My 22-Year-Old Son Threatens to Leave the House and Go Live With My Ex-Husband Unless I Buy Him a Car
As he left the table, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt, wondering if I was being too harsh or if I was failing as a parent somehow.
Days turned into weeks, and the tension in the house only seemed to escalate. Michael became more distant, spending most of his time out with friends or locked up in his room.
One Saturday morning, I found a note on the kitchen counter:
“Mom, I’m going to stay with Dad for a while. I can’t stand being here anymore. Maybe he’ll understand me better.”
My heart sank as I read the words. I knew this day might come, but I never thought it would happen like this.
I immediately dialed Michael’s number, but it went straight to voicemail. Panic started to rise within me as I tried to think of where David lived now. We hadn’t been in touch for years after the divorce.
After some frantic searching, I managed to find David’s number and dialed it, hoping he would pick up.
“Hello?” David’s voice sounded surprised on the other end.
“David, it’s me, Sarah. I… I need to know if Michael is with you,” I blurted out, trying to keep my voice steady despite the rising panic.
There was a moment of silence before he responded.
“Sarah, what’s going on? Michael isn’t here.”
My heart sank even further. “He left a note saying he’s coming to stay with you. He’s upset because I won’t buy him a car.”
David let out a frustrated sigh, “I had a feeling something like this might happen. Look, I’ll try to talk to him if he shows up, but he can’t just run away from his problems.”