My 7-Year-Old Son Kept Coming Home from School Upset — the Reason Left Me Stunned

When Daniel, Sarah, and their son Derril move to a new city, they need time to adjust. One advantage is Derril’s new school, which prioritizes soccer, his favorite sport. However, things get strange when Derril notices his soccer coach hugging his mom.

Recently, our lives changed when Sarah landed a promising new job. It meant uprooting our lives and moving to a new city, but we were optimistic about the future.

“We need this, Daniel,” Sarah said. “We need to plan for our future and get a fresh start. Living here has become stale.”

“I agree,” I said. “And we need a better life for Derril.”

Our seven-year-old son, Derril, was especially excited about the move because we enrolled him in a school with a soccer club, his favorite sport.

Sarah and I were thrilled to see him so passionate, knowing the move would be a big adjustment for him.

“I’m happy about the move, Dad,” he told me one day when we were buying him a new pair of soccer boots. “My old school only cared about baseball and basketball, but soccer wasn’t important.”

“I’m glad you’re happy,” I told him. “I want you to be happy with this move too. We’re not just doing it for Mom’s new job.”

He nodded enthusiastically.

A few months passed, and I had settled into my routine of working from home, thanks to my cybersecurity career. However, I noticed a change in my son.

One day, he came home from school looking troubled, his usual enthusiasm dampened. His bright eyes seemed to lose their sparkle, and he became quieter and more withdrawn.

Whenever I tried to talk to him, he would walk away, retreating into silence. It was unlike Derril, and it worried me.

“Something is going on with him,” I told Sarah one morning while making breakfast.

“I know,” she nodded. “I’ve noticed it too. Whenever I try to talk to him, he looks at me for a moment before looking away.”

“Maybe it’s just part of adjusting to a new place and making new friends? He’s still eating and sleeping normally. Until that changes, I think we’re okay,” I said.

But the tipping point came one day when I walked into his room after school and found him crying. Seeing him like that devastated me.

“Derril, what’s wrong?” I asked gently, sitting beside him on the bed. “I need you to tell me everything.”

He looked up at me, tears brimming in his eyes, and took a deep, shaky breath.

“I don’t want Mr. Sanders to be my father!” he blurted out.

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. Mr. Sanders was his new soccer coach, someone Derril had admired.

“Why would he become your father, Derril?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady and calm.

His voice wavered as he explained. “Yesterday, when Mom was picking me up from practice, he hugged her. And she didn’t push him away!”

A cold sweat broke out on my forehead. Sarah had been distant lately, but I chalked it up to her being busy with her new job. But this was something I couldn’t ignore.

Determined to uncover the truth, I logged off work early the next day and drove to the soccer field. Sarah usually fetched Derril from practice on her way home.

I parked far enough away to watch without being seen. I needed to know what was happening. As practice ended and the kids dispersed, I saw Sarah arrive. Moments later, Mr. Sanders approached her. They talked briefly, and then he placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning in close.

“They look way too comfortable,” I muttered to myself. I watched as Sarah smiled but stepped back, looking around nervously as if she felt someone was watching.

“Yes, someone is watching,” I said to the car.

That night, I confronted my wife. I couldn’t take it any longer. I had made dinner and sat through the entire meal with doubts flooding my mind.

“Sarah, what’s going on with you and Mr. Sanders?” I asked straightforwardly.

Her face turned pale, and she took a deep breath, her hands trembling slightly.

“There’s nothing going on, Daniel,” she said. “I swear! He’s just been supportive, that’s all!”

“Supportive how? Derril thinks he’s trying to replace me,” I pressed on. “I need to know why.”

Sarah’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

“What? No! That’s not true! He’s been helping me with something else… something that I haven’t told you about yet.”

She sat me down, her voice trembling as she revealed a secret she’d been keeping.

“I can’t believe this,” I exclaimed.

Apparently, Mr. Sanders had recognized a man from his past. A man who ran in the same circles as him when he was involved in unscrupulous activities.

“And not just any man, Daniel,” Sarah said. “He’s dangerous. He has a history of stalking and violence. Mr. Sanders has been keeping an eye on him and noticed the man has been stalking me.”

“What?! Why didn’t you tell me? This is something for the police to handle!”

But my wife shook her head. “Mr. Sanders has been trying to keep Derril and me safe. He noticed the man watching me during practice.”

I put my head in my hands. Suddenly, the world felt too heavy. What dramatic television show had our lives become?

“Mr. Sanders suggested not pushing him away too obviously to avoid raising suspicion. I should have told you, honey, I’m so sorry.”

“We need to speak to him,” I said. “To Mr. Sanders. I need to hear this from him.”

Sarah nodded, her eyes shining with tears. When we met with him, he corroborated Sarah’s account, showing us evidence of the man’s criminal activities.

“I’ve spoken to one of my detective friends,” he said. “They can’t do anything about this guy until something happens. So, I’ve been trying to keep an eye on Sarah and Derril. And the house.”

I had no idea what to say.

That night, Sarah and I sat down in the living room, trying to discuss the next steps and how to secure our home. Moments later, Derril burst into our room, his face frozen in shock.

“There’s someone outside my window!” he shrieked.

“Phone the police,” I told Sarah.

I rushed to his room, picking up the baseball bat that we displayed in the hallway. Sure enough, a shadowy figure was lurking near the tree not too far from Derril’s window.

Moments later, we heard sirens and saw the flashing lights of police cars. They arrived swiftly, surrounding the house and apprehending the man.

The officers confirmed that the lurker was indeed the man that Mr. Sanders had warned us about, and now, because he was caught, he was taken into custody.

“I’m so sorry for the confusion or distress I caused,” Mr. Sanders said when he visited us the next day.

He brought a box of pastries that Derril dug into immediately.

“The thing is, I know his type. When I met him before, he would find a young successful woman and fixate on her. When I saw him at soccer practice, I knew he was after Sarah.”

“How do you know him?” I asked.

“I had a rough past too,” Mr. Sanders said. “But I got caught up with the wrong crowd. I didn’t do anything to this extent.”

We thanked Mr. Sanders for his help, and he left our home.

Now that the threat was removed, Sarah and Derril seemed perfectly fine. But I still didn’t feel good about this. As grateful as I was to Mr. Sanders, something didn’t feel right about anything.

I wanted to leave. I didn’t feel safe. I didn’t want to stay here. I didn’t want my wife and child around Mr. Sanders.

What should I do?

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In-Law Billed Me $695 for Moth Damage after Using My House like a Storage Unit – I Gave Her a Reality Check For five years, Andy and Sarah had given up their guest bedroom, turning it into a storage room for her parents’ belongings. But once the couple discovered that they were pregnant, they asked the older couple to remove their things, causing unnecessary friction and a surprise reward.

Five years ago, my in-laws wanted to downsize their house. So, they looked for the perfect little house for just the two of them.

“We have too much space and too many things,” my father-in-law, Greg, said.

So, they asked if they could store some of their stuff in our house for a while.

“It’s just the things that we want to keep, darling,” Greg told my wife, Sarah.

We didn’t mind and had a guest room that we didn’t use.

“Sure, Dad,” my wife said. “The guest room is all yours temporarily.”

The key word here is temporarily.

But guess what? They never took their stuff back. Instead, they just kept bringing more.