Reddit Stories - Mother and new HUSBAND DEPARTED for their family trip, NEGLECTING to inform me,

Episode Date: July 16, 2025

#redditstories #askreddit #aita #familytrip #neglect #communication #relationships #betrayalSummary: Mother and new husband departed for their family trip, neglecting to inform me. Feeling betrayed by their lack of communication, I am left questioning the strength of our relationships.Tags: redditstories, askreddit, reddit, aita, tifu, familytrip, neglect, communication, relationships, betrayal, mother, husband, departure, family, trip, communicationbreakdown, trustissues, familydrama, emotionalpain, feelingbetrayedBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reddit-stories--6237355/support.

I hope you enjoy this story. Mother and new husband departed for their family trip, neglecting to inform me, hence I departed and sought refuge at my father's residence, only to discover that the residence was burglarized in my absence. I was gone and they are now demanding that I pay for damages. I'm 16, and things have been weird for a while now. I just need to know if I'm the crazy one here, because everyone, or at least my mom's side of everyone, is acting like I burned down the city or something.

It all started, well, it didn't start recently. It's been going on for like two years, ever since my mom married my stepdad. Let's call him Travis. He came with two kids, a son who's 14 now and a daughter who's 17. From day one, it was like I wasn't really there. It wasn't like they were mean, not at first. It was just nothing. It was like I was a piece of furniture they just didn't use.

Travis would talk to his kids, and my mom would talk to his kids, and they'd all talk to each other. I'd be sitting right there at the dinner table, and it was like I had an invisibility cloak on, but not a cool one. I tried, you know? In the beginning, I really tried. I'd ask about their day. I'd try to join in conversations. I'd offer to help with stuff. But it was like talking to a wall, a wall that would sometimes grunt or nod but mostly just look through me. My mom was the worst in a way because she should have seen it. She should have noticed. But she was so wrapped up in her new family, this perfect little picture she wanted,

that I just didn't fit into it anymore. She'd say things like, oh, you're just being sensitive, or they're just busy settling in. Two years is a long time to settle in, right? So after about a year of trying and getting nothing back, just this empty space where a conversation should be, I just stopped. Why bother? It hurt too much to keep putting myself out there and getting ignored. So I just lived in my room mostly. I did my schoolwork, I read books, I talked to my friends online, and I visited my bio dad every other weekend, which was the only time I felt like a real person. He knew things were bad,

but I don't think I ever really explained how bad, how it felt to be a ghost in your own home. It's a hard thing to explain without sounding like you're just complaining or looking for attention. I wasn't looking for attention, I just wanted to exist, to be seen. The house became like two separate worlds. There was them, living their family life downstairs, laughing, watching movies, making plans. And there was me, upstairs, living my own life in silence. We didn't eat together anymore unless my mom forced it, and those meals were awful. Just me pushing food around my plate while they talked about things I wasn't involved in.

Birthdays came and went. Mine was usually a quick happy birthday from my mom and maybe a card, while there's were big deals with presents and cake and everyone involved. It was clear where I stood, or rather, where I didn't stand. I got used to it, in a way. I built up a wall, I guess. I focused on my dad, on my plans after high school, on just getting through it. I figured two more years and I'd be out, and I could handle that.

I thought I could. Then came last month. It was the start of summer vacation, and I knew they were planning something because they'd been whispering and looking at brochures. But surprise, surprise, nobody told me anything. I just assumed I wasn't invited, which honestly didn't even sting that much anymore. It was just expected. I figured they'd go, and I'd have the house to myself, which said, sounded pretty good, or I'd go stay with my dad. Nobody asked me my plans, and I didn't offer.

So one Tuesday morning, I woke up, and the house was silent, like, really silent. Usually, even when they're ignoring me, I can hear them moving around, the TV, something. But there was nothing. I went downstairs, and it was empty. Their cars were gone. Their bedrooms were empty, clothes were missing. There was no note, no text, no call, nothing. They were just gone. I wasn't even sure what to feel at first. Was it a mistake?

