For Day 2 of @drgeyerappreciation (ssssh, I know I'm late, but this could maybe fit the theme of Day 4, too)
Dr Geyer & Liam, ~1400 wordsÂ
Dr Geyer entered his son's room with two muffins in hand - one extended to a tight-muscled Liam sitting cross-legged on the bedroom floor. It was a peace offering.
"Didn't Mom say she made the batch for her friend's baby shower?" Liam asked despite already letting his character die on the screen in favour of snatching the food from his stepfather's hand.
"I don't think she'll mind," Dr Geyer reassured as he too took a seat on the floor, "Especially if you need it. And something tells me you do."
Liam began slowly eating his muffin crumb by crumb instead of answering, but Dr Geyer could sense that there was a reason his son let him into his room in the first place.
"You wanna talk about why you almost tore our entrance door down when you came home from school?" Dr Geyer probed gently, trying to keep his voice free of accusations and coercion. Thankfully, Liam seemed to have gotten better somehow at being able to read his emotions - the older man wasn't sure how he felt about that yet - so the kid must have sensed the worry that Dr Geyer felt instead of the anger Liam must have expected for his behaviour. The teen's shoulders seemed a bit looser than at his stepfather's first appearance at the doorstep, at least.
"It's just," Liam shrugged his shoulders, a larger bite muffling the words in his mouth, "One of the guys quit the lacrosse team today."
"No," Liam denied nonchalantly. Thankfully, Dr Geyer was also becoming better at reading the teen. "Maybe. I don't know. Not... that, I think. It's just... He quit because of me." He almost whispered that last part.
"Pfft, no. He said he has to focus on his school work."
"Then maybe it doesn't have anything to do with you."
"I know it has!" Liam's jaw snapped close tensely as he went back to picking at his muffin, "I may have... said a few things to his parents. After the last game."
Liam glanced at his stepfather's face tentatively, and when there was still no anger on the older man's face - you could say that Dr Geyer had mastered dealing with people over the years as a doctor - the teen continued.
"His parents aren't a fan of sports," Liam grumbled with downcast eyes, "They drive him insane with how much studying he has to do. He always has to get good grades, and if they think he's slacking, then..."
Dr Geyer took a bite out of his own muffin at the pause. He was a stress eater.
"He tried to cover it, but I saw them. The new bruises on his arms. When he quit today," Liam added quietly while his eyes strayed up to the TV screen where his teammates were still trying to eliminate the enemy.
Dr Geyer was no stranger to anger - probably was more familiar with it than Liam would ever know. But he couldn't let the situation take his focus away from Liam when his son was clearly hurting, and Dr Geyer could understand why.
This was personal for Liam. He must have seen himself in that other kid.
"Liam, it's not your fault."
"I was the one who made his parents angry."
"Do not take the blame for others' wrongdoings. From what you said, this issue already existed before you intervened."
"I wanted to help," Liam gritted out, hand clenching into a fist before he went back to eating instead, "I made everything worse."
Dr Geyer heaved a sigh and scooted closer to his son. The worst thing he could possibly do now was make Liam feel like he wasn't on his side, which wasn't true.
"You could have handled it better," Dr Geyer conceded before leaning down to search for his son's eyes, "But you had good intentions."
"Yeah, much good it did to Gavin."
"We can't foresee these kinds of things, Liam," Dr Geyer said - a truth he himself had to learn the hard way, "Sometimes, we have to live with the choices we make, and we have to forgive ourselves for the decisions that turn out to be regrets. Especially when they are made under duress."
"Maybe, but I always seem to make the bad calls."
Dr Geyer had a feeling that this wasn't just about what happened to Liam's teammate. Although he didn't know everything about Liam's past, Dr Geyer had heard the news, he even saw the bodies.
No matter what that kid Brett had done to Liam, his death haunted the teen more than he let on.
"You can't save everyone, Liam."
His son fell silent, and it felt as if they had hit one of those deep divides - the ones Dr Geyer wished he could cross with the bridge of his affection and worry alone. But they didn't have these deep conversations before, aside from the one about Liam's anger. This was new territory, and Dr Geyer couldn't blame Liam for closing himself off, either, when he himself wasn't showing a better example as a father.
Bridges were built step by step, too.
"A week ago... remember how tired I was? After I came home from work?"
Liam hummed, glancing up at him with a slight frown.
"I had an emergency surgery that day. A... a failed surgery," Dr Geyer pressed his lips together, gathered the strength to recall the memories, and pushed on, "A six-year-old girl crossed the street without looking. She couldn't make it, even though I was sure she would. I had to deliver the news to the parents afterwards and believe me, that never gets easy. Not even after years in the field."
For a while, Liam seemed unsure of what to say. Then: "Why didn't you tell me?"
"It's not a burden you should carry," Dr Geyer said softly, and then gave his statement some more thought, "But maybe I could share more with you. What I mean to say is that I know that you did everything you could in that situation. Unfortunately, we can't predict the future and we can't prepare for everything. You are allowed to feel sad and angry, of course, but you just have to accept that in that moment, you weren't able to do more."
"Did you feel like you made a horrible mistake? Like it was your fault? Like you should have known better? Should have protected someone instead of letting them down?"
Liam didn't say a word. In pensive silence, they finished their muffins, but for the first time in their relationship, the quiet didn't seem awkward at all.
"I know what it feels like to feel helpless, Liam," Dr Geyer spoke up after a while, "But if that happens, it's okay to reach out. It's okay for you to...for you to reach out to me."
Liam averted his eyes at that, and the teen fiddled with the empty wrapper of his muffin as his shoulders hunched in on himself. "But don't you feel like... like I'm..."
"You didn't disappoint me."
Liam's head whipped up at him in an instant, those juvenile eyes glinting wetly despite no tears being able to escape him. His shoulders were fully relaxed now, though, and that was a start.
"I think I can actually help you with your teammate's case," Dr Geyer added his thoughts aloud, which made Liam straighten up beside him with restless energy. He was slowly returning to himself.
"You know, some things are for the adults to handle," Dr Geyer shot him a parental 'so you better let me handle it' smile as he dared to playfully nudge his son's shoulder with his.
In response, Liam launched forward and wrapped him into a tight hug - one, which was also relatively new territory for them, but just like these heart-to-hearts, Dr Geyer thought they should do more often.
Dr Geyer patted his son's back soothingly as his own shoulders dropped in relief. He kept holding Liam as long as his son needed it, especially when the teen's back tensed up anew and his voice came out sounding hesitant next to his ear:
"If we're revealing things about ourselves... I have a secret to share."
