My Ex-Husband Took Our Daughter on 'Father-Daughter' Weekends, but What Fell from Her Backpack One Day Made Me Follow Them – Story of the Day

When my ex swung our daughter's backpack over his shoulder, something small tumbled out. I totally freaked out when I saw it — my daughter shouldn't have had that! They were already driving away, so I did the only thing a mother could do: I followed them.

Zoey picked at her oatmeal like it might bite back. Her eyes looked glassy, and she was unusually pale and quiet.

She used to look forward to her 'Father-Daughter' weekends with Jason. Ever since the divorce, it had become their special time.

But she'd started acting strangely recently, and I couldn't help but feel that something had happened during one of their weekend camping trips.

"You feeling okay, Zoey?" I reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

She didn't answer.

"Zoey?" I kept my voice gentle. "Talk to me. What's going on?"

"It's fine," she mumbled.

"It doesn't seem fine," I pressed. "Did… did something happen during one of your trips with your dad?"

The second I asked it, her whole body went rigid.

"I said it's fine!" she snapped. "Stop asking me, okay? Just stop!"

She pushed back from the table and ran from the kitchen. Her door slammed upstairs a few minutes later.

***

Jason arrived early with a big smile on his face. At least he was looking forward to that weekend.

"Where's my girl?" he asked, stepping inside.

"Upstairs. Jason, there's something off with her. She's been acting strangely, and she doesn't look well. Did something happen on one of your camping trips?"

"Uh… no. Just normal camping things. Bugs, rain, annoying neighbors at some of the campsites... The usual."

"It seems like more than that."

He waved his hand like he was dismissing a fly. "Don't worry. I'll talk to her."

Something in his tone made my chest tighten. Jason didn't usually brush off things I brought up about Zoey.

"Jason—" I started, but he was already turning toward the stairs.

"Zoey! Come on, bud! We're going to miss the good trail!" He called up toward her room. "Let's go!"

She came down a few minutes later, moving like she was walking through water. She mumbled a goodbye as she hurried past me, out the front door.

Jason scooped up her backpack, which Zoey had placed near the door last night. He swung it up onto his shoulder so fast that something flew out of the side pocket.

"See you on Sunday, Rachel," he called cheerfully as he hurried after Zoey.

"Wait," I called, crouching down to retrieve the fallen object from under the armchair.

But Jason's footsteps continued moving away, across the porch, and down the steps. My fingers found a slender, hard object. I slid it out from under the armchair.

The world seemed to stop as I looked at the object in my hand. It was a pregnancy test, with two pink lines — positive.

The sound of Jason's truck starting snapped me out of my shock. I ran to the front door and leaped down the steps. I waved my arms and yelled, but Jason was already driving away.

There was nothing else for it. I dashed back inside, grabbed my keys and my coat, and got in my car.

I needed to know why Zoey had a positive pregnancy test in her backpack, and I was going to get answers, no matter what.

***

Fifteen minutes later, I was a few cars behind Jason on the highway, wondering where on earth he was going.

He'd told me he and Zoey were heading north to the state park this weekend, but this route made no sense.

I kept waiting for him to turn off. Instead, he headed back into the city.

I followed him into a quiet suburban neighborhood. When he parked outside a modest craftsman house, I parked a few yards back.

Jason opened Zoey's door, and she stepped out with all the enthusiasm of someone heading to an execution. Jason said something and placed his hand on her shoulder, steering her toward the house.

She stopped dead on the porch and looked up at Jason. She shook her head, lips moving… she didn't want to go into that house.

But Jason unlocked the front door and guided her inside.

None of this made sense. Who lived here? Why had Jason lied? Why did Zoey look like she was being dragged somewhere against her will? And how did that pregnancy test fit into all of this?

I couldn't sit there and try to make sense of it by myself. I got out of my car and jogged across the street.

I climbed the porch steps and tried the door. It wasn't locked, so I pushed it open and stepped inside.

"Rachel? What the hell—"

"This," I said, holding up the pregnancy test. "It fell out of Zoey's backpack when you lifted it. A positive test."

Jason's jaw dropped, and the blood drained from his face. He looked at Zoey, who glanced between us like a cornered animal.

I moved toward Zoey, gentler now, and sat her down on the couch.

"Honey, I know this isn't yours. You haven't gone through puberty yet, but you need to tell me where you got it."

