Question, how far away is work from home? I only ask, because if it was a situation of they are both an hr away, I don’t think it was unreasonable to call you. Not should you have been the only option to call. Is this in any way shape or form, your fault, no, but had it been a true emergency, like they literally were hours away, but still actively coming, it wouldn’t have been bad for you to step in for a short amount of time.

HOWEVER, I really, really hope this opens their eyes to the heavy hostility of the 14 yrs old towards the 5 yrs old. Should they parentify her, absolutely not, but that was also supremely dangerous on her part, everyone involved needs some serious therapy. And Mom and Dad need to find a daycare, camp or something for the 5yr old. She is literally not safe in the 14yr old presence.

Yta. You and your mom could have went and got the 5-yo and kept her at your house. You could have used it as leverage for not having to go to your Dad’s. On the flip side, you are being ridiculous. Don’t let other people’s behavior affect your relationships. Don’t let shitty people make YOU into a shitty person. You already know that 5yo is being treated like an afterthought. Can you imagine life if your mom was also AH? You could have found a solution that showed you had compassion for the innocent 5yo.

Have to hand it to the 14yo. They know how to draw a hard boundary about not babysitting. Personally as a 39yo male, I would feel like an asshole leaving a 5yo home alone. But you are also a kid. Im going to say a soft ESH everybody sucks here because it is a shitty situation. If you did this once they would have used you again and again when this shit keeps happening. Sometimes you have to set a boundary, even if it makes you an asshole

Its your legally contracted time to be at your moms. You’ve been threatened with changes in custody if you don’t go to your dad’s during his contracted time, the same condition can also be applied to your mom’s custody time – which your dad tried to interfer with.

Everything in this situation sucks, apart from the 3 kids – who are left with the fallout of multiple affairs and broken families.

The 5 yr old didn’t ask to be born. The 14 yr old should have come home or stayed home with her but she is 14 and has negative feelings towards her as it is. I personally would have come back to stay with the 5 yr old to ensure her safety, texted dad and stepmom that I expected $ deposited into my PayPal immediately and then as soon as I received it I would call cps.

I get it. You hate your dad, your stepmom, and your step/half siblings. And it sounds totally deserved for the most part. But this is a five year old. One that is totally innocent in all this. They could have gotten into something that resulted in serious injury or worse. I think you should have gone over at least until one of the parents could get there. Soft YTA.

Where is the 5 year old’s Dad in this?

Next time this happens you need to say “per the child custody agreement it is not my time to be over, and going over may cause issues. The only way I could be permitted to go over if I’m working. My rate for babysitting is $20 an hour, including travel time for short notice arrangements.” 

I hope this is fake.
AYTA? No. That said – it’s a small child. Five years old.
But why was this child left alone for hours?
Why wasn’t someone called? Any adult? 5 years old on their own for hours is absurd.
The police should have been called. The fact that this child was on their own for hours is horrifying to me

You’re not wrong for saying no. You’re a teenager, not their emergency plan. It’s awful the 5-year old got left alone, but that’s on the adults who were supposed to be responsible. You didn’t ask to be part of that family, and you shouldn’t be guilt tripped into fixing a situation you didn’t create.

I can’t get over the fact that they left a 5yo home alone for hours. That hurts my heart for that child. And it sounds like they aren’t parenting the 14yo well, either. I think you ended up with the good parent in this situation. They’re a big ass clusterfuck for cps to figure out.

It’s incredibly sad that that poor 5 year old girl is surrounded by people who hate her for things that are out of her control.

And for her safety to be put at risk, too, by selfish people…. I really hope that CPS gets involved. Because this poor girl needs safeguarding. 

I’m leaning towards an ESH. Obviously your father shouldn’t be relying on you for regular babysitting but this was an emergency situation, what you should have done is gone there and said you have X amount of time to get the kid before I call the cops for abandonment

Don’t blame the kids! You are a victim, same as them but you get to choose what kind of person you want to be. This kid already feel rejected and not because of anything she did but because of her parents. We do not carry the burdens of our parents! Be better!

If my daughter was left home alone at 5 I would have left work immediately. The fact that neither of them did is very telling. They are neglectful and that is abuse. Definitely call CPS each time something even remotely abusive occurs. NTA

What I don’t understand is why the 14yrs’s friend’s parent did not help by at the very least, send the 14yr old directly home knowing full well the 5yr old was alone. Or perhaps pick up the 5yr old.

Something is fishy about this story.

Nta. It’s as if they have no other relatives between them.

She doesn’t have her parents/siblings/relatives/friends that can help her? Or get a paid babysitter?

Highly doubt they completely ran out of options, just their options.

NTA they’re lucky that you and your mother didn’t call CPS because the child was unattended. The mother should’ve left work immediately not hours later. That’s a failure on their part. He just added another failure to the list.

“You and your wife are her parents. How could YOU leave her alone like that? I am only a member of your new family by force. I will not any responsibility for your wife’s children. Your choices, your problems.“. NTA.

Also, I would ask for the full custody agreement ON PAPER-just to make sure all you info is correct. I had one of my parents just straight up lie to me about the full agreement and didn’t know the truth until I was 20.

Dad, if I leave Mom’s custody time to go to your place, you could lose full custody of me… isn’t that how you set it up in court?

NTA. One of them should have left work immediately. Their child, not yours.

ESH. Except the 5-year-old. But everyone else in this whole stupid mess sucks.

That poor little girl knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that not one person in her “family” cares a fig about her. Poor thing.

Do i believe you’re an AH to your father? No. But that 5 yr old child had nothing to do with any of it. And for you to put that child in possible danger, you’re the AH. Along with the 14 yr old.

You’re young, and in a lot of pain, but this was an asshole move. It wasn’t a favor for your Dad and his wife, it was to give some sense of safety to a 5 year old child.

Nta I’m shocked your mother didn’t call CPS on them for you. I would’ve. Then I would have used that to get their 50/50 revoked. If your mom is smart she would do that.

NTA – I am sure the father of the five-year-old would be interested in knowing about this. As well as the father of the 14-year-old who’s being forced to babysit.

YTA. Despite all of the details you left a 5 year old alone. That’s just being a shitty human being. You should have called the police or social services.

YTA and your dad, mom, step-mom, and 14 year old step-sister are also arseholes.

The 5 year old was all alone and no one gave a rat’s arse.

NTA, but in the future you call the non emergency police line and alert them about a small child left home alone. 

I feel bad for that poor child, caught up in so much hatred and indifference. They’ve done nothing but be born.

I just feel bad for the 5yo. No kid deserves to struggle because of their parent’s mess. NTA

In case this isn’t AI

You dad isn’t trying to fix the problem, he’s trying to fix YOU

If they were that worried about the five year-old, they could’ve left work immediately

You should have at a minimum called the police and told them that a 5yo was home alone

Call cps. Show the texts messages and hopefully you do t have to go there again NTA.

Honestly call CPS. The 5yo is being neglected. Where the hell is that baby daddy?

NTA, and you should’ve called the police and reported them for child abandonment.

YTA. The 5yo child needed real help. That’s not the moment to be petty.

Anyone who leaves a 5 year old by themselves is an asshole.