Chapter 2

David accompanied Alex while Alex ate. I went ahead and made up the bed in the guest room.

It was getting late, so after Alex finished eating, I urged David to take him to bed.

Over an hour later, David finally came back to our bedroom, looking really down.

I rolled over and asked, "So, what's really going on?"

David let out a heavy sigh before answering, "Before dinner, Alex was hungry, so he grabbed a cookie. Turns out, it was his little brother, Ryan's favorite.

"Ryan saw it and started bawling and throwing a tantrum. His stepdad, Mark, got pissed, thought Alex was bullying him, and kicked him out."

My chest tightened.

No wonder Alex freaked out when I offered him a cookie earlier.

"What about his mom? Didn't she try to stop it?" I asked.

David sighed again. "Linda only cares about her younger son now. She doesn't care about Alex anymore."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Alex lives on campus, and they only give him 15 dollars a week for living expenses. The kid's never had a full meal.

"They never buy him clothes or shoes. Everything he wears is hand-me-downs from his classmates."

I was speechless.

No wonder Alex looked so sickly and his clothes barely fitted.

"You sent them 1000 dollars every month for child support, plus extra for holidays, and paid his school fees separately. How could they treat Alex like this?

"Your own son is suffering, and you had no clue?" I couldn't help but get more upset.

David lowered his head, looking ashamed. "Linda always said he hated me. She never let him talk to me, and she never wanted me to visit.

"The last time I saw Alex was six years ago. Back then, he was still healthy and happy.

"When I left, he told me Linda didn't want him to see me, and asked me not to come looking for him anymore."

I was at a loss for words.

"He probably doesn't really hate you. Maybe he doesn't want to upset Linda," I said.

David nodded, his eyes red. "When I played with him, he was really happy. But in the end, he cried when he told me those things.

"I didn't want him stuck between me and Linda, so I agreed. But I gave him my phone number and address, and told him to reach out if he ever missed me."

I asked, "Linda remarried after that, right?"

David nodded. "Yeah, five years ago. After she remarried, she started ignoring Alex more and more."

I snorted. "Guess that's why people say once you get a stepmom or stepdad, it's like rolling the dice all over again."

David glanced at me and smiled. "Hey, not all step-parents are bad, you know."

I didn't really know how to respond, so I kept quiet.

Honestly, I wanted to keep our life peaceful.

David, worried I might overthink it, quickly said, "Seriously, you don't have to stress about this. I'll handle Linda."

I thought it over for a moment before speaking. "Linda's heart is all in her new family now. If you go accuse her and Mark of mistreating Alex, it'll only backfire.

"So here's the plan: since Alex lives at school most of the time, let him stay with us during the holidays."

David looked like he wanted to object, but I raised my hand to stop him. "I've got a couple of rules.

"First, I can't stand bratty kids or anyone who's obviously scheming. But Alex doesn't seem like either.

"Second, stop sending them 1000 dollars a month in child support. They're not spending it on Alex anyway."

I laid it all out, no holding back. "Give the money you save, plus any holiday cash, straight to Alex. And pay his school fees directly to the teachers."

Alex was David's son, so I didn't mind David spending on Alex.

But I drew the line at him footing the bill for Linda's new family.

David thought for a moment, then nodded. "You're right."

*****

David made sure Alex's clothes were washed and dried before finally getting ready for bed.

Normally, David and I loved to sleep in on holidays.

But since Alex was staying over, we both got up early for a change.

David went to wake Alex, and when he opened the door, he found Alex sitting on the edge of the bed, lost in thought.

"Hey, why are you up so early?" David asked.

Alex looked a little embarrassed. "I'm used to it."

David stepped in and handed him the clean clothes. "Get dressed, wash up, and let's head out for breakfast."

After breakfast at a little diner outside our neighborhood, we took Alex shopping for new clothes.

Alex kept insisting he already had clothes and didn't need anything new.

Pregnancy had made me even less patient than usual, so I snapped, "We're buying new clothes, end of story. No more arguing!"

Alex stared at me, totally dumbfounded.

David laughed and patted Alex's shoulder. "Julia runs the show here. Whatever she says, goes."

Alex dropped his head and mumbled, "Okay."

His voice had a tiny quiver, like he was holding back tears.

I thought I'd scared him, so I quickly softened my tone. "Sorry, I can be a bit bad tempered sometimes. Don't let it bother you, alright?"

Alex shook his head, his voice thick with emotion. "No, Julia, you're really nice."

I understood right then that he wasn't scared at all.

But I kept that to myself. There was no need to say it out loud.

"Alright then, let's hit the mall and try to get everything done before lunch," I said.

We spent the whole morning at the mall.

We got Alex three sets of clothes, two pairs of shoes, a new backpack, and a smartwatch.

Every time we picked something out, Alex tried to refuse, saying he didn't need it.

It drove me crazy. I couldn't help but glare at him every time.

For lunch, we went out for barbecue.

But Alex kept eating breadsticks and salad, so I had to nudge David to pile more meat onto his plate.

When we got home in the afternoon, I talked to David before my nap.

"Alex is way too careful around us. You need to sit him down and let him know he doesn't have to tiptoe here," I said.

David sighed. "He's used to acting that way at his mom's place."

I sighed too. "That's exactly why you need to be patient and help him loosen up."

David nodded. "Go ahead and rest. I'll take care of it."