That day, I was in the bathroom, finally washing the stockings. Usually, I'm on top of laundry, doing it daily, but I'd been too embarrassed to touch these for two days. Just couldn't put it off any longer.

Right as I was washing them, the doorbell rang.

I opened the door to find an annoyed-looking middle-aged woman.

“Excuse me, you are...?” I asked.

“Hello, I'm Roxanne, Zack's mom,” she introduced herself, looking irritated.

“Oh, Roxanne! I'm Bailey. Please, come in!” I smiled warmly.

Jack had mentioned Zack's mom was also a single mom who'd moved for her kid's education, so I felt an instant connection.

I invited her to sit in the living room and offered her water, but she just frowned and didn't take it. Instead, she cut right to the chase.

“Bailey, I'll be direct. Your Jack stole my stockings when he visited yesterday.”

“Jack stole your stockings?” I was floored.

“Yes,” Roxanne frowned and said firmly. “My stockings that were hanging on my balcony disappeared right after Jack's visit. He must have taken them.”

Seeing how certain Roxanne was, after my initial shock wore off, I felt myself getting angry.

‘Seriously? Missing stockings could've blown away! How dare you accuse my sweet Jack! And I haven't even said a word about the stunt your Zack pulled at my house.’ I thought angrily.

But then I hesitated, remembering Jack's the same age as Zack, right in the middle of those wild teenage years. After what Zack did at my place, I realized teenage boys could do pretty crazy things when hormones kick in.

Maybe Jack really did take her stockings.

Seeing my hesitation, Roxanne pressed harder, “If you don't believe me, I can confront him right now!”

“Please don't, Roxanne! Just give me some time,” I begged. After Roxanne finished speaking, I started to panic. Could Jack really have done this?

If he really did it, being forced to admit stealing stockings in front of his mom would totally crush him.

To protect Jack's dignity, I begged Roxanne for some time to handle this privately. Her expression softened, and she agreed.

After Roxanne left, I searched Jack's room but found nothing. Still worried sick, I waited for him to get home from school. When he arrived, I watched him closely - but he didn't seem guilty at all.