Yeah, well, the title is pretty much the gist.
I have a 15-year-old live with me, not my child, and I didn't adopt him. The reason he is here is that I live with his dad.
We had a really good and stable relationship until this 'stepson' came into our life. I think it's partially because what we had were good enough for him to think it's even better if we can get his son a feeling of 'home'.
As troubled and rebellious as he always was, we never expected him to steal.
I'm not talking about small cash here, I'm talking about thousands of dollars.
He bought himself an iPhone 12 Max 512G, pretty much the most expensive phone you can get on the market, together with some accessories with our money, costs more than $3,000. I wouldn't have that luxury myself.
I called the school because I can't figure out where that money comes from, he claimed he 'borrowed' the phone from other kids, which is obviously a lie.
He then admitted he walked into our bedroom and stole the money inside our bedside table, with the pressure of us and his teachers. And he also admitted it was not the first time he steals, mostly one ticket or two while we were out, shopping or something, without us knowing because we don't count our cash every day. And this time, I guess he just grew bolder.
I can't help but want to call the police to get them involved with this. His dad can't let me do that because that will backfire at him.
Okay, this is driving my crazy, I just can't have a thief living with me, but I love his dad and he loves me, I don't want us to get separated because of this. By the way, his dad is also really really pissed, but he didn't know what to do either.
I know kids sometimes steal, but mostly just small changes, is this even borderline crime? He is 15 after all, can't he take at least a little bit of responsibility?
