Briana DeJesus wants to keep her teenage daughter on the right track.
The mother and daughter talk about therapy on the Thursday, March 20 episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter. Briana tells Nova, 13, that she's happy she's opening up to someone as she continues her therapy journey.
"It's been two months since Devoin was here for Nova's 13th birthday," Briana explains in a confessional, referring to Nova's dad, Devoin Austin. Austin moved out of state for a work opportunity, an adjustment Briana says Nova has struggled with.
"Now it's literally just a text message and a phone call here and there. In the girls, they do sense him being missing, but I'm always worried about the things that Nova's not saying. She may end up having abandonment issue and I know what that's like because I went through that with my dad and I'm still going through that."
When Nova's therapist asked Briana to speak after Nova's next session, she became concerned. The teen wasn't indicating anything was wrong. She explains the situation to her mom, Roxanne, admitting that she's anxious to hear what the therapist has to say.
"I don' t know if this is something that they do with every child. I'm just worried because this is my baby," she says.
Getting emotional, Briana explains, "When I had Nova, I didn't think about any of this. I was so naive... I thought it was very quick and simple. You take care of the baby, you make sure it's fed, and now I'm raising a teenager and I'm like, 'Oh my God, there's this. There's that.'"
"I'm literally faking it til I make it," Briana tells her mom. "I don't know what I'm doing."
Roxanne asks if Devoin — whose social media shows him visiting with the girls earlier this year — is aware that Nova's in therapy and may be struggling. Briana says she doesn't know if Nova's open to sharing that with him.
"Nova told me, 'I just don't want to talk about my dad. We could talk about anything else.' And I asked why and she was like, 'I just don't want to.' Maybe Nova's learning a boundary or two in therapy."
"You can't fight this battle alone, but I think you're smart enough, wise enough, to help Nova cope. You're a good mom," Roxanne assures her.
Later, Briana calls sister Brittany to fill her in on what Nova's therapist shared.
"Basically, she said something like, she wants me, her mom, to spend more time with her dad's side of the family. She was basically telling the therapist that her dad shouldn't have left Florida and that he needs to move back."
Briana tells Brittany she plans to talk to Devoin about it but doesn't know how much change that will lead to.
"He's very nonchalant about it and he brushes it off. He's like, 'Nova's going to have to deal with it because this just is what it is. I did it, she can do it, type of thing," she shares.
Brittany says she thinks Nova is going to start pulling away from Devoin and Briana admits she thinks it's already happening.
"She doesn't really text him back. She doesn't call him back. It's kind of like what I knew was going to happen. It's happening."
Briana is concerned the next conversation "would probably have to be the last conversation" she has with Devoin about being involved in his daughter's life.
Brittany shares her concerns, asking, "If this is the last conversation, where the f--k do we go from here? My mind goes to it being the way it end dup being for me and you. Our dad just never came back. Is Nova and Stella, are they going to end up like us, with no dad at all?"
Teen Mom: The Next Chapter airs on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.
