Gemotions

The tiny, hidden app was the giveaway. Michael had been fiddling with the tablet, trying to troubleshoot it. He saw the app and the blood rushed from his head. He knew that face, that username, it was his son, Leo. He sank onto the couch, the comfortable cushions suddenly feeling like a prison.

He thought of all the times Leo had been glued to the screen, the hours he'd spent in his room. The questions of "what are you doing?" had become less and less. It wasn't the content, not really. It was the secrecy, the calculated deception that stung. He rubbed his temples, a dull ache throbbing behind his eyes.

He thought about his own father, and the secrets he’d kept. He saw the ghost of the man's expression, the one he never understood as a child. He felt a deep, profound sadness, a sense of having failed. He went to the kitchen and made a cup of instant coffee, the bitterness doing nothing to soothe him.