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“Are you ready?” Shiela walks into Tan’s room as he ties his shoes
“To go to therapy for no reason? Yep”
“Be sarcastic all you want Tan but you’re father and I could’ve easily gotten a divorce, that would be worst.”
“For who?!” Tan stands up facing his mother “I’m only doing this so I won’t have to fight with you guys about not wanting to do this. You and dad are doing this to waste everyone’s time.” Tan walks out, going to the car he gets in the back seat and crosses his arms waiting for his parents.
Scott gets in the driver seat and Shiela in the passenger “Tan when we get there can you not embarrass us please?” Scott drives away “I said please”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Just be honest and it’ll all be ok” Shiela turns back at him smiling
“Yep.”
“Welcome Milton Family, why don’t we go around and introduce ourselves? I’ll start” Tan and his parents get to the therapists and they sit down to meet her. “I’m Doctor Jacquelyn Dwyer but my patients call me Jackie,” She turns to her left stating with Tan
“Tanner,” he says his name
“I’m Shiela” she smiles
“I’m Scott.”
“Great nice to meet you all” she tries to make eye contact with them all but Tan is looking away clearly uninterested. “Before we get started why don’t we have Tanner move in the middle.”
“Why?” he turns asking
“it’s something I like to try, sitting the child in the middle will give everyone a chance to say what they have to say.”
“Yeah but we’re not here for me, we’re here for them”
“Tanner just get in the middle please” Shiela tugs him up then moves down to his seat. Sitting in the middle of his mother and father, Tan is dead center and right in the eyesight of the therapist, who after 5 minutes of them being there already feels like she has it out for Tan, or at least that’s what he thinks.
“Okay here’s how we’re getting started this morning, we’re going to have a quick session with us all together so I can see how you react to one another, then we do one on ones.” Jackie flips her notepad to a fresh page. “Let’s get started, Mrs. Milton what made you want to seek counseling as a family?”
“We have trouble communicating with each other” Tan bites his tongue “I guess we’re just trying to figure out a middle ground for all of us”
“What about you Tanner? Do you have something different?” She looks at him
He hesitates but remembered what Sven told him, he’s safe in this office so whatever he says they have to listen. “It’s not about communication they’ve never had a problem saying how they felt, the problem is listening. No one listens to each other and none of them listens to me”
“Is that true?” she looks back and forth at Shiela and Scott
“Well it’s just that Scott and I work a lot, we try to be there for Tanner as much as possible but we’re busy people.”
“Okay, Mr. Scott what about you? Why do you think you and your family have a problem communicating? Or listening like Tanner says”
“Well Sheila is always yelling so it’s never easy to hear her”
“Scott Seriously?!” Tan’s mom looks past Tan at her husband
“We’re going to be honest right? That’s why we’re here, so let’s not beat around the bush Shiela.” They start to bicker at each other with Tan getting both ears full, and the doctor observing. Jackie watches what it’s like for Tan sitting between them.
After a fight between Shiela and Scott with Tan in the middle, Jackie kicks his parents out so she can have the first one on one with Tan. “That was something” she chuckles and Tan isn’t fazed
“That was my daily”
“I’m kind of getting that, you said that they don’t listen to you?”
“Nope they don’t”
“What don’t they listen to exactly?”
Tan unfolds his arms ready to unload “try everything! I’ve lived in a house with them for 17 years and I’ve had to remind them multiple times when my birthday was. They don’t know anything about me, not what I do at school, not what my favorite foods are, basic knowledge about my childhood, nothing. I grew up being taken cared of by a lot of people who weren’t my parents until I was old enough to plead my case that I can stay home alone. Anything I’ve ever done I’ve either had to convince them of letting me do it because they refuse to trust me, or they’ll wave their hands saying they’re too busy to talk. Oh! But somehow are never too busy to yell and fight with each other. That’s how the Milton family communicates, we yell.” A rant he’s held in for so long
Jackie writes as he talks and ends when he stops “Tanner have you tried to tell them all of this”
“Countlessly and constantly, but then it wasn’t worth it anymore I gave up and either did whatever I wanted or do whatever they tell me to avoid a fight.”
“Everything leads to a fight?”
“Literally everything, if I tell them something they’ll fight about it if they ask and I don’t want to tell them they fight about that too. My mom and dad blame each other for everything and I tell them to get a divorce but they never listen.”
“Maybe a divorce isn’t what they want, sometimes couples fight because of the stress in their personal lives, or are overwhelmed trying to work and raise a child.”
“Excuse my language but that’s bullshit, I have never asked for much. Nothing that was out of the spectrum of being a parent. I didn’t ask to be born but yet they never shy away from making me feel like a burden, I feel like their failed marriage is my fault and if it wasn’t for me they would’ve split a long time ago.”
“It’s always rare when kids say they want their parents to leave each other, no one wants to be a child of divorce, so I think if your parents want to make their marriage work one thing they’re going to need from you is support.”
Tan scoffs “why should I support them? It’s not worth it, none of this is worth it to me.”
She takes down some notes then look back up at Tan “let’s talk about you for a little bit, who is Tanner Milton?”
“Umm there’s not much to me I go to school and hang out with my friends”
“Do you have any friends at school who’s witnessed the constant fighting in your home?”
“Yes all of them, Shiela and Scott have no shame they’ll fight in front of anyone.”
“Does it ever affect your school work?”
“It used to I wouldn’t be able to concentrate because I’d be thinking about them fighting, or we’d all get into a fight before I’d even make it to school and it’d just ruin my whole day. Now, it doesn’t bother me at all or at least I try not to let it.”
Some time passes after Tan finishes talking about his life and school. Jackie takes it all in then looks at Tan asking him “would you give getting a better relationship with your parents a chance? Or is a divorce what you truly want?”
Tan thinks about the question for a few then answers “I don’t know and I stopped caring.”
After therapy the Milton’s go home, not saying a word to each other they all walk into the house Tan goes to his room, Shiela goes to her and Scott’s bedroom, and Scott goes to his office.
What a day wasted Tan thinks, he could’ve spent the day hanging out with Sven but instead was forced to therapy to be told things he stopped caring about a long time ago. Laying on his back in his bed Tan stares at the ceiling thinking, all he wants to do right now is text his friends and tell them how much of a shit show therapy was.
It’s later and Tan hasn’t left his room trying to avoid his parents, he lays in his bed on his computer facebook stalking Sven. Hearing a knock on his door Tan rolls his eyes putting the laptop down and walking to it. He sees his mother and she’s holding his camera “during my one on one today with Jackie she told me that if I want any kind of relationship with you then the first step is trust, so here’s your camera back.”
“I finished the yearbook already but thank you” he takes the camera
“You did! Can I see it?” she smiles
“It’s still getting printed”
“All right well I can’t wait to see it” Tan goes to close his door but his mom says “I hope you know that your father and I are proud of you, no matter what”
Tan could always tell when his parents were telling him things just to get rid of him, but now he honestly doesn’t know “thanks” he replies suspiciously then shuts his door.
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