She doesn’t need help understanding what’s happening. She already knows. The way he hugs her too long, walks in when she’s half-dressed, watches her more than he should; she knows it’s unsettling and wrong.
And the worst part? She told the one person who was supposed to protect her, and that person made her feel dramatic for even saying it out loud.
This 16-year-old girl’s mom and dad got divorced a decade ago, and now she splits her time equally between them. A year ago, her mom got remarried, and right now, she’s at her mom’s house.
Her mom’s husband was always incredibly kind to her and tried to be involved in her life. He would cheer her on at her volleyball games and ask her how her day was. He even bought her little presents, too.
“However, over the past few months, he has become much [weirder], he maintains hugs for too long, his hand rests really low on my back, and when I tried pulling away one time, he just tightened his grip and said I was being shy,” she explained.
“[Bear] in mind, he’s much taller/bigger than me. There have also been multiple times where he walks into my room without knocking and I’m in a towel, but it only happens then and never any other times.”
“Whenever I do raise a concern to my mother, she insists I’m exaggerating, but she does sometimes talk to him, and he backs off for a while, but he does this thing where he will talk bad about himself when I’m near, and then overcompensate for making me upset with my favorite sweets/chocolate/ice cream.”
Several days ago, she was home alone with her mom’s husband. It was pouring rain, and she went to let her dog out in the yard when her mom’s husband walked up behind her and gave her a hug.
She instantly felt uncomfortable, and she pushed him away with one of her elbows. He did get off her, and she rushed inside to slam the door and lock it.
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She grabbed her dog and rushed upstairs to the safety of her bedroom. Her mom came home about 30 to 60 minutes after she locked her stepdad outside in the rain.
Her mom could hear her stepdad screaming to be let back in, and they were both furious with her, as he was soaking wet from the rain.
Her stepdad has since come down with a terrible cold, and they are both blaming her for his ending up like this. Additionally, they are lecturing her every single day, which is making her feel awful.
She wasn’t trying to make her stepdad sick; she just locked the door behind her because she was that upset about their interaction.
“I have talked to my dad about everything that’s been happening. He’s mad I didn’t tell him sooner how I felt about my mum’s husband, so he’s coming to pick me up soon to stay with him after arguing with my mother for hours on the phone,” she continued.
Honestly, I hope she can permanently stay with her dad because her stepdad’s behavior is alarming, and it’s so sad her mom is happy to look the other way.
What advice do you have for her?
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By Bre Avery Zacharski
Hi, I'm Bre, Chip Chick's CEO! I have a degree in Textile/Surface Design from The Fashion Institute of Technology, and... More about Bre Avery Zacharski
