When your mom died, John found another love quickly. Sure, he loved your mom. He would do anything for her. But she was gone, and finding another woman was a way to cope.

When he started dating Heidi, everything was okay again. She had two kids, a boy and a girl from a previous relationship. You got along with them okay, apart from the infrequent disagreements or fights about sharing a toy or something.

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

It was Christmas, your favorite time of the year. It was also your first Christmas with Heidi and your step-siblings. You crept downstairs when you heard your step-siblings giggling and tearing away paper. Heidi and John were on the couch, Heidi snapping pictures of her children’s reactions to the stuff they got as they opened presents.

You made your way to your stocking, excited to see what you got from Santa. What you didn’t expect to see was an empty stocking lying on the couch.