When Olivia notices a change in her stepson\u2019s behavior, she grows increasingly worried. She asks her husband, Patrick, to talk to him, but he gets nothing out of the boy. By chance, Olivia overhears a conversation between Josh and his biological mother, and soon everything is revealed, leaving Olivia shocked and heartsore for the little boy.Like clockwork, every Sunday at 5 p.m., my stepson Josh came back from his mom\u2019s place. And every single Sunday, he would step through our front door, kick off his shoes, and head straight to his room without a word.It was like someone flipped a switch on Josh\u2019s personality with us, transforming him from our cheerful, chatty ten-year-old son into a brooding stranger. And what was worse? He never talked about what happened at his mom\u2019s place. I always wanted to ask him about his mood, but I also didn\u2019t want to push it.<\/p>\n
As much as Josh had accepted me as his stepmother, I didn\u2019t know how much of a role I had in his life. \u201cDo you think he\u2019s okay, Patrick?\u201d I asked my husband one evening as we were making dinner.Josh had just been dropped off, and he was in an exceptionally irritable mood, refusing to talk to both of us. \u201cHonestly, I think he\u2019s perfectly fine,\u201d Patrick said, slicing through a handful of potatoes. \u201cLinda does like to push him, though. I\u2019m sure she gave him a mouthful about studying and school in general.\u201d \u201cYeah, I get that,\u201d I said. \u201cBut I do the same thing, and he\u2019s fine with it. He may make a joke or say something silly, but his mood is exactly the same. So this is nonsense. But again, I know bio-mom has the trump card over step-mom. So, I\u2019m not going to say anything.\u201d\u201dOlivia,\u201d Patrick sighed. \u201cIf you want to talk to him, just go for it. Just walk up to him and ask him whatever you want. But I\u2019ll talk to him after dinner, too.\u201d I nodded. That was exactly what I wanted. I just wanted Patrick to make sure that Josh was okay. Because it hadn\u2019t always been like this. When Josh first came to live with Patrick and me because we were closer to the school he wanted to go to, he was like a bright light.He kept telling stories about his day, asking questions about everything, and he tried hard to get to know me, his new stepmother. We even spent hours just baking away in the kitchen while bonding. But recently, that boy seemed long gone. Now, we had to try really hard to get him out of the hole that he climbed into when he returned from visiting Linda. We\u2019d cook his favorite meals, play games, and even have elaborate movie nights to try to cheer him up.But nothing worked. I hoped that Patrick\u2019s conversation with him after dinner was going to make a difference. \u201cIt was fine, Dad,\u201d he said when Patrick asked him about the weekend. \u201cMom was her usual self, I guess.\u201d I stood in the kitchen, straining to hear their conversation outside while Patrick started a little fire for s\u2019mores.\u201dBut then why are you so sad? Did something happen? Your mom is great, but I know that she\u2019s a lot to deal with,\u201d Patrick chuckled. \u201cIt\u2019s draining being there, Dad,\u201d Josh confessed. \u201cBut I know how important it is for me to keep spending weekends with Mom.\u201d \u201cIt is important,\u201d Patrick agreed. \u201cBut at the same time, if it\u2019s becoming too much, we can always change the arrangement to every second week. Okay?\u201dI could see Josh contemplating the idea, but then his face darkened. \u201cI\u2019m going to bed,\u201d he said. \u201cGood night!\u201d Josh came storming into the kitchen through the door, and I thought he was going to run past me. But he stopped and hugged me tightly.\u201dGood night, Liv,\u201d he said, walking away to his bedroom.Now, I wanted to stop him and ask him to tell me more. But I didn\u2019t want to try too much. I wanted to respect his privacy. I knew the complicated feelings that came with split families, but this? This was different. It wasn\u2019t just the normal adjustment to living in two homes; something else was eating at my stepson, and in turn, it was tearing me apart not knowing what. Then last weekend, things took a turn I never expected.Patrick was out getting my long list of groceries, and I was sitting on the couch, waiting for Josh to come back from his mom\u2019s place. Around 5 p.m., I heard the familiar rumble of his mom\u2019s beat-up sedan pulling into our driveway. A few months ago, our neighborhood had undergone a phase of petty crime, with unruly teenagers helping themselves to whatever they wanted. Since then, Patrick had installed a new security system that was as fancy as they came.If there was too much activity on our porch, the feed would automatically show on our television, the door camera capturing everything going on. It was an easy way for us to see what was going on before we made any sudden movements in retaliation.\u201dIt\u2019s going to make us feel safer, Liv,\u201d Patrick said when he installed the system. \u201cThere\u2019s also an app that we need to download on our phones; it will do the same thing as it does on the TV.\u201dI had to admit, it was a pretty cool device. As I sipped my tea, waiting for Josh to open the door and come in, the feed suddenly changed from my cooking show to the live feed of what was happening on the porch. There they were, Linda and Josh, standing on the porch.