My Cousin Stopped Acting Crazy

My cousin had been pretending to be mentally disabled and freeloading at my house for five years. He scared off two of my ex-girlfriends and drained my parents’ retirement savings. This time, he set his sights on my cunning girlfriend, who was a company president, and sneaked into the guest room. He ended up pinned to the floor by her. My mother rushed in and slapped me. “He cannot help the way he is, but what is your excuse? Couldn’t you just let it go?” My girlfriend remained perfectly calm. She pulled up three months of security footage and said in a flat tone, “You might want to save your outrage until you see what your precious boy’s been doing every night.” Chapter 1 My cousin, Bobby Foote, had been pretending to be mentally impaired and freeloading at my house for five years. Five years ago, he was in a minor car accident. After he was discharged from the hospital, he claimed the trauma had left him mentally impaired. As his father had once saved my dad’s life, my parents paid for everything Bobby needed and let him live with us. They treated him better than they treated their own son. He had scared off both of my ex-girlfriends. He would bang on the guest bedroom door in the middle of the night and slip dead worms into their purses. Then, he would turn around and cry to my parents, claiming that I thought he was disgusting. My parents always gave me the same answer. “Your uncle saved your father’s life. Bobby has had a hard enough time. Just cut him some slack.” For five years, that debt of gratitude had been a weight I could never shake off. It was not as though I had never suspected that Bobby was faking it. I had even secretly filmed him sneaking out in the middle of the night. But when I showed the footage to my parents, they only accused me of looking for something just to get rid of Bobby. I put up with it for five years. I did not even dare bring a girlfriend home anymore. My current girlfriend, Lara Winchester, was the president of a tech company. We had been dating behind my parents’ back for six months. I had kept our relationship hidden because I did not want to drag her into my family’s mess. Then this week, she suddenly told me she wanted to meet my parents. I panicked and told her everything about the situation at home. I even showed her the footage I had secretly taken and was sure she was having second thoughts about visiting my parents. Instead, she leaned back in her office chair, idly twirling a limited-edition fountain pen between her fingers. She tapped the desk lightly. There was a faint, almost amused smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “Interesting… Now, I really want to meet him.” There was no talking her out of it. That weekend, she dragged me to the mall. She said that she wanted to pick a gift for my mother. She chose an elegant mother-of-pearl bangle and had it placed in a navy velvet jewelry box. She said that it would look perfect on my mother. We had just paid and turned around when we ran straight into Bobby. He was carrying a milkshake. The moment he saw Lara beside me, his eyes locked onto her. The next second, his gaze shifted back to that vacant, childish look. Drool hung from the corner of his mouth as he shuffled toward us in his slippers. “Kyle… pretty lady… hehe…” He deliberately stumbled and threw himself toward Lara. I reacted quickly and stepped forward to shield her. Lara was even faster. She sidestepped him before he could touch her. His arm swept hard across the jewelry box in her hand. It hit the marble floor with a sharp crack. The box sprang open. The mother-of-pearl bangle inside snapped clean in two. My temper flared instantly, and I pointed at Bobby. “You did that on purpose!” My mother came looking for him. She first saw the broken mother-of-pearl bangle on the floor and Bobby cowering in fright. Her expression immediately darkened. She jabbed a finger against my forehead. “Kyle, what’s wrong with you?! Why can’t you just cut Bobby some slack? You know he isn’t mentally well. He bumped into you. Big deal! The bracelet broke. So? Bobby could’ve gotten hurt.” I had heard the same excuse for five years. Every time, it hurt just as much. I clenched my fists and was about to argue when my mother noticed Lara standing beside me. She looked at her intently, clearly sizing her up. “Who might this be?” I was just about to introduce her, but Lara smiled and spoke first. Her voice was so gentle that it did not sound like her at all. “Hello, Mrs. Pride. I’m Lara, a friend of Kyle’s. I was the one who lost my grip on the box just now. It wasn’t Bobby’s fault, so please don’t be upset with him.” Mom paused. Seeing how well-dressed and polite Lara was, her expression softened a little, and she offered an embarrassed explanation. “Oh, I’m sorry you had to