Page 65 of Ravenous

But her forehead creased in concern as she peered at me. “Something happened, didn’t it? Did you have a fight? He seemed like such a good man. Respectful and all that.”

My shoulders slumped, and tears burned behind my eyes again. I wasn’t going to be able to keep it from her. I couldn’t be cheerful for her tonight. I couldn’t even keep it together for myself.

I sank into a kitchen chair in defeat, sighed, then sniffed. “Not a fight. But we broke up.”

Her eyes widened. “Why would you break up if there wasn’t a fight?”

“He and Remy’s mom are involved in a custody battle, and it’s going to be better for his chances of keeping Remy if I’m not in the picture.”

Her mouth fell open in shock. “What? That’s absurd. Having you around just makes his home all the more stable! It’s not like you’re a felon or addict or something.”

I dropped my head into my hands, my elbows resting on the table. “I don’t want to talk about it, Mom.”

Icouldn’ttalk about it. Not without explaining the whole wolf thing, which was a secret I knew Wes–or anyone else in the pack–didn’t want shared.

Mom sat down beside me and rubbed between my shoulder blades, like she had when I was a kid. “Sweetheart,” her voice was soothing. “I’m so sorry. I could tell you really care about both of them. And I admit, I really liked them too. Remy’s a… well, she reminds me a lot of you. Bright and intelligent. Busy, too.”

Tears dripped into my hands even as I laughed. “I do like both of them,” I said.

She cocked her head. “So, can you help me understand? Did Wes ask you to walk away?”

I shook my head. “No, but his ex doesn’t want me around Remy. She made that very clear. I’m… I’m triggering to her, I guess. It just would be easier for them to sort things out if I wasn’t part of the equation.”

“But youarepart of the equation.” My mom’s voice was soft, but firm, setting her hand on top of mine.

“Mom, you’re not helping,” I snapped then immediately regretted it.

My mom stood up and kissed the top of my head. I heard her moving around the kitchen, working on dinner.

“I’m sorry.” I wiped my tears and stood to help her.

She put a hand out. “Sit down, sweetheart. I’ve got dinner covered.”

“No, I’d rather be useful.” I set the table and got us two glasses of ice water.

“You don’t have to be strong all the time,” my mom said after a moment, not looking my way.

It sounded like something Wes would say, which ripped a fresh hole in my chest.

“I know you took on too much responsibility as a young girl, after the divorce,” she continued. “I had such a hard time functioning with the depression. You sacrificed your adolescence for me.”

Wow. That was a heavy admission.

I was stunned by her words as I held the napkins. “No, Mom. We were in it together.”

She turned from the counter to face me. “We shouldn’t have been in it together. I was the grown up. I should have been there for you, and instead, it was the other way around.”

My mom’s words flayed me even more. God, why was she laying this on me right now? I was incapable of healing her wounds for her when I could barely stop the bleeding of my own.

“Joy…you sacrifice yourself for everyone else.” She came over to me, took the napkins and set them on the table. Then she took my hand. “You spend your energy trying to make everyone happy. Cheering people up. Me, especially.”

“So?” I croaked. I really didn’t know why we were discussing my character flaws right now.

She gave my hand a squeeze. “So I want you to be selfish for a change.”

“Mom, now is not the time to be selfish!” I stated firmly. “I told you, I’m triggering to his ex. I need to take myself out of the situation.”

“Well, that may be true,” she said, her voice soft. “But I’m seeing my daughter in tears, which tells me that she’s not happy with the choice she made. I’m just thinking sometimes when we think there’s only two choices, it might be time to look for a third option. I know maybe I’m not the one to say that to you, that I need to say that to myself first. Huh?”

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