I am really, really high.
Scipio nuzzled into him, turned in a circle, wiggled his butt.His fur felt like static electricity between Jem’s hands, and he kept running them down the dog’s back, and Scipio kept wiggling.
Where have you been?
It took him a moment to realize the words had been spoken aloud.
Tean was standing in the hallway that led to the bedrooms.He wore sweats, and his hair was mussed, and it looked like his new—well, newish—glasses had gotten bent.
“Oh my gosh, Jem, you’re okay.You’re okay.”He stopped.He crossed his arms, seemed to catch himself, and dropped them, but then he rubbed his palms against his thighs.“I thought— I don’t know what I thought.I’m so glad you’re okay.”
He came across the room, and Jem had to stop petting Scipio, which meant his palms no longer felt like lightning.Tean grabbed him in a hug and pressed his face to Jem’s neck.Jem stroked his back.The sweatshirt didn’t feel the same as Scipio’s fur, but it was nice too.And the feel of Tean’s breath on Jem’s neck was nice.And he was starting to chub up.Tean had a little stubble on his cheeks, and when it scraped against Jem’s cheek, it sparked.
Tean leaned back from the hug, a strange look on his face, but then Jem noticed the couch wasn’t made up as a bed anymore.
“Where’s your dad?”Jem asked.
“Hm?Oh.He’s gone.”
Jem kept rubbing Tean’s back, but the movement was automatic now.“Where’d he go?”
“I don’t know.I don’t care.We had a huge fight, and I told him to get out.Jem, where were you?I’ve been so worried.”
Jem’s hand slowed.Then stopped.Tean held on to him for another moment, and then he stepped back.
“What do you mean, you don’t know where he went?”Jem could hear his voice tightening, but it was that same feeling as earlier, like someone else was doing the talking for him.“He was hurt.He needed somewhere to stay.”
“It’s a long story,” Tean said.But his tone had changed too, and he was hugging himself again.“I asked you a question: where were you?”
“Is that my vow book?”Jem asked.
The book was on the counter.
Tean didn’t say anything.
“Why is my vow book on the counter?”Jem asked.
“Because my dad was snooping.That’s what we fought about.He was upset I hadn’t told him about the wedding.”
“Did you read it?”
Tean cut his eyes away, but he said, “No.”
The heaviness in Jem’s body no longer felt grounding.It felt like it was all on his chest.Like he couldn’t breathe.
He picked up the vow book and flipped through it, like maybe they’d left fingerprints, some sign they’d been reading it.But the pages were all still blank.
“You weren’t supposed to look at it,” Jem said.
“I told you, I didn’t.My dad was the one who found it.”
Jem’s gut tightened.Let it go, he told himself.Move on.But he heard that other person say, “I’m still thinking about what I want to say.”A beat passed, and he kept talking.“I’m working on it.”
“It’s fine.That’s not important.Where were you last night?”
All that blood.The torn apart thing that had been a person.
“You can’t kick your dad out,” Jem said.“You need to call him.”