see that! My nephew has some mental issues, so he can be a little clumsy.” Lara kept smiling sweetly, but I saw it clearly. When her gaze passed over Bobby as he lowered his head, her eyes turned ice-cold. From where I was standing, I had a perfect view of Bobby’s profile. Chapter 2 He was looking at his feet, but the corner of his mouth curled into a smug little smile. There was nothing vacant about his expression. He looked pleased with himself. Lara saw it too. She did not call him out. Instead, she played along and chatted with Mom for a few minutes. She said she would come by for a visit in the following week. She casually mentioned that she knew one of the top psychiatrists in the state who might be able to help Bobby. I immediately jumped in. “That’s right, Mom! It’s almost impossible to get an appointment with someone like that. This would be a perfect chance to have Bobby properly evaluated.” Mom lit up at once. She praised Lara for being so thoughtful and gracious. Then, she turned and shot me a sharp look. She was clearly telling me to take a lesson from Lara and stop being so petty all the time. When we left the mall, I was still seething. The frustration was sitting heavy in my chest. Lara, meanwhile, pulled out her phone and quickly sent a message to her assistant. She told them to have someone come to my house the next day and install a few hidden cameras in the living room and the hallway. I did not hesitate before jumping in. “Next to the air vent in the living room, and behind the breaker box at the corner of the hallway. Those are the blind spots. He’ll never notice them.” She turned to me with amusement flickering in her eyes. “You’ve thought about doing this before?” I gave her a humorless smile. “For three years… I just never had the nerve.” She put her phone away and gave my shoulder a light pat with a knowing smile. “You do now. Next week, when I formally visit your family, the first act begins.” That weekend, Lara officially came over to meet my parents. She got my mother a luxury wellness hamper and my father an elegant wristwatch. Every detail was thoughtful and appropriate. At first, my parents were all smiles. Mom held her hand and asked her questions. They could not have been more pleased with her. We had barely sat down to dinner when Bobby started causing trouble. He deliberately tipped his bowl of hot tomato bisque toward Lara and spilled nearly half of it across her dress. Then, he put on that vacant look and laughed a little. He then mumbled, “My hand slipped. I’m sorry, pretty lady.” I immediately grabbed some napkins and stepped in front of Lara to blot the soup from her dress. Then, I turned to glare at Bobby. “If you can’t hold the bowl properly, stop messing around and just eat.” Mom immediately jumped in to smooth things over. “Why are you talking to him like that? You know he isn’t well. Why are you picking a fight with him? Lara, please don’t take it personally. He didn’t mean it.” Lara took the napkins from me and dabbed at her dress. There was not even a trace of irritation on her face. She brushed lightly at the stain on her skirt without so much as frowning. “It’s fine, Mrs. Pride. It’s only a dress. The stain will come out.” Her tone remained calm, without a word of blame. Mom looked even more pleased and kept praising her for being so gracious. I tightened my grip on my fork and knew this was only the beginning. Sure enough, less than two minutes later, Bobby reached across the table with his fork. He tried to put a piece of barbecue rib onto Lara’s plate while deliberately brushing his hand against hers. “Pretty lady, try this. It’s good.” My face darkened. I immediately caught his wrist before he could touch her. “Put it back. Eat your dinner.” The moment I touched him, Bobby jerked his hand away and looked toward Mom with a wounded expression. Lara calmly picked up her plate and shifted it a little farther away. “Thank you, Bobby, but I prefer to serve myself.” Then, she reached over, took my plate as well, and moved it beside hers. “So does Kyle. He’s a bit of a germaphobe.” Everyone at the table went silent for a moment. Dad’s expression soured slightly. He felt that Lara had embarrassed Bobby. “Lara, you know Bobby isn’t well. Don’t take what he does personally.” Lara smiled but did not respond. Instead, she turned and looked directly at Bobby. “Bobby, I heard you haven’t gotten any better over the past few years?” Bobby lowered his head and put on a timid, nervous expression. Mom sighed. “Yeah. We’ve taken him to so many doctors, but nothing has helped. We’re worried sick about him.” Lara nodded and said casually, “I know a specialist from one of the top psychiatric centers in the state, and he’ll be in town next week. I could arrange for him to come by and evaluate Bobby. “If there’s a chance