[Daring Scylla]

As for age, the kid is 17, though her maturity level and intelligence are head and shoulders above most adults i know. she's brilliant.
her parents are convinced there's something wrong with her, but all they want to do is dump her with a shrink and throw pills at her. it's rubbish. she refuses to have anything to do with either, and with good reason. her parents try to fit her in a box and it doesn't help matters at all.

when I tell her she's starting to scare me, she tones it down immediately. she finds ways to cleverly change the subject, distract me or others, anything to direct the focus of attention away from herself and her problems. if I tell her parents, a professional (doctor, psychoanalyst, etcetera) she considers it a betrayal and distrusts me. Which she does right now.

i love her but i can't be ruining my life to solve her problems, whatever they may be. but i can't give up on her just yet.