Did they forget me? But how do you forget someone who lives in your house? Then I saw the little pile of mail on the counter, and under it was a postcard they'd clearly meant to mail later, one of those cheesy tourist ones from some beach resort a thousand miles away. It was addressed to Travis's parents. They hadn't forgotten me. They had left me, intentionally, without a word.

And that's when it hit me, not sadness, just pure, cold anger. This wasn't just ignoring me, this was abandoning me. I'm 16, not six. I can look after myself, but to just leave without even a note? To not even check if I had food or money or anything? It was like the final proof that I meant absolutely nothing to them. them, less than nothing. All those times I questioned myself, wondered if I was being too sensitive, if I was imagining it, all that doubt just vanished. I knew, with absolute certainty,

that they didn't care if I lived or died, as long as I didn't interfere with their perfect family. I stood there in that empty house, and something just snapped. I wasn't going to be their ghost anymore. I wasn't going to wait around for them to come back and pretend like nothing happened or, worse, yell at me for something. I was done. Completely and utterly done. I went upstairs and packed my bags. I took everything that mattered to me, my clothes, my books, my laptop, my pictures, everything. It didn't take long because I didn't have much that tied me to that house. Then I called my dad. I was shaking, I was so angry, and I just told him, they left, Dad. They went on vacation and they just left me here.

I can't stay here. I'm coming to your place. My dad, bless him, didn't even hesitate. He just said, okay, honey, I'm on my way. Are you okay? And I just broke down. I started crying right there on the phone. Not because I was sad they left, but because

someone actually cared, someone was coming for me. It felt like I hadn't cried in two years. He drove over, helped me load my stuff, and I didn't even look back as we drove away. I didn't leave a note. Why should I? They didn't leave one for me. I locked the door the way I always did when I left the house, and I left. I spent the next two weeks at my dad's, and it was normal. We talked, we ate together, he asked about my day, he treated me like a person. It felt strange but good. I didn't think about them much. I just focused on feeling human again. I blocked their numbers because I didn't want to hear from them. I just wanted peace. Then, about a week ago, my dad got a call. It was my mom, and she was hysterical. I couldn't hear

everything, but I heard robbed, everything gone, and your daughter. My dad looked pale. He hung up and told me that while they were away, their house, that house, had been broken into and robbed. They'd lost a lot of stuff, electronics, jewelry, a bunch of things. And they were blaming me. My mom called my dad back, and he put her on speaker. She was screaming, just absolutely screaming, that it was all my fault. She said that because I left the house empty, I made it a target. She said I must have left a window open or the door unlocked, even though I know, I know, I locked it. I always do, it's a habit. Travis got on the phone too, yelling that I was irresponsible, that I had abandoned my responsibility. What responsibility? The responsibility

of being there unpaid, invisible security guard? He said I must have told someone the house was empty, maybe one of my friends, and that they did it. It was insane. They were just throwing everything at the wall to see what stuck. They said that since it was my fault, I was responsible for the damages. They said my dad and I needed to pay them back for everything that was stolen. They even had a list, apparently. They wanted thousands of dollars. From me. A 16-year-old kid they literally abandoned before a vacation. I just couldn't believe it. After two years of treating me like I didn't exist,

after leaving me behind without a single word, their first thought when something bad happens is to blame me and demand money? It's not just unfair, it's twisted. My dad told them where to go, in much politer terms than I would have used. He told them they were delusional, that they were the ones who left a minor home alone,

that they were lucky he wasn't taking action against them, and that there was no way in hell we were paying them a single sense. They screamed some more and hung up. Now they're texting me, and my mom is texting my dad, constantly. It's a mix of threats and guilt trips. You owe us. How could you be so selfish? You've ruined our lives.

