Between the Cross and the Flame

Chapter 5: Mavet

"I – I can explain– " Haniel began.

"Stop. Just stop." Lita wiped a tear from her face. "You're gay. You've known for two years...yet you didn't tell me?"

"I...I wanted to tell you...but...I couldn't...I didn't know if you..."

"What? If I would get my heart broken? If you would break my trust?" Lita shook her head. "Two years you've been lying to me, Haniel. I could have helped you. I could have saved you, but you chose to go beyond my help." She bit her lip. "You're going down a path I can't follow, Haniel. You're my son. How could you do this to me?"

"Mom, please, this isn't about you– "

"Did you ever stop to think for a single moment that maybe, just maybe, this would affect our family? Did you, Haniel?"

Haniel's bottom lip trembled. "I'm...I'm sorry."

"You should be. Do you have any idea what this will do to my job? To your future? To your standing with God? You've brought this on yourself, Haniel!"

That was it. Mavet had enough. He stormed through the front door and stood protectively in front of Haniel. Lita's face went slack. She stumbled into the stair rail as Mavet tightened his hands into fists.

"Haniel has nothing to apologize for," he snapped. "If you would have looked past your own selfishness for one goddamn second, you would have seen that you've raised the most compassionate, kind, amazing kid in the world. Being gay is not his fault, it was not his choice, and it never will be. Have you ever stopped to think that for the past two years, Haniel needed you, but you weren't there for him?"

"What is this? Are you...his boyfriend?"

"If I were, I would have done a little more than talk by now," Mavet growled.

Lita pursed her lips. "Get out."

Haniel's jaw dropped. "What?"

"Get out, and don't come back!"

"Good riddance!" Mavet snarled. He shouldered Haniel to get him moving. "Come on, let's get out of here."

He helped Haniel outside, then slammed the door for good measure. Chaya helped him move Haniel. The soccer player moved in a trance-like state, his eyes glassed over, muscles jerking with each step. Mavet bit his lip in worry. Haniel's entire life as he knew it had crumbled to nothing in the space of sixty seconds...was he ever going to recover from a shock like that?

Mavet guided them out of the subdivision and to the park adjacent to it. They wandered up and hill and parked themselves by a patch of pine trees at the top. Del called them, asking why Haniel hadn't been answering his texts, and the moment Mavet explained the situation, she hung up. Five minutes later, Irvin called, declaring that he was going to rescue Cooper and retrieve some of Haniel's things from the house. Both friends arrived less than fifteen minutes later, sprinting up the hill with Cooper at their heels.

"Haniel! Oh my God, I'm so sorry!"

"I can't believe this happened!"

Haniel didn't seem to hear them. He buried his face in his knees, hardly acknowledging his friends as they surrounded him in a group hug.

"If it makes you feel any better...Cooper was growling at you mom when I got there," Irvin offered.

Haniel still didn't respond. He stared off to the north, eyes clouded, tears running down his face. Chaya was misting up at the sight of him feeling so low. Mavet ranted under his breath and ran his hands through his hair, eventually walking off. Del followed him to calm him down. It took several minutes of coaxing the anger away for them to return. Irvin gave Cooper lots of attention, as the puppy was pacing nervously around his master. The silence seemed to stretch out and thicken the already heavy atmosphere. Mavet was about to say something to keep himself from going crazy when Haniel suddenly spoke.