I (30F) have been in my stepson (10M) life for almost 6 years now. We have had a great relationship except for about the first year do to his mom. Last night he made my heart break and melt at the same time. His mom and step-dad have been fighting a lot lately. He texted me in the middle of the night saying how scared he was and couldn't sleep. He was too scared to turn his TV on to help drown out the noise. So I called him and read him a book over the phone for almost an hour until he was sleepy and calm down. He texted me after we hung up and said thank you that made me feel better. This was the first time be has ever reached out to me during one of their arguments. My heart breaks that he is going through this right now but I'm so happy that he feels comfortable with reaching out to me. He knows I will always be there for him. Not all step parents are bad.