“A waste of money. Besides, we have more important things to worry about than your stray dogs.”
Little Kyle reached for Leo with a happy smile—he always adored his older stepbrother—but his mother sharply pulled him back.
“Don’t touch him, he’s filthy. Kyle, go to your room.”
Brenda stood up and looked sternly at her stepson.
“Tomorrow after school, you’re cleaning the entire house. I’m going out with my friends, so have it spotless by the time I get back.”
Leo nodded silently and went to his room. On his desk, a simple frame held a photograph: him with his parents at their lake house three years ago. His mom was smiling, her arm around his shoulders, while his dad looked at the camera with pride. Those days now felt like a distant fairy tale.
Around nine o’clock, the phone rang. Leo rushed out of his room, hoping it was his father—David Miller had been on a business trip for a week and hadn’t been in touch.
“Hello?” Leo answered cheerfully.
“Good evening, this is the veterinary clinic. Did you bring in an injured dog today?”
A flicker of disappointment crossed Leo’s face, but he quickly perked up.
“Yes, that was me. How is he?”
“He’s doing great, the surgery was a success. The little guy is recovering well and should be able to walk in a few days.”
“Thank you so much!” Leo smiled for the first time all day.
When he hung up, Brenda’s sarcastic voice drifted from the kitchen.
“So, did your mutt survive? They’ll probably ask for more money for the treatment.”
“The important thing is that he’s going to be healthy,” Leo replied.
He tried calling his father’s number, but it went straight to voicemail. He tried a few more times with the same result.
“Daddy’s busy with real work. He doesn’t have time for you,” Brenda said casually as she walked by.
Leo went back to his room, lay on his bed, and clutched the old photograph of his mother. Eleanor had died two years ago after a long illness. His dad had been different then: attentive, caring. But everything changed after he married Brenda.
The next morning, a sharp knock on the door woke Leo.
“Get up, you lazy bum!” Brenda yelled. “You’ll be late for school.”
At breakfast, Brenda only served Kyle. The little boy got warm pancakes with syrup and cocoa. For Leo, she tossed a piece of dry toast onto a plate.
“Is there any milk?” Leo asked cautiously.
“We’re out. You should have thought about that yesterday before you spent your money on that dog.”
Kyle accidentally spilled some juice on the table. Brenda instantly whirled on Leo.
“You’re the one who taught him to be so messy!”
“What does that have to do with me?” Leo said, surprised. “He’s just a little kid, accidents happen.”
“Don’t you talk back to me!”
Brenda stood up and raised her hand. A sharp slap stung his cheek. Leo pressed his hand to his face, feeling tears well up in his eyes.
“When your father is out of the picture, my son will be the man of this house,” Brenda hissed. “You remember that.”
Leo grabbed his backpack and ran out of the house. Behind him, he heard Brenda on the phone with someone.
“Yes, tomorrow it’ll all be over. I’ll finally be rid of him.”
At school, Leo couldn’t focus on his lessons. His left cheek still burned from the slap, and his stepmother’s words echoed in his head. What did she mean?
“Leo, what happened to your face?” his classmate Dan asked during a break, noticing the red mark.
“Nothing, I fell at home,” Leo lied.
In math class, the teacher called him to the board to solve a problem, but he couldn’t even understand the question—his mind was a million miles away.
“Miller, you’re not prepared for class,” Mrs. Peterson said sternly. “That’s an F.”
Leo silently returned to his seat. After class, the teacher came over to his desk.
“What’s going on, Leo? You’ve always been such a good student.”
“Everything’s fine, Mrs. Peterson,” he answered quietly.
During lunch, Leo tried calling his dad from the school office, but the number was still unavailable. The anxiety in his chest grew with every passing minute.
Leo got home around three-thirty. By the front door stood two suitcases: one large, one small. His heart began to pound. In the living room, Brenda was waiting for him with a cold smirk. Little Kyle was playing with his toy cars in the corner, oblivious to what was happening.
“Get your things,” Brenda said curtly. “You’re going to stay with relatives.”
“What relatives?” Leo felt the floor drop out from under him.
“Your father isn’t coming back from his business trip,” Brenda said harshly. “There’s no money, and I’m not about to feed someone else’s child.”
She pulled a document from her purse and handed it to Leo. An official form, stamps, signatures—it all looked real. It was a death certificate for David Miller. Cause of death: heart attack.
“No… This isn’t true!” Leo grabbed the paper with trembling hands. “Dad couldn’t have died!”
“He could, and he did. You can read it for yourself.”
“I’m not going anywhere!” Leo fell to his knees. “This is my home!”
“This is *my* home,” Brenda corrected him coldly. “And I decide who lives here.”
Kyle dropped his cars and ran to Leo.
“Leo, are you crying? Don’t cry!” The little boy wrapped his arms around his stepbrother’s neck.
“Kyle, get away from him!” his mother snapped, pulling her son away and leading him to his room.
Leo was left alone in the living room with the suitcases and the death certificate in his hands. Outside, the sky was beginning to darken.
The next morning, Brenda loaded Leo’s suitcases into her silver sedan. The boy sat in the back seat, still unable to believe what was happening. He clutched the certificate, hoping it was all just a terrible nightmare.
“Where are we going?” he asked quietly.
“To your Aunt Susan’s,” Brenda answered curtly, without turning around. “She lives out in the country. She agreed to take you in.”
Leo had never heard of an Aunt Susan, but he said nothing. The car left the city and sped down a snow-dusted highway. Bare fields and scattered trees flew past the window. An hour later, Brenda turned onto a dirt road.
“We’re almost there,” she said, but her voice held no trace of sympathy.
Another thirty minutes later, the car stopped at the edge of a dense forest. There wasn’t a single house in sight, only snow-covered pines and firs stretching into the distance.
“Get out,” Brenda ordered. “Follow the path straight ahead. Aunt Susan’s house is down there.”
Leo hesitantly grabbed his suitcase and got out of the car. A narrow, snow-covered path did indeed lead from the road into the woods.
“Aren’t you coming with me?” he asked.
“I don’t have time,” Brenda snapped. “Go on, you’re not a little kid.”
Leo started walking down the path, dragging his heavy suitcase behind him. After a few yards, he turned back to wave goodbye, but all he saw were the red taillights of the car as it sped away.
“Wait!” he yelled. “Where are you going?!”
Comments are closed.