Her 'emo' best friend is dangrously out of control

DEAR ABBY: I am a 14-year-old girl, and my friend "Leah" is out of control. She has been going down the wrong path since sixth grade. She is what people call "emo."

She has attempted to end her life more than once. She has sex with lots of boys older than her and has issues with drugs and cutting. She was abused until she was 5 and then adopted. She doesn't seem to have any morals.

She says she wants to become a serial killer and a prostitute when she grows up. She also wants to have a baby in the near future. Leah has borderline personality disorder and probably some others. I have tried talking to her about what she's doing to herself, but she sees nothing wrong with her destructive behavior.

I want Leah to get help before she winds up raped, in prison, or on death row, or becomes a teen mother on the streets. I don't want her to become another number, another statistic. What should I do? Who do I call - the police, social services, a hotline? - Scared for Leah

DEAR SCARED: Your friend appears to be a very troubled and angry girl. If she thinks that by becoming a prostitute or a killer she will be able to assert control in her life where she has none, she's sadly mistaken.

You say she has borderline personality disorder. If that's true, it must have been diagnosed by a licensed psychotherapist. Frankly, I don't think this is anything you can - or should - handle on your own.

If your mother doesn't know what's going on, please tell her so she can alert Leah's mother and Leah can return to her therapist. However, if that's not possible, tell a counselor at school what you have told me so that Leah can receive more treatment before she hurts herself or someone else.