The kitchen was a battleground, the air thick with tension as Sasha stood before her son, arms folded tightly across her chest. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and she gritted her teeth as she spoke. "So, you egged Mr. Greenburg's house?" The words came out like an explosion, echoing in the small space.

Rodney shifted his weight from one foot to another, his gaze darting around the room as if searching for an escape route. He sighed, finally meeting his mother's stare. "Yeah, I did it," he admitted reluctantly. "But, Mom, he wouldn't even let me explain myself and I didn't deserve the grade he gave me." His voice cracked with frustration and pleaded for understanding.

He didn't mention that he felt like his best friend had abandoned him. He also kept quiet about the confusing feelings he'd been having towards Parker lately. His mother already had enough ammunition against him; there was no need to provide more.

"Whether the grade was fair or not, I expect more from you, Rodney." Sasha's voice grew cold, her disappointment clear. "This is unacceptable behavior."

"Fine, I won't stand up for myself next time," he muttered, averting his eyes again. He knew better than to argue when his mother had that particular edge to her tone.

The following day, after school, Rodney spotted Derek leaning against the lockers, chatting with a group of friends. Hoping to confide in him about everything that had been going on, Rodney began walking towards him, only to be stopped by his mother's firm hand on his shoulder.

"Rodney, we're going home right now," Sasha said sternly, her eyes scanning over the scene like a hawk. "I can't trust you to use your free time wisely."

"Mom..." Rodney's voice trailed off, annoyance and frustration simmering beneath the surface. But he swallowed the words he wanted to say, knowing that it would only make things worse to fight her on this. Instead, he gave a resigned nod and followed her out of the school.

As they walked side by side, Rodney's thoughts raced with everything he wished he could say to his mother, but he knew that it was better to leave the boat unshaken. He just hoped that one day, she would understand him a little better.

---------

Upon arriving home, Sasha crossed her arms and fixed Rodney with a stern gaze. "You're grounded until the end of the semester," she declared, her voice as unwavering as her decision.

"Grounded?" Rodney's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "But why now!"

"Because I needed time to decide an appropriate punishment," Sasha retorted sharply, her eyes narrowing. "You can use this time to focus on your school work. Eighties aren't perfect."

Rodney clenched his jaw, his frustration mounting. He wanted to argue further, but he knew it would be futile, his dad was the one who saw things his way. Instead, he nodded curtly and retreated to his room, slamming the door behind him. As he sat down at his desk and pulled out his textbooks, his mind raced with thoughts of unfairness and injustice and how if his dad had been here none of this would have been happening.

Later that night, Sasha left the house to run errands, her heels clicking briskly on the pavement. As she pushed her cart through the grocery store aisles, she rounded a corner and nearly collided with Tara, Ally's mother. Her heart sank, a mixture of surprise and dread settling in her stomach.

"Hello, Sasha!" Tara greeted her warmly, her smile genuine. "Fancy running into you here!"

"Hi, Tara." Sasha forced a smile, her mind racing. She hadn't known that Ally's family had also moved to Strathroy. "What brings you to town?"

"Didn't Rodney tell you?" Tara asked, her blue eyes sparkling. "We moved here because I'm writing a book, and I needed to research some local history for the mystery plot. Plus, we thought it'd be great for Rodney and Ally to be in high school together since they're best friends."

Stolen novel; please report.

"Ah, yes, it would have been a shame if they were apart," Sasha murmured, feigning agreement. Internally, she bristled at the thought of Rodney being weighed down by Ally, who she saw as a hindrance to his academic potential. "That's... wonderful."

"Isn't it?" Tara beamed, utterly oblivious to Sasha's true feelings. "Well, I'd better get going, dinner isn't going to cook itself. See you around!"

"Bye, Tara," Sasha said tightly, watching her walk away before resuming her shopping.

As she filled her cart with groceries, Sasha couldn't shake the nagging worry that Ally was the reason Rodney had been acting out, egging a house would be one of her schemes. She resolved to keep a closer eye on Rodney, determined to protect her son from anything – or anyone – that might hold him back.

