Defying All Odds - Sequel to Stronger

Defying All Odds

Part 1

*Justin's POV*

"Dad I'm home!" Emma, my 17 year old daughter yelled as she slammed the front door shut with a bang.

"You're 2 hours late. Where have you been?" I asked sitting in the living room in the dark staring at a blank television set just like I had been for the past hour and a half.

"Does it really matter?" she asked walking past me straight to the stair case.

"Would you be quiet? Your brothers and sister are sleeping. And yes for your information it does matter. I am your father you live under my roof. You had a curfew and you broke it. I deserve to know where you were. Not to mention your mother has been up worried sick about you all night," I said standing in front of her so I was blocking her from going up the stairs.

"She is not my mother," she said as her fits balled together.

"Are you kidding me? She's been there longer than your real mother has. Where is she now, huh? She stopped caring about you long ago but Selena didn't. She was always there for you. I don't ever want to hear you talk about her like that ever again, do you hear me?" I asked in a stern voice. To be honest I was getting tired of her shenanigans.

I watched as she rolled her eyes and mumbled something under her breath.

"I said do you understand me?" I said raising my voice to grab her attention.

"Yes!" she yelled.

"Justin what is going on? You are going to wake the kids," Selena said as she started to distend the stairs.

"I want to move in with mom," she blurted out.

"What did you say?" I asked in utter shock and Selena reached me and placed her hand on my shoulder automatically calming me down.

"We will talk about this in the morning," Selena said in a cool and collected voice. "Now off to bed."

Emma sighed and hurried up the stairs as I sighed as well wrapping my arms around Selena and burring my face in her chest.

"Why do we have to have teenagers?" I muttered into her chest as she rubbed my back.

"We were teenagers too once. It's just a phase. We just have to go along with it until she realizes we are right," Selena explained.

"Jachito's not that way. Why is he so easy and Emmaleigh is just a ball of rebellion?"

"Well, she is your child and they do say the way you were as a teenager is the way your teen will act and if I'm correct you were not the easiest person to raise."

"That is so not true. I was an excellent child," I defended.

"Shall I call Pattie?" she asked and I could just tell she was rising an eyebrow despite the fact that I couldn't see her.

"No need to call the mother-in-law," I sighed finally pulling away to lace my fingers with her as I pulled her up the stairs.

"Bailey wanted me to tell you that she wants you to tuck her in when you came up," Selena as we walked through our spacious house.

"Kay, I'll go deal with her. You head back to bed. I'll be there in a second," I said placing a soft kiss on her lips before heading down to my little girl's room.

*Selena's POV*

I was so glad that even after 11 years of marriage I was still able to feel that spark when I kissed Justin just like when we first started dating.

I walked back to our bedroom with a smile on my face trying not to think about all the bad stuff that was going on with Emma, but the good things in my life.

All 4 of my kids were healthy and relatively happy. My husband's career was still doing amazing even after all these years.

"Bailey is good to go," Justin said walking into our bedroom.

"She is one big daddy's girl," I laughed as pulled the covers up climbing under them.

"Well someone's got to like me. Both Bentley and Jachito like you more," he huffed as he got in behind me wrapping his arm tightly around my waist as he pulled me into him.

"And what about Emma?" I asked curious to see what he would say.

"She doesn't like anyone," he laughed in a bitter kind of way.

"Oh stop," I said lightly hitting his chest. "Like I said, it's a phase. It will be over before we know it. Then we are going to look back and laugh."

"Doubt it," he said as I closed my eyes listening to him hum in my ear.

-

"Good morning my beautiful wife," Justin said as he kissed my cheek before grabbing a bagel off the counter next to me.

"Do you have work today?" I asked taking a bite of the yogurt I was currently eating.

"Yes I do. I have a whole bunch of paperwork to do down at Scooter's place. It's that time of year for renewing contracts," he said rolling his eyes.

Over the years Justin's stardom had died down quite a bit but he was still really popular. From time to time we would make it on the cover of a magazine but we weren't the people who were the target of the paparazzi anymore.

"What time do you have a break? Maybe I'll swing by the school when I'm done with signing the papers and we can go out to lunch?"

After Justin and I decided it would be best to move back to our home in L.A. I decided that I should become a full time teacher at a local school for the less fortunate.

"Well I do have some papers to grade but I guess that can wait till later," I said causing a smile to break loose on Justin's face.

"Not so fast," Justin said as Emma tried to sneak past the kitchen and make a bee line to the door. "I believe we have something to discuss."