Lia's: Big Stepfamily #2 Upd

One night, a storm knocked the power out. Seven people in the dark. No phones. No schedules. No wobbly table. Just breathing.

Marco, seventeen, played guitar at 11 p.m. and never closed his door. Sofia, fourteen, spoke in whispered phone calls and left cryptic sticky notes on the fridge ( "I see you" —was that for Lia or the leftover lasagna?). Ezra, eight, asked relentless questions: Why don't you call Carlos 'Dad'? Why is your real dad not here? Do you think our ghosts get along? lia's big stepfamily #2

That was the deep thing about stepfamilies, Lia realized. It wasn't just learning new names or remembering who liked crunchy peanut butter. It was learning to inhabit a space where loss and love shared the same closet. Her mother smiled more now, yes. But sometimes Mira would freeze, holding a mug that wasn't her old one, and Lia knew: She’s there, in the before-time. One night, a storm knocked the power out

“Ghosts?” she said, mouth full of foam. No schedules