----------

The warm aroma of roasted meat filled the air as Sasha entered the house, her arms laden with grocery bags. Rodney glanced up from his homework, watching as she set about setting the table with practiced efficiency.

"Guess who I ran into at the store?" Sasha asked nonchalantly as she placed glasses at each place setting.

"Who?" Rodney replied, his pencil tapping nervously against the table.

"Ally's mother, Tara," she said, her tone tinged with disapproval. "She mentioned that Ally is in some of your classes. Why didn't you tell me?"

Rodney shifted uneasily in his seat. "I didn't think it was important."

Marcy, perceptive as always, caught the tension brewing between them and attempted to intervene. "Hey, let's just enjoy dinner, okay? We can talk about this later." But her words did little to calm the storm that was brewing.

"Rodney," Sasha said, setting down the plated roast with a flourish, "It was Ally who convinced you to egg that teacher's house wasn't it."

For a moment, the dining room seemed to transform into a courtroom, Sasha standing as the stern judge, passing sentence on Rodney's friend. He bristled at the accusation, hands gripping the edge of the table tightly.

"Ally had nothing to do with it," he insisted, his voice firm. "I made my own choice."

"Really?" Sasha countered, raising an eyebrow. "Was she not the one who convinced you to use the old rope swing by the lake, you ended up with arm broken in two places."

"Mom, that was an accident and we were nine," Rodney retorted, frustration evident in his voice.

"Maybe so, but your grades suffered because of that incident," Sasha continued, her voice cold and accusatory. "Her childish schemes always come back to bite you, not her."

"It was because I couldn't write with a cast and our teacher was too busy dealing with the kid throwing desks to help me write" Rodney exclaimed, his cheeks flushing with anger. "You have always just hated Ally because you don't think she is as smart as me."

"Rodney–" Marcy tried to interject, but he cut her off.

"Mom, you don't really care about me," Rodney said, struggling to keep his voice from trembling. "All you care about is our family's image. Well, guess what our family is broken, dad is gone and we never seem to address that. Like if we just ignore it, it didn't happen."

The words hung heavy in the air, a painful truth that couldn't be unsaid. The once-inviting aroma of the roast now seemed suffocating, filling the room with oppressive heat. And for a moment, everything stood still – a family teetering on the edge of an unspoken cliff.

He looked around at his family, their faces a mixture of shock and sadness. Marcy reached out a hand as if to comfort him, but he pulled away.

"Mom, you only ever seemed to listen to Dad," he continued, tears streaming down his face. "We're all hurting, but it feels like you only care about yourself."

With that, Rodney stormed from the table, the clatter of his chair hitting the floor echoing through the suddenly quiet room.

Rodney slammed his bedroom door shut behind him, the harsh sound reverberating off the walls like a physical weight. Leaning against the door, he let out a ragged breath and wiped angrily at his tear-streaked cheeks.

He needed a distraction – anything to take his mind off the painful confrontation he'd just left. Pulling his phone from his pocket, Rodney began scrolling through stories, desperate for something to ease the raw ache in his chest.

Then, he saw it: Parker's newest update. A photo of Parker and Madison together, standing in front of a massive Christmas tree. The caption beneath it read, "The best gift is a new relationship." His heart clenched painfully, and a wave of sadness washed over him. Seeing Parker with Madison hurt him the same way seeing Ally with Matt did, even if he didn't quite know why.

"Damn it," he muttered, switching off his phone and tossing it into his laundry basket with more force than necessary.

Outside his bedroom door, Sasha stood hesitating, her hand raised as if to knock. She wanted to say something – anything – to address the painful words her son had spoken at dinner. But she didn't know how to apologize, or even where to begin.

She lingered there, her heart aching with the knowledge that she had failed her son in so many ways.

"Rodney," she whispered, her voice barely audible even to herself, "I'm so sorry."

But the door remained closed, and the chasm between them only seemed to widen.