Why was Jake keeping these? None of it belonged to him. And why were they hidden?
I showed the box to Tom that night. He brushed it off. “It’s not that weird,” he said. “He probably just likes having something that makes him feel included.”
Later that week, I sat Lily down and asked her if Jake had ever said or done anything that made her uncomfortable. She looked down, fidgeting.
“He hasn’t… done anything,” she said quietly. “But he asks weird questions. Like if I think you and Dad love each other more than you loved his mom. Or if I think I’d still be an only child if he wasn’t around.”
She paused. “And he stares. A lot.”
Continue reading…