\u201dHere\u2019s your cookies,\u201d Linda said, handing Josh a container. \u201cI\u2019ll see you next week. And you know what you have to do\u2026\u201d I watched on the TV as Josh\u2019s face dropped. He didn\u2019t respond to his mother right away. \u201cMom, I don\u2019t want to,\u201d he finally replied.My stomach twisted. I moved closer to the screen, trying to hear more. \u201cYou have to tell them the truth, Mom!\u201d Josh\u2019s voice broke. \u201cI hate lying to Dad, and they know that something is up. If Dad knew that you\u2019re making me steal from his house every week, he\u2019d be so mad!\u201d\u201dStealing?\u201d I whispered to myself, barely able to comprehend what I\u2019d just heard.\u201dAnd what about Liv? She\u2019s going to notice that her things keep disappearing. All the sanitary towels and the lotions\u2026 Mom, I can\u2019t keep doing it.\u201d I knew I wasn\u2019t going insane! Recently I had noticed that my things were getting \u2018finished\u2019 too quickly or going \u2018missing\u2019 often. Now, the truth was coming out. What else had Josh taken for his mother?\u201dSo what, Josh?\u201d Linda hissed. \u201cThey have more than enough money. I told you, I need some of Olivia\u2019s jewelry next time. If I can pawn one of her fancy necklaces or rings, I\u2019ll have enough to cover my debt.\u201d \u201cWhat the heck?\u201d I asked myself out loud. \u201cAnd try and get some money, honey,\u201d Linda continued. \u201cYour father usually keeps a wad of dollars in his sock drawer. He keeps them for an emergency, and helping your mother out is an emergency.\u201dI couldn\u2019t believe that Linda was just standing on my porch manipulating her own son into stealing from his family. I could tell from her voice that she wasn\u2019t giving Josh a choice. She wanted what she wanted.A rush of emotions hit me all at once, but most of all, I felt this crushing weight for Josh. My sweet boy who had been carrying this burden all by himself. It wasn\u2019t a wonder that he had been so out of it lately. Without thinking, I got up and marched to the front door.\u201dLinda, hello,\u201d I said coldly. \u201cHi, Liv,\u201d Josh said, reaching out to hug me. Linda gave me a curt look without saying anything. \u201cI heard all of that,\u201d I said. Josh me a bit tighter, and I could feel his breathing get heavy.\u201dWhat\u2019s going on, Linda?\u201d I asked. \u201cTell me, or I\u2019ll call Patrick right now. Josh, would you please go to your room for a bit, love?\u201dAt the threat of Patrick finding out the truth, Linda spilled her story quickly. She went on about being in debt and falling behind on rent. And that she was struggling to make ends meet, let alone look after herself and Josh. She was desperate and frustrated. \u201cI\u2019ll give you the money to get you back on your feet,\u201d I said. \u201cBut Josh will remain here until you do. And you will not ask that boy for anything else. Do you understand?\u201d \u201cHe\u2019s my son, Olivia,\u201d she said coldly.\u201dYes, your son that you\u2019re teaching to steal from his family. I\u2019ll press charges if you don\u2019t drop this. Take the money and get back to being able to care for Josh. Understand?\u201d Linda nodded slowly, realizing that the implications would be much worse than her pride. \u201cThank you,\u201d she said almost sheepishly. \u201cI\u2019ll transfer the funds to you tonight,\u201d I said. \u201cSend me a breakdown of what you need.\u201d She nodded and walked away.As I opened the front door, ready to get my phone and figure out how I was going to keep this from Patrick, Josh enveloped me.\u201dThank you,\u201d he said, tears streaming down his face. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to steal! I\u2019m so sorry!\u201d \u201cOh, sweet boy,\u201d I said. \u201cIt\u2019s all going to be okay. I\u2019m going to help Linda, and we\u2019re going to fix this in a way that\u2019s better for everyone. I promise.\u201dWhat would you have done? If you enjoyed this story, here\u2019s another one for you: I Noticed That Money Was Disappearing from Our Family Stash \u2014 I Was Shocked When I Found Out Who Was Taking It Judy and her family get into the habit of saving money in a \u201cfamily stash jar,\u201d which is used for emergencies or family outings. But soon, she starts noticing that someone in the family has sticky fingers, helping themselves to the money. Judy has to figure out who it is and what is the reason for such dishonesty.I\u2019m sure that it\u2019s the same for most families. But in our family, honesty is the foundation of everything. I\u2019ve always trusted my husband, Ethan, my 24-year-old son, Josh, and my 17-year-old daughter, Emma, implicitly.So, when money started disappearing from our family stash, it felt like a punch to the gut. We\u2019d always kept a communal jar of cash for emergencies or spontaneous outings, but lately, large sums had been vanishing without explanation. \u201cI must be losing my mind,\u201d I said out loud to myself when I noticed that the jar looked a little different from when I had last put in some money.At first, I thought that it was a simple miscalculation. But as the missing amounts grew from a $50 here, $100 there, and eventually $300 in one go, I couldn\u2019t ignore it anymore. \u201cWho has sticky hands?\u201d I asked the empty kitchen. It gnawed at me, the uncertainty and suspicion creeping into my thoughts. I hated feeling this way about my family.\u201dAre you sure that it\u2019s someone from the house?\u201d my best friend, Misha, asked me when we met for cheesecake and wine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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