Daniel looked away.
“What’s the big plan?”Jem asked.“You’re pretty fucking sure of yourself.Where are you going next?”
Tean’s jacket rustled as the boy clutched it.
“A shelter?”Jem said.“A friend’s house?”
“Daniel, we’re trying to help,” Tean said.
“Don’t bother,” Jem said.“He’s got no idea what he’s doing.We’ll give him back to his mom—”
“BYU is just up the hill,” Daniel said, his voice threatening to crack.“The dorms are right there.There are always people who leave stuff lying around.There’s a lost-and-found in the laundry room.”
“So, what?You get a change of clothes?Maybe finally get yourself a pair of shoes?And then what?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Convince the college kids to adopt you?Let you be their mascot?”
“Jem,” Tean said.
“Get a job?Make the big bucks at the Creamery?”
“This isn’t productive.”
Jem snapped his fingers.“I got it.You’re going to find some old dude and play boyfriends again.That was Brennon’s whole thing, right?‘I love you, I’m going to take care of you, you mean everything to me—’”
“He did love me!You don’t know what you’re talking about!”The boy’s shouts rang out in the enclosed space, but no one came to investigate.His thin chest rose and fell rapidly.“And I don’t have to tell you anything because people like you don’t understand!”
“I bet Brennon told you that.Nobody would understand.That’s why you had to keep it a secret.”
“And he was right.Nobody understands.But he loved me.And I loved him.That’s what mattered.”
“It’s not that simple,” Tean said gently.“Daniel, you’re not old enough to make that kind of decision.That’s why we have laws to protect you.And Brennon knew you weren’t old enough.”
“Iamold enough.Why is eighteen a magic number?I’m mature for my age.I know what I want.He didn’t lie to me or trick me or anything.We loved each other.That’s all that matters.”
“No, it’s not.I know that’s hard to hear, but what he did was wrong.”
“Like it was wrong for you to fuck my dad?”Daniel asked, wiping more tears away.“Like that?”
Tean didn’t move.Then his mouth quirked once, as though he might be trying to smile.He raised one hand, like pressing pause, and his fingers were trembling.
“Go take a minute,” Jem said.
Tean ducked his head in what might have passed for a nod, but he didn’t rise.
“Go on,” Jem said, squeezing Tean’s arm.“Walk it off.”
“Daniel—” Tean said, but he stopped, and he sounded confused.Finally, he said, “I’m sorry.”
He rose awkwardly, like his body could only move one side at a time, and made his way into the parking garage with unsteady steps.
“Real fucking nice,” Jem told Daniel.
“What?He did, didn’t he?”With a kiddie attempt at malice, he added, “You didn’t know?”
“You want people to treat you like an adult?Start acting like one.Life’s complicated.People do things they’re not proud of because they feel like they have to, because they don’t know how not to.”