On Friday nights, Brittany had friends over.

I was expected to make snacks and carry drinks. Ethan was expected to keep Coco from barking.

“Oh my God, you have staff?” one of her friends laughed, the first time I brought out a tray. “Kind of,” said Brittany. “They came with the house.”

Everyone laughed. I went back into the kitchen and stood very still by the sink until my hands stopped shaking.

Ethan got the worst of it. He had to walk Coco three times a day, even in the rain, even when he had homework. When Coco had an accident on the rug, Brittany made Ethan clean it while she filmed him for her Instagram story.

When the stepkid finally makes himself useful 😂

His grades dropped. He stopped playing basketball. He started going quiet at dinner.

One Thursday, I came home to find a black trash bag by the curb. Something soft and colorful was sticking out of the top.

It was Grandma's quilt. The one she'd sewn by hand for Mom, the year Mom was born.

I pulled it out of the bag, rolled it up tight, and hid it under my bed in the box room. Brittany never noticed it was gone.