A single mother had shared a story on Reddit’s r/TrueOffMyChest subreddit. The mother shared that her son’s friend’s parents wanted to adopt him, as they made an offer to the single mother.
The OP stated that the father of her son left them years ago, as he is not paying any child support. As it was not enought, her parents had disowned her too. OP explained that she left highschool to work, and provide a enough future for her son. As she worked hard for her son, OP explained that they are not that poor, but not wealthy either.
OP explained, “We aren’t on the poverty line by any means, but we definitely live paycheck to paycheck, in a one bedroom apartment. It’s not ideal and I hope within the next couple of years, we’ll be some place bigger.”
She tried to raise her son with values, that money is not everything. OP explained, “I’ve raised Owen to know that money isn’t everything. We may not have a lot. He won’t always have the newest this or that. But we have each other. The two of us are very close. He has never gone without the basics, but I admit, he doesn’t get a lot of fun extras.”
OP stated that she is saving money so her son would enjoy holidays and vacations, but with simple things. As she was thinking that her son was okay with the situation, recently he changed a little.
Then she stated that in his second year at shool, her son met with his friend, Charlie. And her son started to go over Charlie’s house, so they were enjoying their time together. OP shared, “I met Charlie’s parents, Nate and Paige a couple of times before this began. They seemed very nice and supportive. Owen always had a great time at their house. Charlie occasionally came to our apartment, but usually they were at his place.”
OP shared that it is easy to find a care for summer breaks, since there are many camps that OP can register her son, so he would not stay alone at home, while she is working, but in 2022, she missed the schedule, and couldn’t register her son at any camp. Then Charlie’s mother, Pagie offered to take care of Owen, for a while, since she was a stay-at-home mother.
And later, the family invited Owen to their vacation, which OP was heistant about it. But she thought that she could never give the same experience to her son, so she allowed it. OP shared, “I kept telling Nate and Paige that there’s no way I could ever pay them back and they kept insisting that they loved having Owen around. They told me what a great kid he is. Sweet, respectful.”
Then, at one point, in her conversation with Paige, OP learned that parents of Charlie tried so hard for pregnancy, and they failed after Charlie. They wanted another child. Paige explained that this was why they are enjoy their time spend with Owen, as both of the children are enjoying their time.
OP shared, “Should this have been a red flag? Maybe. But at the same time, I found it sweet that the boys considered each other brothers. I thought it was innocent. Surely, Paige and Nate knew the truth. Right? Right?”
At the Christmas of 2022, the parents of Charlie insisted to have Owen over for Christmas, since Charlie and Owen would like to spend time together. OP shared, “They ended up getting him more Christmas gifts than I did. I tried to set my pride aside because it was about Owen, not me. This is still when things finally started seeming off to me. I understood a gift on his birthday and while they didn’t get him as many gifts at they got Charlie, it was a lot more than you would typically get your kid’s friend.”
And as OP started to come to the point, she explained that this year’s spring break, the parents of Charlie wanted to spend time with Owen a lot more, as they wanted to take care of him for the whole week. OP thought it would be good, since she could go to more extra shifts, so she would be able to get a more valuable gift for her son’s birthday.
As she went to pick her son from Charlie’s house, Paige and Nate wanted to talk with OP, as they stated their intentions about Owen. They stated that she could be let them be the legal guardians of Owen, as he would have a better life, and they added that she should think about her son.
She took her son, and left immediately as she was shocked. She couldn’t believe that they were trying to steal her son, as they were seeming to help OP.
Then she blocked their numbers, talked with her son’s school about the situation, and didn’t let them to pick her son from school, and talked to police about the issue. Op explained, “I do not feel safe with them around each other. They understood. There’s not much they can do outside making sure they never pick him up. It’s too late in the year to move classes but next year, Charlie and Owen will not be in the same class.”
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