he can get better, that’d be wonderful.” I immediately jumped in. “That would be perfect. Mom, we never could get an appointment with anyone that good, could we?” My parents’ eyes lit up at once. “Really? Lara, thank you so much!” Bobby kept his head down, but I saw his hand tighten sharply around his fork. His knuckles turned white. The grease between his fingers was squeezing out. Chapter 3 After dinner, Mom politely asked Lara to stay the night. She said that we had plenty of room and she could leave in the morning. I was about to object, worried that Bobby might try something during the night. Lara agreed before I could say anything. “Sure, Mrs. Pride. It’ll also give me a chance to observe Bobby a little more, so I can give the specialist a better idea of his condition.” She paused, then added, “I’ll take the downstairs guest room. I can leave the door unlocked too. That way, if Bobby has any trouble during the night, I’ll be able to hear him.” Mom immediately agreed. She once again praised Lara for being so thoughtful and considerate. Bobby looked up and shot Lara a glance. I recognized the calculating look in his eyes immediately. Back in my room, I did not question her right away. I first went to the window and checked the placement of the cameras. Then, I dragged a chair over and set it beside the door next to the guest room. “I’m staying here tonight. Leave the door cracked open. If he comes anywhere near you, I’ll pin him down.” Lara sat on the edge of the bed and gave her phone a little wave. There was a smile on her face. A women’s self-defense tutorial was playing on her phone. “You don’t need to play the hero. We’d have installed those cameras for nothing if he didn’t come. Relax. I know what I’m doing.” I stayed awake in the room next door until 1 a.m. I was clutching my phone in my hand. My palm was slick with sweat. With my ear pressed to the door, I could hear every little sound from the hallway. At last, I heard the faintest footsteps outside. They were slow and careful, as if whoever it was was deliberately trying not to make a sound. I held my breath and peered through the crack in the door. Bobby was wearing one of my jackets as he crept toward the guest room. I quickly texted Lara. [He’s here.] As soon as I sent it, I saw him gently push the door. When he realized it was unlocked, he immediately slipped inside. My stomach tightened, but I did not rush in. Instead, I quietly moved into position outside the guest room to block his only way out. I had barely gotten into place when a heavy thud came from inside, followed by Bobby’s scream. When I pushed open the door, I found Lara with one knee pressed against Bobby’s back, his arm twisted neatly behind him. Her movements were so clean and controlled that she looked professionally trained. Bobby’s cheek was pressed into the carpet as he sucked in sharp breaths through his teeth and babbled, “It hurts! Let me go, mean lady.” Lara looked at him, perfectly calm. In her other hand, she held the lipstick he had just taken from her purse and gave it a small shake in front of his face. “Breaking into a woman’s room in the middle of the night and going through her things… Is that really something a sick person does?” As soon as she said that, my parents rushed into the room in a panic. When Mom saw Bobby pinned to the floor, she lost it. She lunged forward to pull Lara off him. “What are you doing? He’s sick! How can you treat him like this?” Lara did not let go. She looked at my mother. “Mrs. Pride, he came in here to steal my things.” “Steal? He doesn’t know what he’s doing! He must’ve been just curious and came in to look around!” Then, Mom turned and shouted at me, “Kyle, what are you standing there for? Get her off him!” I did not move. Instead, I stepped in front of Lara. “Mom, he sneaked into a woman’s room in the middle of the night, went through her purse, and touched her things. “You call that curiosity? It’s been five years. How much longer are you going to keep making excuses for him?” That only infuriated her more. She stormed over and slapped me hard. The sharp crack cut through the dead silence of the house. One side of my face burned. My ears rang for a couple of seconds. I even tasted blood in my mouth. “He can’t help the way he is, but what is your excuse? Couldn’t you just let it go? We’ve taken care of him for five years. Can’t you even give him a little grace for one night? I held a hand to my cheek. I did not flinch or talk back. Five years of hurt and resentment came rushing back all at once, leaving a bitter lump in my throat. I looked straight at her. “I’ll let that slap slide for now. From now on, Bobby’s going to answer for everything he’s done while pretending to be sick.” Lara’s expression turned cold when she saw the handprint on my face. She released Bobby, rose