Free Inked on Paper by Nicole Edwards Page A

sophomore this year, so I figured that was a large part of why things were better. Freshman year of high school sucked; didn’t matter who you were. New school, older kids, teachers who were hanging by a thread of sanity… It was no wonder it’d been so rough for her last year.
    “And your grades?”
    Abby rolled her eyes and smiled. “All As, as usual.”
    That didn’t surprise me. Although she’d had a rough time, Abby had never let her grades slip, not even when she’d transferred schools in the middle of the school year.
    “And your mom?” I probed.
    “A pain in the ass,” she said, her eyes once again cast down at the table.
    “In a good way or a bad way?” I knew that Paige had been overprotective since Abby’s suicide attempt, which I couldn’t necessarily blame her for. Shit, she’d been that way even before that. I figured it had a lot to do with Paige becoming a mother at such a young age.
    “She’s better than she was,” Abby admitted. “It helps that the counselor is telling her to back off.”
    Fifteen was a rough age for any kid. And since Paige had gotten pregnant with Abby when she was a senior in high school, and Abby’s father was a low-life small-time drug dealer who spent more time in jail than out of it, she’d had it harder than some kids.
    “She loves you,” I reminded Abby.
    “I know she does. That doesn’t mean she has to check my cell phone every day, or monitor my emails.”
    I grabbed a napkin and wiped my mouth, watching my niece carefully. At fifteen, she looked a lot older than that. And she was very pretty. Too pretty, at times, and I knew that worried Paige. Abby had shown an interest in boys from an early age, and I knew my sister worried that Abby would go down the same path she had.
    But Abby and I had had this conversation time and time again, and I could tell by the look on her face that she knew what I was about to say. Before I could get the words out, she put her hand up.
    “Save it, Uncle Jake. I get it. I fucked up. I did something stupid.”
    She didn’t need me to lecture her, but whenever I was with her, I was compelled to see how she was. And not the basic questions that meant little to anyone. Since that fateful day when she’d tried to kill herself, things had certainly changed for Abby. I would like to think for the better, and that was due to my sister’s devotion to getting Abby medical help for her mental illness. Shortly after the attempt, Abby had been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, and according to the doctor, if left untreated, things would go south again quickly.
    “You’re still taking your meds, right?”
    “I am.” Abby sat up straight. “I promise I’m not that same kid anymore.”
    Reaching out, I touched her hand. “I know that and your mom knows that, too. But you have to be patient with us all. We love you, Abs. That’s why we’re being a pain in your ass.”
    I smiled, and she returned it.
    “Thanks for taking me to the movie. Even if it was a crappy one,” Abby said, looking more like the little kid I used to see only on holidays. “It helps.”
    “What? Seeing crappy movies?” I joked. “Whatever works, kid. I’ve got a list of all-time bad movies, so we’re set for some time if that’s what you need.”
    Her laugh was genuine, and I could see the light had returned in her eyes, which made me breathe a little easier.
    “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” I offered.
    “I know that. And Mom tells me the same thing. And I’ll talk. When I need to.”
    “Still seeing the therapist?”
    Abby nodded.
    “Is it helping?”
    Her gaze lifted once more and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Actually, it is. A lot more than I’d ever admit to Mom.”
    “Well, your secret’s safe with me.”
    The two of us ate in silence for a few minutes, and when Abby’s plate was nearly empty, I forced myself to stop eating, leaning back in the booth and spreading my arms across the back. “What