After my dad passed away, I thought the worst was behind me. I had no idea my stepmom and her grown kids were about to turn my grief into something much worse, and then, my mom showed up with the one thing they never saw coming.

After my parents split up, I stayed with my dad.

Not because I didn’t love my mom. I did. But she was moving out of state, and I didn’t want to leave my school, my friends, or the room I’d grown up in. Both of my parents understood.

When Dad married Sharon, I tried to make it work. She didn’t.

She barely tolerated me. Her smiles felt fake, and her tone always came with a sting.

Like when she’d say, “You left your plate in the sink, again,” but in that sugary-sweet voice that screamed, You’re not really wanted here.

Her adult kids, Mark and Lisa, were just as bad. They’d breeze in like they owned the place, eating Dad’s food, turning up the TV, and rolling their eyes at me like I was some stray dog he hadn’t kicked out yet.

But Dad had my back.

Always.

He never let them push me around. If Sharon got snippy, he’d deflect. If Mark started making snide remarks, Dad would shut it down fast. He was the buffer between me and all of them. And that made it bearable. That made it home.

Then he died.

Just like that. A heart attack on a random Tuesday. I was still in shock when we had the funeral. It felt like I was floating through it, totally zoned out.

Everyone said the usual stuff: He was a good man, He loved you so much, He’s in a better place now. I wanted to scream at them all.

After the service, I didn’t want to go back to the house. There were just too many memories. Too much tension. So I stayed the night at my best friend Maddy’s place, just a few blocks away.

Her family understood that I just needed some time to clear my head.

The next morning, I walked home.

I should’ve known something was off. The driveway was empty, but the porch… was packed.

With all my stuff. My clothes, books, the picture of me and Dad fishing when I was eight, and much more were tossed into cardboard boxes like trash.

A sweater I thought I lost was hanging halfway out, dragging on the porch step.

I blinked at it, confused. “What the…?”

I dropped my bag and ran up to the door.

Locked.

I jiggled the knob, knocked, knocked harder. That’s when the door opened, and Sharon stood there with arms crossed and a smug look on her face.

Behind her, Mark leaned against the hallway wall, smirking. Lisa was sitting on the stairs, scrolling through her phone, barely looking up.

“You didn’t actually think you’d stay here, did you?” Sharon said, tilting her head. “This house is for family.”

My mouth opened, but nothing came out.

“This was your father’s home,” she went on. “And now he’s gone, so as his wife, it’s mine, and it’s time for my family to move forward. I suggest you do the same.”

I was heartbroken. And homeless. Just days after burying my father.

I whispered, “You’re kicking me out?”

Lisa laughed quietly, finally looking up from her phone and giving me a smirk. Mark grinned in much the same way.

“You have no right,” I said, my voice breaking.

Sharon chuckled. “Oh, sweetie. I do. Now, please take your things and leave. If you don’t, I’ll have no choice but to call the police.”

With that, she shut the door in my face. I knew she would make good on her threat, so I scrambled to grab what I could: my backpack, a tote bag stuffed with clothes, and the framed picture of me and Dad.

My fingers were shaking so badly that I dropped it once. I was still in the yard when I felt eyes on me. Our neighbor, Mrs. Jenkins, was standing on her porch, watching.

She came over quietly and said, “If you need somewhere to go, I have a spare couch.”

I probably should’ve gone back to Maddy’s, but I was so shocked that I could barely nod and say thank you to the kind older woman.

That night, I sat on her couch, hugging my knees to my chest, the porch light barely reaching through the living room window.

I felt small. Lost. Like everything solid in my life had cracked open.

And then I pulled out my phone. I didn’t want to do this.

My mom hadn’t been able to take off work to come to Dad’s funeral to support me. But I just didn’t know what else to do.

So, I called her.

“Mom?” My voice cracked, and she immediately got worried. “No, I’m okay. I mean… well, not really. It’s Sharon… she changed the locks. She said the house is for family and kicked me out.”

“What?!”

“I know you couldn’t come because of work, but I’m now at Mrs. Jenkins’. I guess I could take a bus tomorrow—”

“No,” Mom cut me off. “You stay put. I’ll be there in a few hours.”

And she hung up. She drove through the night.

When I woke up around six the next morning, I heard her car pull into Mrs. Jenkins’s driveway. I ran outside barefoot.

She stepped out, and I jumped into her arms.

For a moment, I didn’t say anything. Neither did she.

Then she pulled back and looked me in the eye.

“Sweetheart, I gotta tell you something. Something he didn’t want you to know,” she said. “And there’s more he didn’t want Sharon and her kids to know, either.”

I blinked. “What do you mean?”

She took a deep breath. “Sweetie, I didn’t drive up for your Dad’s funeral because… of why we separated. I cheated on him. He wouldn’t have wanted me there. We ended on horrible terms, but we hid it well. None of us wanted you to know the truth,” she confessed, not meeting my eyes for a second. “I was so ashamed, too.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” I muttered. This was not the time to reveal such a bombshell!

“I know. I was awful, but I’m telling you now because,” she paused, swallowing. “I wanted to make it right somehow. So, I paid off the entire mortgage after the divorce in one lump sum. And although the deed was in my name, I told your father that it would always be his home and yours.”

I stepped back from her, shaking my head. “Dad let you do that? Even after…?”

“Yes, but as it was always his intention to gift it to you one day,” she continued.

“I can’t believe this.”

“I know it’s a lot to take in,” Mom insisted. “But, Cynthia, that means Sharon doesn’t own that house, because your dad never did. And I brought the deed with me to prove it.”

At that moment, Mrs. Jenkins’ voice registered. “Why don’t you both come inside? It looks like you have a real eviction to figure out,” she said, looking between us with her kind smile.

Finally, I grinned too. “Okay,” I breathed.

We waited until the weekend. Sharon and her kids had taken off somewhere.

Mom called a locksmith Saturday morning.

I stood there as the guy changed the locks. Watched as Mom calmly directed a moving company to pack up Sharon’s and her kids’ stuff—neatly—and place everything on the lawn.

Early Monday morning, I heard their car pull up.

I didn’t even have to look. I heard the scream.

“What the hell is this?!” Sharon’s voice cut through the air like a siren.

But I peeked through the window. She was in slippers, a travel hoodie, and her eyes were puffy. Mark was shouting behind her, and Lisa was crying.

“This is OUR house!” Sharon shrieked. “Open this door RIGHT NOW!”

Sharon’s jaw dropped as she stared at the paper. “What is that?”

“It’s the deed to the house,” Mom continued. “I own it. See? My ex-husband never did. So, you threw my daughter out illegally. I simply corrected your mistake.”

Mark made a sound like an angry dog and tried to shove past her.

Mom stepped in his way. “You come any closer, and I’ll call the police.”

He stopped.

They went on for like ten minutes. Sharon was crying. Lisa flopped onto a box, wailing dramatically. And some other neighbor must have called the cops for the disturbance.

We had to explain everything while Sharon, Mark, and Lisa tried to play the victim with the officers. In the end, they had nothing.

The cops told them to leave, and they were forced to pick up their things and drive away. We watched it all from inside the house.

Once they were gone, we sat on the couch, and I felt like I could breathe again.

“You okay?” Mom asked.

I nodded. “Better.”

She smiled. “So, now that that’s done, we’ll get the deed in your name as soon as you’re 18. That’s only a few weeks away. I want you to have a future they can’t touch.”

I didn’t say anything right away. I just hugged her.

At that moment, I didn’t care what she’d done in the past. That could wait.

For now, I could just relax and truly take the time to mourn my father… safely, in our home.