Page 96 of The Same Flesh
“And Daniel really opened up,” Tean’s dad said.“I think he wanted someone to talk to.He’s got a lot of anger towards Ammon.Did you know that?So, I invited him to share more about that with me.”
Still nothing from Amos.Tean sent another text:Come pick him up.He’s not staying here.
“He didn’t want to say anything, but I could tell he and Ammon got into a fight.I counseled him—”
“You’re not Daniel’s therapist.And you’re not his spiritual leader.You shouldn’t be counseling him to do anything.”
Tean’s dad was silent for a moment.It was the injured silence of someone who had been wronged, and when he spoke again, he said, “Well, maybe you’re right.”
That made Tean want to scream.Instead, he made his way into the kitchen.Still nothing from Amos, not a single response.Tean wanted to pick up the phone.Call him.Have it out right then.
“I know it’s hard for Daniel right now,” Tean’s dad said.He got to his feet, winced, and then began shuffling across the room.“He’s lost.”
“He’s not lost.He’s a teenager, and he had a fight with his dad because they don’t agree on something.”
“He’s very hard on Ammon.”
Tean found himself trying not to respond, but he made a sound of disbelief anyway.
“I think that young man just needs a little perspective,” Tean’s dad said.“When you’re that age, it’s easy to blame everything on someone else.You don’t understand that life can be difficult for someone else.You don’t know that other people are struggling too.”
“Dad, I don’t want to talk about this right now.”
Tean grabbed the phone and tapped out a message before he could reconsider it:Answer me.
But nothing.
He took a deep breath.Fine.He’d set up the bed on the sofa again.His dad could stay a night.Tomorrow, they’d get him a splint or a brace or something, and they’d get him up those stairs to his apartment even if Tean had to carry him on his back.
“Ammon’s a wonderful father,” Tean’s dad said, turning in place as Tean moved toward the hall.“He’s a good man.He’s trying his best for his children.”
“When was the last time you talked to Ammon?”When Tean’s dad opened his mouth, Tean said, “Besides that trip to Vegas.What do you know about him?”
“I’ve known him his whole life,” Tean’s dad said.“We still see his parents all the time.”
Tean shook his head.He grabbed a fresh set of bedding from the closet and carried it to the sofa.
As he unfolded a sheet, his dad said, “Maybe you know this already, but Ammon didn’t have an easy childhood.”
A brittle laugh slipped out of Tean.“Is that right?”
“I know you were friends, but kids don’t always see the whole picture.”
“Dad, I don’t want to talk about Daniel.And I certainly don’t want to talk about Ammon.”
“I know that you think you’re helping Daniel, letting him run away from home like that, giving him somewhere safe to land.But he’s going to have to deal with his dad someday.”
Tean shoved handfuls of the sheet behind the cushions.
“All I’m saying,” Tean’s dad said, “is that Ammon didn’t have it easy—”
“Ammon has always had it easy.”Tean was on his feet; he didn’t remember standing.“Ammon has always had it easy because he’s always taken the easy way out.He had a difficult childhood?Everyone loved him.Everyone.Including you and Mom.He couldn’t do anything wrong.He was good at everything.That’s been his whole life, up until the minute he decided to come out.And now nobody knows what to do because Ammon finally screwed up in a way that they can’t all pretend not to notice, and you don’t know how to handle it.”
Tean’s dad didn’t respond.He was holding on to the countertop.Deep lines etched his eyes and mouth.“His father was very hard on him.Not everyone grows up with a father who loves them—”
The sound that came out of Tean’s mouth was childish—it sounded petulant, adolescent, and he was pretty sure he’d heard Daniel make it the last time Jem told him to take out the trash.But he couldn’t stop it, the same way he couldn’t stop himself from throwing down the rest of the bedding and stalking toward his bedroom.
“Teancum, what’s wrong—”