This is all your fault. But I know it's not my fault. I didn't ask to be left alone. I didn't ask to be ignored for two years. I didn't ask for their house to be wrong. I just left a situation that was unbearable, a situation they created. If they had been there, or if they had told me they were leaving, maybe things would be different. But they didn't.

They left an empty house, not me. I left before it was empty because they made it empty of any care for me. My dad is completely on my side. He says they're just trying to find someone to blame and maybe get some money because insurance probably won't cover everything. Am I wrong for leaving the house after they abandoned me, and for refusing to take any blame or pay for the robbery that happened when no one was home? First update. First off, thanks. I didn't expect so many people to read this, let alone comment. It's a lot. Reading through the responses was really validating. So many people said I wasn't wrong, and that meant a lot.

because when your own mother is screaming at you that you've ruined her life, it can mess with your head a bit, even when you know, deep down, you're right. My dad reads some of them too, and he just kept nodding and saying, see? I told you. So, a few things have happened since I first wrote about this. The calls and texts didn't stop, not at first. They got worse for a while. My mom and Travis seemed to take turns.

One day it would be my mom, crying and saying how could I do this to her, how I was ungrateful, how she did everything for me, which, like, what? The next day it would be Travis, all angry and threatening, talking about how I needed to learn responsibility, how this was a serious matter and I needed to face the consequences. It was exhausting. Every time my phone buzzed, my stomach would clench up. I kept blocking their numbers, but they'd just call from different ones or leave voice. My dad wanted to report them for harassment, but I just wanted it to stop.

I didn't want more drama, you know? One call really sticks out. It was Travis, and he was furious. He didn't even say hello. He just started yelling the second my dad answered, he started answering my phone for me sometimes. Travis yelled that the police had told them there was no sign of forced entry, and that meant I must have left something unlocked, or worse, that I was involved. He actually accused me, his 16-year-old stepdaughter who he hadn't spoken to in two years,

of orchestrating a robbery on his house. He said I probably gave a key to my Loli friends. My friends are great, by the way, and that I was probably getting a cut. I just snatched the phone from my dad. I yelled right back at him. I told him he was insane. I yelled that I hadn't set foot near that house since the day I left, that I wouldn't know how to rob a house if my life depended on it, and that maybe, if he and my mom hadn't abandoned a child and left their house empty for weeks, it wouldn't have happened. I told him I locked that door, I knew I locked it, and that maybe the police should be looking at them for trying to scam their insurance by blaming a kid. I said a lot of other things too, things I probably shouldn't repeat,

but it felt good to finally yell back, to not just sit there and take it. He sputtered something about me being disrespectful and that I'd regret this, and I just hung up. After that call, I blocked them everywhere I could think of. My dad helped. He also sent them a formal letter through a lawyer friend, basically telling them to cease all contact with me and that any further communication should go through him, and that any claims they had were baseless and would be fought. That seemed to quiet things down a bit, at least the direct calls. But then my mom tried a different tactic. She started calling my dad's house phone, my grandparents, her parents, and even tried to get messages to me through cousins. Her parents actually called me,

and they were confused. My mom had obviously fed them some sob story about how I ran away and then the house got out the tiny detail that they'd left me there. I had to explain everything to them, how I'd been ignored, how they left without a word. They sounded shocked, but they're her parents, so they were trying to be neutral, saying things like, oh, maybe there was a misunderstanding, and your mother is very upset. I told them I understood she was upset, but that didn't make it my fault, and there was no misunderstanding, just deliberate neglect. I don't know if they believed me, but at least they heard my side.

Living with my dad is still good, but this whole thing hangs over me. I have nightmares sometimes about being back in that silent house or about Travis yelling at me. I find myself second-guessing things, even though I know I shouldn't. Like, what if I did forget to lock the back door? But I didn't, I know I didn't. I've replayed it a million times in my head.

