Page 77 of Against All Odds

“Mama,” Juno snapped, surprising both of us. She rarely raised her voice, especially not with her parents. “Stop. Just stop.”

Alexa blinked, looking genuinely taken aback. “Excuse me?”

“You’ve been awful.” Juno’s voice shook with angerandsadness. “To Sable, to Dad, tome. And for what? Because you’re jealous? Because you can’t stand the idea that he’s moved on, and you haven’t?”

“Mind your tone, young lady.” Alexa tried thedisappointed mother tone. I could tell her that wasn’t going to work. Juno was done putting up with her bullshit, and if Alexa were paying attention, she’d have known. I couldn’t help either of them with this, so I let it play itself out.

“Mama, you called another person trash in front of me and said I’d turn into trash, too,” Juno accused.

Alexa’s eyes shuttered, and I saw guilt and shame sparkle in them. She knew what she’d done was wrong, but she didn’t know how to admit it and backtrack.

“Well, I am right about that.” Alexa dug in.

Juno shook her head. “What you are, Mama, is mean. Really, really meanandcruel.”

“How dare you talk this way to me?” Alexa protested, but her voice lacked confidence.

“Because…,” there was a wealth of sadness in Juno’s voice, “you’re my mother, and you are supposed to be better than this.”

Juno’s words hit harder than anything I could’ve said, and for once, Alexa didn’t have a comeback.

“You’re hurting people, including Daddy and me,” Juno continued. “And it’s not okay.”

Alexa looked down at the coffee table in front of her and set her wine glass down, all bravado gone.

“Juno.” I gently rested a hand on her shoulder. “Why don’t you go wait up in your room? I need to talk to your mom alone.”

She hesitated, glancing between us, but eventually nodded and left without another word.

For a long moment, Alexa and I sat in silence.

“How can she say such things to me?” Alexa’s mouth wobbled.

“You know how.” I felt bad for her because I knew how hard it was to have your daughter be disappointed in you, reprimand you, and turn the tables on who’s the adult and who’s the child.

She looked up at me, her eyes brilliant with unshed tears. “Do you have any idea how hard this has been for me, Heath? Watching you move on, watching you be happy with someone else?”

“I can imagine,” I empathized. “But that doesn’t excuse what you’ve done. You’ve hurt me, you’ve hurt Sable, and now you’re hurting Juno. Why?”

Her face crumpled, and she looked away.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I just...I didn’t want to feel like I was losing everything. Like I was nothing.”

“You’re not nothing,” I consoled. “You’re Juno’s mother, and you’reyou.”

“It doesn’t feel like enough,” she snapped.

“Regardless, you’re a grown-up, and you have to deal. So, the gossip, the sabotage, the drama, all of it needs to stop. For Juno’s sake, if nothing else.”

“You’re behaving like you’re not to blame for any of this,” she shouted, angry, helpless, and frustrated. I understood those emotions well.

“I am, without a doubt, at least partly to blame,” I confessed, shocking her. “I should’ve been clearer with you about how we’re never going to get back together. I should’ve steered clear of you socially and kept the lines clear. Instead, I let them blur. We can’t eat dinner once aweek as a family—not now, not when you’re hoping that we’ll get back together, and I have no idea why you’d want that.”

“Because I love you, Heath, and Iknowyou love me.”

I shook my head. “I don’t love you, Alexa. Not anymore.”

“No,” she whimpered. “Don’t say that. I’m your wife. I…thought sure we’d get divorced since…you were so adamant, but then you agreed to move here and?—”

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