that this was a problem she couldn't handle on her own. She needed to tell someone in Amy's intermediate family about it. She decided that she would tell Derek about it tonight when the time was right tonight.
"Okay, Amy. Listen." Addison said as she helped the teen up. "You have my cell phone number. Any time that you feel like doing this to yourself, call or text me. I don't care what time of the day it is, I'll do my best to answer. We can talk about what's triggering you. Derek and I are in town for a few more days, so I'll touch base with you tomorrow, okay? I love you so much, okay? You don't screw everything up. To me, you're perfect." She said as she gave Amelia one last hug.
"Thanks Addie.." Addison heard the teen mumble. Addison had never had someone hug her so tight before. She held the teen for a few extra seconds.
As the pair were exiting the bathroom, Derek was coming up the stairs. "Hey, Addie." He said, taking her hand. "Are you ready to go?" He asked as he wrapped an arm around her.
Addie glanced back at Amelia, who nodded at her, signaling she was okay as she crept back into her bedroom.
Addison turned her attention back to Derek, "Yes, let's go." She said. As the two said their goodbyes for the night, and climbed back into their car, Addison had a sinking feeling in her stomach. How was she going to tell Derek what was going on with Amy?