I left through the front door, I turned the deadbolt, I heard it click, I pulled the handle to check it was locked. I always do that. It's an instinct. They're just looking for an easy target because they can't face their own carelessness. The police haven't contacted me or my dad,

which my dad says is a good sign. It probably means they don't by Travis's crazy theory about me being involved. They probably see it for what it is. A house left empty during vacation got robbed, which happens all the time. So I'm not wrong, I'm pretty sure of that now, thanks to everyone and my dad.

But it doesn't make it easy. It's hard to deal with the fact. that my own mother could treat me like this, could value her stuff more than her daughter, and could try to pin such a horrible thing on me. It's a lot to process, and I'm still angry. I don't know what will happen next, but I'm not backing down. They wanted me gone, they got their wish. They can't have it both ways. Second update, it's been a while, and things have changed, and also, they haven't. It's weird how that works. I'm still living with my dad, and that part is great. I've really settled in. I like my school here, I have friends,

and my dad is just... Dad. He's solid. It's everything I didn't have for two years, and I appreciate it every single day. I feel like I can actually breathe here. The attempts to contact me pretty much stopped after my dad's lawyer sent that letter. It went quiet for a few months, so quiet that I almost started to hope it was over, that they'd just accepted it and moved on, or at least moved on from blaming me. But I guess I should have known better, because people like them don't just let things go, especially when they think they're owed something. About two months ago, my dad got a letter. Not from a lawyer this time, but from my mom. It wasn't angry, not like before. It was, different. It was full of I miss you and I'm so worried about you and this has all been a

misunderstanding. She talked about how hard things have been since the robbery, how devastated they were, and how much they needed their family together right now. And then came the kicker. Tucked away in the middle of all this fake concern was a sentence about how difficult it was to recover financially and how everyone needs to contribute to putting things right. She didn't demand money outright, not this time, but it was clear what she was saying. She was trying to guilt me into offering to help, into feeling sorry for them and somehow accepting responsibility. I read the letter, and I didn't feel sad or guilty. I just felt, tired, and angry all over again. How could she think that would work? Did she think I'd forgotten everything? Did she think I was stupid?

I showed it to my dad, and he just shook his head. He said, she's trying a different angle, but it's the same old story. Don't fall for it. I didn't reply. My dad didn't reply. We just ignored it. What was there to say? There's no misunderstanding to clear up.

They abandoned me, then they blamed me. A sorry wouldn't even cut it at this point, but they weren't even offering that. They just wanted to rewrite history and maybe get some cash. Then, a few weeks later, Travis tried. He sent an email to my dad. It was more businesslike. He talked about shared responsibility for the family home. He actually tried to argue that because some of my old belongings were still technically in the house,

like old textbooks and stuff I didn't care about and left behind, I still had a vested interest in therefore some liability. It was the most ridiculous legal-sounding nonsense I'd ever heard. He even attached a document, a homemade-looking invoice detailing the cost of the stolen items and putting 50% responsibility next to my name. It was thousands of dollars. My dad just laughed when he saw it. He said Travis was either incredibly stupid or incredibly desperate.

He sent it to his lawyer friend, who basically said it was completely unenforceable and laughable, and advised us to just keep ignoring them unless they tried to file something official, which he highly doubted they would. They had no legal leg to stand on and they probably knew it. If they tried to sue a minor they abandoned for a robbery that happened on their watch, they'd be laughed out of court and probably investigated by child services.

Thinking back, those two years were even worse than I thought. It wasn't just being ignored, it was being systematically erased. I remembered little things, like how my mom stopped buying my favorite snacks, how they'd plan weekend outings and only tell me as they were walking out the door, if they told me at all. I remembered asking Travis a question about homework once, because he's supposedly good at math, and he just looked at me blankly and said, ask your mother, before turning back to his phone. It was death by a thousand cuts, and the vacation wasn't the start, it was just the end.

It was them finally admitting I wasn't part of their world. The hardest part now is the feeling about my mom. She's my mom. But she chose him, over and over again, for two years, and then, Then she chose to blame me rather than take responsibility. How do you come back from that? I don't think you do. I don't think I can.