Her lips trembled, and she was losing the battle to keep her tears in, but she didn't speak.

"Zoey—"

"It's mine."

The voice came from behind me. I turned around so fast that I almost fell.

A woman stepped into the living room from what looked like the kitchen. She was barefoot, wearing yoga pants and an oversized shirt.

"Who are you?"

Jason cleared his throat. "This is Sara. My, um. My girlfriend. I've been meaning to tell you. It's, um. It's still kind of new. Still figuring things out."

I felt the anger start in my stomach and work its way up. "But you've been bringing Zoey here? You didn't think to mention that she'd be spending time with your girlfriend?"

"I wanted to wait until I knew it was serious," Jason said.

"She's pregnant, Jason. That's not just serious; that's permanent."

Jason's attention snapped back to Sara. "I didn't know… You're really pregnant?"

Sara smiled, stepping closer to him. "Really pregnant. Isn't it great? You're going to be a Dad."

Jason smiled back, and he pulled her toward him, wrapping his arms around her. That's when Zoey stood up.

"You're already a Dad!" She yelled, her hands balling into fists. "Or do I not matter anymore?"

Before anyone could answer her, Zoey bolted. She went for the door with her whole body, shouldering past Jason so hard he stumbled.

Jason moved to follow, but Sara's hand shot out and grabbed his arm.

"Let her go." She gestured to me. "Her mother should handle it. You need to start thinking about us: me and the baby."

Jason pulled back like she'd burned him. "She's my daughter."

"But you're soon going to have another child," Sara said, her voice a little sharper now. "You can't keep living in your ex-wife's back pocket. Or your daughter's. This is your real life now. You need to be here. With me."

I stepped forward then, my hands shaking with anger.

"Being pregnant doesn't give you the right to pretend Jason only has one child," I told Jason's "not serious, yet pregnant" girlfriend. "And it definitely doesn't give you permission to push the other one out."

Sara's arms crossed over her chest. "Why don't you go see what your child's issue is and stay out of our business. I won't tolerate an interfering ex, got it?"

I ignored the bait and turned to Jason. "I'll go talk to her. But this is your mess, Jason. You should be out there, too."

I walked outside without another word.

Zoey was curled up on the porch steps, her arms wrapped around her knees. I sat down next to her, close enough to be reassuring but not so close that she might feel trapped.

"Hey," I said softly. "You okay?"

She didn't answer.

I tried a different angle. "It must be scary, huh? Knowing that you're going to be a big sister?"

"It's not that," Zoey whispered. "She… she said they'd move away, that I'd only be allowed to visit once a year, and only if I was good."

My stomach twisted into a knot. "Who said that?"

"Sara." Zoey still wasn't looking at me. "Dad left us alone to bond, or something. But she told me we didn't need to get to know each other. That she was starting her own family, and they'd move away soon."

I felt the anger come back, hotter this time. "She said that to you?"

Zoey nodded.

"I thought if Dad knew she was pregnant, they'd leave sooner," Zoey continued, crying freely now. "So when I found the test in the bathroom last weekend, I took it."

I wrapped my arm around her. She leaned in immediately, like she'd been waiting for permission. Her whole body was shaking.

"You should have told me what she said."

"Sara said nobody would believe me," Zoey said. "She said that if I said anything to anyone, she'd just say I was lying. She said nobody will believe a child over an adult, and I'd just get in trouble for being bad."

A voice came from behind us, low and shaken. "Is that true?"

We both turned. Jason was standing on the porch, his face pale.

"Did she really say those things?" He edged closer, like he was afraid of startling Zoey. "And you didn't tell me… because you thought you'd get in trouble for lying…"

Zoey shrugged, tears spilling down her cheeks. She couldn't seem to stop them.

Jason's face crumpled. He looked from Zoey to me, crushed under the weight of what Sara had done to his daughter.

"I didn't know she was like this," he said. "Sara told me she loved kids, that she couldn't wait to meet Zoey. That's why I brought her here…"

I didn't soften. "Well, she showed you who she really is now, Jason. It's on you to do something about it."

He kneeled beside Zoey.

"You're my daughter," he said. "No one — no one — can replace you. Never. I'm not going anywhere, and I wouldn't give up my time with you for anything in the world, okay?"

Zoey leaned against him, and he wrapped his arms around her like he was trying to put all his broken promises back together at once.

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