“If you’d start leaving stuff there, like I keep suggesting, you wouldn’t need to pack so much. Dad’s new house is your home, too. You are the center of both of our worlds.” She gave Hazel’s leg a squeeze. “You’re lucky to have two parents who want you to feel loved no matter whose house you’re in. You could be like Kimmy Wilkes, and how awful would that be?”

Lonnie and Donna Wilkes had divorced in rather spectacular fashion last year, just before Chris and Zoey split. Lonnie owned a car dealership in Watkins Glen, and Donna reportedly caught him with one of his saleswomen. In the back of a minivan. Testing the seats. Naked. She’d kicked him out of the house and changed the locks, promising he’d never see his daughter again. He took her to court, and boy, they redefined the term airing dirty laundry. Turned out Donna had a boyfriend herself. And Lonnie had a secret bank account the IRS was interested in. And Donna’s boobs were fake. And Lonnie had had a tummy tuck. Every week brought a new revelation, and neither of them did a thing to shelter their twelve-year-old daughter from the fallout. The poor girl’s grades plummeted when kids started teasing her over the gossip.

Lonnie’s parents finally stepped in and took Kimmy to Rochester to live with them. Sadly, it seemed Lonnie and Donna barely noticed she was gone—they were still too busy trying to one-up each other.

Hazel’s eyes shimmered with tears. “I’m sorry, Mom. It’s just...no matter how nice you and Dad try to be, you’re still divorced. I have to tiptoe now and not play favorites and...”

“Oh, sweetie.” Zoey rose to sit next to Hazel and pulled her into a tight hug. She tried her best not to let her own emotions interfere with her daughter’s relationship with Chris, but right now she was furious with him for blowing up their little family. “It is not your job to keep Dad or I happy. It’s your job to be a teenager.” She pinched Hazel’s ribs playfully. “This week you’re a teenager who’s also a massive bundle of hormones, but that’s okay. They’ll settle in a day or two and you’ll feel like yourself again.”

Hazel returned the hug, talking against Zoey’s shoulder. “Is this really going to last my whole life? Being a woman is awful.”