It's like that connection is gone and it's sad, but it's also a relief. I don't have to keep trying anymore. I don't have to hope she'll suddenly see me. So I'm still not wrong, I'm more sure of it than ever. They made their bed, and now they're trying to make me lie in it and pay for it too. It's not going to happen. I'm focusing on my life, my future, and the people who actually see me, like my dad. They can deal with their own mess.

Final update, it's been over a year since I left my mom's house, and about a year since I first wrote about this. A lot of people asked for a final update, and while there hasn't been some big, dramatic explosion, things have. Settled, I guess. In a way. First, the big question, no, they never got any money from me or my dad. After that ridiculous invoice from Travis, my dad's lawyer sent them one last, very firm letter.

It basically said that any further attempts to demand money or assign blame to a minor whom they had, by their own actions, effectively abandoned, would be met with legal action, including a potential report to child protective services detailing the events. It also mentioned that accusing me of being involved in the the robbery was slander and could have its own consequences. That seemed to do the trick. We haven't received another demand, another invoice, or another accusation since. It seems the threat of actual legal trouble, and maybe the shame of having their parenting examined, was enough to make them back off. The silence has been pretty much complete. Have they tried to contact me otherwise?

Yes, my mom has. Twice. The first time was around me. my birthday. She sent a card to my dad's house. It was one of those generic ones, and inside she'd written, thinking of you. Hope we can talk someday. Love, Mom. I threw it away. My dad asked if I was sure, and I said yes. He didn't push it. The second time was a few months ago. She sent an email, again, just to me this time. She talked about how her life was, how the the step-siblings were, how Travis was. It was all very surface-level stuff. Then she said she was sorry things got so messy and that she regretted how things ended. It was close to an apology, but not really. It was sorry things got messy, not sorry I ignored you for two years and

abandoned you and then tried to blame you for a robbery. It was weak, and it was still all about her, how she felt, how she regretted it. She asked if I would consider meeting her for coffee, just talk. I thought about it for a long time. I talked to my dad about it. He said it was my decision, and he'd support me whatever I chose. And I chose no. I wrote back a very short email. I just said, thank you for the offer, but I don't think that's a good idea. I'm doing well, and I hope you are too. I didn't want to be mean, but I didn't want to give her any false hope either. I don't want to talk. I don't want to rehash it. What's the point? For her to feel better? For her to try and justify herself? I don't need that. I don't want that. I lived through it,

I know what happened, and I don't need her version of it. She hasn't replied to that, and I don't expect her to. I heard through the grapevine, my grandparents, who I talk to occasionally now, they're still trying to be neutral, but I think they understand more now that they never caught who robbed the house. The insurance apparently didn't pay out as much as they hoped, and they had a tough time financially for a while. Part of me should maybe feel bad about that, but I don't. It sounds cold, but it's their problem. It's a consequence of their choices, not mine. They chose to leave their house empty and vulnerable. They chose to treat me horribly. That's on them. Life with my dad is my new normal. It's good. I'm doing well in school, thinking about college.

I have a part-time job, I have friends. I feel like a regular 17-year-old, which is something I couldn't say for a long time. Does what happens still affect me? Yes. Sometimes I still get angry when I think about it. I know I did the right thing. My instincts told me to leave, and they were right. I trusted myself and I protected myself. They tried to make me their scapegoat, their ATM, their ghost, and I refused. I didn't break and I didn't bend. They never made a mistake in their eyes, and I guess, in my own way, I never made one either, not when it came to leaving them.

I stood up for myself, even when I was just a kid they thought they could push around and forget. So I wasn't wrong. Definitely not wrong. It wasn't my fault, and I was never going to pay for it. It's just a shame that I had to lose my mother to figure that out, but maybe I lost her a long time before I even left. Some things just break, and you can't fix them.

You just have to walk away and build something new. And that's what I'm doing.