to her feet, and calmly smoothed out her clothes. Mom was still muttering angrily as she helped Bobby up and fussed over him. She asked him if he was hurt and complained that we had scared him. Lara did not say a word. She walked to the corner of the room and removed the tiny hidden camera beside the electrical outlet. Chapter 4 She pulled out the memory card and turned it between her fingers. Its silver surface caught the light. “Mrs. Pride, before you rush to defend him, would you like to see what your precious boy was really doing in here in the middle of the night?” Mom’s face went pale. Bobby stopped his fake wailing too. Panic flashed in his eyes as he ducked behind her. Dad frowned and tried to smooth things over. “Lara, Bobby was in the wrong, but he’s sick. He doesn’t understand what he’s doing. There’s no need to air the family’s dirty laundry. Why don’t we just let this go?” I spoke before anyone else could. “No! He came into her room and stole from her. That is what happened. We have it all on camera, so he can’t talk his way out of it.” Lara chuckled and slipped the memory card into her pocket. “Fine. We can leave it at that.” She walked over to me and gently touched my reddened cheek. Her fingertips were cool against my burning skin. “But that slap doesn’t get swept under the rug. I’ll remember it and settle it later.” Early that morning, our phones started ringing non-stop. Before sunrise, Bobby had gone crying to the family group chat. He posted photos of the red marks on his arms along with a long message. He claimed that the girlfriend I brought home had assaulted him, planted cameras to intimidate him, and tried to drive a wedge between my father and me. The family group chat lit up in outrage. By 8 a.m., our living room was packed with relatives. Aunt Clara marched in and yelled at me, “Kyle, have you lost your mind? Your uncle saved your father’s life! Is this how you repay him, by letting some outsider mistreat his son?” Uncle Jim quickly joined in, “Exactly! Bobby isn’t well. He doesn’t even understand what he’s doing. That woman’s clearly stirring up trouble. Break up with her and apologize to Bobby!” One after another, they jumped in to blame me. My parents sat on the couch looking grim, but neither of them said a word in my defense. Mom sighed and looked at me. “Kyle, listen to me. Talk things over with Lara and let this go. Apologize to Bobby later. We’re a family. There is no need to make a spectacle of this in front of outsiders.” I could not hold back anymore. I pulled out my phone, opened the album, and tossed it onto the table. “Apologize? For what? I took these last month. That is Bobby at an internet cafe and at a pool hall. “Are you telling me someone who is supposedly too mentally impaired to know what he is doing can go out by himself and spend an entire afternoon gaming?” Aunt Clara slammed a hand on the table and shot to her feet. She was practically spitting as she shouted, “Those stupid photos prove nothing! All I see is you two ganging up on someone who can’t defend himself! You ungrateful brat!” The others immediately joined in. They were talking over one another as accusations came at me from every direction. Bobby sat curled up in the corner of the couch with his head lowered as he sniffled and sobbed. He looked every bit the helpless victim. I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug into my palms. Just then, Lara, who had been sitting quietly off to the side, suddenly stood up. She walked over to the television with a tablet in her hand and mirrored the screen onto it. “Everyone, there is no need to get worked up. Since you think the photos were doctored, that’s fine.” She tapped the screen. Pages of transaction records appeared on the television. “These are Bobby’s purchases from the past three months. Late-night pizza deliveries at 2 a.m., overnight sessions at a gaming lounge three times a week, and more than $37,000 spent on his gaming accounts. “Someone who supposedly can’t function on his own can order food in the middle of the night, play ranked matches, and stay up all night gaming with friends?” I immediately added, “I checked every account. They are all his. The money he spent on games alone would cover more than six months of Mom’s living expenses.” The entire room went silent. Our relatives exchanged uneasy looks. They were suddenly not quite sure what to say. Aunt Clara refused to admit the truth. “T-That still doesn’t prove anything! Maybe he only does those things when he is having a lucid spell.” “Exactly! He can still have moments when he knows what he is doing.” Lara did not argue. She simply gave them a faint smile. Then, she glanced toward the front door and said calmly, “If that’s still not enough for you, that’s okay too. Someone just arrived with more evidence.”